We rounded out our self-driving tour of Iceland by heading west to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Based on the map we knew we had a combination of paved and unpaved roads to drive on. This guy wasn’t super excited about that unpaved stuff based on our previous experience with a punctured tire but hey, we got to it. Susanna, now self-named the Comfort Coordinator, navigated us onto the Ring Road and on we went.
10K One Way Drive to One More Hot Spring – Focus Man, Focus
Susanna told me there was a hot spring along our route that she wanted to visit. I was indifferent to veering off as I had already experienced the geo-thermal baths but you all know the saying in the USA; a happy wife is a happy life. We ended up getting onto an unpaved road to get to the hot spring. Of all of the unpaved roads we had driven on during the trip, this was the most remote by city standards. For the most part there was nothing but sheep, wild horses and rugged mountains. We didn’t see any tourists on this route and for good reason; another flat tire out here or any other mechanical and we were pretty much on our own, not a gas station or mechanic for miles in any direction.
We reached the hot spring and I parked the car. I came to find out that we had to drive out the same road we came in on. This meant 10 kilometers each way, which translated into 6 miles in, 6 miles back out. I was not a happy camper i.e, I was &%$*!!@ pissed off and I let my lovely wife know as much. We pride ourselves on being good communicators and rarely raise our voices and get angry but I royally failed in this situation. She went into the hot spring. I pulled my camera out and explored the area taking a few shots.
Getting to the Snaefellsness Peninsula
It was total silence in the car on our way back out and that lasted for several minutes. Once we were back on the main road we both relaxed, apologized and began to laugh as a crisis was averted. Things quickly got back to normal and then we continued to marvel at the landscape on our way to the Snaefellsness Peninsula.
Kirkjufel Mountain
The Beach in Snæfellsjökull National Park
A Cozy Café, Cliffs and a Hike to Arastapi
Iceland is truly a one of a kind experience and should be on anyone's bucket list of places to visit. While I've got new places to explore and photograph this was one special trip and was the main reason why I chose to share this experience through multiple blog posts.
You can see more of my Iceland photos in the Scapes section of my site and on previous blog posts.