Around Iceland in 14 days (article 10 of 10)

Day 12-14
2-3 Sep 2015
Akureyri Christmas Shop, 14th Century Port, Old Church, Beautiful valley Oxnadalur, Overnight Varmahlid, Glaumbaer turf house, hill with crater, Hvammstangi trek, Reykjavik city, Last Sundlaug

First Stop
Drove: 13 km

Again, curiosity got the better of us when we saw these Christmas House signboards all over town. I was reluctant to go, but after some persuasion decide to go. No regrets, it is a shop that sells everything Xmas. Somehow, it is a happy place. Didn't buy anything Christmassy except for some village produce Jams and some local foodstuff.

Medieval Port City of Gasir
Drove: 26 km

Should have spent 2 hours at the aviation museum as it is something that I am passionate about. Somehow, I decided not to.  This unique place (nothing much left) was an active trading post during summers of 13th-16th century and it is believed it declined after Akureyri started to grow and became the trading centre. In summer, a market is held here on the weekends. Many artifacts that were found were items that did not come from this area or even Iceland. 



Figure: Some archeological remnants remain, but nothing much else. (photo by Tia) 






Oxnadalur
Drove: 32 km

I was struck by the beauty of this valley (and so many other places in Iceland!) and stopped at a vista point. It had a signboard protesting against the government's plan to erect electrical pylons along the valley, thus 'uglifying' the place. It instead suggested the government to use underground cables.

Overnight at Varmahlid
Drove 60km 

A simple campsite with basic amenities, although it is quite large in size. And to freshen up....went to the nearby Sundlaug (hot water pool) Varmahlid. At the campsite, the fees were collected late at night by a camp official with a wireless credit card machine. Nearly had to pay cash as the credit card machine did not work, but alas, she managed to get it running. As much as possible, I notice they prefer to handle electronic funds than cash as cash you have the hassle of having to bank in the money, etc. We were winding down our trip and spending more time relaxing. 

Day 13
3 Sep 2015

First Stop
Drove 8 km

Visited Glaumbær early in the morning. Its a turf house believed to be built in the 17th century, but people have been settling there much earlier. The turf house normally started with one building and expanded over the years with one main gangway or corridor that cuts across the entire complex. Glaumbær is a very well preserved building with a hobbit like construction. The purpose of the turf is to retain heat in the house and more importantly, to prevent the strong winds from damaging the houses. Entrance fee EUR23 for the 4 of us.

Figure: These iconic houses is a sight to behold with the compacted soil and turf packed tightly in between the structures. The first yellow door leads to a labyrinth of rooms and spaces in the house. The second, third and fourth doors are mainly for their farm equipment and tools. (photo by Tia)

Figure: There are many rooms in the complex. (Photo by Tia)

Figure: The floor is mainly soil.

Figure: 19th century timber house within the museum

Overnight Hvammstangi
Drove 116 km

A scenic campsite (ain't them all?) situated on top of a hill with a nice trek behind it that if you walk up the hill and then down a meandering river ack to the campsite.

Figure: Nice simple trek for the urban folks. While the views are magnificent, I still think rainforest treks are still the real deal.

Figure: View from the top of the hill. 

Figure: When we got down from the hill, we walked along this beautiful meandering river.

I decided to really chill-out and relax today. We DID NOT DO ANYTHING, just enjoyed the camp site, went trekking, and relax. It was a really good decision.

Day 14 Reykjavik
4 Sep 2015

Drove 127 km

First Stop
Trekked up Grabrokargigar and rewarded with a beautiful view of a crater in the middle of the hill. In fact, there are three craters and believed to be approximately 3600 years old and part of a volcanic system in the area.

Figure: This is the biggest of the 3 craters called Stora Grabrok and a walkway is provided around the area. Strict rules on not disturbing the vegetation and stack travellers cairns due to the sensitive nature of the moss vegetation.

Reykjavik
Drove: 69km 

Strolled around Reykajvik one last time.





Figure: Refreshing to see some sense of normalcy after 2 weeks surrounded by folks in technical clothes and trekking shoes, tents, campervans and caravans.

Figure:What a proud chievement - we have circumnavigated Iceland!!! In total we travelled more than 1,330 km.


Overnight Reykjavik


Reykjavik campsite address Tjaldsvæðið Laugardal
Laugarásvegur, Reykjavík (link).This is a big campsite full of people which we were not used to after travelling for 2 weeks where people were scarce. It has full facilities - shower, cooking, washing machine, drier, a big dining hall etc. Even bicycles can be rented here. As this is the last destination, people leave behind many things from spices, food, jams, butter, even trekking shoes.

Next to the campsite is Reykjavik's largest outdoor pool with natural geothermal water. Bliss. One last round before we bid this beautiful country goodbye. 

Flight back 5 Sep 2015

Returned the car to the owner at the bus terminal. He checked the usual stuff. We don't need to return it clean to them. Watch out some rental companies insist that you return it just as when you receive it which is ridicilous. So, read the fine prints before you book.

Left my GPS in the vehicle which was sent to me later which he charged only the postal charges to my credit card.

End of Article 10

Links to:

Article 1 - Reykjavik

Article 2 - Bridge Between 2 continents, Seltun Geothermal steam, Blue Lagoon, first overnight stay in Campervan, Aurora

Article 3 - Pingvellir Parliament, Geyser Southwest

Article 4 - South Gulfoss, Gluggafoss, Eyjafjallajokull volcano

Article 5 - Black Sand Beach, View of the Glacier

Article 6 - Glacier Walk, Zodiac Boat Ride in the Lake, Ice Beach
Article 7 - Hofn and Fjardabyggd
Article 8 - Hverir, Myvatn Nature Bath and Lake Myvatn
Article 9 - Whale watching, Exploration Museum, Godafoss Waterfall, Akureyri Sundlaug 

Article 10 - (this article) - Akureyri Christmas Shop, 14th Century Port, Old Church, Dalvik, Beautiful valley Oxnadalur, Overnight Varmahlid, Glaumbaer turf house, Hill with crater, Reykjavik city, Last Sundlaug