Iceland – Part 2

28 July 2015
DAY 2 KEFLAVIK – Snæfellsnes

After reuniting with the rest of the Fromagis (our little name), our group took possession of the 4 motorhomes that will be our homes for the next few days. It takes a thunderous organization to manage 20 people and everything was planned by Brooke and Kelly: itineraries, campground reservations, RV rentals, walkie-talkies, … We stop to refuel at Bonus (a discount supermarket) and have a quick lunch, then drive to our first stop: Snæfellsnes.

The Snæfellsnes peninsula is located in the west of the country. We started our journey by 6h of drive to go in these green valleys. 4 campers on roads at the edge of the ocean where the wind blows very hard it does not go very fast. It gave us plenty of time to catch up!

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We were looking for an abandoned house to take pictures. This is not what is missing in the region but unfortunately none allowed us to park our vehicles safely (understand: not on the road). We did however find a hobbit house where we stopped to take pictures for over two hours. The sun was setting behind the mountains and we wanted to enjoy the golden light until the end.

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We were like alone in the world. Everyone scattered here and there to photograph. Some were posing, others were doing self-portraits, the habits of our group were quickly found back, as if we had left the day before.

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We had planned to go to a certain farm but the day was long (it was past midnight) and we prefered to go directly to the campsite. I took the wheel and while the road reached the top of a mountain, i was at the front row for one of the most beautiful sunsets of this trip (and there will be some). I could not take a picture but Rebeca filmed it:

Jour 3 Snæfellsnes – VIK

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The next day we leave towards the South: direction Vik!
The few clouds in the morning quickly leave place to a bright sun, a very pleasant way to drive. The road is even longer than the day before but the landscapes that pass by the window are superb. We arrive on Reynisfjara beach, the sun is still very high. I do not do many images of the famous basalt organs and I prefer to wonder around the other side of the mountain in the shade.

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At some point we see puffins perched high on the mountain, I try to take pictures but these little birds were really too far (do not look for them, they are none in this photo). I dreamed to see some, so we can say that my wish is half realized.

As the moon rises, we celebrate Bonnie’s birthday with a picnic on the mountain* and then drive back to our campground in Thagvil. We really drove a lot during these first 2 days but fortunately the next ones will be punctuated with longer stops.

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*I am always surprised to see how close our band is. 20 people who did not know each other more than a year ago, and who in the space of a few days became friends. Our love of photography had brought us together at a Brooke Shaden workshop, but a je-ne-sais-quoi makes that we share much more than that. This evening proves it to me once more.

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