Day 6 began with what we viewed as the start of the most exciting part of our trip...the southwestern coast and the long awaited 111 mile Ring of Kerry drive and trip to Dingle Peninsula and the Slea Head Drive. We had evening reservations in Kenmare (at one end of the Ring of Kerry) and decided to drive first to Killarney located at the opposite end of the Ring of Kerry. Unfortunately Killarney reminded me of Kissimmee (the access to Disneyworld) with its eateries, hotels and tour buses. The town was colorful and cute, but with too many tourists. Choose to stay in Kenmare rather than Killarney is my suggestion.
We quickly drove through Killarney town to Killarney National Park (NP) where we had a great afternoon, despite a continuous light misty rain. So much to do in the NP and so worth a stop for more than an afternoon, including visiting the little cafe where we had yummy hot paninis. We didn’t hire a jaunting car (Irish horse and buggy) which will take you all over the park, nor did we take a boat out on the lake to fish, or rent a bike, or tour the Muckross House or it’s farms. We just wandered around the NP in the time we had and it was so enjoyable. Misty fields and gardens, reed filled fishing ponds and lakes, bike trails, paved and dirt trails and the Torc Waterfall...I felt at times like I was in New Zealand it was so green with moss covered trees and wide open views. Do not miss this NP!.
We then headed towards Kenmare along Moll’s Gap to see the Ladies View overlook and we were stunned by the narrow, twisting roads we had to maneuver, which left me closing my eyes at each hairpin turn, almost breathing in to try to help squeeze our narrow car around sharp turns, past tour buses, racing bmw’s, with overhanging rock walls to my left. It was fun, but scary, and helped me understand why jaunting cars were initially used on these narrow roads. We ended in the charming and colorful town of Kenmare, at a family run countryhome, the Shelburne Lodge, lovingly restored over the past few years by Maura, her husband and sister. It was cozy but elegant, with beautiful floral arrangements made from plants growing outside. We had a large upstairs room with a comfortable king bed and could walk 5 minutes into town and I highly recommend this lodging. In the morning, I remember having amazing poached pears and then local smoked salmon for breakfast. Maura used to own a restaurant so the food was good. We had a lot of high priced dinner choices in Kenmare, but we ended up eating in a restaurant named after a local hero and Arctic explorer Tom Crean, and had a delicious chowder and fresh sole dinner with beer and cider. We took a relaxing walk through the quiet town, visiting a few shops and discovering an ancient stone circle and quaint homes with lawns filled with flowers, birdhouses and chimes.
The entire next day was spent driving the 111 mile Ring of Kerry clockwise, opposite the tour buses. There are many cliff overlooks, glacial valley remnants, coves and beaches, abandoned famine villages and the ancient stone fort Slaigue Fort to view along the way. If you have time, go over the bridge to Valencia Island where you can hike and stop at Skellig Chocolate Factory for free samples. On a clear day, views of Skellig Michael offshore are possible (but not on this rainy day). I was a bit underwhelmed by the Ring of Kerry in all honesty. Maybe it was the rain which clouded our views, but I was expecting so much more. Dingle Peninsula however was not a disappointment at all and was everything I expected Ireland to look like. Stopping first at Inch Beach along the Inch Strand on the south east end, we had spectacular late afternoon views looking back towards the Iveagh Peninsula where the Ring of Kerry is located. Surfers lined the expansive wavy beach, with mountains in the distance, and the waves and tidal flow left glittering streaks of water in the sand. A pretty and peaceful sight where Ryan’s Daughter had been filmed decades ago.
We drove on to Dingle Town and the Greenmount House, situated high on a hill overlooking the Harbour and the adorable town of Dingle. We had a ground floor room for our two night stay, with a seating area, a front porch looking towards the Harbour and easy access to our car...a large room with a king bed and a huge soaking tub plus shower in the bathroom. Greenmount offered coffee, tea and cake in the afternoon and had an honor bar too. They did our laundry for 12 euro a load which was perfect mid trip! Breakfast was fantastic, a big buffet and a made to order entree!
The town of Dingle is colorful and alive, with technicolor buildings and wonderful restaurants and bars filled with music. We had two delicious dinners at cosy Ashes Bar and trendy Chart House and spent some time wandering the streets, visiting bars filled with Irish music and enjoying Murphy’s Ice Cream! A fun destination, but not impressed with the actual harborview.
Loved our full day drive along Slea Head, touring Prehistoric Beehive huts, sunning on rocky outcrops and cliffs overlooking the crashing sea below, hiking up to Dunmore Head and down to the beach below with expansive views of the Blasket Islands and finally exploring a cool old church. Fewer tourists and tour buses than the Ring of Kerry. Just a fantastic day with cool breezes, shining sun and bright blue skies. Mountains and valleys covered with fields of brilliant green, filled with sheep and with rows and rows of stone hedges. Do not miss Dingle Peninsula and choose it over the Ring of Kerry if you have limited time. We even had views out to Skellig Michael the skies were so clear.
Next we’re off to the famous Cliffs of Moher and the Burren...
