The Traveling Widower

Ferry, Cross to Hrisey

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Richb

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A scenic view of a coastal area featuring a small town along a shoreline, with a backdrop of mountains under a cloudy sky.
Approaching Hrisey

So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
‘Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay
Gerry and the Pacemakers

June 28th, 2026

Every now and then, a song comes to mind when I’m doing something strange like riding a ferry to an island. I started humming this awful song from the 60’s by a one-hit-wonder band when we boarded the ferry. I wish I could forget it.

Every day on this trip is significantly different from the previous day, and just as interesting and strange. Today we started off with the Herring Museum. We then drove along the fjords, going through a couple of long one way tunnels… yes, one way. 

Interior view of a vehicle driving through a tunnel, showing the dashboard and two passengers in the front seats.
Two lane tunnel – much safer

There are rules and turnouts to avoid head on collisions, but some drivers apparently do not follow the rules as we found out. But buses with a great driver trump cars in this situation, and the other car was forced to back out to the closest turnout to let us go forward. We made it safely to the town of Arskogssandur (say that fast 3 times…or just try and say it once), to take a ferry across to the island of Hrisey. Why you might ask? For more Icelandic history and culture, to have lunch, and to take a tractor ride around the village. Sounds like fun. It was, and very strange.

The town with the long name, is another village with a Herring fishing history, and still supports tourist and commercial fishing as well as whale watch tours. The island of Hrisey is a short ferry ride up the fjord, and the only way (obviously) to get there, other than a small plane or helicopter. The ferry is faster than either of the other two. The island has been populated since Viking days, and the village is basically there for no  reason other than for fishing, and possibly for collecting and riding tractors. Everyone seems to have one. The village is very small, but with a lot of cute houses, and one very nice restaurant with an owner who could be a good stand-up comic. After a great lunch, with some of the best dark rye bread I’ve ever had, we boarded a tractor pulled trailer for a ride around the village, with the restaurant owner as the guide, who gave a humorous running description of the village. We ended the tour at the town’s museum, in what was the oldest building in Hrisey. After about a 3 minute walk thru, I decided to just wander the streets for a while seeking photo opportunities,  and eventually wound up back to the harbor, and photographed some Eider ducks with the ducklings. Cute. We all made it back to the ferry in time, and boarded the bus for our next stop – The Waterfall of the Gods (Godafoss). On the way, we passed by another town we will be staying at for the last two nights of the trip, and traveled through a couple of tunnels again (two way, thankfully no near collisions).

A scenic view of a small town featuring a winding road, a white church with a red steeple, colorful houses, and snow-capped mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.
A whimsical outdoor scene featuring a colorful, decorated house with a white facade and red trim. The entrance includes steps leading to a white door, adorned with a blue and red sculpture. The front yard has quirky decorations, including two standing rubber boots and a red glove, surrounded by rocks and wooden logs.
A decorative tree stump sculpture with a carved face, complete with wooden eyes and facial hair, set against a white building and surrounded by stones and planter boxes.
A silhouette of a statue on a grassy hill with a cloudy sky in the background, featuring a bench in the foreground.
A wooden tree stump decorated with garden gnomes, surrounded by colorful flowers in a residential yard beneath a balcony.

They did have Uber on the island – here is the waiting line for drivers at the ferry

A row of red tractors parked on a grassy area near a building, with overcast skies in the background.

The very few kids on the island had a great park, complete with a zip line. I thought about it for a minute or two, but stayed off of it.

A playground scene featuring a swing set and a colorful jumping pillow, with grassy areas, a building in the background, and cloudy skies.

And I did get a couple of nice Eider Duck photos

So far, we have been rained on for all the major waterfalls we have visited – I still managed some good pics, but I keep wishing for some sunlight. Today, we finally found some. As waterfalls go in Iceland, which has an endless supply of them, this is one of the largest and most powerful. It reminded me of Niagara Falls….which I last saw about 60+ years ago so the comparison is a bit shaky I guess. 

There was a short walk to the first view spot, where the sun was directly facing the camera. I did not complain, just followed our fearless leader to the next stop which was much better, so I clicked away. The best location was down some very steep, rough steps, and across a very rocky trail. I heard that little voice saying…”Don’t hurt yourself idiot”, but decided to go anyway. The voice should have said “Put the camera in your camera bag!!”, which I did not. I managed to make it down the stairs, but almost lost it on the rocky trail. I managed to right the ship before I crashed on the rocks. Our trip leader was looking very concerned. I then put the camera away, and used my multi-purpose monopod as a hiking stick, and made it safely to the spot where everyone was taking photographs. Phew. It was worth the effort – the falls were magnificent and the lighting was pretty good as well. There always seem to be some people who feel that they must get as close to the falls as possible – that’s why people wind up getting carried over Nevada Falls in Yosemite. And if they don’t get killed, they wind up ruining the photographs for everyone else. So when the inevitable occurred, I figured it was time to put the camera away, and head back up the trail and stairs. 

A scenic view of Godafoss waterfall in Iceland, showcasing cascading water over rocky cliffs, surrounded by green landscape and mountains under a cloudy sky.
A scenic view of a waterfall cascading over rocky cliffs surrounded by lush greenery and dramatic clouds in the sky.
A scenic view of a waterfall cascading over rocky cliffs under a cloudy sky, with a river foreground and smooth water surface.

I spent a bit more time at the last viewing point at the top of the falls – absolutely awesome. Most everyone else had headed back to the bus, so I packed up and stumped back down the trail. An end to a very good day. We started out in the pouring rain at the Herring Museum, ferried over to an strange village on an island for lunch, had an exciting drive through a tunnel, heard all kinds of stories from our trip leader who should write a book or two about his life in Iceland, and then visited this beautiful waterfall. Sort of the way this trip has been going. No complaints about that.

Peace

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