Day 17 – Infinity Pool

Akureyri -> Dalvik -> Siglufjörður -> Hofsós -> Hvammstangi

I woke up feeling baked in the tent. It was HOT. The Arctic sun can be harsh in the summer.

Packing up, I mapped out a route towards the West Fjords.

I planned to go via Dalvik and Hofsos, on the more secluded Rte76 that went around the peninsula. I figured it would be more interesting than the oft-travelled ring road Rte1.

As I got to Dalvik, I noticed a strange low-hanging grey fog rolling in from the Arctic Ocean. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. So I stopped to take a better look. Strange stuff. On a clear day too. It reminded me of death-eaters from the Harry Potter books.

Dalvik has a ferry that takes you to Grimsey Island, which is in the Arctic Circle. I am a little obsessed with getting as far north as possible and camping in the Arctic Circle sounded very appealing to me.

Driving to the harbour, I inquired with the local fishermen about this ferry. They informed me that the ferry only begins on June 1st, and goes by only once a day. So I was a few days early. Damn! Maybe next time..

Driving on to Siglufjörður, which is right on the tip of the peninsula, I passed through a massive 8km single-lane tunnel. Intense. I considered for a minute what the repercussions of an earthquake at that very moment would be. Definitely not good.

When I got to Siglufjörður, the death-eater fog had taken complete control of the surroundings. Visibility was poor and got worse as you drove into the mountains.

I continued on to Hofsos. I’ve heard the road here is beautiful, but I couldn’t see much except for 10-15 feet ahead of me.

Hofsós was gorgeous. With its bare cliffs hanging over the water, fjords in the distance, and the Arctic Ocean on one side, it had me transfixed. I decided to stick around for a bit.

I headed over to the local town swimming pool. As it turns out, the swimming pool in little Hofsós (population 200) was designed by an award winning architect, and is one of the top-rated pools (and well kept secret) in the country!

Consisting of a heated pool and a hot-tub, it is built on a cliff and sticks out into the ocean and has amazing views all around as well as an infinity-pool feel to it.

I had found my own piece of paradise. I spent the rest of the evening there. I didn’t see a reason to leave. The fjords can wait till tomorrow.

Leaving after the place shut down, I drove through horse country. Endless plains of wild Icelandic horses running around.

I found this little guy cuddling up to his mom. They were cooperative enough to stay still and pose for a picture.

Death-eater fog was still hanging around.

I got to Hvammstangi, which my Lonely Planet guide suggested as the best place to camp in the area. No doubt there, well-maintained facilities and friendly hosts.

As I lay in my tent, I considered driving back to Hofsos tomorrow for another swim in the designer paradise infinity pool.