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Monday, May 28, 2018
Dublin and the South Coast
Finally, I got some sleep on a plane! Our Aer Lingus overnighter from Miami left about 1.5 hours late at 10:30 pm, but I was able to close my eyes after the dinner service ended around midnight, and we both got 4 hours sleep (a miracle) which makes a huge difference on the first full day of international travel. Customs on arrival was quick and easy BUT beware...for departures to the USA, you go through US customs in Ireland before you depart, so give yourself plenty of time on the way home for this surprising step! We were lucky to quickly buy automated tickets ($7.50 pp) for the Airbus into Dublin which is a lot less costly than a taxi, and caught a bus 5 minutes later into the heart of downtown near our hotel. We stayed 3 nights at the recently renovated Renaissance Shelbourne Hotel, located at St. Stephens Green (ie: Central Park), which turned out to be a terrific location...within walking distance to all Dublin’s shopping and sights, but away from the noise and bedlam which IS the touristy Temple Bar area. While we waited for our room to be ready, we had a quick bite (should have taken it to go) and then walked around the well-manicured public park filled with Saturday picnickers, lakes with swans and ducks, and (surprise)Japanese Cherry Blossom trees and tulips of all colors in full spring bloom. Our rate included a delicious breakfast buffet, plus made to order entrees and coffee drinks, and our room was luxurious and massive and had a big marble bath with a shower and soaking tub.
In no particular order, here are the things we did in our 3 days in Dublin...
*met our “British daughter’s” sweet mother from Bristol, England, who flew in and traveled with us for 2 days and it was a joy to finally meet her and explore Dublin with her!
*took a “free” walking tour on the morning of the first day for 3 hours where we saw all Dublin’s key sights and heard historical stories about the city, it’s buildings and monuments like Dublin Castle and St. Patrick’s Church, and the clash between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Our guide Peter owns the company and he was funny and engaging (working for tips only) and we enjoyed him so much we decided to join him for the evening at...
*a Pub Crawl for $20 pp where we went to 4 “locals” pubs to taste and learn about local craft beers (IPA’s, less hoppy Pale Ales and Stout), Guinness, Gin and Irish Whiskey and Irish music. We had dinner at one of the pubs which was optional.
*shopped on pedestrian friendly Grafton Street (loved Avoca) and all along the quaint streets and alleys of Dublin.
*ate at Klaw, a one room eatery where I had a fresh lobster roll, historic Leo Burdock’s Fish and Chips where you are given delicious, thick, hot, lightly-breaded cod and French fries in a takeaway box to eat outside and The Old Storehouse in the Temple Bar District where we had Guinness Stew, fresh crabs, Guinness and alcoholic Apple Cider and listened to an Irish soloist at a high top near the bar.
*spent a fun few hours wandering through rowdy bars in the Temple Bar district watching intense male bonding and drinking, and listening to fun lyrics sung by “Irish country singers”.
*walked along the Liffey River and crossed the famous cast iron Ha’penny Bridge at different times of day and night...plus saw the statues of Molly Maguire and patriot Daniel O’Connell and listened to street performers all over the city.
* visited Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells and the Old Library (reserve in advance online).
*tried to go to the National Museum of Ireland, but it was closed on Monday (big miscalculation).
*walked around Merrion Square and saw the pretty doors and statue of Oscar Wilde.
*missed the deKilmainham Gaol (jail) which was too far to walk to, but we heard was great (reservation also needed).
*avoided the touristy Guinness Storehouse (because there are lots of distillery tours elsewhere in Ireland).
And on the morning of the 4th day, we took a cab to the Hertz dealer, renting the second smallest car possible for under $500 for our nearly 2 week road trip. (FYI, we drove 1600 miles and spent $188 on gas.) With great trepidation getting out of Dublin in morning rush hour, driving on the left side with a left handed gear shift, we headed south towards the Wicklow Mountains to Powerscourt Estate and Gardens, a sculptured English Garden with massive trees including Redwoods, a Japanese Garden, beautiful lakes and fountains, and blossoming spring flowers ($10 pp). If you are going to Ashford Castle or Kylemore Abbey in the Connemara region, you don’t also have to also go to the gardens of Powerscourt because they are all similar in some ways, but it was beautiful and we enjoyed it. We then drove over scenic Sally Gap, a military trail through misty mountains and along bogs and peat fields which looked like we were on another planet, and then to a wonderful deserted old monestary called Glendalough. It was raining and dreary when we arrived, but we loved wandering through all the old stone ruins and exploring the massive graveyard filled with toppling Celtic crosses covered in moss and shrouded in mist at times. A photographer’s dream, especially with all the rain and mist. There are 2 lakes to visit here and hiking trails if weather permits and no admission charge to see this historic site.
In the early evening we arrived at our first colorful Irish town, Kilkenny, where we stayed downtown at the Zuni Hotel and ate dinner at the restaurant. We visited a fun bar, Hole in the Wall, which it was...tiny and owned by a cardiologist by day/aspiring musician by night. The hotel was perfectly located in the heart of the city, but in need of room renovation, and was our least satisfying Irish lodging, but it was clean, with free parking and a friendly staff, and the dinner and made to order breakfast were very good. In the morning, we wandered around the colorful town and to the river and walked around the massive Kilkenny Castle (1195), but decided to head on our way before it opened. It is a castle which is really beautifully restored and may be worth the stop if time permits.
On the road again on Day 5, we headed to the Rock of Cashel and neighboring Hore Abbey which is definitely worth a stop and one of our favorite destinations. The Rock of Cashel (1101) is a spectacular castle ruin on a hill with sweeping views of the region and we were lucky to arrive on the first Wednesday so admission was free and we arrived just in time for the interesting and funny tour. We hiked 20 minutes down to Hore Abbey at the bottom of the hill, currently inhabited by cows, and explored these interesting ruins with great views looking back towards the Rock of Cashel (and then hiked back up to the parking lot). We decided against a stop in Cork, or a visit to Blarney Castle and the Blarney Stone and headed to the seaside towns of Cobh and Kinsale. Both are very colorful and picturesque, have historical maritime significance and are worth a visit just for the cuteness of the cities. There is a car ferry that connects the towns which straddle the inlet, but we drove around, so take that into consideration in your planning. Cobh was the final departure port for the Titanic and most Irish immigrants heading to America, and the old buildings remain and metal plaques for the White Star Lines and Cunard Lines are still posted. The Lithuania sunk just off the coast of Kinsale and survivors were brought to Cobh and there is a memorial to lives lost there. We stayed at the Old Presbytery B&B in Kinsale with a distant view of the port in the heart of the cute city and had a tasty fresh fish dinner near the port at Fishy Fishy. Nice innkeepers, wine and cakes in the afternoon and a good breakfast in the morning, so a good lodging choice. Since we arrived late in the day, we couldn’t visit the shops, so also take that into consideration when arriving in these small towns.
