Langoustine heaven
Trip Start
Jun 23, 2012
1
11
20
Trip End
Jul 14, 2012
With Höfn on the coast in the south our destination, today promised to be a beautiful drive that would take us as far east as we would get and skirt us around the coast of the southeast fjords. Shenae's blasted cash passport was still not working (she had Bpayed money on it on Friday and it was still empty), which didn't put her in the best spirits. We set off from the backpackers and, after a short drive through a mountain tunnel, came to Fáskudsfjördur to stop for some breakfast. At the little French-Icelandic cafe (the town has a historic French influence) we were presented with two massive bacon and egg burgers (that had a beef patty, salad and chips) and proceeded to gorge ourselves (or at least I did) on this huge meal. Waddling back to the car, we continued on way, stopping at a small bank in on of the towns we passed to see if Shenae's cards would give her her much-needed cash - the first card was eaten by the machine, the second still said there were no funds. Lesson of the day, don't use Cash Passport.
The beautiful fjords weave inland and back out all along the coast, with spectacular mountains edging the road. Getting thirsty, I pulled off onto the side gravel and jogged over to a small waterfall, filling my canteen with a refreshingly pure drink. We stopped in Djúpivogur, a rather popular seaside town, and took a walk around to visit a few shops and buildings. I popped into one backyard shop and the very friendly owner talked me through his rather large rock collection and showed me around his workshop, not giving me an opportunity to bid my leave for quite a while. On the way out a cyclist intent on killing himself came off a steep track and started across the road - I slammed on my brakes, jerking to a halt and he on his, flying over the handlebars. The old fella got up, waved an apology and continued on his way. Bloody cyclists.
The area is quite well known for bird watching, with the seabirds making their nests in the rocky peaks along the coast. We stopped at a black pebble beach and snapped a few photos, but decided against the several hundred metre walk that we would need to make to reach the water. A little further down the road and we reached the outskirts of Höfn to be greeted with the huge Vatnajökul glacier taking up much of the horizon. The town itself is a lovely little fishing village well known for its Langoustine (Lobster) - a noticeable fact one discovers upon getting out of the car, with the strong seafood smell hitting you in the face. I stopped by the information building to learn, among other things, the location of our guesthouse, whilst Shenae got some Australian exchanged at the bank.
We took a walk around the town in the chilly wind, stopping for some respite in a cafe restaurant and warming ourselves with huge glasses of hot chocolate and some cake. Our return to the information building gave us a few ideas for activities on the morrow and briefly headed back to the guesthouse to research and make some booking inquiries. Now one could not come to Höfn and leave without tasting their famous lobster, so we set off into the night for some dinner at Pakkhús Restaurant. Feeling like we owed ourselves a bit of extravagance, we order a 300g plate of lobster tails each and prepared for the seafood feast. Needless to say, the food was delicious - Shenae's were grilled with garlic butter and spices (the winning meal of the two) and mine were simmered in a wine and cream garlic sauce (we'd already had far too much cream at the cafe). By the end I'd put my lobster consumption in the 400-450 gram region and I am not sure how much more I could have eaten.
After gorging ourselves a short break was in order, so we used the time to book the following day's activities (Shenae had had her heart set on a Skidoo tour) and check out the area on the Internet. After finding some thermal pools just up the road we headed off to Hoffell to check them out. In the end they turned out to be little more than glorified spa baths (though more skin floating around in that human soup than any spa should have) so we took the second option and carried on down a precariously rocky gravel road, putting the little city car to the test. After a few bumps and bounces we got to the little lookout area near the Hoffellsjökul glacier section. It was a great first taste of a glacier, though the warning signs about danger and probable death to untrained, lone hikers turned me off donning the boots. We got back to the room late and psyched ourselves for the following day of glacial delights.
The beautiful fjords weave inland and back out all along the coast, with spectacular mountains edging the road. Getting thirsty, I pulled off onto the side gravel and jogged over to a small waterfall, filling my canteen with a refreshingly pure drink. We stopped in Djúpivogur, a rather popular seaside town, and took a walk around to visit a few shops and buildings. I popped into one backyard shop and the very friendly owner talked me through his rather large rock collection and showed me around his workshop, not giving me an opportunity to bid my leave for quite a while. On the way out a cyclist intent on killing himself came off a steep track and started across the road - I slammed on my brakes, jerking to a halt and he on his, flying over the handlebars. The old fella got up, waved an apology and continued on his way. Bloody cyclists.
The area is quite well known for bird watching, with the seabirds making their nests in the rocky peaks along the coast. We stopped at a black pebble beach and snapped a few photos, but decided against the several hundred metre walk that we would need to make to reach the water. A little further down the road and we reached the outskirts of Höfn to be greeted with the huge Vatnajökul glacier taking up much of the horizon. The town itself is a lovely little fishing village well known for its Langoustine (Lobster) - a noticeable fact one discovers upon getting out of the car, with the strong seafood smell hitting you in the face. I stopped by the information building to learn, among other things, the location of our guesthouse, whilst Shenae got some Australian exchanged at the bank.
We took a walk around the town in the chilly wind, stopping for some respite in a cafe restaurant and warming ourselves with huge glasses of hot chocolate and some cake. Our return to the information building gave us a few ideas for activities on the morrow and briefly headed back to the guesthouse to research and make some booking inquiries. Now one could not come to Höfn and leave without tasting their famous lobster, so we set off into the night for some dinner at Pakkhús Restaurant. Feeling like we owed ourselves a bit of extravagance, we order a 300g plate of lobster tails each and prepared for the seafood feast. Needless to say, the food was delicious - Shenae's were grilled with garlic butter and spices (the winning meal of the two) and mine were simmered in a wine and cream garlic sauce (we'd already had far too much cream at the cafe). By the end I'd put my lobster consumption in the 400-450 gram region and I am not sure how much more I could have eaten.
After gorging ourselves a short break was in order, so we used the time to book the following day's activities (Shenae had had her heart set on a Skidoo tour) and check out the area on the Internet. After finding some thermal pools just up the road we headed off to Hoffell to check them out. In the end they turned out to be little more than glorified spa baths (though more skin floating around in that human soup than any spa should have) so we took the second option and carried on down a precariously rocky gravel road, putting the little city car to the test. After a few bumps and bounces we got to the little lookout area near the Hoffellsjökul glacier section. It was a great first taste of a glacier, though the warning signs about danger and probable death to untrained, lone hikers turned me off donning the boots. We got back to the room late and psyched ourselves for the following day of glacial delights.
Comments
Impressed with the meal, looks devine. Scenery very interesting.
What your father really means is-wow I am envious.
Greetings from the staff at Pakkhus Restaurant for your nice review!