June 6 – Drive to Borgarfjörður

Today is more driving, this time to Borgarfjӧrður, a very remote fjord in the eastern part of Iceland.  The road was intermittently graveled and paved.  The winds have finally calmed down a bit - it seems always windy.

On a blind hill, the road splits so no head on collisions.

Very steep dirt road

At the pass we had great views of the valleys and mountains in the area. 

Borgarfjӧrðuis is a fjord in the west and we drove all the way to the end to Borgarfjörður eystri, one of the most remote towns in Iceland.  The town has about 200 inhabitants. 

 We did see the Elves Castle, Álfaborg, home of the queen of the Icelandic elves.  It was on the list of things to see. Basically a large picturesque rock. 

There was also a pretty little cottage built in the old style of Icelandic homes with part of it surrounded by turf for insulation.

The town is a fishing village but we didn’t seem to make it down to the harbor.  Instead, we focused on the waterfront where there was some decent wave action.

On the way back we had a great view of an "infinity pool"…actually an alpine lake that just looked like an infinity pool.  

There were great views beyond to Héraðssandur, another massive sand beach that is about 25 km long.  We didn’t drive down to it but the views were great.

Sheep are everywhere in Iceland.

We made it back to Egilsstaðir in time for lunch.  We decided to have lunch at an American Style 50’s diner.  They had a Bob’s Big Boy statue in front and a Betty Boop inside.  The décor was black and white tile floors and red and white vinyl upholstery…just like the 50’s.  It was burgers, fries and shakes for lunch.

We picked up some dinner at a nearby market and then headed back to the hotel on the banks of Lake Lagarfljót.  Food is so expensive at the hotel restaurants.  A meal of soup and bread is typically around $15 and the buffets are $60…hence the stop at the market.  Much cheaper.