Glymur and Snaefellsnes
We got up around 7:30AM and after taking a hot shower we went down to the ground floor to have breakfast. The morning meal in Kirkjuhvoll was also excellent, the children couldn't get enough! The sky seemed rather clear and at 9AM we left, but we stopped immediately in the center of Akranes at the local Bonus to do some shopping at noon because we had planned to have a picnic. With Skinka, Skyrr, and other mutton sausages in the trunk, we headed to Glymur.
The Glymur Waterfall is located at the bottom of the Hvalfjörður fjord along route 47. A sign indicates the waterfall parking lot where we found the start of the hiking trail. It took 3 hours return trip to make this superb hike. The start of the hike (45 minutes) was quite simple and relatively flat until we reached a canyon. We then had to cross a river on a wooden log using a large metal cable. This was the main difficulty of the hike.
The waterfall was impressive; it was the 2nd highest waterfall in Iceland at 200m high. The hike was generally well signposted, and anyway, there were very regular hikers in summer, so we didn't really risk getting lost. It took about 1H20 to walk downhill to the car park.
After a well-deserved lunch break in the car, we headed north again to the Grábrók craters. We had on previous trips passed these craters without taking the time to stop, so we weren't going to miss our chance this time! A small car park, not necessarily very well indicated, was located at the foot of the first crater.
The place was particularly well laid out, with many (too many) steps to climb to reach the crater rim. From the summit we had a magnificent view of another Grabrokarfell crater. The short walk only took us about 30 minutes, but the wind was blowing very, very hard that day, and we had to hang on to the top of the crater to avoid slipping.
Now we had to drive to the Snaefellsnes peninsula; we really liked this place. There was not really an amazing site like some places in Iceland, but there was something unique about the wild side of the peninsula.
After a photo stop near Kirkjufell on the North Coast, we connected to Road 54 to reach Arnastapi where we were sleeping tonight. This drivewas absolutely sublime; countless waterfalls cut the landscape and the bright green grass contrasted beautifully with the blue sky. The sheep even allowed themselves to cross the road as everything was peaceful and quiet on that afternoon.
At the junction with road 54 we took a break in Budir. There was something really special about the black church in this commune. We arrived around 7PM at the Snjofell guesthouse in Arnastapi, where we ate traditional Icelandic lamb soup and the catch of the day.
The weather was so good that day that we decided to take a drive that evening to the tip of the peninsula, Helissandur, to admire the magical light of the midnight sun, but also Snaefellsjökull, which on a clear day like this was really superb.
On the way back, we stopped in Londrangar for a short walk to the impressive rocks. We were alone; the only sounds came from the waves crashing on the cliffs and a thousand seagulls and terns cartwheeling across the sky... We could have stayed there for hours but the kids were starting to get tired, it was time to go back to the guesthouse.
