After our time on the Snaefellsjokull Peninsula we headed north to explore a little bit of the Westfjords, one of the more remote parts of Iceland. Our first stop was to visit the Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft in Holmavik, where we learned all about the history and culture of pagan activity in Iceland.

​The Westfjords was one of the biggest holdouts for witchcraft after the country was "christian-ized," and most of the people who were burned alive for witchcraft were from the area. It turns out, in Iceland the people accused of witchcraft were mostly men and only one woman was ever burned at the stake. We learned a lot about the various lore and superstitions and for such a small museum it was really well done. All of the exhibits were in Icelandic, but we were given a translation book in English so we could understand everything. The craziest thing we learned about were the Necropants...apparently a spell for making money involves getting a friend to agree to let you skin them from the waist down after they die so you can step, bare bottomed, into your very own pair of skin-pants. If you keep a coin in the scrotum along with a magic rune symbol, then as long as you never remove the original coin the scrotum will always be filled with money. Good for those who are short on cash, and presumably don't mind jingling with every step.

After our journey through the Icelandic Occult we drove out along route 60 that hugs the coastline of the Southern part of the fjords in search of a hot pool right on the edge of the ocean. It was a long and winding dirt road that made me grateful to be in a car rather than on bicycles as we periodically climbed over one mountain and descended down the other side to the next fjord at steep grades of 10-15%. The entire drive offered magnificent views of the ocean and the occasional quaint little farmhouse set next to its own private waterfall. 

We found Hellulaug hotspring in the early afternoon, and it was completely worth the long drive. Hot water was piped down from a spring on top of the cliff into a 12x9 foot pool about waist deep. It was made by blocking up the entrance to a natural crevice in the rock with a wall of stacked stones, and it was so close to the ocean that I could imagine getting sprayed by waves if the tide was high and the seas were rough. The clear blue water was slightly aerated and if we sat still for a moment or two we ended up covered in tiny little bubbles. Since we had no other plans for the day we stayed for several hours as various other groups came and went. As the day wore one we decided not to continue out into the fjordlands, and retraced our route and cut north to the little town of Hvammstangi to a campground we particularly enjoyed while on our cycle tour. On our way back a juvenile white tailed eagle raced us along the road for a couple hundred meters, giving us a chance to marvel at his nearly 6 foot wingspan.

​We spent two nights in Hvammstangi so I could take advantage of the internet there to do a Skype interview for a position at Schweitzer for this winter (spoiler alert, I got the job!!). It was nice to take a full day to relax, organize all of our photos and footage and catch up on sleep. We've been on the move constantly since we arrived in Iceland and this was the first time we spent more than one night in the same place. In the evening we went down to the grocery store for some veggies and were surprised by a huge whale dragged up onto the boat ramp down by the dock. It was a Minke whale that had stranded itself in the next inlet and died as they were trying to get it back out to deep water. 

We are continuing our travels to the North and East, come back soon to hear about our adventures in North Iceland!

Since the severe weather is still raging in South Iceland, with major roads on our proposed route being closed due to flooded rivers we decided to head North with our new rental car, retracing our route on the bikes but this time with the freedom to take all the side roads. We arrived in Borgarnes around 1pm to check out their local craft market and stock up on groceries, then used the rest of our daylight to make a short side trip down Road 52 to the east. We planned to follow the dirt road all the way to the border of Western and Southern Iceland, and search for a hidden hot spring along the way. One of the things we were looking forward to the most on this trip was all of the geothermal activity and the numerous hot pools hidden all over the country.

About 1/3 of the way down the road there was a little pull off, and a short trail through some trees led us to Krosslaug hot pool, a small hot spring feeding a stone depression big enough for maybe four people (if they knew eachother well). We had it all to ourselves, and it was late enough in the day and far enough off the beaten path that we didn't expect any company. After a short soak we followed the dirt road all the way to the boundary line on top of a knoll with a gorgeous view, then drove back to Borgarnes to camp for the night. 

​The next morning we drove north out of town to spend the day on the Snaefellsjokull Penninsula. Our first thought was to look for the Landbrotalaug hot spring but when we found it there were several cars there, and as its only large enough for two people we decided to pass. We did explore an abandoned farm house on the same road that had some amazing grafitti art inside, so the detour was still worth it.

The next morning we continued around the road, driving through intermittent rain and clouds so low we couldn't see the glacier. We stopped at Saxholl, a 109 meter tall crater that last erupted 3,000 years ago and took a short hike up the steps wrapping around the crater to enjoy the view from the top. When we arrived back on the South coast we stopped at the National Park Visitor Center that had some great information about the surrounding environment and the culture and lifestyle of the people that first settled the area. We took a nice walk along the beach towards some towering rock formations in the distance and then took a few turns on the playground zipline before getting back in the car to finish the loop. ​When we joined back up with road 54 we crossed back North over the mountains and this time turned right to head back East towards the mainland. We stopped to hike to Raudfeldar canyon, a giant fissure in the cliff wall with a stream running out of it, and we hiked in and up the stream as far as we could go without getting wet.

The end product is a white meat with the consistency and smell of the sort of fancy cheese that no one likes to smell. We got to sample a few pieces of the fermented meat, which is usually eaten as a snack or delicacy, not as a full meal. Surprisingly we both liked the taste, although we were careful not to breath too deeply when eating it because the ammonia smell can still make your eyes water.

​We left the peninsula and finished out the day with a visit to the Gudrunarlaug hot pool, located on a beautiful hillside with a nice view of the valley, a waterfall nearby and a little turf building to change in. We had company, but the pool was big enough to share and we stayed until nearly sunset before driving North to Holmavik to spend the night