Have I mentioned all the beer and cider we have consumed so far? And smoked salmon, fresh fish, brown bread with Irish butter, scones, and the beer and cider...the food has not been disappointing!
Now off to the southwest coast...Kerry and Dingle...
Have I mentioned all the beer and cider we have consumed so far? And smoked salmon, fresh fish, brown bread with Irish butter, scones, and the beer and cider...the food has not been disappointing!
Now off to the southwest coast...Kerry and Dingle...
Sunday, April 15, 2018
THE EMERALD ISLE...our trip begins...🍀🇮🇪🍺🐑
Our road trip around Iceland last May was so enjoyable that we decided upon another road trip, around another northern Atlantic Ocean island...IRELAND. Time to dust off your map of the Emerald Isle so you can track our 2 week trek. We are traveling in the off-season to try to avoid tourists (haha). Springtime (and Ireland generally all the time) is wet, cool and misty with May temperatures ranging from 40-60 degrees, but luckily we have all the gear after our last wet, cool, misty trip to Iceland.
We start out on an overnight direct flight on Aer Lingus, Miami to Dublin, where we’ll spend 3 nights at the recently renovated and historic Shelbourne Renaissance Dublin. In Dublin, we’ll take walking tours and visit ancient prisons, churches, libraries and universities, see ancient manuscripts (ie: The Book of Kells), enjoy breweries, pubs and Irish bars where we’ll drink lots of Guinness, ales, meads and cider, and generally wander through cobblestone streets, markets and parks in this old and exciting city. We pick up our very tiny rental car on day 4 and begin our travels through the backroads of rural Ireland, spending nights at assorted castles and charming manor homes and B&B’s generally found through Karen Brown travel guides (which we’ve used for European travel for decades) and Booking.com/Trip Advisor/friend recommendations. Our daily schedule is very flexible, but I like the security of having a guaranteed destination and place to sleep every night.
Once we figure out how to drive on the opposite side of the road, in a manual car with the gearshift on the left, on very narrow winding rural roads, we begin to travel south through the Wicklow Mountains (supposedly the site of my favorite romantic movie PS, I Love You) visiting an old monestary with gorgeous gardens and the Smithwick/Jamison brewery, and ending our first driving day in the medieval town of Kilkenny. The next day we travel to the mystical castles Cashel and Hore Abbey, passing through Cork, waving at the Blarney Stone, and spend the night at the quaint village of Kinsale, close to the port of Cobh where the Titanic departed on its fateful Atlantic journey. We continue on the coastal road heading west towards the charming towns of Kenmare and Killarney where we’ll drive the scenic Ring of Kerry and explore Killarney National Park. Heading north on the western coast, we spend 2 days exploring picturesque Dingle Peninsula. After hiking the dramatic Cliffs of Moher (please pray for good weather), we head towards the barren Burren and spend the night in County Clare at Ballyvaughn. Weather conditions and timing will decide whether we visit the isolated Aran Islands off the western coast (and try to see the elusive puffin we missed both in Iceland and Maine). Unfortunately, Skellig Michael, a dramatic rocky island where puffins also reside, probably isn’t an option for us this time of year because the ferries aren’t necessarily ferrying in May. We stop for a night at the drinking and shopping town of Galway and then enjoy our splurge night at the 800 year old Ashford Castle. After relaxing at the expansive gardens of Ashford Castle, we head west to the coastal town of Clifden and enjoy the Connemara as we drive north to the unpopulated Donegal Peninsula in the far northwest. Our final days are spent in Northern Ireland, where we’ll see the Giants Causeway, some GOT filming sites and enjoy the Bushmills bourbon distillery, before heading south through scenic coastal towns along the eastern coast as we head towards Belfast and finally back to Dublin airport.
We plan to see endless rolling green hills along narrow roads, rocky cliffs with crashing waves, ancient burial sites and lots of strange stone formations, and sheep, lots of sheep. Did I mention the roads are very narrow? Follow our travels, ok?
We start out on an overnight direct flight on Aer Lingus, Miami to Dublin, where we’ll spend 3 nights at the recently renovated and historic Shelbourne Renaissance Dublin. In Dublin, we’ll take walking tours and visit ancient prisons, churches, libraries and universities, see ancient manuscripts (ie: The Book of Kells), enjoy breweries, pubs and Irish bars where we’ll drink lots of Guinness, ales, meads and cider, and generally wander through cobblestone streets, markets and parks in this old and exciting city. We pick up our very tiny rental car on day 4 and begin our travels through the backroads of rural Ireland, spending nights at assorted castles and charming manor homes and B&B’s generally found through Karen Brown travel guides (which we’ve used for European travel for decades) and Booking.com/Trip Advisor/friend recommendations. Our daily schedule is very flexible, but I like the security of having a guaranteed destination and place to sleep every night.
