The schedule for our second day of the tour was exciting – a cruise where we could try “viking sushi” fresh from the bay, Kirkjufell mountain, and Snæfellsnes peninsula. After breakfast at the hotel, the bus headed to the town of Stykkishólmur.
Stykkishólmur
From there we boarded our cruise ship – Særún – for a 2 hour “Viking Sushi” cruise in Breiðafjörður Bay. The bay separates the region of the Westfjords (Vestfirðir) from the south of the country.
We saw breathtaking views of thousands of tiny islands, sea birds, and the pristine waters of the bay. The captain describes the islands and birds via loudspeaker. Many of the islands are made up of basalt columns. Basalt is volcanic rock formed when lava rapidly cools. While usually basalt columns are vertical, the bay has examples of both vertical and horizontal.
We saw black-legged kittiwakes, Eurasian oystercatchers, European shags and even two white-tailed eagles! It was too early in the season to see puffins.
Viking Sushi
The crew brought up sea scallops, urchins, starfish and crabs. I joined in the fun of eating fresh scallops straight off the shell – very salty! When it became too cold upstairs, we went in the enclosed saloon downstairs to get free coffee, tea and hot chocolate and use the restrooms.
After the sail, we ate at the Harbour Café along the dock. Seafood soup was the choice lunch of the day. For the soup you could choose from three types of seafood – scallops, fish and shrimp – or have a combination. I had a bowl of soup and a piece of cake for dessert.
Kirkjufell
Then as we drove through the national park, we saw mountains, lava fields, and even a glance at Snæfellsjökull glacier. Snæfellsjökull is a snow-capped glacier that covers a volcano. We stopped to photograph Kirkjufell, the most prominent mountain in Grundarfjörður (463 meters/1,519 feet high). It is one of the top photographed mountains in Iceland and you can see why. Its name means Church Mountain due to its resemblance to a church steeple.
Djúpalónssandur
Soffia was able to squeeze in a few minutes at Djúpalónssandur black sand beach. I was thrilled about this since I really wanted to visit a black sand beach and didn’t think I would be able to. On the trail down to the beach you can catch a peek at Svörtulón lagoon through the lava formations. From the beach you can see Snæfellsjökull glacier. There are dozens of iron remains from a British trawler scattered on the beach. The boat wrecked in 1948.
Arnarstapi
The fishing villages of Arnarstapi and Hellnar were our last stops. Arnarstapi offers the opportunity to walk among columnar basalt rock formations and cliffs, teeming with colonies of seabirds. A large troll statue built in stone is the embodiment of a legendary figure known as Bárður Snæfellsás, a half-human/half-troll who is the protagonist of an Icelandic saga that bears his name.
Finally, we returned to the hotel and had another pre-booked dinner with the group at the hotel restaurant.
Once again, we bundled up to stand outside looking for the Northern Lights. We were not able to see any that night which made us all grateful that we went out the night before.
The photography continues to amaze. I’m not sure about travel to Iceland in the Winter but i can imagine a land of spectacular beauty in the Summer