It has been two weeks since my last post, as I have been very busy exploring the amazing landscapes of Iceland. Over the weekend of 5th May, friends and I traveled north from Reykjavik to explore the Snæfellsnes peninsula. The weather was AMAZING! Blue skies and sunshine. A great combination for a road trip adventure.
Driving up to the Snæfellsnes peninsula from Reykjavik.
Rauðamelsölkelda mineral spring.
It is about a two hour drive directly to our hostel at Grundarfjörður but we decided to stop on the way to find the Rauðamelsölkelda mineral spring. It is a short drive off the main road and down a dirt road, but well worth it.
Waterfall at Rauðamelsölkelda mineral spring.
Drinking from Rauðamelsölkelda mineral spring. Tasty.
Photo by: Mike Guarino Photography.
The spring is just to the right of the waterfall, and is like drinking fizz water. On the way out, or on the way in, you pass the Gerðuberg Cliffs. These cliffs are very prominent and distinct, and you can get right up close to them, even on top to get great views.
Approaching the Gerðuberg Cliffs.
Sitting on the Gerðuberg Cliffs.
Photo by: Mike Guarino Photography.
We drove up and over the peninsula in the glorious sunshine and bright blue skies. It was beautiful and arrived at Grundarfjörður. It was so nice that we decided to hike the famous and most photographed mountain in Iceland. Kirkjufell mountain..
The mountain rises up from sea level and has no direct trail to the top. This trail is not for the faint-hearted and I would only ever attempt this when the weather is good and the conditions are dry. We got lost at one point and I ended up on a knife edge of a cliff looking directly at a seagull on its nest. Oops!
Kirkjufell mountain GPS route.
Kirkjufell mountain elevation profile.
Hiking up Kirkjufellmountain.
There are three sets of ropes to climb over areas that are very steep, including the last rope at the top which is very exposed. You really need a head for heights for this hike.
Cimbing the last rope before the top.
View from the top of Kirkjufellmountain.
If you do make it to the top the views are out of this world, especially on a day like we managed to get. There was not a cloud in the sky!
On top on Kirkjufell mountain.
Once we completed the hike we went to stay at the clean and well kept hostel at Grundarfjörður.
Grundarfjörður Hostel.
I did spend sometime taking a few images of the famous Kirkjufell mountain in the evening, but the real treat was in the morning. I awoke, or to be precise, I didn't sleep very well as I was not sure if I should get up early but eventually got out of bed at 6:30am and went to see the amazing morning light. Below is one of the many images I created and is now on my website here.
Kirkjufell mountain with Kirkjufellsfoss in the foreground.
After being up so early I had the whole day in front of me, so went for a small walk just north east of Grundarfjörður up Eyrarhyrna. We then headed east to Ólafsvík for some ice cream in the sun. The route home would take us up and over the peninsula and once over onto the south side it was very foggy, grey and cloudy. I think we got a lucky break with the weather, as the mountains along peninsula seemed to be holding back the bad weather.
Driving around the Snæfellsnes peninsula and back to Reykjavik.
What an amazing weekend with some great weather and some amazing hiking. I will be back to visit the peninsula as I never made it to the end, or hiked the Snæfell mountain.
I hope you all enjoyed this blog and there is still my week adventure to the glacier lagoon at Jökulsárlón, and some crazy weather. Iceland is an amazing place.
Thanks,
Kev
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P.S.
Although the weather on the way home was not as sunny and bright as it had been on the way up, we did manage to locate one of Iceland's little gems of a hot pool...Landbrotalaug. This is only big enough for four people and we were lucky as there was no one there when we arrived. Perfect.
Landbrotalaug Hot Pool