Just outside of town, we passed Borg á Mýrum, a very old church and farm and two small waterfalls on the side of the road - Sjávarfoss (sea waterfall) and Skuggafoss (shadow waterfall).
Once we were finally on Snæfellsnes peninsula, we stopped again at a gas station at the intersection of routes 54 and 56 to use the restroom. Shortly afterwards, we made our first real stop at Ölkelda Mineral Spring. Named for the farm where its located, the spring had naturally carbonated and mineral-rich water. Helgi claimed the water has healing powers and that he always drinks three cups when doing this tour. I drank about a half of a cup - it was a little potent for my taste. A sign nearby indicating the mineral composition of the water was very interesting.
Sodium, iron, calcium, and various other metals in the water had concentrations ten or more times that of normal drinking water. Regardless of the healing properties, the taste was a bit much for me. Next, we went to Ytri-Tunga beach along the south coast of the peninsula, known for its seal colonies.
The beach was very rocky with a lot of seaweed growing on the rocks, making for a hazardous scramble out onto the rocks.
But we were able to spot several cute seals frolicking in and out of the water.
A few even turned around to pose for the camera.
Then, we returned to the bus and continued along the southern coast of the peninsula. We passed numerous beautiful waterfalls and I wish that we had the chance to stop and view them, but there just wasn't enough time.
Our next stop was a scenic overlook in Búðahraun lava field near the home of one of Iceland's most infamous residents - Axlar-Björn, who killed travelers and stole their horses. He was finally caught when people noticed he had more horses that he should have been able to afford. The overlook, despite its notorious past, had wonderful views and we could see the Bjarnarfoss waterfall in the distance past the farm.
In the other direction, Búðaklettur crater stood out 88-meters above the lava field, which it had spewed out 5000 to 8000 years ago.
We continued on for a short ways to Arnarstapi. Along the way, we could see many small waterfalls coming down the mountain, including a particularly beautiful one coming out of Rauðfeldsgjá gorge.
Our next stop was Arnarstapi, a small fishing village in the shadow of Mount Stapafell.
At one time, it was an important trading post.
Now, only about ten people live here year round, though there are summer houses and the population increases in those months.
The village is very beautiful, set along a rugged coastline with amazing basalt columns and cliffs.
We took our lunch down past the pier to the cliffs and ate watching the kittiwakes flying back and forth from their nests along the cliffs.
Their droppings have actually stained the cliffs white, but this serves a purpose - the droppings act like glue to stick their nests to the cliffs.
After eating we walked down along the cliffs to get a closer look at the cliffs and the birds.
There was an interesting rock arch formed from the irregular pattern of waves against the cliffs.
The more famous arch, Gatklettur, is further down and we didn't have time to walk down and see this one.
We finished up our loop and stopped to see the statue of Bárður Snæfellsás near the parking area. The statue was sculpted in 1985 by Ragnar Kjartansson.
According to legend, Bárður was a half-man half-giant who lived in the area with his daughters. While playing with her cousins, his daughter Helga was pushed onto an iceberg and floated to Greenland. Bárður became enraged, pushing his nephews off cliffs and retreating to Snæfellsjökull glacier. We then drove a short ways to Hellnar nature reserve (I would have preferred to make the short hike, myself) and saw more beautiful cliffs and rock formations along the coast.
A particularly beautiful basalt rock named Valasnös was jutting out into the blue waters of the bay.
In the rock, there is a cave called Baðstofa.
Its really more of an arch than a cave and the light coming in and reflecting off the water made it a beautiful sight. Just up the beach was another cave - Sauðahellir.
This one I actually climbed through as it was open on both ends. At one time, it was used to keep sheep in.
Then I headed back up the hill towards the hotel and stopped at the visitor center for Snæfellsjökull National Park.
We signed the guestbook (not many North Carolina entries in there) and learned a bit about the natural history of the area before continuing on. Our next stop was Djúpalónssandur beach along the west coast of the peninsula.
