Borgarnes--Home of Icelandic Sagas

Wanting to make sure we had enough Diesel fuel and time, we didn’t stop for lunch until we arrived in Borgarnes around 3:00 pm. As we were eating at the N1, a helicopter landed in the parking lot next door. We learned later that someone had fallen and was seriously injured. The paramedics flew the patient to Reykjavik for treatment. When we checked into the Hotel Borgarnes we were greeted by the owner, who asked us to wait a few minutes for the desk clerk. In just a few minutes he arrived. He introduced himself as Thorstin, and was one of the most congenial Icelanders we met. After originally assigning us to a room, he cheerfully moved us to room 318 where we would have better internet reception. Before supper we walked around the shoreline and learned that Borgarnes is a significant place in the Icelandic sagas, especially the Saga of Egil (pronounced Ayl). We took photographs of this lovely place and then visited the Settlement Museum, where we learned more about the Egil Saga and the history of Borgarnes. Eating a dinner of apples, pears and peanuts we had brought with us preceded our doing our laundry for the first time since arriving in Iceland, and then bedding down for the night.Read more