I went to Iceland the other weekend and had a great time driving around Southern and Western Iceland. Here are a few photos in case anyone is thinking of going - i would definitely recommend it! Especially by motorcycle!
I was last in Iceland in 2001 on a stopover from Glasgow to Boston. At that time you were required to stop there for 4 hrs, option to get bussed to the Blue Lagoon have a dip then get back on the plane and continue your journey. Impressions at the time were dour locals, crappy food (admittedly this was IcelandAir food and I was a poor student at that time so couldnt afford any food on the ground) and in general very expensive. Oh how things have changed!
The Golden Circle near Reykjavik is a popular tourist route that takes in some pretty impressive sites:
Here is one we went to - Gullfoss
just down the road from another popular site - Geysir - way more impressive than "Old Faithful" at Yellowstone - this one erupts every 5 min or so....
Met this Austrain couple in the parking lot riding a Tenere - came on the boat from Denmark - a popular way from Europe it seems - saw plenty of bikers in Iceland and wished I got a bike! Met a couple from Utah who rented from bikingviking -
http://www.rmc.is/en/biking-viking/
We then tired to drive up the Glacial corridor -Kaldidalur - all dirt road but halfway up we realised our rental car wasnt suited to the F-roads - recommended for 4-wheel drive only.
still a good drive though up Rt 550 to 52
We passed a number of other riders on the way - horse riders with 3 extra horses linked together - a lot of horses in Iceland and even though they seem to be wild they are all owned. They are never kept in barns even in the winter - these are tough horses!
A gas station in rural Iceland
4x4 wheel van
Snaefellsjokull Glacier in Snaefellsjokull National Park - nice drive around the Penninsula
Abandoned house - there was a monument here to the couple (87 and 91 yrs old who had lived there since 1890 or so)
The fishing town Ólafsvík we stayed in the first night - the wooden building is where we had dinner
driving the next morning
and Kirkjufell (Icelandic: Church mountain) is a 463m high mountain on the north coast of Iceland's Snæfellsnes peninsula, near the town of Grundarfjörður.
Styykisholmur is the town where you can catch the ferry to the Western Fjords - we did not and drove round instead
The Western Fjords! We ended up driving round the whole thing Rt61 -> 60
Other vehicles may have been better suited
We saw some snow on top of some passes
some cool bridges
great scenery
and empty roads
Our accomodation on the second night in Ísafjörður
where we met local SOHC forum member and top photographer Gusti (or Druzli as he is known by his forum name) - really great to meet him and see his bike and to hear about the local area. Gusti gave some great advice on where to go and what the road condition were like in the more remote areas. Thanks Gusti it was a real pleasure to meet you and next time we have to go for a ride
Amazing place to live - Gusti was telling me that someone skied down the mountain at the end of the street!
7pm
1am - dosent get dark in the summer
The next day is was rainy as we made our way round the fjords
Great dirt roads with no barriers
massive waterfalls!
more great vistas even in the rain
more snow
beautiful coastal roads
lots and lots of waterfalls
and road construction
The hot tub is supplied by the natural hot spring you can see in the background
isolated roads
A farm restaurant is just what you need at the end of the day
natural wood
local lamb
and beer of course
and Icelandic dessert
behind the restaurant
and the local source of pork
No trip to Iceland is complete without seeing the Blue Lagoon before you leave
3.5 days, 1600km, very friendly locals where ever we went, especially great to meet Gusti and his son, delicious food and amazing scenery! Visit Iceland you will love it! Just do it on a motorcycle for maximal effect
cheers
Andy
