Day 10: Olafsfjordur to Munadarnes Campground

Route :
802 south out of Olafsfjördur to 76 to Ring Road/1

Campsite : Munadarnes - supposedly there is a hostel nearby. I remember seeing signs, but never saw the building.
As you can see, Day Number Ten started out bright and beautiful.

Leaving Olafsfjordur, we were initially going to head to the west coast and drive down - but seriously. Why? So we took the short cut to avoid the 17 km tunnel and to see if we could find sunshine. Just another section of Iceland we were not allowed to witness - so we'll have to try again. :)
We may have lost the sun, but we found more horses.
Not friendly horses, but still.
HA!
Tucked away in Skagafjördur is Víðimýrarkirkja - a charming turf church, built in 1835. The land the church sits on is written into the Sagas of the Clan of Sturlungar. The whole surrounding area of Skagafjördur is rich in Viking history - many violent battles were fought there. I wish we'd had more time to explore western Iceland. We never made it to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula or the Western Fjords. As it was, we basically had to haul ass from North to South to get back to Reykjavik on time. There's still so much more to see - Iceland is as unique as it is raw and captivating.
 A total contrast to the small, colorful, nature-inspired turf church we saw earlier, Blönduóskirkja is a massive, monochromatic, angular concrete structure with an emphasis on minimalism. We stopped in Blönduós to get gas (there's an N1 just down the street from here) and saw the church from the parking lot. Icelandic churches are stunning for so many reasons - the architecture varies from  centuries-old to ultra-modern..
As we headed further south, we passed farms that were in the midst of the annual Réttir - or sheep roundup. In September, farmers herd all their sheep that have been roaming the mountains and fjords freely throughout the summer - and bring them back home for sorting and marking. This is a big deal in Iceland - typically a happy social event marked by neighbors and friends celebrating with drinking, dancing and singing. We were hauling because we had a lot of ground to cover - so these all went by in a blur.
We made a stop at Grabrok crater, which in the scheme of things that we'd done and seen up to this point was less impressive than most - but still very much worth exploring, if for nothing more than the views from the rim. It's a small site and doesn't take much time, but you get a really good look at the surrounding area from up there. The wind was fierce up on the rim - it's relentless, really, all across Iceland. I wore a hat, scarf, down jacket and gloves nearly every single day.
^ View to the south
^ View back to the north
Not too far down the road from Grabrok is Glanni waterfall. It's an unassuming parking area and an unassuming trail that takes you to this overlook - doesn't take more than maybe a half an hour. But it's a beautiful spot, and we were really just trying to figure out where we were going to camp for the night. We knew if we continued south, we could pick up a road that would get us to the other side of this river - and there was a campground somewhere over there. So that was our plan when we left here. But thanks to old Eagle Eyes, we ended up in the most spectacular, secluded spot we could have ever imagined.
South of Glanni waterfall, on an unmarked road on our left, Mark saw a camping sign and swung in. And we ended up in paradise.
There are several sites back in this area that can be driven to - some are larger, some are smaller, some are more appropriate for tents. There is also a path that heads away from the bathroom building in the opposite direction of our site that looked like it led to other tent sites. By now it was approaching mid-September and the autumn colors were really starting to pop even down in the southern part of the country. It was just a gorgeous area to camp in and we were so lucky to find it. We never found a check-in location or a sign indicating where to pay - so this ended up being another free night. There are bathrooms and a sink here with cold running water - but no showers, and no hot water.
^^^ More blueberries. We couldn't believe you could still find them in September!
Gourmet dinner of high-quality carbs.
Bathroom break. The building above has the bathrooms and sink. Probably the most rustic accommodations of the whole trip.
Our last night camping in Iceland was a winner.
All photos are © Sugarjets Studio - all rights reserved. Please don't steal them. Stealing is shitty.
Don't be shitty. And please don't make me be mean.