We made it back to the hotel last night (early morn) about 2:00 am. No Northern Lights so we will try again tomorrow night as it’s supposed to be clearer.
Up early and ready for the Snaefellsnes Peninsula tour, which started at 8:30 am. The weather isn’t so great—rain and wind. By the way, it’s not Snuffaluffagus, rather it’s pronounced sni (as in snider) fells – ness.
Where: The Snaefellsnes Peninsula is located northwest of Reykjavik in what’s considered Western Iceland. Get ready for some breathtaking scenery!
What: there was so much we saw today. I will break it down in chronological order.
How: We went with Julian from EastWest – a small group tour. There were only 7 of us. Julian is from France and loved Iceland so much that he stayed! He deserves so much credit for our safety today. At one point when we were driving, I thought the wind would blow us right off the road!
1. Gas Station – don’t laugh. We have stopped at a lot of gas stations on these tours. They are like QT at home with food, groceries, drinks and clean restrooms. Oh and gas. I had a skyr parfait at the one this morning—I have become a huge Skyr fan! Take a look at this big map on the gas station wall—you’ll see the Snaefellsnes Peninsula on the part that jets out to the left. That’s where we explored today!
2. Seal stop – that’s right, we went to Ytri-Tunga beach to watch the Harbour and Grey Seals. We watched 3 of them—two were casually relaxing on a rock and the third was keeping watch in the water.
3. Gotta eat…And that we did! Lunch was at a beautiful countryside home — they rent a couple of rooms and have a horse farm.
4. Another picturesque church! One of my favorites called Búðakirkja (Búðir is the hamlet; Kirkja = church) that dates back to 1703, although it’s been reconstructed many times since.
5. The Peninsula is named after Bárður Snæfellsás, 1/2 man and 1/2 troll. He sailed from Norway with his men in the 9th century and came ashore, built his farm a little further east on the peninsula, and became well known. Wait until you see what’s right down the path…
6. Continue the path you reach the sea cliffs at the village of Arnarstapi. The power of the waves smashing on the rocks was awe inspiring!
7. Gatklettur, or Hellnar Arch, is a natural rock formation on the peninsula in the village of Arnarstapi
8. Djúpalónssandur Beach is a beautiful black lava sand and pebble beach with an even prettier pathway to get there. But it’s more than just black sand. It’s situated in an arch-shaped bay where strong waves beat against it with a force that mesmerizes!
Christina’s Journey Journal 
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