TRAVEL|ICELAND
A Day of Legends, Trolls and Fresh Fish
Circling the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Iceland
At breakfast downstairs, we noticed signs all around the walls, “Do not take any breakfast food with you!” so we mustn’t be the only ones doing it to save money. There were cereals and toast, freshly baked bread and jams, boiled eggs, juice, tea and coffee, as well as meats, cheese, cucumber and tomato.
It’s as if they want you to make a sandwich for lunch! I managed to steal a few chocolate biscuits without being detected, but by the time I climbed the narrow steep staircase, they were mostly melted in my hand! The breakfast fare has been pretty much the same all over Iceland, with the exception of the Hotel Katla at Vik where there were also scrambled eggs, waffles, porridge and baked beans.
Up to the Hallgrimskirkja bus stop with just our daypacks to await the arrival of our bus for the day. Our driver introduced himself but told us to call him Thor. His name is actually Þormòður. The Þ is pronounced as th.
Oh, what a lovely guy! After Jens, who barely spoke at all in the whole three days he was our tour leader, it was wonderful to have a chatty driver. I thought I would be falling asleep but he was so interesting I stayed awake all day. He took us to a lot of the tourist spots on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, which is actually his home, and told us some of his family history as well.
His own family history
He showed us his great grandparents’ farm and told us the story of how one of their neighbour’s only cow had died so, with no milk for the children, some of them would have perished through the long harsh winter. His great grandmother talked her husband into giving the neighbouring family one of their cows as they had two. The really interesting part is the granddaughter of one of those children who survived because of his great grandparent’s generosity over a century ago is now Thor’s fiancée.
Legends of elves and trolls
He told us stories of elves and trolls when there was no scenery to point out, and he tied the stories in with the scenery whenever possible. Here is the link to one of the stories. Read about it here
Thor was a born storyteller. A real entertainer. He has written a book about his 12-month motorcycle adventure around Europe — Around and back: A year and a day on the road — available from the Book Depository if you’re interested.
Fresh fish for lunch
Thor knew the restaurant that served fresh fish for lunch and if we could get 10 takers, the price would be reduced from 4000 to 2500 Icelandic krona (AUD25). Using my sales skills and powers of persuasion, we managed 12! The Sker Restaurant has a reputation for the best fish in Iceland so we had to try it. It was the best fish I’ve ever eaten and not just in Iceland. Not a single bone and it just fell apart when my fork touched it. Mmmmm!
Hiking along the clifftops
At a spot along the coast, Thor dropped us off a couple of kilometres away and told us to meet him at the Bárður Snæfellsás statue — half-man, half-troll. Read about it here.
The walk was not difficult for normal people with hiking boots, but quite challenging for me with only joggers. I had to try to avoid the mud and puddles along the cliff path. Even so, I was first back at the bus as I didn’t stop to take photos. My phone was flat from lots of photo-taking earlier in the day!
One by one everyone made it back to the bus — all except Satchel. Stacey and I had befriended him earlier in the day, so we were quite worried as he is literally a younger, male carbon copy of me. Yesterday he had set his map alight with a candle in a restaurant (I had set my menu alight in similar circumstances on a previous trip to Europe) and dramas just seemed attracted to him as they are to me. It would normally be me who was lost. After waiting until almost dark, Thor managed to contact him. He had misunderstood instructions and had just kept walking past the troll statue. He said it was a beautiful path and he was talking to people along the way. He came running back to the bus, saying “Sorry. Sorry.”
The seal colony
Lastly, we visited a seal colony but because of Satchel’s 18 km adventure walk, it was almost dark and bitterly cold. Thor spotted one seal but I missed it and was too cold to keep watch for it. When Thor said they come up for air about every ten to twenty minutes, I decided I’d head back to the bus. Everyone followed me. It seemed everyone else was feeling the cold too even though they have fur parkas to keep them warm.
It was late when we finally reached our Hallgrimskirkja bus stop; first on, last off, so we headed straight to the pizzeria next door and ordered exactly the same as we had last night. A perfect end to a perfect day. We’re sad to leave Iceland tomorrow, but leave we must.
