Skagi, Iceland 🇮🇸 2022

Date: 23rd July 2022

Travelled: 210 kms from Hofsós to Búðardalur  

Visited:  Þingeyraklausturskirkja and Þritapar  

Stayed: Camping Búðardalur, Isk2400, N65.10810, W21.76400 

Budget: 59 days @ €102 per day

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Heard a bit of shuffling around and some voices in the early hours last night, not that it was dark. Looking out the window at 7 am I see we have several small tents around us.

As I mentioned in our previously post Hofsós has a pool and we plan a swim this morning, so it’s an early coffee and fruit to be down at the pool when it opens. We get the Hymer ready for the road, the Hymer rumbles to life amongst the nylon dwellers, I wait till the calming clatter of its Italian diesel settles before rolling off to the pool. Revenge is best served early.

Our guide book tell us the pool at Hofsós resulted after a substantial donation by two local woman. The horizon pool overlooks the fjord and the whole complex is magnificent.

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We swim the required km or so before spending 10 minutes in the 40° hot pool. I hope nothing energetic is required today, as I’m done. We recover somewhat over breakfast and hit the road once again.

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It’s a scenic drive as we leave the Tröllaskagi Peninsula behind and cross in the Skagi Peninsula. We had planned a visit to a natural hot tub at Grettislaug, but we find the road is gravel for the 16 kms, so 32 kms of gravel doesn’t make sense when we’ve already had a swim today. We continue on to our next stop Þingeyraklausturskirkja, still 6 kms up another gravel road but it’s our first church of the day. The construction of this rare stone church (in Iceland) was mainly due to the efforts of one local farmer who would drag the stone by sled the 8 kms from the quarry across the lake Hóp every winter once the lake froze over. It took 13 years being completed in 1877. The village that surrounded it is long gone, it just stands on the hill overlooking the lake.

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Back on route 1 we drive another 5 kms to Þristapar. No longer a village, Þritapar is now a tourist stop over looking Lake Hóp and 3 earth mounds. It was here on one these mounds that the last public executions were held in Iceland (1830). I won’t recount the story but it was only a week ago a friend had mentioned the book, Burial Rites by Hanna Kent. That book is based on the murder leading to that execution. The story is retold in brief on a series of information panels leading to the mound.

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Back on the road we leave Northern Iceland behind and turn on route 68 for the Western Fjordlands. Some 35 kms later the 68 turns to gravel, it’s rough and the Hymer is not enjoying it and either are we. I stop and chat to a local who tells us this section is 30 kms of gravel. So we turn around and drive the long way around. Another 110 kms later we call it a day and find a campsite at Búðardalur on route 60.

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So it’s been a long day’s driving and we’re a little disappointed that we hadn’t anticipated the road conditions as well. We manage a spot in the campsite which is full as a sardine can. That was our day.

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Michael + Pam