Day 9 -Trolls, Hail and Rocket Shaped Lighthouses

A rainy day in Grundfjordur chased us south across the Snaefellsnes Peninsula late Friday morning. Of course we chose another F road (mountain track) to do this, passing behind Snaefellsjokull mountain on F570. All of the park information centers were closed so we did this using a tourist map and limited GPS information since the road did not exist according to Garmin. All went well, however as we climbed from sea level to over 800 metres by SUV and then added more altitude on foot until stymied by an icefield. The view was excellent, despite being just below cloud level. The temperature was 1C and sure enough we were enveloped by a hail/snow event that caught us at some distance from the vehicle. Blair and Wes retrieved the SUV and hauled Alan on board further down the road. Once on the other side of the mountain, the weather cleared dramaically as we descended on the south side of the mountain. A stop along the way led us to Songhellir, the Singing Cave. No, we didn't try to sing in it given the reputed angry disposition of the trolls that lived there, according to tradition.

Back at sea level we headed to Hellnar for lunch at a charming and very small seaside restaurant called Fjoruhusid before trekking out on the adjacent coastal trail. The wind and tide favoured big crashing waves, and we spent a few hours trying to find the best lookout along the trail. Following that we shifted over to Malarrif for a hike to two sea pillars close in by the shoreline. We also had our encounter with the lighthose shaped like a rocket (really).

After that it was back to Hotel Framnes for a late dinner, and the necessary preparations for our return to civilisation and people which happens tomorrow in Reykjavik.