Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [135]
Back on Rte 54, southwest of the Öndver-ðarnes area, follow the marked turn-off to the roadside scoria crater Saxhóll. There’s a driveable track leading straight to the base, from where it’s a quick 300m climb for magnificent views over the Neshraun lava flows.
Dritvík & Djúpalón
Further along, Rte 572 leads down to the wild black-sand beach at Djúpalónssandur. It’s a dramatic place to walk, with a series of rocky stacks emerging from the ocean. You can also still see four ‘lifting stones’ on the beach where fishing-boat crews would test the strength of aspiring fishermen. The smallest stone is Amloði (Bungler) at 23kg, followed by Hálfdrættingur (Weak) at 54kg, Hálfsterkur (Half-Strong) at 100kg, and the largest, Fullsterker (Fully Strong), at 154kg. Hálfdrættingur marked the frontier of wimphood, and any man who couldn’t heft it was deemed unsuitable for a life at sea. Mysteriously, there now appear to be five stones.
If you tramp up over the craggy headland you’ll reach the similar black-sand beach at Dritvík, where around 60 fishing boats were stationed from the 16th to the 19th century. The black sands are covered in pieces of rusted metal from the English trawler Eding, which was wrecked here in 1948. Several freshwater pools and the rocky arch Gatklettur are close to the car park.
About 2km south of Djúpalón a track leads down to the rocket-shaped lighthouse at Malariff, from where you can walk along the cliffs to the rock pillars at Lóndrangar, which surge up into the air like a frozen splash of lava. Locals say that elves use the lava formations as a church.
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SOUTHERN SNÆFELLSNES
Beyond the glacier’s frosty grip, the road smooths out to the south, passing the interesting sea-sculpted rock formations at Hellnar and Arnarstapi (see the boxed text), then continuing east along the broad southern coastal plain, hugging the huge sandy bays at Breiðavík and Búðavík.
Hellnar
Bárður, the guardian spirit of Snæfells, chose Hellnar, a picturesque spot overlooking a rocky bay, as his home. Today Hellnar is a tiny fishing village where the shriek of sea birds fills the air and whales are regularly sighted. Down on the shore, the cave Baðstofa is chock-a-block with nesting birds, and Bárðarlaug, up near the main road, was supposedly Bárður’s bathing pool (sadly the pond is no longer hot). Ancient, velvety moss–cloaked lava flows tumble east, spilling down the nearby mountains and into the churning sea.
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HEY COLUMBUS, EAT YOUR HEART OUT!
Icelanders are very quick to point out that Christopher Columbus did not ‘discover’ America. In fact, it is commonly believed that Columbus visited the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in 1477 to learn about the earlier Viking conquests in the New World.
During his Icelandic foray, Columbus was surprised to discover that a woman, Guðriður Þorbjarnardóttir, was among Iceland’s pantheon of celebrated explorers. Born in Hellnar before the year 1000 (a beautiful sculpture marks the site of her family’s farm), Guðriður had a serious case of wanderlust. Not only was she one of the first Europeans to reach Vinland (most likely Canada’s Newfoundland), she bore a child while visiting (the first European child born in North America)! After her son, Snorri, married and moved to Glaumbær, Guðriður converted to Christianity and embarked on an epic pilgrimage to Rome. Upon arrival, she met with the pope and recounted her experiences at the edge of the earth.
For more information about Guðriður, read The Far Traveler by Nancy Marie Brown, or The Sea Road by Margaret Elphinstone.
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Travellers seeking information about the Snæfellsjökull National Park should stop at Gestastofa ( 436 6888; admission free; 10am-6pm 20 May-10 Sep). The building functions as an info office and museum, featuring displays on the local geology, history, people, customs and wildlife.