We woke up in Brimnes cabins excited for the drive and the next night of lights, as the KP Index was on its way up. Brimnes is located in Olafsfjord, which is in the Norderland (or North land) region and we were headed to the Vestfirdir or West River region. This is the north west corner of Iceland, and is charachterized by the many fingers of bays going inland. Thus the roads are all winding and twisting and we covered an elevation change about every 25-30 miles of 1500 or so.
Our next stay was very interesting to us, as it appears to be a kit cottage with an asymmetrical roof line. We’ve considered placing a couple of these kinds of cottages on our farm, either as long or short term rentals. With our travels and a farm, it would be helpful to have a long term renter who could care for our animals in our absence, and after staying in several farms, it has us wondering if that trend would be popular soon here.
The town we were headed to is called Suðureyri. Suðureyri is a small Icelandic fishing village perched on the tip of the 13 km-long Súgandafjörður in the Westfjords. The community was isolated for years by the huge mountains and rough road that led over them. Now it is connected to Ísafjörður by a 5 km tunnel.
But we had a lot of land to cover before we got there. The day started off with a dirt and gravel road through farming country. In the fall, many farmers are rounding up the sheep to take to slaughter. Since they seem to have little regard for human built fences and borders, sometimes this is a whole community affair to round up these stubborn fluff balls. We had commented that it was surprising that though we saw sheep outside fences every single day, none appeared as roadkill so they must be good about staying out of the roadway. Not today! As we were cruising though the countryside, a rumbunctious ewe and her small lamb jumped out of the ditch and ran right in front of us. Ray slammed on the brakes and avoided them and then rolled down the window to get a better look. The Ewe was a beautiful mix of colors and her lamb was solid black. He said a few words to the ewe and she did her best brahma impersonation and stomped her foot and huffed at him.
As it was Saturday, we passed several farms doing round ups and it was always fun to see the huge herds being gathered. We also passed many beautiful barns, and yes, Arista, adding it to the book folder : – )
As we snaked in and around the ocean, we saw beautiful rock formations and tiny little towns. We stopped in one little fishing village, and had the best donut I’d ever eaten! The shop was adorable and the walls were decorated with vintage cookbooks nailed to the walls. The recipes of course were in Icelandic, so I couldn’t read them but boy did I wish I could.
We saw even more waterfalls, peeking out through cliff side crevices and even came along a strange sculpture of a man, with an empty vessel underneath. When I researched it later, I found that during the westfjord road and bridge expansion in the late 50s, the builders were bored and built these statues so that no one would forget the work they did. However, locals seem to use it as a roadside porta pot and they refer to it as “Piss Man.” That was disappointing to read.
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As we neared Suðureyri, we decided that the town was so small, we might need to venture into Islajfjord to grab dinner, as it was a much bigger port town. We entered the longest tunnel I’ve ever been in… 5 Km, with a turn underground! We drove into Islafjord and found a local brew pub and enjoyed a tall glass of locally brewed beer and wings. Ray had fish and chips. Beer is quite expensive in Iceland, so we were pretty happy with just one big beer each at around $15 USD per beer. Also, its fairly low point, as my stout was the highest there at 5.6.
We headed back to the tunnel and headed for Suðureyri. We found our cabin right on the edge of town, facing a beautiful little mountain lake, with a windbreak porch and no light pollution. This rental also had a washer and dryer, a welcome sight for some of our layers!
We settled in and found a way to watch Oklahoma State’s football game (though we wish we hadn’t) and waited on the lights. Soon, I could see light peeking over the northern most cliff and bundled up and headed out.
As a lifelong Oklahoman, I thought I knew wind. The wind this night was nothing I’d ever experienced. Coming off that water, it was COLD and fierce, easily 60mph. Thank goodness for the wind break, because when I tried to move the camera outside of it, I could not hold the tripod still. After shooting every angle I could get, I went back inside to see the abysmal football score. I suggested that we try to see if we could get some shots elsewhere and Ray was happy to leave the game behind and help me find a new place.
We drove by the church, but was disappointed that it was very, very well lit with large halogen bulbs all the way around. We drove through town and finally, after passing a very smelly fish plant, came around a bend to find not only a good outcropping to be a wind block but a waterfall! The photos from here might be my favorite of the trip. Enjoy!
