The Western Peninsula

To the northwest of Reykjavik is a little peninsula jutting off the Icelandic coast called Snaefellsnes. It's sometimes called "little Iceland" because here on this small stretch of land you can see just about every different landscape the island has to offer. We spent our first full day in Iceland here, navigating the entirety of the coast in our tiny rental. We ate lobster pasta in the traditional fishing village of Stykkishólmur in the quaintest little seaside restaurant you ever did see. We found a trio of wild ponies, excuse me, regal and majestic HORSES (Icelanders don't like it when you call them ponies. They are a highly respected national treasure, dammit.) grazing off the roadside and they let me whisper quiet professions of love in their ears and stroke their velvety noses.

Peak life experience.

 

 

We found the black pebble beach of Djúpalónssandur, which, at a minimum, took my breath away and at a maximum, changed my life forever. I have never seen such a place, and these pictures hardly do it justice. It was like a fairy tale come to life and made me realize why, when asked, only 10% of Icelanders believe with absolute certainty that elves do not exist. Which means (if my math serves me) the other 90%, well, they believe in the possibility. If you lived in a place like this, wouldn't you too?  

 

 

I swear to you I saw what could only be a fairy glen on the other side of this hole. I didn't see any actual fairies, but I'm 90% certain they were just hiding.

 

 

No sand, just smooth, black pebbles as far as the eye can see.

 

 

We also drove through the Berserk lava fields which, I mean...

 

 

We had to drag ourselves away. Also, Icelandic farmers wrap their hay bales in white plastic to protect them from the elements, which results in what looks to be giant marshmallow fields all along the roadside. Don't you agree? Once you see it, you can't un-see it and then you just giggle and giggle the rest of the day. 

 

 

We also found the cave at Rauðarfellsgjá which was the inspiration for Jules Verne’s novel “A Journey to the Centre of the Earth” and now I see why. I wish the photos could appropriately convey the enormity of this place. Maybe below you can see those two teeeeeny tiny white specks at the mouth of the cave? Those are people. Two full grown adults actually, so yeah. It was magnificent and totally Game of Thrones-ish. Which by the way, have I mentioned they were shooting GOT on location in Iceland while we were there and we saw the whole set up by complete accident one night as we were driving along the south coast? Because we totally did. And it was awesome and Josh and I white people high-fived and everything.

 

Oh, and then there was this old thing. Just a little fishing hamlet known as Arnarstapi on the southern side of Snæfellsjökull national park with the most exquisite coastline I've ever seen. Full of sea birds nesting in it's cliffs and cozy little cottages roosting in it's hills. Because people live here. I mean, I live in Wadsworth, Ohio and some people live here, it's nbd. Elves and fairies live here too, so why not. And while we're on the subject I would also like to propose the existence of mermaids as well to complete the trifecta of mythological beings, if you will. Because if this place can exist, than surely mermaids must certainly exist to occupy it. There's no way such a place would be created without mermaids to inhabit it. That would just be a waste. I mean seriously, don't be silly.