Travel Buddies: Pete & Joan

Living the Dream, One Trip at a Time

Iceland’s SouthWest Coast

Wow….another great day to wrap up our Iceland Experience! We were on our way by 8:00am to drive to Iceland’s West Coast, Vesterland. The first stop (since we again had no breakfast food in the AirBnB!) was the wonderful Geirabakarí bakery in Borgarnes, where we enjoyed a variety of delectable treats.  

Interior of a bakery with a display of pastries and a view of mountains reflected in large windows.


Then on to the Settlement Center where we enjoyed two self-guided presentations, one on the History of the Vikings in Iceland and the other presenting one of the Saga stories about Egill.  They were simple yet effective and seemed to fill in gaps of things we learned the last couple days. 

Interior view of the Settlement Center in Iceland, showcasing wooden panels with Viking-era carvings and historical displays.

Close to this site was a monument called Brákargil. It commemorates Thórdis Brák, the heroic nanny (foster mother) of the famous Viking poet and warrior Egill Skallagrímsson.

A couple posing together in front of a large abstract sculpture by the sea, with mountains in the background and a cloudy sky.
Thórdis Brák was a servant/nursemaid in the household during the Viking Age (@ 10th century).  She cared for Egill as a child and was deeply protective of him. The Legend goes that one day Egill’s father became violently angry with the boy and chased him, intending to harm or even kill him.  To save Egill, she intervened and tried to calm Skalla-Grímr.  When he turned his rage toward her instead, she ran toward the sea, with him in pursuit.  To escape, she leapt into the water and swam across a narrow fjord, but Skalla-Grímr hurled a large stone after her, striking and killing her.  Brákin’s Monument commemorates her loyalty, courage, and sacrifice in protecting young Egill from his father’s fury.

Next it was a fun hike up to and around the Grabrok Crater.  The volcano, which erupted between 2000-3000 years ago, had great panoramic views of the area and was covered with a moss that apparently changes colors with the seasons. We logged about 22 flights & 538 steps reaching the top!

A wooden pathway leading around the Grabrok Crater, with volcanic terrain and distant hills under a blue sky.

Jackie continued to get in all types of positions to take pictures which inspired Pete to take pictures of her in addition to the volcanic crater!!

Person kneeling on a wooden walkway capturing photos in a rugged, moss-covered landscape with another person in the background also taking pictures.

Our next stop was more fire…..the Deildartunguhver Hot Springs.  This is apparently Europe’s most powerful hot spring, gushing out water at the rate of 50 gallons a second! Lots of rotten-egg smelling steam of course….but I think we are getting used to the smell by now & it is not quite as offensive!

A view of the Deildartunguhver Hot Springs in Iceland, featuring steam rising from the ground and a wooden pathway with surrounding moss and volcanic landscape.

Hungry tummies again so we stopped at another winning Rick Steves suggestion….the Brusras Cafe in Reykholt and enjoyed locally sourced beef, lamb soup and salads.  (No one was brave enough to order the Icelandic platter that contained petrified shark & other such goodies!). Overall, we have not been a brave crew at trying any Icelandic specialties!

Our last stop before heading back to Reykjavík was the Hraunfossar & Barnafoss Waterfalls.  

Hraunfossar Waterfall in Iceland, showcasing cascading water flowing over dark lava rocks into a blue river surrounded by snow-covered landscape.

Particularly impressive was how the groundwater poured out the sides from the newer layers of lava and fell into the stream, like as Rick Steves describes, bridal veils!  

Our last stop was to buy more wine, cheese, crackers and chocolate to finish off our evening!  We agreed that Iceland was a success we would definitely recommend! Unfortunately, we did not get to interact with too many Icelanders in a personal way.  But we also observed a country with pride in how things are maintained, an incredibly difficult language (yet most everyone with English fluent), a vibrant and growing economy and nature at its most grand & unpredictable.  Just a wonderful four days!!