Hello again on day 2! Many sights have been seen today. But first, we had a yummy breakfast at the hotel today. A selection of yogurt, oatmeal, bread, jams, fruits, ham, and cheese was available. Then, we hopped on the bus and started our adventure of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. First, we stopped at the Barnafoss and Hraunfossar waterfalls. I love a waterfall and they looked really cool. The Hraunfossar falls looked like the water was flowing from the rock. This was a really cool stop and we got some time to explore the rocks and look at the cool views. Then we hopped back in the bus and headed to the peninsula.
Next, we headed to a beach! Immediately, we noticed the wind. Luckily, I had my thermals and rain pants on or else I would have been very chilly. Leading up to the beach was the same bumpy ground covered in moss and then it turned into the sand. Along the beach, we found an atlantic rockfish which was cool to see! We climbed along the rocks and admired the view, the sun even came out! We also saw some seals swimming in the ocean. But then, almost immediately, the sun went away, the wind picked up, and it started snow/hailing so we retreated to the bus.
Now it was time for lunch! We went to a family owned restaurant/greenhouse called something that translates to “with good people”. First, they gave us a tour of their greenhouse and we learned about their hydroponic system. In the summer, they grow lettuce in the greenhouse but right now they were growing tons and tons of flowers and it was so pretty. Afterwards, we got to eat lunch in a greenhouse-type room where we had an amazing view of the landscape and mountain in the distance. For lunch, we had a very yummy tomato soup with a side of cranberry bread that was topped with edible flowers.
We hopped back on the bus we headed to Armarstapi and Hellnar which were cliffs along the shoreline. The wind was insane but it was a lot of fun to walk against it. The views were incredible as well. Huge waves crashed against the cliffs and it was really cool to watch the spray fly up and the birds fly around. We learned about lava stacks in the cliffs. When the land was forming, a column of magma shot up and formed volcanic rock while the earth around it was still soft. So, over time, the ocean worked away at the soft earth so the only thing left was the volcanic rock. That, along with the waves, is a big contributor to the shape of the cliffs.
Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel for the night. I did sleep for most of the drive, but when I was awake the scenery was very cool. We stopped for dinner along the way and I picked up some more yogurt for tomorrow. Back at the hotel, they received a thin layer of snow and we quickly dropped our stuff back in the room. Ólöf was ready to give us a presentation on traditional Icelandic foods! First was the skyr and that was quite enjoyable. But then we were offered sheep head and dried fish. I have never been a very adventurous person in regards to food but I shined a flashlight on the sheep head and immediately turned away. That was not gonna happen tonight. I did pick a piece of dried fish to try but I only tried a nibble. It wasn’t bad but not my thing. Then, was the fermented shark. I was real worried honestly but it didn’t taste as bad as I expected. The texture reminded me of a gelatin of some sort. But then we got to eat some crisp bread with butter and dried lamb which was really really yummy. We finished it off with a sweet rye bread and a candy called hraun which is Icelandic for lava. Then, we finished off the night with some quick blogging and heading to sleep!!
Swanson School of Engineering 