Day 4 – Borgarnes, Beginning of the Ring Road

Shawn and I got up at 5am so we could catch the morning light.  Luckily for us, it was a bright shining day!  We took our luggage to the lobby and then Shawn went out to explore the area.  I was still finishing my hair.  We also wanted to be the first ones on the bus to get a good seat.  Shawn returned and had enjoyed his walk down by the water and over the bridge.  Then I went on my own but in a different direction.  I made my way down to the water and found a picturesque bridge and a lovely setting.

The guide told us that the town was getting ready for a festival.  Each area of town is given a diffierent color for decorations.  We were obviously in the red section.  There were red balloons, hearts, bows on the houses, restaurants and stores. I discovered all kinds of decorations along the way.

There was no one about except for one or two other photographers wandering around.  I returned to the hotel lobby to sit and wait for breakfast to start.  Barbara, a lady from our group, sat with us to have coffee.  We were just sitting there enjoying the view when we saw these two teenage boys come out of their house and start to undress.  We thought at first they had their swim suits on to go for an early morning swim but then they proceeded to take even their underwear off.  All of a sudden they took off running around the block. In just a few minutes they were back huffing and puffing.  It looked like they were having a race. I was busy taking photos from across the street in  the hotel  lobby. I heard later that two of the ladies were watching from their room. The teenagers sat down by their door and then laid  down in the sun on the sidewalk.  In a few minutes they got dressed and disappeared inside their house.  It was quite the talk at breakfast.

We headed to Snaefellsnes Peninsula, an area known for its natural beauty. It is known for its majestic glacier but due to the fog we never got to see it. We drove along the South Coast of the Peninsula. We made so many scenic stops that unless I look at my photos, I can’t remember what we did or where we were.  Our first stop was just the side of the road taking photos of the mountains and wild flowers. Then we went to see unusual rock formations.

Our next stop was Buoir with its unique  black church and the Arnarstapi Cliffs where seabirds nest and many bird species can be seen. I really enjoyed this site.  There were a lot of wildflowers and I had fun experimenting with my photography.  Shawn followed a path down to the beach but I didn’t have enough time.

We stopped at a fishing village to have lunch.  The food was delicious – salmon on a bed of barley and vegetables.  After lunch, we went to  see the harbor and a traditional house on a nearby hill.  We were lucky as the rain stayed away all day. It became overcast in the afternoon and probably in the high 50s or low 60s most of the day. 

I was exhausted by the end of the day.  The bus is just too small for 20 people plus all the camera gear.  It is also very hot in the back of the bus so Shawn and I are happy to be sitting up front.  We stayed in the Stykkisholmur Hotel on the coast of Breidafjordur Bay.  The language is very difficult and the words are all so long as you can tell by the place names. The hotels have been ok but nothing extra.  Most of the time the rooms are very small with two single or twin beds.  We have to haul our luggage in and haul in out in the morning.  Shawn and I have a system now so we know exactly what to do to beat the crowd.  We have been happy with the food as the last few meals have been buffets with lots of good choices. As I said before, this was a very busy day with lots of scenic places and lots of photographs.