Iceland – Westfjords

After a few days amongst throngs of tourists at the “Golden Circle” of sights near Reyjavik (see my prior post) we headed for the remote northwestern corner of Iceland, the Westfjords. We rented a rural house at the blue dot on the map below, and explored westerly from there – reaching the westernmost tip of Iceland, which is also the westernmost point in Europe. It required driving some remote, dusty, narrow, twisty, and sketchy roads… but also led us to stunningly beautiful landscapes. Read on! and check out the galleries linked below. 

Home in the Westfjords

We rented a delightful home on a remote stretch of road, adjacent to beautiful hay meadows, sheep pasture, and a shallow bay. It was very windy when we arrived, and we immediately strolled through the high grass and down to the bay to explore. Two of our party braved the icy water to wade across the bay – possible even at high tide – to reach an island. After dinner, and in the dusk that counts as “late night” in the Icelandic summer, the kids encountered a bicyclist who was struggling mightily against the wind as he pedaled his gravel bike and panniers slowly along the dirt road. Engaging him in conversation, they discovered he was from France, had already pedaled across Europe, Asia, South America, and North America, and was now circumnavigating the Westfjords as he worked his way back home to France. They offered him space in the outbuilding – a former barn renovated into a rec room – and he gladly accepted. We enjoyed his company for breakfast the next morning, and he rested in the rec room throughout the next day until setting out when the winds died at 10pm. Impressive fellow!

The first gallery includes photos of the home and its surroundings, and from our other stops around the Westfjords – including encounters with Icelandic sheep and horses, Arctic Terns and other birds in flight, and the purported home of Eric the Red, one of the early Viking settlers that established what became Iceland.

Dynjandi waterfall

One of the major attractions in the Westfjords is the massive Dynjandi waterfall, which “is the largest waterfall in the Westfjords and has a total height of 100 metres (330 ft). Below it are five other waterfalls: Háifoss, Úðafoss, Göngufoss, Hundafoss and Bæjarfoss.” [Wikipedia] It is an incredibly impressive sight, a series of six beautiful waterfalls. I spent more than an hour exploring them photographically, and could easily have spent all day! At Dynjandi, the spray was intense, and I struggled to keep my lens clear – I had to wipe the lens between every shot! The gallery shows Dynjandi and the other (smaller but equally beautiful) waterfalls; in some, you can see tiny people that give a sense of just how massive Dynjandi is.

Rauðasandur Beach (Red sand beach)

After winding our way along the edges of several fjords, and climbing up and down a steep peninsula on some extremely harrowing roads with tight switchbacks and steep dropoffs, we parked at the shore of Rauðasandur Beach (Red sand beach). This massive beach spans a shallow bay, and earns its name from the reddish sand formed by centuries of ground-up red scallop shells. It required more than a kilometer of walking through grassy lowlands and then massive expanses of sand, to reach the beach itself – only a few of us made it that far – but the scene was entrancing. The vast stretches of red sand, intermixed with shallow pools of water left behind by the tide, backed by the looming cliffs of the headland where waterfalls cascaded down from the plateau above, and topped by blue sky and puffy white clouds, made for interesting photography. In the photo below there is a person visible exactly at the center of the photo, giving you a sense of the expanse. The gallery includes a few more.

Látrabjarg cliffs

After driving back up the scary-winding road and over the hill, we rejoined the “main road” and headed west to the tip of Iceland: Látrabjarg cliffs. These sheer cliffs are home to tens of thousands of nesting seabirds, including puffins. We strolled along the cliff’s edge – not too closely! – peering down at seabirds and seals. Several puffins sat right at the cliff’s edge, patiently posing while tourists snapped photos. Beautiful place! More photos in the gallery.

From there we headed home, stopping at the nearby Hotel Breidavik for dinner (friendly staff, good food!) before the long drive back to the house. We passed our bicycling friend at about 11pm, as he continued his journey, and arrived home just after sunset at 11:30pm. It was a beautiful place, and we barely scratched the surface of opportunities in the Westfjords. I’m already making a list of places to see on a future visit!