Once we figure out how to drive on the opposite side of the road, in a manual car with the gearshift on the left, on very narrow winding rural roads, we begin to travel south through the Wicklow Mountains (supposedly the site of my favorite romantic movie PS, I Love You) visiting an old monestary with gorgeous gardens and the Smithwick/Jamison brewery, and ending our first driving day in the medieval town of Kilkenny. The next day we travel to the mystical castles Cashel and Hore Abbey, passing through Cork, waving at the Blarney Stone, and spend the night at the quaint village of Kinsale, close to the port of Cobh where the Titanic departed on its fateful Atlantic journey. We continue on the coastal road heading west towards the charming towns of Kenmare and Killarney where we’ll drive the scenic Ring of Kerry and explore Killarney National Park. Heading north on the western coast, we spend 2 days exploring picturesque Dingle Peninsula. After hiking the dramatic Cliffs of Moher (please pray for good weather), we head towards the barren Burren and spend the night in County Clare at Ballyvaughn. Weather conditions and timing will decide whether we visit the isolated Aran Islands off the western coast (and try to see the elusive puffin we missed both in Iceland and Maine). Unfortunately, Skellig Michael, a dramatic rocky island where puffins also reside, probably isn’t an option for us this time of year because the ferries aren’t necessarily ferrying in May. We stop for a night at the drinking and shopping town of Galway and then enjoy our splurge night at the 800 year old Ashford Castle. After relaxing at the expansive gardens of Ashford Castle, we head west to the coastal town of Clifden and enjoy the Connemara as we drive north to the unpopulated Donegal Peninsula in the far northwest. Our final days are spent in Northern Ireland, where we’ll see the Giants Causeway, some GOT filming sites and enjoy the Bushmills bourbon distillery, before heading south through scenic coastal towns along the eastern coast as we head towards Belfast and finally back to Dublin airport.
We plan to see endless rolling green hills along narrow roads, rocky cliffs with crashing waves, ancient burial sites and lots of strange stone formations, and sheep, lots of sheep. Did I mention the roads are very narrow? Follow our travels, ok?
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Coming full circle
Our last 2 days started where our trip began, close to Reykjavik at the beginning of our Ring Road journey, so we went full circle. The Ring Road is 828 miles, but with all our side trips and excursions including the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, we drove a total of 1800 miles by the time we returned our car, spending $500 in gas along the way.
We returned to the southwest area just in case weather had disrupted the front end of the trip because there is so much to see in this region. The Ion Adventure Hotel was an unnecessary splurge, but its location gave us the opportunity to revisit what we might have missed in the Golden Circle or Reykjavik. It's really an unattractive building, formerly housing for the crew building the adjacent power plant, sitting in a moss covered lava field and it is not on Thingvellir Lake. It is strangely a cool experience; the rooms are extremely comfortable and chic, with fur throws and updated technology, with a stone floor, open bathroom/shower, wonderful products and we had a delicious night's rest. The dinner was also delicious and the spa was relaxing. Worth $430 a night? No. Are we glad we did it? Kinda, yes. Do it again? No.
The following morning, we skipped breakfast at the hotel and our trip around Thingvellir Lake was beautiful and we saw trees! First stop was to finally visit Bruarfoss which turned out to be our favorite waterfall, despite the rain, the muddy forest and having to wear our waterproof rain attire to avoid being coated in mud. We were the only people there and it is a magnificent waterfall. Rumor has it that access may be restricted because you do trek through private homes. I read online that other visitors had trouble getting access in the days around our visit, so it is a "hit or miss" opportunity. (Read my earlier post about the Golden Circle to learn more.)
The best idea is to visit this waterfall when you are visiting Gullfoss and Geysir. We also revisited Fridheimar Farms for another bowl of delicious tomato soup. We should have ordered the tomato ice cream for dessert or maybe the Bloody Mary. Remember to make reservations by email (or call) because we got the last unreserved table when we arrived there at 11:55 am and it is a very special, not to be missed place. Would we ever have been disappointed to be turned away.
We then drove south to Selfoss to pick up some food and then to Hveragerdi where we were staying at Varmi Guesthouse for the night. It's a very charming full apartment for about $175 a night which would be a perfect place to stay with a family to explore the region for 3-4 days. The forecast was for heavy rain at 6 pm, so at 3:00 we started our hike uphill to the Reykjadalur Hot Springs in just light wind and rain. It is about a 4 mile round trip hike through a mountain gorge past waterfalls and steaming geysers to an outdoor river. There are small partitions which allow you to partially hide while you change into your bathing suit along with everyone else and then you quickly run into 100 degree water and soak. Cold outside, it was hard to get out and get dressed afterwards and hike down. A very nice ending to our trip in a natural hot spring. (If we had decided to dive Silfra, or had needed more time at the Ion Hotel or Thingvellir because we had done the Glymur Hike the day before, or wanted to explore Haifoss Canyon or Gjain Waterfall up Hwy 26, we would have still been able to do this 3-4 hour hot springs hike the morning we left, so our re-routing ourselves back was a smart idea). If you have a shorter trip in mind, it would be easy to eliminate these last 2 nights and drive straight to the airport from Snaefellsness and you would feel your trip was complete.
We headed down through the steamy gorge and reached our car at 6:30, just as it was starting to pour and did the wind ever pick up. We found a little pizza restaurant and had a pleasant dinner. We declined to eat at the big diner in town which had pony steak on the menu!!! I really hate to add this part of the story!!! We were wondering why everyone had so many horses and no one but tourists seemed to be riding them and hoping this was not true. These horses are magnificent and it was so beautiful every time we saw them so I hope this is not the case. And we hear it is fun to ride with their 2 extra gaits.
