The first half hour on the road on day 5 was spent wondering whether we’d make it to the nearest petrol station. I’d been out late the night before to get some provisions, but had neglected to check the fuel gauge, and had no idea how far I’d driven with the warning light on. The situation could probably have been avoided if I’d driven to nearby Húsavik instead of Akureyri, which I’d believed to be about the same distance away, but the difference was actually pretty significant in the end.
Anyway, we made it to Goðafoss without being caught short, and - mercifully - were able to refuel. Goðafoss means “Waterfall of the Gods” in Icelandic and is so named because when Denmark converted Iceland to a Christian country, all the idols of the Norse gods worshipped previously were thrown into the waterfall as a final act of allegiance to the new rulers. It’s pretty appropriately named, too, as any god would be proud to have such a waterfall named after them. The temperature was still well below zero, so there were icicles and frozen spray everywhere, adding variety and texture to the surrounding rocks, and making walking on them pretty treacherous.
Next stop was Akureyri, the capital of the North, for a quick coffee, conscious that we still had a lot of ground to cover. The road through Akureyri headed north and then west into the mountains, but there was an alternative route - longer, but which looked more scenic - which went further up the coast before turning inland through a long tunnel and heading through the mountains further north, finally turning south on the west of Trollaskagi, the spur of land between Eyjafjörður and Skagafjörður. We were justified in taking the diversion, as just inland of the fishing town of Olafsfjörður, we came across a lake which was so still and unruffled it was as smooth as a mirror.
We continued through the mountains which were under several feet of snow, ensuring progress was slow, but providing some wonderful scenery. As we neared the coast, we stopped at a field of Icelandic ponies for a bit of getting to know the locals, and more photo opportunities. The temperature was rising by now, and for much of the rest of the journey the snow had disappeared. There was a delightful view across Skagafjörður towards the mountains on the other side, and we stopped in a tiny fishing village called Hofsós for lunch and a break.
Beyond Skagafjörður the landscape was fairly unchanging, and given the drama of the previous day seemed almost mundane, with the exception of an interesting cap of cloud hovering over the opposite shore of Hrútafjörður. We arrived at Staðarskáli, our accommodation, just before sunset, and as our hosts spoke no English at all, my rudimentary grasp of Icelandic allowed us to arrange for breakfast at 8am the next day (klukkan áta)! Fortunately they also understood the word internet, so we were able to upload some more of our photos and also check the reaction of some of the people who had seen what we posted on Tuesday night.
