Hengifoss & Reydarfjordur

Today we started with another waterfall: Hengifoss. If you come to Iceland, don't ever think you've had seen enough waterfalls. Every single one is worth seeing, especially the ones that require a bit of walking to reach them. They are so diverse: there are powerful ones, wide ones, ones that are higher than you could imagine them and ones more beautiful than you've thought the water can be. This one was one of the highest (more than 100m) with very interesting, red rock formations created by lava (surprising, huh? everything in this country seems to be created by lava). I had to walk (accompanied by lovely Icelandic rain & wind combo) for nearly an hour to the place where the whole waterfall was visible and then jump from rock to rock for half an hour to get as close as possible. I'm almost sure that I had read that the waterfall is as loud as a taking off Boeing 757 but I didn't notice it. You can leave your ears in the car but remember to open your eyes wide, as it's a very impressive foss.

There is an interesting house where Gunnar Gunnarsson lived in a town nearby (Skriðuklaustur). We saw it yesterday from the road but we didn't go there today as the weather discouraged us. Gunnar must have been of the most popular Icelandic writers because I've seen his name in the guide several times.

We headed East. The ring road omits the Eastfjords brutally and one can't really drive along the coast from Njardvik all the way to Breiðdalsvík. I recommend taking route no 92 from Reyðarfjörður through Faskruðsfjörður and Stöðvarfjörður and joining the ring road in Breiðdalsvik. Apart from breathtaking views, there are not many attractions or at least they are not as popular as Geysir. Be careful not to drive through a new tunnel - I didn't have it on my map (Freytag & Berndt) and I lost 30 or 40km of going along the fjords...

One of the places worth visiting is the WW2 museum in Reyðarfjörður. Iceland didn't really take part in the war, however it was a base for English and American soldiers. Especially if you are a submarine or aviation fan, they have a few interesting stories to tell. They even have their own war hero, but his name was lost to my memory. Funny thing about this museum was that I had only 200 Ikr and cards were not accepted there, so I went to the "ticket office" and asked a woman if I could pay 200 Ikr and 2 euros (the fee was 300 Ikr for students). Actually, two uncommon circumstances occurred: the nonacceptance of cards and a woman who didn't speak English too much. Anyway, she accepted the coins with a smile and after a while she called me and gave me back 200 Ikr because she didn't know how much 2 euros was. In fact, it was more than 300 Ikr so I didn't argue.

Zdjęcia (2)

Komentarze (0)