On our last day, we leisurely ate breakfast and packed and then headed to Reykjavik for some final shopping and exploring. We should have planned this final morning better because we didn't know where to eat and ended up eating a hot dog in the airport after some duty free shopping. The airport is about 45 minutes from Reykjavik and we had a 6:45 pm flight out so we had plenty of time to enjoy any morning activity and have a hearty lunch. Another option would be to explore the geothermic region near the airport or to visit the western point where there are 2 lighthouses and a bridge across the two tectonic plates. Some choose also to visit the Blue Lagoon on the final day before heading to the airport.
Luckily the process of returning the car was easier than renting. We had used Reykjavik Rent a Car (who I do not recommend) and the 2013 car they originally gave us had nearly 100,000 miles on it. After a few hours at the Blue Lagoon on our first day, we had returned the car and demanded a new one. I'm glad we did because this newer car gave us no trouble...don't know what would have happened driving an additional 1800 miles on a 100,000 mile car. We had taken pictures of our rental bumper to bumper which turned out to be a great thing when they attempted to charge us for alleged "non-noted on the contract" bumper damage to the plastic bumper (coincidently damage that lined up with older, rusted dents on the metal bumper just above, which had been noted on the contract as pre-existing. I am sure I would be in a credit card dispute over that absent photographs.) We also didn't buy the sand and ash coverage. I don't know if that is a wise choice or not. It did make check in longer as the crew had to check the car rather then us just dropping off the car. You do need to take a short bus ride to the airport from car return so allow enough time to go through check in, customs, security, immigration and duty free shopping.
The airport has a lot of duty free shopping, so Chad was able to buy that 66 North jacket he admired the whole trip, but food items were not discounted. You could buy skyr, but I paid about $2 for the ris buf treats I bought at "duty free".
And then joy of joys, on the flight home, the sky cleared and we saw magnificent views of Greenland and its massive ice field and glacier tongues and coast line...
So the wonderful trip to Iceland comes to an end...and we highly recommend the adventure.
NEXT STOP...VIETNAM? DECEMBER, 2017-JANUARY, 2018???
 |
| The gorgeous sky as we headed out of the Snaefellsness Peninsula |
We returned to the southwest area just in case weather had disrupted the front end of the trip because there is so much to see in this region. The Ion Adventure Hotel was an unnecessary splurge, but its location gave us the opportunity to revisit what we might have missed in the Golden Circle or Reykjavik. It's really an unattractive building, formerly housing for the crew building the adjacent power plant, sitting in a moss covered lava field and it is not on Thingvellir Lake. It is strangely a cool experience; the rooms are extremely comfortable and chic, with fur throws and updated technology, with a stone floor, open bathroom/shower, wonderful products and we had a delicious night's rest. The dinner was also delicious and the spa was relaxing. Worth $430 a night? No. Are we glad we did it? Kinda, yes. Do it again? No.
The following morning, we skipped breakfast at the hotel and our trip around Thingvellir Lake was beautiful and we saw trees! First stop was to finally visit Bruarfoss which turned out to be our favorite waterfall, despite the rain, the muddy forest and having to wear our waterproof rain attire to avoid being coated in mud. We were the only people there and it is a magnificent waterfall. Rumor has it that access may be restricted because you do trek through private homes. I read online that other visitors had trouble getting access in the days around our visit, so it is a "hit or miss" opportunity. (Read my earlier post about the Golden Circle to learn more.)
We then drove south to Selfoss to pick up some food and then to Hveragerdi where we were staying at Varmi Guesthouse for the night. It's a very charming full apartment for about $175 a night which would be a perfect place to stay with a family to explore the region for 3-4 days. The forecast was for heavy rain at 6 pm, so at 3:00 we started our hike uphill to the Reykjadalur Hot Springs in just light wind and rain. It is about a 4 mile round trip hike through a mountain gorge past waterfalls and steaming geysers to an outdoor river. There are small partitions which allow you to partially hide while you change into your bathing suit along with everyone else and then you quickly run into 100 degree water and soak. Cold outside, it was hard to get out and get dressed afterwards and hike down. A very nice ending to our trip in a natural hot spring. (If we had decided to dive Silfra, or had needed more time at the Ion Hotel or Thingvellir because we had done the Glymur Hike the day before, or wanted to explore Haifoss Canyon or Gjain Waterfall up Hwy 26, we would have still been able to do this 3-4 hour hot springs hike the morning we left, so our re-routing ourselves back was a smart idea). If you have a shorter trip in mind, it would be easy to eliminate these last 2 nights and drive straight to the airport from Snaefellsness and you would feel your trip was complete.
 |
| view of the gorge hiking up |
We headed down through the steamy gorge and reached our car at 6:30, just as it was starting to pour and did the wind ever pick up. We found a little pizza restaurant and had a pleasant dinner. We declined to eat at the big diner in town which had pony steak on the menu!!! I really hate to add this part of the story!!! We were wondering why everyone had so many horses and no one but tourists seemed to be riding them and hoping this was not true. These horses are magnificent and it was so beautiful every time we saw them so I hope this is not the case. And we hear it is fun to ride with their 2 extra gaits.
On our last day, we leisurely ate breakfast and packed and then headed to Reykjavik for some final shopping and exploring. We should have planned this final morning better because we didn't know where to eat and ended up eating a hot dog in the airport after some duty free shopping. The airport is about 45 minutes from Reykjavik and we had a 6:45 pm flight out so we had plenty of time to enjoy any morning activity and have a hearty lunch. Another option would be to explore the geothermic region near the airport or to visit the western point where there are 2 lighthouses and a bridge across the two tectonic plates. Some choose also to visit the Blue Lagoon on the final day before heading to the airport.
