The rain washed me out to the north and after a few kilometers on the main road I reached the town of Blönduós. With a girl from France, whom I had met in Kerlingarfjöll, I competed in the evening on the two water slides in the local swimming pool.
The next morning, I circumnavigated the Vatnsnes peninsula, the road is mostly not paved but good to drive.
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Some seal colonies can be observed there. But the seals were lazy animals, and showed no interest in doing any stunts.
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The Hvítserkur rock is home to black-legged kittiwake and fulmars. According to an Icelandic legend, it is a petrified troll, who apparently sought a fight with the nearby Þingeyrar monastery and was surprised by the sun.
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In the evening I stayed in a campground at Hrútafjörður with a nice communal kitchen with a splendid view over the fjord and spent many hours with two cyclists from England (father and son) in the nearby hot pot. On no vacation before I have ever spent so much time in such bathtubs ...
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(16) Westfjords
The two Englishmen probably had more luck on their way to Reykjavík (south) with the wind than I did on my way to the Westfjords north to Hólmavík. A strong wind from the north let me struggle at 13-15km/h, while pedalling with a force that would rush me at 30km/h without wind.
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Hólmavík is home to the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft and, after fighting against the wind for 100km, a campground with a swimming pool and a supermarket less than 100m away was a welcome surprise. Very convenient.
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Steingrímsfjarðarheiði peak (440m) was freezing cold on the next morning and a very gusty wind added to that. Despite warm clothes and of course gloves: I have rarely experienced such a cold time and I was glad to return to sea level.
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Thats the beginning of the fjords in the northwest of Iceland. I had reached Ísafjarðardjúp via road 61 from Borðeyri and Hólmavík to Ísafjörður. This road, which mostly stays at sea level along the fjords (and does not do shortcuts in the backcountry) is also called Djúpvegur.
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In Reykjanes, right on the banks of Ísafjarðardjúp, I stayed for a night on the campsite which belonged to a hotel. The hotel was apparently opened in an old school and looked from the outside quite run down, the interior was much better.
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That campsite features a 50 x 12m hot pot, which was heated by a nearby geothermal area.
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what a lucky day: sunshine and practically windless, I made it all along the sea to Ísafjörður.
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On the way I passed by one or two houses offering coffee and cake.
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The town of Ísafjörður is situated on the Skutulsfjörður between Eyrarfjall (731 m) and Kirkjubólsfjall (832 m), and I was there during the European swamp soccer Championship, venue: "my" campsite.
From Ísafjörður there is also a boat connection to the peninsula Hornstrandir, as it is quite solitary this could be an exciting project on foot ...
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From now on I cycled south and when I arrived at the 9km tunnel Vestfjarðagöng, which connects Ísafjörður to Flateyri, I saw a small road on the left, the old road across the Breiðadalsheiði. The first impression: good, sealed, only since 1996 obsolete, why not ...
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The sealed part ended quite soon and the road became increasingly bumpy and steep;
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As soon as I crossed the pass, snow narrowed the road considerably and a massive rockfall made it necessary to carry the bike.
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After all, the view was good, as hoped, but I would not recommend this road.
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The day was sunny and more hills were waiting for me, Gemlufallsheiði to Þingeyri at Dýrafjörður and further cross Hrafnseyrarheiði to the Eagle-fjord Arnarfjörður, to the north a stretch of mountains consisting of Gabbro and Rhyolith that were formed by glaciers. The road is only partly paved, but cycling is significantly better here than on the highland gravel roads.
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Dynjandi waterfall in the background.
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(17) Dynjandi waterfall
Dynjandi consists of several waterfalls one after another: The great Fjallfoss, and then Hundafoss, Göngufoss, Háifoss, Úðafoss and Bæjarfoss.
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I took advantage of the nice weather to look at my bike a bit more closely, the many kilometers in the highland had some effect on my brake pads. New brake pads, some oil for the chain, screws on the luggage rack and checking the spokes of the wheels. I had no problems with the bike on the whole trip: not even a flat tire, nothing.
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Later in the evening I visited the Dynjandi again and took some shots with a long exposure time, at that time of day I did not need a neutral density filter.
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Impressive clouds on the way to Helluskarð Pass and Bíldudalur next morning. All these days were quite comfortable and I found a cafe every now and then and sat down for an hour in the sun.
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At Arnarfjörður near Bíldudalur, I saw the sea monsters fjörulalli, hafmaður, skeljaskrímsli and faxaskrímsli, which can be seen there in a museum too...
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Another pass brought me to Tálknafjörður where I stayed on an campsite next to the swimming pool.
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(18) Látrabjarg
The road to the Cape Bjargtangar is a gravel road and has some serious potholes. At first I looked at the ship built in 1912, which is located near Patreksfjörður on the shore; It seems to be the oldest steel ship built in Iceland.
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Next was the museum Hnjótur, there Egill Olafsson documented two naval accidents (1947 and 48) on the steep coast of Látrabjarg and put some exhibits together concerning the beginnings of aviation in Iceland.
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Millions of seabirds live in the cliffs, which are up to 450m high, including puffins, uria and razorbills.
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I had the plan to pitch my tent out there, but the very strong wind persuaded me to cycle back to a campsite in Breiðavík.
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On some of the pictures, I can almost see the wind ...
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From Breiðavík I went back to Barðastrandarvegur and Kleifaheiði to the south coast of the Westfjords. I was able to see my next destination: the Snæfellsjökull volcano on the west side of the peninsula Snæfellsnes. But first I cycled to the swimming pool in Bjarkarholt and on to the ferry port to Brjánslækur.
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