Kirkjufell, Iceland

‘Nature is our chapel.’
Bjork
A tour of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula courtesy of our ‘tour guides’ K2 and R. The landscape is so dramatic and sweeping in scale even I was quiet for most of the journey. We began at Hellnar with a short coast walk and another church – you’ve seen one yesterday so I won’t bore you with another. The coastline here is so dramatic, where the lava fields cascade into the sea and the contorted rock shapes are ‘dragons’, ‘serpents’ and trolls. The path over the lava fields from Löndrangar to the lighthouse was heavier going but the landscape was otherworldly, dominated inland by the Snæfellsjökull, a glacier topped volcano which occasionally appeared through the cloud cover. More caves and waterfalls lured us to explore while wending our way around the coast road towards Grundarfjörður and the iconic Kirkjufell, reputedly the most photographed mountain in Iceland – maybe that’s why it looked so familiar. It was late afternoon and coffee and cake called, Græna kompaníið café was just so inviting and we were in need of a rest after our – my - exertions. It was a tiny emporium, with cakes, coffee, books, wool, jigsaws and little corners to lose ourselves in. All neatly timed as they closed at 6pm, in time for us to cross over the road for dinner at the Harbour Café, what a treat. We were welcomed like long-lost family and entertained by our host, who insisted we have a sweet on arrival (house rules) and brought over fermented shark for us to sample, then gave us our badges as we survived, all honorary Vikings now. He was so funny, and the fish pie and local beer was a treat too so a great way to wrap up the day. Our journey back across the lava fields and snow atop the peninsula was quite a contrast, with snow flurries most of the way back, glad to get back into the warmth of our Pod at Arnarstapi.