Day 3 - Basalt Cliffs and Herring Musuem
As promised the campers in front of us moved when we were ready to leave. We were able to top off the tank in the RV and head out on the days adventure.
Today was a long drive, as we needed to drive from the Snaefellsnes Peninsula all the way to northern Iceland. This would be the longest driving day of the trip. We stopped at the basalt columns in Hofsos. There is a parking lot in front of a small church when you enter town. You can park there, then cross the road near the swimming pool of Hofsos. It is a short walk down some stairs to the cliffs. Here we saw the basalt columns and got a good view of the Skagafjordur fjord.
Basalt Cliffs in Hofsos
Then off to Siglufordur. This was a beautiful drive (Read: Roads were paved). The sun came out (for the first time!) and exposed the snow capped mountains and the winding road followed the shore line for some amazing views.
Closer to the town, we encountered some unusual roads. It was mostly paved, but every now and then there would be 30 feet of gravel for no apparent reason. This happened about 10 times as we drove along the coast. Then we encountered a one lane tunnel. If another car was driving towards you in the tunnel, one of you had to find one of the 5 pull over spots and wait for the other to pass. Luckily we only had that happen once and the on coming car pulled over for us. I was thankful as I was not sure how well I would do trying to get a big RV out of the way for another vehicle.
The Herring Museum was huge (the largest in Iceland) It consisted of 4 buildings. They had a very informative presentation and the artifacts were well laid out and labeled.
Gin and Cucumber Herring and Mustard Herring with Whiskey and Coffee
We had lunch at the Sildarkaffi Herring Cafe and sampled some herring dishes. Pearl tried the Mustard herring with whiskey and coffee and I tried the Gin and Cucumber herring. They were both quite good.
The town is very quaint and was a wonderful backdrop for many photos.
Herring Girls of Iceland
A sculpture dedicated to the Herring Girls. The women that made pickling the herring possible.
We had plans to camp in Varmahlid for the night, so we drove back the way we came (through that one lane tunnel and random gravel strips). The campsite we planned on using was mostly closed. The only open sites were filled with mud and the electrical hookup did not work. We decided to move to another campsite.
Sauoarkrokur Campsite
We found an open campsite in the town of Sauoarkrokur. It was basically an open field with electrical hookups (no water) next to a high school. It had showers/bath and a place to fill the water tanks on the camper.
The town was small and charming. It had been a long day, so we decided to not cook dinner and go out. We found the Viking Kraffi Krokur Sport Bar & Grill. The menu was pretty limited and only offered pizza, burgers and fish & Chips. I was able to get a local beer!
The weather today is clear and beautiful. We are going to see the northern lights tonight! (Editors Note: we did not :( )