Luckily the process of returning the car was easier than renting. We had used Reykjavik Rent a Car (who I do not recommend) and the 2013 car they originally gave us had nearly 100,000 miles on it. After a few hours at the Blue Lagoon on our first day, we had returned the car and demanded a new one. I'm glad we did because this newer car gave us no trouble...don't know what would have happened driving an additional 1800 miles on a 100,000 mile car. We had taken pictures of our rental bumper to bumper which turned out to be a great thing when they attempted to charge us for alleged "non-noted on the contract" bumper damage to the plastic bumper (coincidently damage that lined up with older, rusted dents on the metal bumper just above, which had been noted on the contract as pre-existing. I am sure I would be in a credit card dispute over that absent photographs.) We also didn't buy the sand and ash coverage. I don't know if that is a wise choice or not. It did make check in longer as the crew had to check the car rather then us just dropping off the car. You do need to take a short bus ride to the airport from car return so allow enough time to go through check in, customs, security, immigration and duty free shopping.
The airport has a lot of duty free shopping, so Chad was able to buy that 66 North jacket he admired the whole trip, but food items were not discounted. You could buy skyr, but I paid about $2 for the ris buf treats I bought at "duty free".
And then joy of joys, on the flight home, the sky cleared and we saw magnificent views of Greenland and its massive ice field and glacier tongues and coast line...
So the wonderful trip to Iceland comes to an end...and we highly recommend the adventure.
NEXT STOP...VIETNAM? DECEMBER, 2017-JANUARY, 2018???
Monday, June 12, 2017
Snaefellsness Peninsula
We left the north and headed west on Hwy 1 in the most serious of rain storms yet experienced in Iceland, with pretty strong winds, too. We later learned that these same winds really affected the south coast, with a lot of tour buses cancelling tours and tourists unable to visit the gorgeous waterfalls, black sand beaches and glacier lagoons along the south coast. This happened too the week before we arrived in Iceland when a blizzard hit the entire island.
I think this is a good time to reinforce the point that travel to Iceland is very weather dependent (certainly in May). May is a month that could bring blizzards, but for us, most of the time it was moist or rained lightly and was in the 50's. It is entirely possible that the Ring Road could be closed in areas due to poor weather. It's possible that fog or rain will obscure views or make travel treacherous or that rain will prevent you from taking a hike or visiting a glacier. It's possible that strong winds can make the beaches inaccessible or dangerous or car travel difficult. Knowing all this, make your schedule flexible and have enough optional sights to see in each region, so if you have to leave a region early or stay longer than planned, you will not be disappointed. In hindsight, we had days of difficult weather and didn't see a few things we hoped to see, but overall we were busy all the time, never sat still and saw amazing things, so we weren't disappointed by what we missed, but were thrilled for the decent weather we got and the amazing things that we were fortunate to see.
The Ring Road here in the northwest and towards Snaefellsness was the least interesting drive with few food choices. We were told to try Hyammstangi for lunch, but we passed the exit so fast and saw no signs of a town so we kept driving. We also heard that there is a beach nearby to see seals in the summer season, but other travelers weren't seeing much now. When we reached the Peninsula, we took the northern route 54 heading west, a very scenic drive, but to our surprise, an unpaved gravel road which was bumpy and slower, but certainly drivable for even a 2 x 2. We learned that if we had driven south on the Ring Road to Borgarnes, and then driven northwest on 56 towards Grundarfjordur, we would have paved roads; a longer, but faster trek. The views towards Breidafjordur Bay and its archipelago were gorgeous as we headed west in a very undeveloped region of Iceland, with only an occasional farm until we reached the turnoff to Stykkisholmur, a cute coastal town where much of the movie Walter Mitty was filmed and where you can take the ferry to Flatey Island and the Westfjords.
We had a delicious lunch near the harbor at Narfaeyrarstofa, moist fresh cod in a very light batter, blue mussels and french fries and dipping sauces, plus an easy hike up a massive rock formation at the harbor which panoramic views of the town and harbor looking north towards the Westfjords, with hundreds of birds soaring. Our lodging for the night was a small guesthouse Grundi i Grundarfirdi in Grundarfjordur, with about 6 simply decorated, comfortable rooms and shared bathrooms, living area, kitchen and laundry facilities for $250 for the 2 nights and a perfect location to explore the region. We had stopped for groceries at Bonus along the way and on this stormy, windy evening, rather than go out and explore, we made a spaghetti dinner and had cocktails, talking to an Irish mom and daughter crazily hitchhiking around Iceland in these stormy days. Sharing facilities was not a problem and we met nice people and the rate was reasonable, so it was nice to sit in for the evening. We also had a magnificent view of Kirkjufell Mountain from our lodging and could have hiked around if not for the windy weather.
The next day after cooking breakfast (lots of bread and spreads, plus coffee and tea were provided), we headed out to explore Snaefellsness and this was the first day where weather did affect our travels. It didn't stop our explorations, just limited what we could do during parts of the day, but luckily all the roads were paved. First stop, Kirkjufell Mountain and its amazing waterfall right off the road.
Check out the beautiful black sand beach just west. Whale tours are available in the little town Grundarfjordur and there were a few restaurants and a small grocery store. We then headed west to the end of the peninsula, passing through 2 small fishing towns Olafsvik and Rif, past black sand beaches and bird cliffs, and ending up in a lava field at the very end of the peninsula, just west of the massive Snaefellsjokull Glacier. The lava formations and the beautiful black cliff beaches, some with gold sand beaches, were stunning and we hiked a dormant volcano crater, Saxholl. We did not drive all the way to the end to see the lighthouse and bird cliffs due to bad weather and bumpy roads, but they say that sometimes you can see whales from this far western vantage point.
