July 22/14

Joined up with the Circle Route (highway 1) today, after driving on both paved and unpaved roads around the fjords. Once we got to the main highway the driving went much faster, and the remoteness of the Westfjords gradually disappeared. The scenery was still nice, but the homes we saw were generally inhabited, in contrast to the ones in the Westfjords. Occasionally there was even a gas station with food and drinks! At one of them I bought a hot dog instead of eating our packed lunch. This is because they are made out of lamb here, and are supposed to be a really big deal in Iceland. I didn't think they tasted any different than ones at home, although in fairness perhaps the vendors that make their own taste better. Getting back to the scenery, I enjoyed the remoteness of the Westfjords, but am now glad to be in areas that are able to offer more services. It's been difficult finding gluten free food in the tiny grocery stores on the Westfjords. And this area (the north) still has mountains and nice views.

We took a side trip off the main highway to see Hvítserkur, a gorgeous rock formation jutting out of the water, which is seen on many postcards here. The setting was gorgeous, but we had to drive one hour each way on dirt road with lots of pot holes. I know that all the rain they've had this year has made the roads worse, but you'd think that when there's a major attraction such as this, and the falls that we missed out on a few days ago because of very poor roads, that they could send a gravel truck down them once in a while!

Once back on the number 1 we headed for our B&B in Sauðárkrókur. It's a larger, more developed town than the ones we've been staying in lately. I was delighted that they let us do some laundry here, as laundromats don't exist in small communities. We were staying in one other place early on where they had a machine in one of the shared bathrooms which they let us use. Speaking of bathrooms, this is the first time we've had our own! The place was overbooked, so we were given a room with a private bathroom for the same price! Such rooms are very expensive here, so this is why we've opted to share on this trip.

This evening we walked along a black sand beach close to town. It was beautiful with the mountains in the background, and we could see Grímsey Island, which is made out of a huge rock. There were also a few ladies riding horses along the beach. Riding must be popular here, as there was a large group of people riding along the road to Hvítserkur today as well.