Day 6 – East Iceland
This morning, we woke up to the sound of rain. It had started raining in the night. We had originally swapped our Ice Cave tour planned for today with the visit to Svartifoss which requires some hiking. But Heimir says that rain and strong wind was forecasted today around the Svartifoss area and so hiking is not advisable. Instead he suggested heading further east as it is suppose to be dry further east. This worked for us as DBIL just recently found out about Vestrahorn and had asked Heimir about it when we arrived. We had not added this to our itinerary initially as Vestrahotn is not a usual tourist destination and so we did not know about it when we were doing our initial planning. It is mainly visited only by those interested in photography and included in photographic trips as it is very dramatic.
We headed east and while it was cloudy, it did not rain! Moving east along the South coast of Iceland, along the Ring Road, is a bay with two headlands. Looking like two horns, one is called Eystrahorn and the other called Vestrahorn. Eystrahorn is a mere 756 m, but made up of gabbro and granophyre and extremely steep, It is one of the mountains in Iceland that cannot be climbed. Landslides are almost a constant at Eystrahorn. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy when we visited Eystrahorn and so I could not capture its peak and full grandeur.
We then headed further east and ended in the fishing town of Höfn. It lies near Hornafjörður fjord. When we got there around noon, the harbour was relatively empty as the fishing boats are mostly out at sea. We found a nice little restaurant, Z Bistro, for lunch.
Z Bistro has a welcoming clean cut deco. It was empty when we arrived. The menu features lots of seafood based choices. Since Hofn is a fishing town, we all decided to have seafood.
DSis and I decided to have the fish and chips (ISK3850). Oh, it was so good! They used cod fish which was so fresh and smooth! The fish serving was generous and the chips were just right. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
DH had the lobster sandwich (ISK2490). The lobster was generous and up to today he raves about it being the best lobster sandwich he has had. DBIL had the lobster pasta (ISK2490). This creamy pasta served with garlic bread also received only compliments from him. Again, lobster serving was generous.
Coffee here cost ISK300 per cup.
Z Bistro is a wonderful find in this small town of Hofn. Food price is very reasonable and quality is excellent. It was the best meal we had in our whole trip. All of us agreed that after this fish and chips, we will be disappointed with all others. Who says U.K. has the best fish and chips? After having the one at Z Bistro, all those that I tried in my U.K. trip last June, pale in comparison.
After lunch, we were off to Vestrahorn which is a further 12km east of Hofn. Vestrahorn is a 454 meter high mountain overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and part of the headland of Stokksnes. The shore features stunning lava dunes, that are constantly being shaped by the natural forces of water and wind. The site is not often visited by tourist groups but is very popular among photographers, because the overall look and scene changes constantly with season, weather, time of day.
Vestrahorn is also often called “Batman Mountain” as its two peaks resembles Batman’s emblem. This beautiful mountain with steep cliffs by a black sand beach and strong waves from the ocean produces a dramatic landscape. It is truely an enigmatic sight. We spend quite some time here just admiring this dramatic landscape. It was truly captivating. So glad that we have been able to squeeze this in unplanned.
By the time we got back to Gerdi Guesthouse, it was about 5pm. This is the shortest day of our entire road trip. The sky had cleared by now and I was able to capture the beautiful surroundings of Gerdi which was impossible that morning with the grey skies.
I was too tired from the last few days and rested in the room until dinner.
Dinner that night was at Gerdi’s restaurant again. The menu was limited and I decided to go vegetarian and had the vegetarian stew and rice. The rest had either the chicken chop or the lamb. After my dismay experience with smoked lamb, I didn’t dare try anymore lamb on this trip! I hope you like reading Iceland Winter Adventure 2017 – Day 6 (East Iceland).