ÍS: Snæfellnes and Surrounding Area

When I returned to Iceland for two weeks last August to participate in a manuscript editing seminar, I brought along my youngest brother, who hadn’t gotten a chance to visit me while I was living in Iceland. After the course was over, we took three or four-day trip to the Golden Circle and all around the Snæfellsnes peninsula. I didn’t take too many pictures since I’d just been through the area a few months earlier with another visiting friend, but here’s what I’ve got!

 [35mm shot with my Canon EOS Rebel 2000. Click here for more pictures of southwest Iceland.]

ÍS: Arnastapi Cliffs

Cliffs on the Snæfellsnes peninsula in southwest Iceland.

 [35mm taken with my Canon EOS Rebel 2000. Click here for more pictures from my May 2015 trip around Iceland’s Ring Road. Click here for more pictures of the Snæfellsnes peninsula.]

ÍS: My Favorite Place in Iceland: Djúpalónssandur

 Djúpalónssandur is one of my all-time favorite spots in Iceland. I’ve been there four or five times now, and its beauty makes me emotional every time. This pebbly black beach sits at the foot of the mighty Snæfellsjökull (Snæfells glacier and volcano), and is accessible by a path winding down through the edge of one of the dramatic lava fields that surround the volcano.

 The reason I love this place so much is the sound of the waves on the rocks. At high tide, each receding wave rattles the stones, creating the most soothing noise. If the sun is out at all, it warms the rocks, making this a perfect place to lay quietly, absorbing the fresh air and peaceful crashing waves.

[35mm taken with my Canon EOS Rebel 2000. Click here for more pictures from my May 2015 trip around Iceland’s Ring Road. Click here for more pictures of the Snæfellsnes peninsula.]

ÍS: The Town of Stykkishólmur

Stykkishólmur is an adorable little town on the northeastern coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, situated on a bit of rocky land sticking out into Breiðafjörður, one of the most ecologically diverse bodies of water around Iceland.  With 1,100 inhabitants, it is the commercial center of this part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It was settled in the 16th century as a trading post, and today most of the residents make their living off of fishing and tourism. Stykkishólmur is named after a small island by the harbor called Stykkið (“the piece”- seen in the first in this post). A short walk to the top of Stykkið is rewarded by  a beautiful view of the colorful little town and the thousands of islands in Breiðafjörður. You may be familiar with Stykkishólmur if you saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, since the title character ends up in this town at one point. 

[35mm taken with my Canon EOS Rebel 2000. Click here for more pictures from my May 2015 trip around Iceland’s Ring Road. Click here for more pictures of Stykkishólmur.]

ÍS: Kirkjufell

 Kirkjufell is one of the most photographed mountains in Iceland. Located on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, sailors named it because its unique shape resembles a church from out on the water. In March 2014, I spent a snowy weekend at a cabin on the foot of the mountain with a few friends. You can see the pictures from that trip here. This sunnier shot is from my May trip around the Ring Road.

[35mm taken with my Canon EOS Rebel 2000. Click here for more pictures of Snæfellsnes. Click here for more pictures from my late May 2015 Ring Road Trip.]

 

ÍS: Lava Fields on Snæfellsnes

Once the most distinctive features of Iceland’s other-worldly landscape are the lava fields (hraun). The Snæfellsnes peninsula has a number of volcanoes, one of the biggest and most notable being Snæfellsjökull, a stratovolcano at the end of the peninsula that is covered by an icecap. Snæfellsjökull last erupted around 200 ad., but its claim to fame is more recent. This is the volcano through which Jules Verne’s characters travel from the surface to the core in Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Thanks to Snæfellsjökull and company, the western half of the peninsula features some of the most beautiful lava fields in the whole country. You can literally see the path the magma took as if flowed down out of the mountains to the water. 

   [35mm taken with my Canon EOS Rebel 2000. Click here for more pictures of Snæfellsnes. Click here for more pictures from my late May 2015 Ring Road Trip.]

ÍS: The Beach at Búðir

As you approach the the end of the Snæfellsnes peninsula (driving from the bottom side around the top), a small road leads you to the coast, where there is a gorgeous gold sand beach, a beautiful old little church, and fabulous lava formations right up at the water’s edge. If you haven’t visited Iceland, you won’t realize how amazing that sand looks. Most of the beaches in Iceland are actually black or gray, since the whole island is made of volcanic rock. I’m not sure why this gold sand is here, but it makes a gorgeous contrast between the black lava formations and the blue ocean. 

These photos are from my late May 2015 trip around the Ring Road with my lovely friend Callie, who is pictured below. You can check out the picture from that go-around on the tag Ring Road Trip 2015. I stopped at Búðir on my Ring Road trip in June 2014 as well. The great thing about Icelandic nature is that it looks so different during every summer month. May, June, July, and August reveal entirely different landscapes. It’s hard to get tired of the beautiful mountains, the moss covered lava, and the pure air.

  [35mm taken with my Canon EOS Rebel 2000. Click here for more pictures of Búðir.]

Nondescript Icelandic Town on Expired Film

 Somewhere on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, I shot these three pictures on expired film. I have no idea which town this was, but I really like the way the images came out. Iceland is undeniably gorgeous, but it has its fair share of  dreary, gray days.

[Expired 35mm film taken with my Olympus 105G Superzoom]

ÍS: Arnarstapi Cliffs

 An amazing stop on our two day drive around the Snæfellsnes peninsula on our way to the Westfjords. The cliffs were covered with many kinds of interesting sea birds. [35mm taken with my Canon EOS Rebel 2000. Click here for more pictures from my June Ring Road trip around Iceland]

ÍS: Stykkishólmur Pt.2

 Most of these pictures of Stykkishólmur are taken from the top of the small island by the harbor called Stykkið (“the piece”- seen in the last photo in this post), after which the town is named. A short walk to the top is rewarded by  a beautiful view of the colorful little town and the thousands of islands in Breiðafjörður.

 [35mm taken with my Canon EOS Rebel 2000. Click here for more pictures from my June Ring Road trip around Iceland]