Plans ... Diverted
Sometimes when you don’t get what you hoped for, you get something even better. It happened twice today.
Last night when we arrived in Grundarfjör∂ur, and visited Wizard’s Hat, the weather wasn’t great, and I was dismayed that the grand sunrise scenes I had imagined probably wouldn’t materialize. This was the place I wanted to photograph more than any other on the island.
When we awoke this morning, things didn’t seem any better … it had actually snowed overnight and the clouds were out in full force. But given the potential for this visit to be once in a lifetime, we got up before dawn and made our way to the mountain. It was early, cold, and cloudy, but our faith and patience were rewarded when after 45 minutes we were rewarded with stunning morning light that bathed the mountain in glorious sunlight. With my camera in place, I proceeded to capture the beauty of the area for a solid 40 minutes.
After returning to the farmstead to pack, our host Ragnar invited us to visit with his horses and sheep. And oh my, Icelandic horses … so wonderful!!
From the beginning of our planning, we had both wanted to make it up to the Westfjords, Iceland’s most remote area, with vast fjords, scenic vistas, and Dynjandi, a massive, powerful waterfall. Alas, mother nature had other plans for us. The weather was rainy/snowy and the few roads that go that far north were closed or extremely dicey. We had to make the hard decision to skip that part of the county, much to our dismay.
We spent an hour debating what to do next, and decided to head to Myvatn in the north east part of the country. We would actually be passing our next big stop, Akureyri, and would have to backtrack to it here in a few days. We reviewed our original plans for the area, and realized we would never be able to do it all in the time we had set aside for it. It seemed like a logical fit.
Turns out it was an amazing decision. Not only did we skip a storm that may have trapped us in the Westfjords, but Myvatn is amazing! Our hotel here, Hotel Laxa, is wonderful.
The drive was all of Iceland weather and terrain in one day. Stunning coastlines, dramatic mountains, wondrous river valleys … stormy seas, snowy peaks, rainy valleys. We experienced it all. And loved it!
Blessings in disguise, to be sure!