Little Birdie's Swift Migration: Getting Lost in Search of the Snaefellnes Peninsula

Getting lost. It's inevitable on a trip like this. And it is one of the most fun and alternately one of the most scary aspects of taking a solo road trip through rural and wild areas of a foreign country. Luckily, I've got a pretty good handle on survival skills for this kind of adventure. Having lived the majority of my adult life in rural Appalachia, I know not to take off on a road trip without filling up the gas tank, and I know to stop and fill her up again whenever I run across a gas station that is open - because who knows when there will be another one? I also know to always pack food, snacks, good music and a sense of curiosity and adventure. And rain gear. All this served me well on the third day of my Icelandic voyage.

I headed out of Borgarnes with the goal of driving west then north around the Snaefellnes Peninsula. I stopped at a little farmers market on the way out of town to add some local cheese to my lunch fixins, and I headed on out of town. Like most European countries, there is usually a roundabout at major intersections near population centers. I guess I wasn't paying close attention as I left Borgarnes, as instead of heading west, I headed due north in the direction of Akureyi. That is quite a bit off from where I wanted to go, but it took me a while to realize it or give into the irking little voice that told me there really should be ocean to my left by this point... The lava fields, mountains and glaciers were just so stunning!

I had to keep pulling off the road to stare at the world around me.

Driving across Iceland, I primarily listened to my favorite Icelandic band Múm. I gotta say, Icelandic music makes total sense once you are here. The dramatic, ethereal sounds seem to flow directly out of the earth - just like the steam and water. Now, every time I listen to Múm or Sigur Rós, I will see these places in my mind and remember the feeling of being here. I plan to spend my whole flight home on Iceland Air exploring their Icelandic Artists music library and taking notes so I can expand my own music library when I get home.

Back to the road! I started realizing I was clearly not headed in the direction of the peninsula, and when I reached Hvammstangi, I realized just how far off track I had gone!

Hvammstangi - not such a bad place to land.

From Borganes, I was meant to go west (left) and around the peninsula. Instead I went northeast.

Turning around point.

So, I stopped for a cup of coffee, consulted my map, and recalibrated. It was already around 1pm by this time, but with 17 - 18 hours of daylight, I had plenty of time to backtrack and still see the Snaefellnes Peninsula. Little did I realize that the way to get back on track was to go a bit off track - gravel roads, baby! And some rain and hail for good measure. Was I glad I packed my lunch and supper? You bet! Would I change anything about how this turned out? No way (well, except I'd preferred they had given me a VW Golf instead of a Ford Focus at the car hire...).

The long and winding (gravel road) to get back on track.

I never would have seen this had I gone on my intended route...

Just when I had started to think it just couldn't get any better, I got back on the paved road that leads around the Snaefellnes Peninsula. Wow - around every bend, just wow.

Kirkjufell

The harbor at Rif

The open road.

Sjomannagadur

A nice hike through lava fields and then bluffs overlooking the coast.

The brilliant thing - being able to just do what I wanted, I stopped and hiked whenever I felt like it.

I had this place all to myself.

Turn away from the sea, and you see lava fields with the Snaefellsjökull glacier in the background.

The color of the moss on lava was just unreal.

Not much traffic in this part of the world.

Proof that sometimes - or at some time, kids hung out here.

The little church at Hellnar.

The one and only pub in Arnarstapi was not yet open for tourist season.

Other than to order my coffee back in Hvammstangi, I don't think I spoke to a single person all day, and it was delicious.

I got home as the sun was setting (around 10:30pm) fully exhausted and ready to sleep soundly with my cat buddies.

My last day was less eventful, but a nice way to end the journey. A morning visit to the Settlement Museum and then on to Reykavik - which, honestly I wish I had skipped altogether. I am sure it is a fabulous city. I just really was not in a city frame of mind. So I was especially glad that I had decided that morning to just splurge and book a spot to soak at the Blue Lagoon. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? TOTALLY. My traveler instinct treated me well, and because I booked the latest time slot, the Blue Lagoon was really not crowded at all. I got to swim around in this opal-shaded silica pool and watch a huge storm blow over the valley. Perfect way to end an epic voyage, I must say.