Land of Fire and Ice

Today, the last full driving day, we were catching the 08:15 ferry to Heimaey, the main island in the Westerman Islands, just off Iceland's south coast. So set off at 06:00 so we could stop off along the way at the black beach at Reynisfjara, with its sea stacks and basalt cliffs. Despite the mist/drizzle, the breeze and the crashing waves it was beautiful, and oddly enough at 06:15 we were the only ones on the beach. We also stopped off at Skagafoss waterfall as it was right by the road and got a soaking from the spray as we tried to get as close as we could. That was two soaking and it was only 07:30.

By the time we boarded the ferry the wind had really got up and it made for an uncomfortable 40 minute crossing with the little ferry pitching and rolling all the way to Heimaey. It is supposed to be a beautiful island but through the mist we could see very little of it. We had a tour booked but cancelled it due to the weather and instead went to a museum telling the story of the 1973 eruption that was so large it increased the island's size by 20%. In the centre of the museum was a house that had been completely engulfed by the pumice spewed out. Some of the items inside had actually survived, giving it a much more real feeling.

The first stop after arriving back on the mainland was the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, the angle of which and a shallow cave behind it meaning that you can walk round the back of it, though the spray means you still get pretty damp wet. It was areally interesting seeing it from behind but as we came out it started raining very heavily, so much so I had to change my trousers as they were completely dripping.

The heavy rain continued all the way to tonight's hotel, so we knocked on the head the other things we had planned and concentrated on getting dry and drying our dripping wet clothes.

Weather: 13 degrees, heavy mist then heavy train

Mileage: 135 milesRead more