The Traveling Widower

Category: hiking

Posts for trips focused on hiking

  • Ferry, Cross to Hrisey

    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 in the village of Siglufjordur. 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. It also has a sense of humor when it comes to traffic signals.

    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.

    There was a real hobbit house on the island

    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, the Godafoss 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 a 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

  • The Lava Cave and More Waterfalls

    Group of people wearing headlamps in a cave, with rocky walls and a wooden pathway leading upward.

    June 26th, 2026

    Today started out with one of the itinerary items I had been looking forward to – the lava cave. Given how many caves I’ve visited in the past year, including two earlier this month, you’d have to wonder why I could get excited about another one. Two reasons – it’s an obsession of mine, and this one is a lava tube, very much unlike what I’ve been seeing in California and Colorado. Plus, it’s in Iceland. I’ll try anything once here.

    The cave was only a 15 minute drive from the hotel, up and over a mountain pass, and down into a beautiful valley. This area of Iceland, Husafell Highlands, is a hikers paradise – gorgeous landscape with many waterfalls, mountain and a significant glacier. We were staying at what I believe was the best hotel, which owns the adjoining golf course and thermal pools (more on that later). The cave, (Viogelmir Cave) which is actually a lava tube (big difference) is one of the major tourist attractions here, but does not seem to get the crowds you get for the Golden Circle stops. 

    It was raining hard as we approached the visitor center (small building) for the tour, which was unfortunate for me as I did not wear my rain pants, and there was a short hike to the cave entrance. Nothing like going off to a cold, damp cave when you are already wet. The entry was a huge hole in the lava, with my favorite – lots of step, to get down to the boardwalk which streches through the cave. That was a nice feature – a nice, well built wooden walkway through most of the tour, with one uncomfortable gap. There was minimal lighting throughout the cave, but we had been issued helmets with head lamps, which were needed to illuminate the boardwalk since there were steps every now and then. I like to avoid falling in caves.  

    The tube was quite wide and high most of the way – it looks a lot like a subway tunnel. Unlike limestone or marble caverns, you do not have all the calcite flow  or stalactite/stalagmite types of features – this is all lava. What you do have are strange layering and drip features on the walls, splash or bubble features where rocks fell into the hot lava. There was one strange feature I have not seen before – little ice stalagmites, formed by dripping water – it was really cold and damp in the cave, so you get these fields of ghost like lumps of ice. Very strange.

    An underground cave interior with rocky terrain, featuring various mineral formations and shadows cast on the walls.
    Interior of a dark cave with a wooden walkway, illuminated by headlamps worn by visitors.
    A dimly lit cave interior featuring a wooden walkway leading through rocky formations, with beams of light illuminating the space.
    A guided group tour inside a dark cave, with participants wearing headlamps and standing on a wooden path, while a guide stands near a pile of rocks.
    A group of people wearing headlamps stands inside a cave, with a rocky texture on the walls and a wooden walkway leading into the distance.
    A person in a yellow jacket stands near a large, rocky arch formation under a cloudy sky.
    A dimly lit cave featuring a wooden pathway and scattered rocks on the ground.

    There was only one narrow section in cave, which was partially flooded, and had a very narrow section of boards layed down – that was a bit tricky to negotiate if you have balance issues. Fortunately, the walls and roof were low enough to brace as you tippy-toed across the 2X4’s. 

    The tour was excellent – a great guide (from Ireland), and we spent almost 90 minutes in the cave. It was nice to get out though – it was very cold and damp in there, and I could not feel my fingers or toes. Definitely worth a visit if you are into underground activities.

    We headed back to the hotel in the rain (it did eventually stop for a whie), and I passed on the opportunity to visit the farm of a local artist/musician. I was cold, damp and tired – too bad, it was an interesting outing. After lunch, we drove off to the remainder of our activities for the day. Another waterfall or two, and a soak in a remote geothermal pool, which was supposed to be a unique experience. I’ve already had a few of those, so what the heck. The falls (Hraunfossar) were another short drive, and both were reached by short, easy trails. The main section was interesting – the water was jetting out from underneath the lava layer. Quite pretty and worth the stop. The sun even came out for a very short while.

    A rocky canyon with rushing water flowing through it, surrounded by greenery and under a partly cloudy sky.
    A scenic view of a cascading waterfall over rocky terrain, surrounded by lush green vegetation and a distant landscape with rolling hills.

    And now for the the strangest activity of the day. We were told to bring our bathing suits, and slippers along if we had them. This was a small, private (owned by the hotel) thermal pool, in a remote and beautiful setting. We had to drive up a narrow, gravel road to get there, where we met the hotel employee who managed the site. We were handed a towel, and headed down a long stairway down to a steep (short) path, that lead to small, primitive building along the river. There were two pools across the river, and the building had two very small changing rooms and an outside shower. Unlike the Blue Lagoon, we could show with our bathing suit on. A good thing. Once you showered, you made a quick dash across a little bridge, and carefully entered one of the two pools. Ahhhh. These were not super hot, but warm enough to lull you into a nice, relaxed state of mind. The manager offered up wine, beer and soft drinks, and lectured us on the geology which was quite complex – I asked him if had degrees in geology….nope, he said he was just a geology nerd.

    Eventually, we all made the cold dash back to the cramped, rustic/primitive dressing rooms, and made the hike/stair climb back to the bus. I had not brought my phone or camera back, so I went half-way down to snap a few photos. I needed them for the blog. Our trip lead did take photos of us in the pools. I’m not going to post those….too embarrassing.

    A wooden staircase leading down into a rocky canyon with steep cliffs and a path visible at the bottom.
    A wooden staircase leading down into a canyon with rocky and grassy slopes, flanked by a small stream running through the valley.
    A group of people gathered near a natural hot spring surrounded by rocky terrain and lush greenery, with some walking along a path and others standing by the water.

    Before heading back to the hotel, we made a short stop on yet another waterfall. Another short hike. And it was worth the stop.

    A waterfall cascading down rocky cliffs into a small river surrounded by lush greenery.

    I was not too excited about the thermal pool stop, but after a couple of days of constant abuse on my body, I’m beginning to look forward to each new opportunity. It felt pretty darn good soaking for an hour in a warm bath with a great view.

    Peace