I've used the same post title some time in the dark and distant past, but it really does sum up today very nicely. We had sleet, snow, rain, wind, and lots of it. That said we still managed to get out for nearly 6hrs and had a really good time.
The day started well, weather aside, as not long after breakfast we noticed a seal popping his head up above the surf about 30m from the cottage; unfortunately with the lens I have here with me and the distance to the seal I couldn't really get a photo so the memories will have to suffice. We grabbed the binoculars and took turns in watching him (or her) for a good 30 minutes or so, it proved that the cottage owners were not spinning a yarn about seals occasionally visiting the sea just outside the cottage.
As the forecast was for a slight improvement in the weather for a couple of hours just after lunchtime we ate early, then headed out around 11:30am. I had a few stops planned on our mini-tour, and they were all within a 6-mile or so radius of Hellisandur.
The first stop was just a couple of miles west, a short stop at the Well of the Irish and a look around the area. Then back into the car and over to Skardsvik Beach. On our visit early 2016 we also paid a visit to this beach, a small but beautiful golden sand beach; a rarity on this volcanic isle, and it was just as dreamy as we remembered.
Last year however we didn't continue on the gravel road past the beach as it was simply too bumpy, but this time around with a bigger car we went for it, and were pleasantly surprised that some of the potholes had been smoothed out so whilst bumpy it was nowhere as bad. What this meant was that we could head over to the two lighthouses that sit only about a mile apart over on the end of the peninsula.
The first lighthouse we visited was the small and stumpy Ondverdarnesviti lighthouse, a lovely orange colour and surrounded by so much history, lots of remains of the times when men on rowing boats brought fish to the shores. We were here for around an hour.
The track back down to the t-junction where we diverted off to Svortuloft lighthouse was driven with little trouble, but the section down to the other lighthouse was much more bumpy. It was however worth the drive as it was a much grander lighthouse overlooking stunning cliffs. Not a place where you leave the designated path and stand near the edge though, especially in these conditions!
Our next leg was inland through lave fields to Klukkufoss waterfall, well it wouldn't be Iceland without seeing at least one waterfall each day. This was along a very bumpy gravel road for a few kilometres, and we were then faced with a snowstorm and a very slippy short hike uphill to the waterfall, going through some sections where snow was quite deep. It was a really exciting part of the day, we felt like adventurers, and yes it was great to see the waterfall however the ravine was full of snow and you could only see a small part of the waterfall itself, and you couldn't at all see the basalt columns which it is also famous for. But never mind, the waterfall isn't going anywhere soon. What we weren't expecting but were astonished to see was a Sea Eagle flying overhead, rare in Iceland so a real honour.
There was a last stop on our itinerary for the trip out, and it was only a mile back down the gravel road from where we had parked for the waterfall, but, we decided not to bother as to be honest we were more than a little wet by now and we just didn't fancy spending the hour it would have taken us to go up and around the scoria crater rim getting even more drenched.
Around 5:30pm we were back at the cottage, time for tea and to wrap up warm and watch the dreadful weather just pass us by. And to our surprise, our friendly seal came to pay a visit again, a lovely end to the day.
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