Day 6

Day 6 Route with photo locations marked

Day 6 started out with showers that continued through the day until near sunset. Since the day did not look too promising for the drive, we started by taking a hike on an old road along the coast north of Isafjordur (Stop A) that was closed after a tunnel replaced it inland (like Devil’s Slide Road in the Bay Area). The mists surrounded the peaks and there were many wildflowers along the road, particularly Sitka Lupine that were mostly bloomed out, but there were a few areas with profuse blooms. After our three-mile walk, we started the long drive along the many narrow fjords to Drangsnes. Along the way the mist surrounded the peaks in beautiful ways (Stop B). We stopped in the middle of nowhere at an old house (Stop C) that was now a coffee and waffle cafe, where there were nice old building foundations and walls built out of lava flagstones.

After checking in and taking a soak in the hot pots in Drangsnes, we had an excellent halibut dinner and then took off on a gravel road along the coast north of town in light rain, hoping for a break near sunset. It all worked out well when we rounded a point (Stop D) and the sun broke through the clouds with shafts of light and a rainbow. There were many shorebirds along the way, including swarms of Arctic Terns, and Whimbrel, which are common in the fields and along the shores here.

Cliffs in the mists near Isafjordur.

Buttercups, Angelica, and Sitka Lupine. All common wildflowers in Iceland.

Red baked zones develop when a new basalt flow erupts over an old flow. Note the round form in the upper flow embedded in the older flow. I am not sure how that formed?

Saw toothed range covered in mist at Stop B.

Old foundations and fences at Stop C. Collecting so many flat lava rocks must have been difficult.

The sun breaks through at Stop D.

A whimbrel calls from a fence post. These noisy birds breed in Iceland and can be seen inland and along the coast.

Coast north of Drangsnes

Photographing a rainbow near sunset.