Vatnshellir Cave

 Today I set out west along the north edge of  Snæfellsnes, playing on getting to some lava caves along the way.  I had some time in hand so I made a couple of stops along the way.


Firstly I stopped at yet another waterfall, Grundarfoss.  It was a short hike from the road and the views along the way were stunning.  The mountain tops had a lick of snow from the stormy weather yesterday and were being lit by the rising sun.  The waterfall itself was enchanting.  There were also some cute Icelandic horses.




A little later I stopped at a small outcrop by the sea at the edge of a village, the waves were smashing against the cliff.  I made a cuppa and watched the sea for a little.



I didn't have much time left so I headed straight to the cave. As I approached Sæsnessfell itself canned into view.  It is a gently sloping but enormous strato volcano topped by a glacier - a bit like Mount Fuji.



The guide for the cave was very nice, he's a young chap who lived for several years in Manchester, said he was born in Oxford.  He took us down the caves which were carved by lava 11,000 years ago.  At one point we turned off our torches and it was utterly dark.



The guide mentioned some outcrops in the distance and recommended a visit so I went there afterwards.  The were several bus loads of tourists there at first but they soon left and it was pretty quiet.  I first walked to the lighthouse which was looking very picturesque in the sun.




It was next to some cliffs and a gorgeous pebble beach, so I just hung around there for a while watching the vigorous sea churning away.



I then followed a footpath which led past the sea mounts so you could see them up close.  They are the remains of volcanoes, the rest having been eaten away by the sea.  Iceland is constantly being eaten by the sea but growing along the mid Atlantic rift about the same rate.



After that it was about time to head south, I wanted to be near the start of my hike to the Litl Hurtr eruption site.  So I spent the whole afternoon pretty much driving.  It was nice whilst it was scenic but navigating a busy Reykjavik was less fun.  I did bump into an old German couple at a charger, they were a bit clueless and I tried my best to help but to no avail.  It's not their fault though, the EV charging companies really need to simplify charging.  You should be able to just pay with a card like you would for petrol.  Sigh.  I hope they got where they need to be.

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