Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Iceland

Today we sailed into the small town of Grundarfjordur, again starting by cruising into the fjord surrounded by majestic mountains.

We had to use the tenders to get ashore, which I actually enjoy, adds to the sense of adventure.

Helen and I were booked on a “village hopping” excursion which actually turned out to be better than that.

Once loaded into our coach, we followed the coastline for a while, before heading inland.

Our first stop was Svodofoss waterfall. Actually Iceland has plenty of waterfalls. Both in towns and countryside, there are waterfalls big and small dotted around, and this is during nice weather. I can only imagine how many more would appear when there is rain or snow to feed into them.

Svodofoss waterfall had a walk up to the base, but I chose just to view from afar and take in the overall surroundings.

We continued along the coast, passing various small towns, and stopping at a visitor centre next to a tiby town, which was an opportunity for coffee and toilets for those who needed. On the roof was a lookout where I grabbed a few photos.

We then headed more inland over many miles of volcanic landscape, up high on a plateau, showing just how Iceland was formed by exploding volcanos. 

We visited a lighthouse at Malarrif which is a modern the robust looking structure. I’m sure it will serve Iceland well for many years to come.

We had about 40 minutes here, where we sat in the sun enjoying the fresh air and taking to fellow cruise passengers.

We then continued along through the incredible Icelandic landscapes, which although large change constantly.

We went to the seaside village of Arnarstapi. This is situated on top of cliffs. We had the opportunity to take a 50 minute walk along the clifftops. It was a beautiful day with blue sky and little wind.

There was a super yacht complete with helicopter sitting offshore, I joked it was the Iceland navy.

Along our walk was various lookouts over the cliffs, where we could observe large number of birds on the cliffs below. Fascinating to watch, and amazing how loud there are!

From here we meandered our way back towards the ship. This was a 5 hour trip today, leaving us time to grab a late lunch and a dip in the spa pool.

Sailing out, I sat on our balcony waving goodbye to Iceland and taking on the views on last time.

As soon as we cleared the fjord, our ship picked up speed noticeably. We are heading for Greeland and will have two days at sea now. We are told we have an iceberg pilot on board which is interesting in itself!