the+WEST+COAST

= THE WEST COAST - and then ..... SNAEFELLSNES PENINSULA=



At 9am we were picked up by a representative of the hire car firm and then had a little wait when the battery proved to be flat and he had to call for assistance to jump-start it. He was quite embarrassed and assured us that a new battery would be installed before he handed it over – I may have suggested the same myself if he hadn’t got in first! After that it was all plain sailing. Once we cleared Reykjavik the traffic disappeared and we were pretty much on our own in the magnificent landscape. We could see high cliffs, waterfalls, wild rivers and glaciers in the surrounding mountains as well as plenty of horses grazing in the meadows. A detour to see Hraunfossar and Barnafoss waterfalls was worthwhile. Hraunfossar (“lava falls”) is a kilometer long series of small falls – the water is from melting glaciers and springs and wells up through the lava below the surface and cascades into the Hvita River.
 * [[image:IMG_2057.jpg caption="No thats not a wave but a low cloud"]] || [[image:IMG_2060.jpg]] ||
 * [[image:IMG_2107.jpg caption="Icelandic horses are everywhere in this beautiful landscape"]] || [[image:IMG_2096.jpg]] ||
 * [[image:IMG_2090.jpg caption="Hraunfossar - "lava falls" where cold water wells up through the lavaand run as tiny waterfalls"]] || [[image:IMG_2087.jpg]] ||

Tonight we’re staying at a hotel on the Snaefellsnes peninsula, an area of fjords, volcanic peaks, sea cliffs, sweeping beaches and a huge icecap which was immortalized in Jules Verne’s tale “Journey to the Centre of the Earth”. Tomorrow we explore it all before boarding a ferry to travel across to the Westfjords area. on to ......SNAEFELLSNES PENINSULA
 * [[image:IMG_2112.jpg caption="oh for a waterfall in your backyard!"]] || [[image:IMG_2122.jpg caption="black larva rocks overgrown with grasses and moss"]] ||