Day 125-southern West Fjords

   May 8-Alison and I drove through the heart of the southern West Fjords today in order to see the sights before we drove back to Bifröst.  This is the most rugged region of Iceland that I have seen so far.  This may sound a little odd at first when you consider that the highest pass we crossed was only 1500 feet above sea level, and the highest mountain we saw was just over 3000 feet high.  This certainly does not sound particularly impressive when compared to the 11,000 foot passes and 14,000 foot peaks in Colorado.  However, the steepness of the slopes and the extensive meanders of the fjords made quite an impression.

   We started our travels today driving northeast in a very circuitous manner through the communities of Patreksfjörður, Tálknafjörður, and Bíldudalur.  We found something to do in each of them.   

Alison mailed some postcards in Patreksfjörður.  Like many of the towns in the West Fjords, it is spread out along the narrow stretch of land that barely exists between the mountains and the sea.

   Helena, the mother of Spencer's best friend, Hinrik Noí, had told me about Pollurin, a relatively undeveloped hot tub a few miles west of Tálknafjörður.  Her directions were spot-on and we found it without any trouble.  The water flows directly from the thermal spring into concrete-lined pools and primitive changing rooms have been built at the site.  The water was hot and the views were stunning, so we stopped for a short soak.

We had dinner at a nice, little restaurant in Bíldudalur, which lies on Arnarfjörður.  The "West Fjord Alps" in the distance, particularly on the left-hand side of the picture, have razorback ridges.  This is very atypical of the West Fjords, where most of the mountains are flat-topped, because they formed as lava spread out and solidified in flat sheets between the preexisting mountaintop and an overlying, thick icecap. 

Harlequin ducks at Dynjandi.

   Our next goal was to visit the Dynjandi waterfalls.  The topmost waterfall, called Fjallfoss was the most spectacular.  As opposed to most waterfalls that cut into a cliff and become narrower, Fjallfoss spreads out over the cliff and looks like a wedding cake.  It was truly magnificent.  We drove back south to the southern shore of the West Fjords and followed yesterday's route back home to Bifröst.  We got back just as Sally and the kids were finishing supper.  It was nice to be back home before the kids went to bed, so we could see each other.

Fjallfoss at Dynjandi.

I told Spencer that I climbed the cliff at this smaller waterfall at Dynjandi to carve the "6" into it (since he is six years old) and to paint the rainbow below. He was just tired enough to buy it for a few seconds.