Iceland Day 4 and 5: Snaefellsnes and Reykjavik

We woke up the next morning ready to tackle the last of our road tours: Snaefellsnes peninsula.  The way we were pronouncing the name, it sounded more like Snapple-sneeze.  We found out from our chef at the restaurant on Saturday night that it was pronounced Sn-AY-fell-snis. However you say it, it certainly held the most stunning views of our entire trip.  We headed north out of Reykjavik around 8am, getting to our first stop on the Peninsula around 10am, just as the light was full and still low in the sky, creating a heavenly glow  against the cliffs and the huge breaking waves in Arnarstapi's overlook.

It was dangerous to stand on the overlook for too long because, although it was clear and sunny, the winds were 50mph and it was hard to stay upright.  When we opened our car doors we had to hold on to them so they didn't fly away from us.  But my oh my...that view.  That sea! 

I wish I had more to write for you about what we saw, but basically we just stopped the car whenever we saw something pretty, or a road that actually wasn't covered in ice.  The snowdrifts from the mountains on the inland side of the road would occasionally blow across the road creating a momentary white out, and some of the roads were completely coated in ice.  I tell ya, I'm a pretty good hand at extreme winter driving conditions now.  It also helped that in the 4 hours we were on the road on the peninsula, we could count the number of cars we passed on one hand.  

Our next stop was the sea coast at the very end of the peninsula, our windiest stop yet! 65 mph.  The big waves crashing in against the lava rocks were against the wind, so there was this great backcomb of spray in the opposite direction whenever the waves would crest.  Sometimes the sun would hit it just right and make a rainbow.  The glories written into this earth are sometimes overwhelming.  

We drove the rest of the way around the peninsula and back towards the fjords on the northern side of it.  We passed little fishing villages that were largely uninhabited or deserted for the winter season.  Mostly we just enjoyed the sunny drive and the gorgeous scenery.  I stopped at a few more places to get out and take photos.  

Our tour ended early in the afternoon because it was too windy to get out and hike and do much of anything else.  We headed back to Reykjavik, I squeezed in a quick workout which felt great after so much driving, and then we headed into the downtown area in search of woolen goods.  Yarn in Iceland is CRAZY cheap.  I bought a ton for some of my friends who knit.  I almost bought one of those sweaters you see everyone wearing but ended up skipping it.  

 We had our best meal of the trip that night at a place called Fish Market.  I didn't really want to eat anything other than fish the entire trip because during the days for breakfast and lunch we were eating out of the food suitcase exclusively.  The inside of Fish Market was gorgeous. It looked like an enchanted forest downstairs where we were. They sat us right by the kitchen in front of the sushi station so we got to watch all the action go down.  And we made friends with the sushi chef, who clearly likes to chat up the American lady tourists who get sent his way.  Never caught his name, but when he found out we were from the US, his very first question was "Do you know Snoop Dogg?" Not the president, not any sports star, not any movie star, Snoop Dogg.  I wish I could have told him yes.  

My meal consisted of a starter of arctic char and salmon nigiri.  It was fresh, flavorful and beautifully presented.  They gave us a canvas bag with a loaf of that brown steam bread in it, that had warm lava rocks at the bottom to keep the bread warm. And when the guys next to us ordered mussels it was one of the most interesting and beautiful presentations I had ever seen.  They actually put dry ice underneath a bed of fresh sea kelp, and then put the pot of mussels on top of that, and when they bring it out, they pour water on the dry ice so that the vapor seeps outward from the kelp and down over the sides of the large deep plate holding everything.  

My appetizer wasn't so impressive in its presentation but it was certainly delicious and the fish was very fresh.  For dinner I had monkfish and Kristen had catfish, both of which were excellent.  After chatting with the sushi chef guy a bit more, he convinced me to get the appetizer of minke whale they had on the menu, saying it was his favorite kind of meat.  I tried it and he was right, it was very tender, had great flavor, and a color and gaminess similar to venison. Outstanding!  I was sad to think that I had seen many minke whales in their natural habitat in Tadoussac in Fall 2013 and now I was eating one. But they are pretty delicious, it turns out.  

The meal was flawless, start to finish, everything was excellent and beautiful and we had a great time rehashing the trip and talking to a viking... I mean an Icelandic guy.  But we had one more order of business, and that was to see if we could find the northern lights.  It was our last night, and the weather was clear, so we had our hopes up.  After dinner, we went back to the hotel, and not wanting to drive very far again, we looked up a few spots around the outskirts of Reykjavik where we could go see the lights.  We decided on a lighthouse, and after dawdling a bit more, we left and headed outside to the car.  

As soon as we exited the hotel, I looked up at to my left and I saw a streak of green in the sky.  I just about smacked Kristen and breathlessly pointed and told her to look up.  We started to freak out and got really excited.  We were seeing the northern lights!  We saw another streak appear.  We hustled to the car and I have never been so anxious to get anywhere in my life.  It was only a 7 minute drive and it felt like an eternity.  

Kristen kept her head outside the window as much as she could but the wind was still very stiff and it was freezing cold now the sun was down, so it was hard.  We arrived at the light house along with every other tourist in Reykjavik who was either already there or was hightailing in there at that very moment.  We got out and stood outside in the arctic wind and freezing temperatures staring up at the sky in awe.  It was such an incredible thing to see.  

Every time I have seen pictures of the northern lights, they seem fake to me.  I didn't believe they are real.  They don't look like they could really be a thing that happens. Especially the really intense, multi-colored ones.  That night, we really only saw green, and we saw a few bands of them.  I took a few photos and it's hard to see it, but they are there: 

I had my camera on 30 second exposure for the first and 60 second exposure for the second. It wasn't the greatest display of Aurora borealis that has ever happened, but for me, it was a really special moment.  I kept thinking of the Andrew Peterson song that describes all these beautiful images in each verse with the chorus, "Don't you want to thank someone for this?" and I thought yes, yes I do.  And I thanked God for making such strange and beautiful things happen here on earth, and for the chance to see one of them.  

So much beauty in one day left me plumb tuckered out. And we were saying goodbye to that beautiful island nation the next day, so we had some work to do as well. After the last of the green had faded from the sky that we could see, we headed back to the hotel.  Before we went to sleep, we both made a pact that if the other woke up in the middle of the night and saw the lights, we would wake the other person up.  Neither of us saw them, but both of us woke up several different times separately and we checked for them every time.  

We didn't do much on our last day in Iceland.  I went for a run, and then we headed down into Reykjavik to collect some more souvenirs and hit up a cafe before it was time to head to the airport.  We wanted to go to church but none of the service happen before 2pm! I thought that was a pretty lenient allowance for Saturday night partying. They know their congregants in Iceland, I suppose.  

I was sad to fly away from the island, and to say goodbye to our trusty 4x4, and the feeling of wildness and disconnectedness I had enjoyed while there.  Leaving the country is so important for me. It helps to have that barrier in communication where I can't use my phone and my computer isn't always on and in front of me.  I don't feel a need to respond to things constantly and quickly.  But even on the plane ride home I could feel that shifting back to its normal place at the forefront of my mind.  

I do hope I will make it back to Iceland someday, in verdant summer when it's a bit warmer.  But Iceland in winter still did wonders for my soul and I am deeply grateful for the time I got to spend there, soaking in its untamed beauty and drama, written into every cliffside, every seascape, every grassland, volcano, and waterfall.