Searching for Skallgrimur

Last night the sound of the rock music was the least of our concerns. We heard none of it because of the roaring of the wind that lasted until about 4:30 am. Finally the storm settled down. I went back to sleep until 7:30 am when we went down to breakfast and were greeted by the Filipino woman who works as the cook. Thorstin was still sleeping because the law school dinner-dance lasted until around 5:00 am. Even so, when we were into our breakfast Thorstin appeared, a bit bleary-eyed, but full of good information. The son of the hotel owner had not yet recovered from the party. Still thoroughly intoxicated, he insisted on coming to our table and singing every song he knows in English. Finally Thorstin reigned him in. In response to our questions he gave us some good suggestions as we left Borgarnes. He also gave us a bag of bread and said that it was common for passing motorists to stop and feed the Icelandic horses. The horses recognize the sound of the rustling of the plastic bag. On our way out of town we stopped to photograph a reconstruction of a Viking sod house. Next we photographed the Borg Farm just north of town which gave Borgarnes its name. The history of this farm goes all the way back to Scallagrim and the Egil Saga. I had hoped to photograph the interior of the church once I read the historical marker out front. Although the church building dates back to the 1880’s, the altarpiece was carved in the year 1002 AD. When we came upon a herd of Icelandic horses Glenda was in heaven. We stopped twice to feed the little Icelandic horses and to take photographs. As far as the weather was concerned this day has been much more pleasant that its predecessors. The temperature stayed around 3 degrees C today, with clouds and occasional light rain and snow. Winds remained under 10 mph. We were pleased with the weather because each provider of a forecast was offering contradictory information. The government forecast was still calling for high winds, and the other forecasts ranged from heavy snowfall in morning to nothing but partly cloudy skies all day. We saw the Eldberg Crater in the distance and turned onto a road to approach it. We had hoped to find some sort of visitors’ center. We found instead a building marked “Reception Area.” Glenda entered. A little boy in his pajamas saw Glenda, shouted “Mama!” then put on his little boots, walked out onto the porch, and pointed to the barn. There his mother was cleaning out the milking area. Meanwhile, I was setting up my tripod to photograph the Eldborg Crater, but was distracted by an ebulliently friendly black and white dog, barely older than a puppy about to grow into adulthood. The dog was everywhere—under the tripod, back up on the porch—as friendly and cheerful as a dog can be. May she live a charmed life there here people love her, and there are no leash laws or traffic. Next I wanted to stop at Gerduberg to see the basalt wall with its vertical columns. I had seen photos of it and took a few myself. I wish I could have gotten closer. Maybe hikers can approach closer to see the vertical sections more clearly. I also found a considerable portion of the surface obscured by snow. These cliffs might offer a better photo opportunity in warm weather. We had no other specific objective on the Snaefellnes peninsula, so we reversed course back to Borgarnes.Read more