One of the things which brings me great amusement when overseas is finding familiar things and seeing how much more expensive they are (or cheaper, sometimes). My record of sticker shock things while overseas has been so far a $30 pint of imported Hagen Daas ice cream in Beijing, $5 taco seasoning packets in New Zealand, and some premium razor kit I found in Bangalore for three dollars when the same one was $10 at home.
Iceland (of course) ranges on the expensive side. We have found so far:
- $30 for a small pack of bacon (was it imported? is there such a thing as icelandic bacon which is cheaper? I have seen one pig here…)
- $20 for a bigger package of pre-sliced cheese (it is much cheaper if you buy it and slice it yourself)
- $60 for a medium bottle of Jameson
- At least $50 for dinners out, per person
So that is why in Iceland we do things that are free and outdoors and we cook. Partially. The outdoors here is also amazeballs and most of the reason why we are here. Today: Fjords!
We set out to explore a few of the neighboring fjords. We backtracked to the previous town (through the tunnel again!) and visited a now-retired spar mine called Helgustaðanáma. Spar. I didn’t know what spar was – all I could think of was the material Feldspar from a game I had recently played. It made pretty crappy armor.
I learned about real spar – which was not used in armor and was not pretty crappy. It had its uses in lensmaking in the 1700s through the early 1900s. Icelandic spar was shipped all over Europe to make telescopes and microscopes and was helpful in paving the way for advancements in lens technology.
Upon arrival at the spar mine, a ranger greeted us and told us that we couldn’t take the spar crystals (were they seriously just lying about up there?) and we also could not try to melt them. I don’t frequently go around trying to melt things while on vacation unless it is chocolate or cheese and have left my lighter at home, so we were also in the clear there.
The mine was up up up a hill and around a corner. Going up the hill yielded some nice views of the surrounding fjord, and then we came upon the mine. The white spar crystals really were just lying about everywhere – and there was evidence of people smashing them into powder and trying to melt them on nearby flat rocks. The spar powder was so thick it was like snow covering some of the rocks.
We ducked into the mine a little ways – at our own risk, according to signs! – and listened to the water trickle through the cave. We left before it could cave in on us, and we also only had one headlamp.
Up the hill further from the mine was a quarry. The rocks looked like they had bird poop on them, but they were actually deposits of spar crystals sprouting from the rocks. I climbed up to get a closer view of some of the veins and nearly ended up living up there as the descent was steep and tricky. If someone threw me trail mix and a blanket, I would probably have been fine.
After we headed back down from the mine, we decided to drive over a nearby mountain pass, near Oddsskarð, which was supposed to have good views and steep curves.
Steep curves – check.
Excellent views of fjord – also check.
One lane blind tunnel with pull-off areas for passing – also check. Ahh!
The other side of the mountain was cold and scenic and we scurried away for our scandinavian lunch picnic near a hiking spot past the small town.
Many of the scenic pull-off areas have hiking trails, and this one overlooked the fjord and some little islands, with the backdrop of a giant mountain that was layered like cake. Rock cake: for giants.
Our hike took us down quite a ways and over some rocks, down to almost the fjordside on one. We apparently picked the hard mode path, as I noticed the path on the other side was quite a bit more gently sloping than the one we picked. We had to stop to admire the views several times on the way back up (definitely not to rest).
After the hike was….pastries! We stopped at a local cafe to sample icelandic pastries, which were donuts and slices of tasty cake. Delicious.
Filled with pastries, we went back to our fjord to explore the little town of Fáskrúðsfjörður. When it was originally settled, it was occupied by many french fishermen, which explains the french signs and flags all over town. We visited the fishermen’s hospital which had been restored and converted into a museum. The museum was attached to a restaurant (via underground tunnel!) and fancy restored hotel which I assume had the fishermen rolling over in their graves.
The only thing which would have tempted us to eat at the restaurant would have been if it had served reindeer. It did not. No reindeer for us today – maybe tomorrow! Tomorrow, we begin our pass through Southwest Iceland. Jokulsarlon iceberg bay, here we come!
