Iceland‘s Extremities
Arctic henge in 2016 - still under construction
Out East
Along the East coast, finger like fjords, full of secrets are packed together between Hofn (where the "East" begins) and Seydisfjordur (where the “Trapped” ferry comes in). It's a perfect place for a slow drive route, ending in the lakeside town of Egilsstadir, from where the journey to the extremities of North-East Iceland can really begin.
Ignoring for now the opportunity to cross the Highlands, for forest walking and lakeside leisure, this pretty place is also the gateway to the much less visited stretch of coast that leads to the quirky appendage that is the Langanes peninsular. This is a journey, slower even the road from Hofn. More gravel, different nature and new surprises: Gyr falcons, ptarmigan and the special sub-group of Icelandic sheep, the Forystufe or leader sheep. The only service stops are in the little hardworking coastal settlements of Vopnafjordur (where we arrived on slaughter day) and on the north coast, Porshofn, where there is also a tiny airport. Here on the knuckle of the Langanes peninsula finger, it’s now just a little further to one of the most memorable places I have ever stayed in all my travels in Iceland and a place I am returning to in 2024.
Art in Vopnafjordur
The Arctic Coast
Mirjiam’s farm. September 2016. We made this journey but by a different route, travelling from Akureyri via Kopasker and Arctic Henge on what is now more fashionably called the "Arctic Coast Way”. Then we made a giant loop on to Vopnafjordur , looking for the Leader sheep, and stopping to see the lake at Myvatn, the nearby geothermal area and the superb crater, Krafla, where we were treated to the first snows of the winter. We shared so many memorable moments on this trip, with Icelandic music (bought at the pitstop at Asbyrgi) filling the van. Yet for me, the time spent on the Langanes was the most utterly captivating and a place I am now delighted to be returning to, partly at least to try to identify what it was or is that made such an impression upon me back then.
At the heart of it is the place we stayed: home from home farm hospitality of the best Icelandic kind. After that, what awaited us ranged from the signs of past, now abandoned farming lives and piles of driftwood strewn on deserted beaches to an incongruously modern viewing platform overlooking one of the largest gannet colonies in Northern Europe. On this next trip, I can take in more of the life of the farm. The preparation for the gather, and the sense of the approaching winter. It will also be a time for more exploration along the narrow strip of land that forms the peninsula, and after dark, I’ll hope for a repeat of the stunning Aurora displays that we were treated to the last time I was here.
Out on a limb: the gannet viewing platform
