Day 203-boating across Breiðafjörður

   July 25-We got up, packed up, and ate breakfast while Helena went to her job at the Tálknafjörður swimming pool.  She came back a short time later to check on Hinrik Nói, who had come down with a fever during the night.

Helena and Börkur rent the white house with the red roof here in Tálknafjörður.



Helena, Hinrik Nói, and Ása.

    We said more tearful good-byes and headed out of town.  We drove north over the mountains and came down into Bíldudalur on Arnarfjörður.  Helena had suggested that we drive west of town to the next valley to enjoy the white sand beaches.  Never ignore the advice of locals!  We spent two hours walking barefoot along the beach, collecting shells, building sand castles, and enjoying the scenery.

   Finally, we pulled ourselves away and continued back west into the highlands of the West Fjords, so we could drop down into Dynjandisvogur to view the amazing Dynjandi waterfall.  It is probably one of the most beautiful waterfalls we have seen in Iceland.

West Fjords highlands.

This is the view down Geirþjósfjörður into the Suðirfirðir and Arnafjörður far beyond.

The spectacular upper falls of Dynjandi.



One of the lower falls of Dynjandi with a rainbow.

   After getting our fill, we loaded back up into the car and drove back to the southern shore of the West Fjords.  Helena had also told us about a hidden hot spring right on the coast below Flókalundur, where roads 60 and 62 intersect.  Hot water from a spring is piped to the spot now, but it does lie right above the high tide mark.  Since we were there at low tide, the sea was about 100 yards away, but it was still a fantastic place to soak.  Some German hikers were there when we first showed up using the place to bathe.  However, there was so much water running through the pool that their soap quickly flowed out, which was good.  We spent about a half hour relaxing in the pool and then we dried off.  Thankfully, the parking lot was empty and not many cars drove by as we changed, since there are no facilities at the site.

   The Brjánslækur ferry dock was only a ten minute drive from there, so we were able to arrive, pick up the tickets we reserved a couple days ago, and board the Baldur ferry without any stress.  The ferry headed south across Breiðafjörður and docked at the island of Flatey an hour later.  People and cars off- and on-loaded very quickly and within ten minutes we were pulling away from the dock.  Helena was a cook on the Baldur for four years and she recommended the chicken salad, so Sally ate that for supper, while the kids ate cheeseburgers and watched “The Incredibles” in the children’s area.  After another hour and a half, we docked in Stykkishólmur.

   The ride across the bay was very nice.  The boat did not rock much, so Sally had no problems with seasickness.  We saw many more puffins and jellyfish as well.  Most interesting, though, were the islands.  There are hundreds of islands spread across Breiðafjörður.  Some are no more than a few rocks that are submerged at high tide.  Others are fairly large and have enough grass to make it worth farmer’s while to ferry their sheep to them in the spring and back home in the fall.  A few are even big enough to support complete farmsteads.

  

Clockwise from upper left: puffins, a coomerant, and a lighthouse on an island in Flatey's harbor.

The island and town of Flatey.

Jellyfish were everywhere in Breiðafjörður.

A view towards Látrabjarg, the westernmost point of Iceland.

The island of Elliðaey has a farmstead and a lighthouse.

A myriad of islands litter Breiðafjörður.

Stykkishólmur.

Are we becoming indifferent to the beauty of Iceland? Well, someone took these pictures......

Our ferry boat, Baldur, docked in Stykkishólmur.

   We drove the south route through Borgarnes and got home around 11pm.  We all agreed that the West Fjords deserve a much longer visit.  We are developing a list of sights, places, and activities that we intended to see or do while we were here but did not and the West Fjords is high on that list!

When we got home this evening, Joslyn noticed that the lights outside the apartments were on. These centrally-controlled lights have not been on for the past couple of months! It definitely is getting somewhat darker at night now and we even have had to turn on the lights on in the apartment in the evening.