We did stop at the small hamlets of Hellnar and Arnastapi to hike the unique bird cliffs, visit the churches and you can hike the coast between the two villages for a few hours; really picturesque. Unfortunately, (I don't know how this happened!!!) we missed the arch Gatklettur which you may want to see because a lot of people take pictures standing on top of the arch and there are some cute stone structures there. Don't ignore these 2 amazing cities. We had a lunch of home made fish stew and fresh hot bread in a small 6 table restaurant built into the cliff at Arnastapi. Fjoruhusid didn't have the best fish stew we ate in Iceland (a lot of people were eating waffles and skyr cheesecake), but certainly this teeny restaurant seemingly run by women who made everything was the most charismatic place we ate. This little cafe is hidden from view from above.
We continued east to Budir to see the black church and the massive lava field hike towards the beach, stopped at a popular seal beach Ytri-Tunga hoping to see seals but it was too early in the season and they were too far away, and stopped at the basalt columns at Gerduberg, plus a waterfall and a hidden gorge. It's possible to horseback ride on the golden beach here. The trip back to Grundarfjordur through the interior on 54 was gorgeous and we took two different interior routes during our stay, 54 and 56, both of which offered amazing views of lava fields and glacial runoff. Unfortunately, the weather (a thick blanket of rain and fog) prevented us from visiting the glacier and the activities on the glacier such as a glacier walk, a snowmobile ride or visiting any lava caves.
The next morning we headed back towards Reykjavik, bypassing the inland town of Reykholt and it's waterfall Hraunfossar which is supposed to be gorgeous and decided to take the longer route towards Thingvellir along the fjord, rather than taking the tunnel. We had hoped to hike Glymur, but the hike required a double water crossing up to the knees while holding a cable and we were not up to that given the cold weather and rain (plus age and vacation exhaustion). During the summer with less glacial run off, there is a log and the cable for the river crossing. We sat amidst fields of purple lupine and ate salami and butter sandwiches and just enjoyed where we were.
We decided that at $400+ a night, we would get to Ion Adventure Hotel early and just enjoy the amenities there. We arrived around 2:00, checked into our chic room, enjoyed the geothermal heated pool and talked to other travelers for hours before enjoying a really delicious dinner of lamb shanks for Chad and cod for me. More about the Ion on the next post...
I think this is a good time to reinforce the point that travel to Iceland is very weather dependent (certainly in May). May is a month that could bring blizzards, but for us, most of the time it was moist or rained lightly and was in the 50's. It is entirely possible that the Ring Road could be closed in areas due to poor weather. It's possible that fog or rain will obscure views or make travel treacherous or that rain will prevent you from taking a hike or visiting a glacier. It's possible that strong winds can make the beaches inaccessible or dangerous or car travel difficult. Knowing all this, make your schedule flexible and have enough optional sights to see in each region, so if you have to leave a region early or stay longer than planned, you will not be disappointed. In hindsight, we had days of difficult weather and didn't see a few things we hoped to see, but overall we were busy all the time, never sat still and saw amazing things, so we weren't disappointed by what we missed, but were thrilled for the decent weather we got and the amazing things that we were fortunate to see.
The Ring Road here in the northwest and towards Snaefellsness was the least interesting drive with few food choices. We were told to try Hyammstangi for lunch, but we passed the exit so fast and saw no signs of a town so we kept driving. We also heard that there is a beach nearby to see seals in the summer season, but other travelers weren't seeing much now. When we reached the Peninsula, we took the northern route 54 heading west, a very scenic drive, but to our surprise, an unpaved gravel road which was bumpy and slower, but certainly drivable for even a 2 x 2. We learned that if we had driven south on the Ring Road to Borgarnes, and then driven northwest on 56 towards Grundarfjordur, we would have paved roads; a longer, but faster trek. The views towards Breidafjordur Bay and its archipelago were gorgeous as we headed west in a very undeveloped region of Iceland, with only an occasional farm until we reached the turnoff to Stykkisholmur, a cute coastal town where much of the movie Walter Mitty was filmed and where you can take the ferry to Flatey Island and the Westfjords.
We had a delicious lunch near the harbor at Narfaeyrarstofa, moist fresh cod in a very light batter, blue mussels and french fries and dipping sauces, plus an easy hike up a massive rock formation at the harbor which panoramic views of the town and harbor looking north towards the Westfjords, with hundreds of birds soaring. Our lodging for the night was a small guesthouse Grundi i Grundarfirdi in Grundarfjordur, with about 6 simply decorated, comfortable rooms and shared bathrooms, living area, kitchen and laundry facilities for $250 for the 2 nights and a perfect location to explore the region. We had stopped for groceries at Bonus along the way and on this stormy, windy evening, rather than go out and explore, we made a spaghetti dinner and had cocktails, talking to an Irish mom and daughter crazily hitchhiking around Iceland in these stormy days. Sharing facilities was not a problem and we met nice people and the rate was reasonable, so it was nice to sit in for the evening. We also had a magnificent view of Kirkjufell Mountain from our lodging and could have hiked around if not for the windy weather.
The next day after cooking breakfast (lots of bread and spreads, plus coffee and tea were provided), we headed out to explore Snaefellsness and this was the first day where weather did affect our travels. It didn't stop our explorations, just limited what we could do during parts of the day, but luckily all the roads were paved. First stop, Kirkjufell Mountain and its amazing waterfall right off the road.
