Last night we stayed at Hotel Kanslarinn in Hella, a small town on the southern coast that was a convenient location between the Golden Circle and our next stop out near Jokulsarlon glacier. It’s rather like a stop along a two lane highway in the American west, with a couple of older style 1-2 story hotels, a couple restaurants, and a couple gas stations and a few blocks of neighborhoods extending away from the highway. Even the vibe in the comfort food style restaurant is a lot like many of the stops we made in Nevada and Utah. Interestingly our room is quiet even though it faces the highway, as the speeds through town are lowered down to 50 km/h.
This morning we headed out for a horse riding tour at a stable about 15 minutes away. Icelandic horses were first brought by the Vikings over 1,000 years ago, and in the isolation on the island have developed into a distinctive breed. Although they are of a size that would internationally be called a pony, they are in fact considered horses because they are sturdy and easily able to carry an adult. They are known for their distinctive gait called a tolt, which is like a smooth trot.
We had a nice small tour group with only two other guests plus two hosts. While we were waiting for the tour to start we were able to walk around the barn to see the horses. Several were happy to come over to the edge of their stalls for us to pet. Then we went into the arena to meet the horses for the tour. I rode Eldi, which is Icelandic for fire, named for his chestnut red color. It was strange to get in the saddle for the first time in many years, but old habits quickly took over even if my muscles disagreed in their ability to hold correct positions. Eldi was certainly a trail horse, determined to get in line and stay there, so it took a little work to convince him that I did actually sometimes want him to do other things. After a few circles around the arena, we set off on our trail ride.
The ride was an hour long and looped through some of their fields. Thankfully the weather continued to improve today. It wasn’t as bitingly cold or overly windy, and we only got sprayed by a couple quick blown mists of rain. It was lovely to get out and see the fields up close at a leisurely pace. We did try the tolt a couple times and it was a lot of fun, but after all the rains the trails were very muddy so it was hard to sustain it. After our ride they invited us to a kitchen at the side of the arena for some hot tea or coffee which was a great way to warm up our hands.
After our ride we took a break at the hotel, and then drove out to see a couple of water falls. In the next town over we stopped in at the grocery store where we found some tasty pre-made sandwiches as well as some snacks.
The first waterfall we stopped at was Sejalandsfoss, which we could see from several miles away cascading down the cliff face. It has a hollowed out area in the rock behind it, so with waterproof gear zipped up tight we were able to venture through the heavy spray to get a look. We were once again thoroughly soaked, although overall our protective gear did a good job. The steady wind proved a good blow dryer, so by the time we walked back to the car to dry off we were nearly dry anyway. After that we went for a short walk along the bottom of the cliffs to see several other water falls. The one at the farthest end is accessed through a narrow passage into the cliffs and requires navigating through the water to access. I didn’t trust the water proofing on my shoes enough to go in, but Mervin did and got some really nice photos.
We made a final stop at a waterfall about a ten minutes drive away. This one we had found just by browsing Google. It was down a long gravel road that looped from the highway past several houses and then back to the highway. The drive was beautiful, and when we arrived at the waterfall the only other car there was leaving. After the parking lot full of tourists at Sejalandsfoss it was lovely to have a quiet space to just enjoy the beauty of the waterfall.
As we were leaving a horse riding tour passed us to visit the falls, so we had perfect timing to get our private waterfall experience.
This evening we are staying a second night in Hella, then we’ll continue our drive along the coast in the morning. For dinner I enjoyed a bowl of plokkfiskur, an Icelandic fish stew, and rye bread. The plokkfiskur tasted kind of like chowder with a much higher density of fish in it.
Mervin
Fabulous photos!!