It was just a short hike down to the beach, with black sand and pebbles.
Our tour guide told us that the rocks on the beach are "energy stones" and some questionable salespeople have tried to sell them claiming health benefits.
The marketing claims are questionable, but we decided to collect a few to bring back with us.
The pebbles on the beach made the most beautiful and hypnotic sound as they gently crashed along the shore and got pulled back out, tumbling over one another as the water receded. I shot a short video of waves, more to capture the sounds than the sights of the waves. In addition to the sand and pebbles, there were also many large rock formations rising out of the beach and sea.
Kerling is one such rock formation that rose out of the water. It is believed by some to be a troll woman who was turned to stone by the sunlight. Heading up from the beach, we saw two pools - Svörtulón and Djúpalón.
These mysterious pools rise and fall with the tide and so only the surface water is fresh.
There were also some metal scraps here from an old shipwreck.
We headed back up to the parking lot along Nautastígur Trail and saw the lifting stones, which were a test of strength among fisherman who would row out to sea from neighboring Dritvík beach. The four stones were Fullsterkur (Full Strength) at 154 kg, Hálfsterkur (Half Strong) at 100 kg, Hálfdrættingur (Half Carrier) at 54 kg, and Amlóði (Weakling) at 23 kg. To be eligible to be an oarsman, one must at least be able to lift Hálfdrættingur. Finally, we saw Gatklettur or hole in the rock.
Looking through the hole was a perfect view of Snæfellsjökull glacier and a great spot for a photo.
We headed back to the bus and took off for our next stop. Our next stops were at two craters on the western end of the peninsula. First was Hólahór Crater, which we could actually drive into (in a bus, no less).
The rim of the crater goes around about three quarters and is worn down to the ground on the other end, allowing a gravel road to enter the crater. We stopped for just a few minutes to take some pictures and enjoy the view. We had a wonderful view of Snæfellsjökull glacier to the east and looking up at the rim of a crater from the inside was great. Then he headed to the next crater, Saxholl. We couldn't drive into this one, but we could climb up.
It was a short, but steep climb up to the top of the crater. Barriers erected by the National Park prevented us from going down into the crater, but from atop, we had wonderful views of the surrounding area.
The volcano had erupted 3000 to 4000 years ago and the crater is now only 109 meters above sea level.
But there were great views of the lava fields surrounding the crater and we could see Hreggnasi, Bárðarkista, and Snæfellsjökull mountains farther off.
With nothing around to block it, it was quite windy up there and after a few pictures we headed back down to the bus. Continuing on Route 574, we passed the villages of Hellissandur and Rif and could see the waterfall Svöðufoss from the bus. We stopped in the small fishing village of Ólafsvík for a bathroom break and snacks. Driving in, I saw a beautiful waterfall just above the village, so while the others were using the facilities, I ran up the street to see Bæjarfoss waterfall.
There was also a very interesting-looking church here, Ólafsvíkurkirkja.
Heading back down to the bus, Sandy quickly got some ice cream and got back on the bus.
We left Ólafsvík and got back on Route 54 before stopping for the last time at an overlook at Búlandshöfði with views of Ólafsvík and Snæfellsjökull to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to west.
We got on the bus one last time and finished up our drive on Route 574, but being Iceland, the drive was very scenic.
Almost immediately, we passed two interesting mountains to the north - Stöð and Kirkjufell (church mountain).
Kirkjufell looked very different depending on which way you look at it from.
We also passed Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall and went through the town of Grundarfjörður, another small fishing village.
Past the village, we went through Berserkjahraun lava field before turning onto Route 56 and finishing up our loop.
The drive back was long and we were tired but Helgi kept us entertained with stories of Icelandic sagas and folklore. When we arrived back at the hotel, we decided to try something more traditional and headed to Álafoss and had some traditional Icelandic meat soup at Kaffihúsið Álafossi. Then, after a long day, we got some rest to prepare for our next tour.
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