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| Kirkjufell |
Check out the beautiful black sand beach just west. Whale tours are available in the little town Grundarfjordur and there were a few restaurants and a small grocery store. We then headed west to the end of the peninsula, passing through 2 small fishing towns Olafsvik and Rif, past black sand beaches and bird cliffs, and ending up in a lava field at the very end of the peninsula, just west of the massive Snaefellsjokull Glacier. The lava formations and the beautiful black cliff beaches, some with gold sand beaches, were stunning and we hiked a dormant volcano crater, Saxholl. We did not drive all the way to the end to see the lighthouse and bird cliffs due to bad weather and bumpy roads, but they say that sometimes you can see whales from this far western vantage point.
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| Bird cliff near Olafsvik |
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| at the end of the peninsula looking west |
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| view from Saxholl crater |
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| our car looking up at Saxholl Crater |
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| abandoned house on peninsula, south coast |
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| Natural harbor at Hellnar |
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| Arctic terns and seagulls nesting in the cliffs at Hellnar |
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| Harbor at Arnastapi |
We did stop at the small hamlets of Hellnar and Arnastapi to hike the unique bird cliffs, visit the churches and you can hike the coast between the two villages for a few hours; really picturesque. Unfortunately, (I don't know how this happened!!!) we missed the arch Gatklettur which you may want to see because a lot of people take pictures standing on top of the arch and there are some cute stone structures there. Don't ignore these 2 amazing cities. We had a lunch of home made fish stew and fresh hot bread in a small 6 table restaurant built into the cliff at Arnastapi. Fjoruhusid didn't have the best fish stew we ate in Iceland (a lot of people were eating waffles and skyr cheesecake), but certainly this teeny restaurant seemingly run by women who made everything was the most charismatic place we ate. This little cafe is hidden from view from above.
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| Fjoruhusid Cafe |
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| Church in Arnastapi (corrugated steel) |
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| Budir Black Church |
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| Views from first rest stop on right north end of 56...get out of your car and look! |
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| Church near Gerdiberg Columns |
Gerdiberg columns
The next morning we headed back towards Reykjavik, bypassing the inland town of Reykholt and it's waterfall Hraunfossar which is supposed to be gorgeous and decided to take the longer route towards Thingvellir along the fjord, rather than taking the tunnel. We had hoped to hike Glymur, but the hike required a double water crossing up to the knees while holding a cable and we were not up to that given the cold weather and rain (plus age and vacation exhaustion). During the summer with less glacial run off, there is a log and the cable for the river crossing. We sat amidst fields of purple lupine and ate salami and butter sandwiches and just enjoyed where we were.
We decided that at $400+ a night, we would get to Ion Adventure Hotel early and just enjoy the amenities there. We arrived around 2:00, checked into our chic room, enjoyed the geothermal heated pool and talked to other travelers for hours before enjoying a really delicious dinner of lamb shanks for Chad and cod for me. More about the Ion on the next post...
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Husavik and whale watching in the north
Before we left the northern region, we went to the charming coastal town of Husavik. The views of the fjord along the way are beautiful and we were lucky to take a few pictures of horses posed in front of snow covered mountains. How in the world do they get them to do that? They just stand in the wind, facing one direction...
Husavik is a cute fishing village with a booming whale watching business because of its protective cove with a lot of nutrients that attracts the whales in the summer months...we took a 3 hour tour with North Sailing. This time of year we were able to just walk up and get tickets on the boat, but reserve in season and there's a discount if you book on line, but note, sailing is always subject to weather
conditions and whale sightings aren't guaranteed. We were also lucky to see some Arctic dolphins and a humpback whale which we watched for an hour and generously showed its fluke 4 times. Bah, we were also happy to see puffins floating on the sea and flying, but not the perfect close up view we were hoping for. North Sailing has refurbished wooden boats, and we were all wrapped up as if we would be out to sea for days in an horrific storm, and even though it was early in the season and we didn't see other types of whales, it was a fun experience and it never rained. We walked around the harbor which includes a whale museum and some cute boats and houses. We had lunch in a restored house, turned popular restaurant, Naustid and had a yummy fish stew (and more bread and icelandic butter...do you think I may need an intervention?)
Along our northern travels we enjoyed Godafoss, waterfall of the Gods. At some point, you do begin not to notice these amazing waterfalls because you've seen so many, I am sorry to say because they are all magnificent and the thunderous roar you hear and all the mist makes it so much more than a visual experience.
Good weather for whale watching, bad weather for our journey west and then south to Snaefellsness Peninsula. First we passed through the coastal town of Akureyri which is situated at the end of a beautiful fjord and we had our first long-awaited Icelandic hot dog. It was Sunday and many of the stores were closed, but we had a chance to wander through the town and pick up some Icelandic wool hats. Its actually a big city for Iceland with an airport and we hear they have some good restaurants, more whale watching tours, museums and cruise boat dockage.
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| with the works, fried and raw onion, mustard, remoulade and Chad added red cabbage...they are primarily lamb and for a hot dog, taste pretty good, about $6, and served at every gas station in Iceland like a national treasure. |
If the weather had been better, we would have considered a coastal detour to the fishing village of Sigiujordur and the Hofsos basalt columns which we heard was gorgeous, and we heard about the Fosshaug natural springs in the region and horseback riding is also an option here, but the weather doesn't always cooperate and we had a fairly long ride ahead of us, so we continued on to our next stop, Snaefellsness Peninsula (and we pretended it wasn't raining and windy and were glad it was only a travel day...did I mention the wind started to pick up too?)
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