On the 5th day of our roadtrip around Iceland we explored the Southern Eastfjords. There are many small villages in this area, tall mountains, beautiful nature and obviously lots of fjords. We drove from Djúpivogur to Reyðarfjörður, with various stops on the way. On this day, we had the worst weather of the entire trip. Despite being June 8th, it was cold, rainy, foggy and at one point the clouds were literally on the ground.
Our day started at Hótel Framtíð, where we had a nice breakfast. It was a bit lonely to be the only guests in the beautiful breakfast hall. But the food was delicious, the host was lovely and the view of the harbour was spectacular.
Djúpivogur
Djúpivogur is a village of approximately 350 inhabitants, situated by the fjord Berufjörður. It’s brimming with culture and history, but due to the pandemic, our options to experience these were limited.
We did go to see the outdoor sculptures Eggin í Gleðivík. They are a collection of 34 eggs made by Icelandic sculptor Sigurður Guðmundsson. Every large granite egg represents a local bird. The eggs are all similar in size, except for one that is larger. That is the egg belonging to the red-throated diver, Djúpivogur’s official bird.
The gallery Bones, Stick & Stones was open and we were very lucky to meet the gallery’s owner, Vilmundur, who was working in his studio. The gallery has a very interesting and quirky collection of rocks, stones, minerals and zeolites, as well as sculptures, skulls, bones and fossils.
We wanted to go to Langabúð, but it was closed because of the pandemic. Langabúð is one of Iceland’s oldest commercial buildings. The southern part of the building dates back to 1790. But in 1850 the building was completed with the addition of the northern part. Nowadays, Langabúð houses a museum of woodcarving artist Ríkarður Jónsson, a heritage museum and a really nice cafe with homemade traditional Icelandic pastries.
Before leaving Djúpivogur, we walked up to Bóndavarða cairn, for a beautiful view of Djúpivogur. Then we drove by Rakkaberg, which is believed to be an elf church.
Teigarhorn
The first stop of the day was Teigarhorn. Just before we reached Teigarhorn we spotted a herd of reindeer, for the fourth time on our roadtrip. The house at Teigarhorn was built in 1880, and around 1900 a photography studio operated there. The house is now in keeping of the National Museum of Iceland. The land around Teigarhorn is a protected natural feature, due to very particular zeolites found there.
Nykurhylsfoss
On our way to Nykurhylsfoss we spotted a herd of reindeer, for the fifth time on our roadtrip. Nykurhylsfoss, also known as Sveinsstekksfoss, is the lowermost waterfall in the river Fossá. Even though the waterfall is only 15 meters tall, it’s very beautiful and picturesque. There are around 30 waterfalls in the river Fossá, which flows 20 km along Fossárdalur Valley on its way to the ocean in Berufjörður fjord. Right after we left Fossárdalur Valley we spotted the sixth reindeer herd of our road trip.
Blábjörg
Blábjörg is a blue-green cliff on the shore, formed in a massive volcanic eruption. The unusual colour of the cliffs really stand out when you look at the “regular” coloured cliffs around it. The beach by Blábjörg is full of little blue-green pebbles. Blábjörg and the coast around them are a protected natural feature.
Streitisviti
At this point the weather was getting really bad and the clouds were so low they were almost touching the ground. We drove past Skrúðskambur, a rock wall by the road, where a giant supposedly lived, but we didn’t really see anything due to the weather. We made a short stop at Streitisviti Lighthouse. A lighthouse was originally built at Streiti in 1922, but in 1958 it was removed and a lighthouse was built at Hlaða by Breiðdalsvík instead. That lighthouse collapsed during a massive storm in January 1984 and later that year the current Streitisviti was built. There are many beautiful hiking trails in this area, but with the lack of visibility and cold weather, we decided to just go back to the car.
Breiðdalsvík
Breiðdalsvík is a village of approximately 140 inhabitants. There has been fulltime settlement in the village only since 1896. When we got the Breiðdalsvík the weather had gotten really cold and rainy. We had lots of plans for Breiðdalsvík: Visit the local brewery Beljandi, see the geology exhibition and heritage centre in Breiðdalssetur (in Breiðdalsvík’s oldest house) and see Iceland by Axel, a map exhibition in The Old Fish Factory. But due to the pandemic, everything was closed, except Kaupfjelagið (The Old General Store), which has been there for 60 years. So we just went there and had coffee and sandwiches. The weather was draining all our energy, and besides, we couldn’t really see anything with all the fog around.
In Kaupfjelagið we met a couple from Reykjavík who were also driving the Ring Road. They were the first travellers we met on our trip. We chatted with them for a while, finding mutual acquaintances and sharing travel stories. This reminded me of traveling around Iceland with my family when I was a child and teenager, when then only other people you’d meet were other Icelandic families. I thought those times were gone in Iceland, so it was strange to experience this again.
Stöðvarfjörður
From Breiðdalsvík we drove straight to Stöðvarfjörður. We had planned some stops on the way, but we didn’t feel like it because of the bad weather. But on the way, we spotted a herd of reindeer, for the seventh time on this trip. Stöðvarfjörður is a village of approximately 200 inhabitants. It’s probably most famous for Steinasafn Petru (Petra’s Stone Collection), a unique collection of stones, minerals and crystals in the home of collector Petra Sveinsdóttir (1922-2012). Petra was a remarkable woman, who spent her life collecting rocks in the mountains around Stöðvarfjörður. I had the privilege of meeting Petra a few times in the past and hearing her tell stories of her adventurous mountain hikes. The Stone Collection is now run by her family and is well worth a visit.
At The Stone Collection we met the couple from Reykjavík again, so we had a quick chat to share what we’d been up to since last we saw each other (in Breiðdalsvík).
After a rainy visit to Petra’s Stone Collection, we went to Salthúsmarkaðurinn, a local handicrafts market, and bought some homemade rowanberry jam.
Fáskrúðsfjörður
Fáskrúðsfjörður is a village of approximately 715 inhabitants. Fishing and fish processing are the main industries of the village, but tourism has been growing in recent years. Fáskrúðsfjörður used to be a base for French fishermen, who built their own hospital, chapel and cemetery in the village. The old French buildings have been restored, and now they house a hotel and a museum dedicated to the French heritage of Fáskrúðsfjörður.
We wanted to have something to eat in Fáskrúðsfjörður, but nothing was open. We were also too tired to go to the French Museum. So we just decided to drive straight to the guesthouse in Reyðarfjörður and have dinner there. Fáskrúðsfjörður and Reyðarfjörður are connected by a tunnel called Fáskrúðsfjarðargöng. The 6 km long tunnel makes the route 31 km shorter. It is also really nice to drive the longer coastal route (Road 955), which offers scenic views. But this time, the weather offered no views, so we just took the short route through the tunnel.
We arrived in Reyðarfjörður around 6 pm and checked in at Tærgesen. Tærgesen is a family owned and run guesthouse and restaurant in the oldest house in Reyðarfjörður, built in 1870. We had a really nice little studio apartment and decided to have dinner in the Tærgesen restaurant. I had the pizza, because I’d heard they make great pizzas. They do.
It’s amazing how much effect the weather can have. We were so tired after this cloudy and rainy day, that we all went to sleep uncharacteristically early.
