Snaefellsjökull National Park

     The Snaefellsjökull National Park encompasses a large portion of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.  It's Iceland's oldest park.  Much of the center of the park is another huge volcano and glacier which is less active than some of the other Island volcanoes. It was the setting for Jules Verne's novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth.  Since we didn't go to the West Fjords we had the whole day to explore this beautiful area.  

     We have a Visitor Guide from Nordic Visitor tour company which highlights places worth visiting along the way.  There were a dozen sights to see along this three hour drive.  There were so many perfect photo opportunities!  Fortunately this area has a lot of places to pull off the road and grab a picture and MOST folks use the pulloffs rather than stopping right on the road.  

    There used to be lots of little fishing villages along the coast here and there are shipwrecks on the beaches and ruins of buildings where folks would stay when working for the fisheries.  A few towns have rebounded with the tourism and have small cafes and guesthouses in the old buildings.   My favorite spot was the oldest wooden chruch in Iceland - Búdakirkja.  Unlike the white churches with red roofs that are seen everywhere, this church is black like the lava fields surrounding it.

    The wind was quieter today and we had a lot of sun, but still ate our lunch sandwiches in the car rather then at a picnic table.  We stopped for lunch at a spot that had rocks of different sizes that were supposed to be lifted by prospective fishermen to see how strong they were and how well they would work on a boat.  It was a pretty spot with a set of outhouses - making it perfect for our lunch break.  Alas they were all locked.  I am so often impressed by Iceland's infrastructure, but I just don't get the lack of access to toilets when there are so many tourists everywhere.

     We had some rain for a while, and got blown about on some windy spots, but by the time we  returned to the fishing harbor by our hotel, the sun was shining and the wind was calm.  We had delicious lamb stew for dinner and then walked around this ancient town.  I love the many paned windows with lace curtains and the bright colors of the buildings.  I like the white picket fences and the way the street winds around some of the houses.  There were kids riding their bicycles around the harbor yelling hello to the tourists and folks out walking their dogs.  The chapel in our hotel had Saturday evening Mass and the neighborhood kids came for choir practice.  I love being part of this pretty little town.