The following morning we began to make our way back westward, heading towards the Snæfellsnes peninsula. We stopped back in Skogar and did a short hike out to Kvernufoss. This is one of my favorite waterfalls. Its close to Skógafoss but without all the crowds. We also did a quick stop at Skógafoss but the rain and the crowd chased us away.
Leaving Skogar we headed to Thingvellir National Park. Thingvellir is unique for several reasons, it is one of the few rift valleys in the world and it was the sight of the first democratic parliament in the year 930. The rain picked up pretty heavy so after checking out the rift valley and Oxararfoss we started the drive towards Snæfellsnes.
We arrived in Borgarnes as the sun was starting to set and made the decision to escape the elements and grab a room at the Borgarnes Hostel. I recommend staying here. The rooms were clean and it was pretty cheap compared to surrounding hotels. http://staywest.is/borgarnes-hi-hostel/ The evening was nice and we were treated to a beautiful sunset over Borgarfjörður and the town.
The following morning we headed out on a drive around the Snaefellsnes peninsula. A quick stop at a fuel station for some breakfast and we were off. A quick note about Icelandic gas stations, I dont eat hot dogs here in the US and I never eat at gas stations. The hotdogs and coffee there are good and reasonably priced. We drove in and out of rain for a while and about the time the weather broke we stopped at a nice water fall, then at Rauðfeldsgjá, a small slot canyon. Aparently you can climb up the slot all the way to the top of the mountain, but we turned around at a small waterfall that had to be climbed.
A little further up the road is the seaside village of Arnarstapi. This place has gotten quite popular since my first trip. There is a nice seaside walk from Arnarstapi up to Hellnar. Nice Cafés bookend both ends of the walk. A massive storm rolled in so we didnt make it to Hellnar. We grabbed lunch and headed over the mountain toward Kirkjufell.
The rain settled in pretty heavy so we made our way back to Borgarnes and another night in the hostel. The next morning we were up early, disassembling and cleaning bikes for our flight out that evening. It was a nice drive back into Reykjavík for some sight seeing and another lunch at Kaffivagninn https://kaffivagninn.is/en/sagan/ The rest of the evening was spent relaxing in the city and reminiscing over the favorite parts of the trip.
The weather may not have been what we wanted but it was awesome to spend almost two weeks on the bike in such a fantastic place with some good dudes. Sitting here now I’m already scheming a third trip back….
Thanks for Reading!
Shiggins Outside 