June 15
Djúpivogur
After about an hour drive from our campground, we stopped by a quaint little harbor town. Djúpivogur is a small fishing village. We stopped and got some hot chocolate from a local cafe and to stretch our legs.
Gallery Freevilli
In Djúpivogur we saw a local art gallery. We stopped in and met the owner/artist. He had made many things out of recycled wood. Beautiful carvings, shells, rocks, whale bones, necklaces and so much more. We spoke with the owner for about an hour. His name was Villip, but he went by Freevilli. He grew up in the fishing village and told us a lot about Iceland’s history and politics, both local and international. He had great English and we really enjoyed hearing his local perspective.
The Long Haul
Today was one of our longest drives of the trip so far. We drove from the southeast side of the island all the way to the central-north side. Quite the haul for one day!
Námafjall Hverir
Námafjall Hverir is a geothermal area with fumaroles and boiling mud pots. It looked so cool, but man did it smell terrible!! We have both smelled the sulfur-rich scent of geothermal hot springs and vents at places such as Yellowstone, but nothing quite like this. We both started out on the walking path fully confident in our walking capabilities, but had to turn back almost immediately as our legs buckled from the fumes. Ok – a slight exaggeration, but wow. We both had our noses in our jackets trying hard not to see our lunch again. It was probably the worst smell we have ever encountered. Lizzie had to go sit in the car. Graham walked around the other side of the park to see some more boiling mud pots, but couldn’t make it down the full path either. Needless to say, it was very cool, but Lizzie will not be returning.
Goðafoss
As we were driving on highway 1 we came across this beautiful waterfall! It was already around 12:30am (though the sun was still up!), but we had to stop and take it in.
Systragil Camping Ground
We got to bed around 1:30am after settling into the campground and washing clothes in the washing machine (the reason we chose this particular campground!), drying our clothes on a makeshift clothesline over the front seat of our camper van.
