Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.08.2009, Síða 40

Preserving quality
is our business
Open daily for lunch and dinners
Special off er on Monday
and Tuesday – 3 course dinner
for only 4200 ISK.
Reservation: tel. 552 5700,
e-mail: gallery@holt.is
Bergstaðastræti 37 s. 552 5700
holt@holt.is www.holt.is
Elegant surroundings
Superb cuisine
Modern comfort
24
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12— 2009
Snæfellsnes: Rocks.
Lots and lots of mysteriously shaped rocks
Are there hidden folk among the
rocks? Legend has it that one day,
long ago, God was on his way to pay
a visit to Adam and Eve. While trying
her hardest to make the children
presentable for the likes of God, Eve
decided to hide those of her children
who she had not yet had time to bathe
and pass off a handful of squeaky
clean kids as the only fruit of her and
Adam’s collective loins. God, ever
the stickler for details, noted that
there were a few kids missing from
the line-up and called Eve’s bluff.
Eve kept her poker face on. So God
proclaimed, [and I’m paraphrasing
here] “that which is hidden from me
shall too be hidden from you,” and
henceforth made the hidden children
of Adam and Eve visible only to those
possessing the gift of ‘second sight.’
This isn’t the next instalment
of Transcendental Iceland you’re
reading. No, this is my account of a
12-hour daytrip titled The Wonders
of Snæfellsjökull offered by the good
people at Reykjavík Excursions.
IN THE BEGINNING…
A 7:30 pick-up meant a 6:30 wake-up;
significantly earlier hours than this
(or any) journalist is accustomed to
keeping. However, the prospect of
exploring the beautiful Snæfellsness
peninsula and Snæfellsjökull kept
the energy up long enough to plant
myself on the mini bus that would
be my chariot for the day. Then I
napped.
THE HIDDEN GLACIER
Hours later, the bus pulled over on
the outskirts of Arnarstapi to attempt
a first glimpse of Snæfellsjökull, a
mystical glacier connected to stories
of otherworldly happenings, Jules
Verne and UFO sightings. “The
people are a little different around the
glacier,” said our superstitious and
impressively informative tour-guide
Hörður. “You see things around
there, but it’s best not to know what it
is so you can sleep at night.”
Unfortunately, the clouds were
hanging low over the mountains so
seeing the glacier and any mystical
beings lurking thereon was not in the
cards.
ROCKS
This peninsula sure has a lot of rocks
and Hörður sure seems to be a fan
of them. While the existence of elves
and hidden folk among the craterous
lava fields is up for debate —Hörður
believes, as do a large number of
Icelanders, he says—there are a lot
of strange shapes in the rocks that
allude to something magical afoot.
Men, massive seals, elf cathedrals,
faces. All in the rock. How did such
shapes come to be? Is that shape of a
man a frozen ogre? Are there elves up
in that cathedral right now?
The examination of rocks
dominated the trip from early on,
just as the rock dominates the
landscape. An hour-long stop in
Arnarstapi included a walk along
the breathtaking rocky coastline,
gazing upon the rock formations
carved by the sea and appreciating
the rock statue of Bárður Snæfellsás,
a shaman who was captivated by
the energy of the glacier. A stop in
Djúpalónssandur was punctuated
by a walk on a black-rock beach
surrounded by still more rocks,
jagged shapes twisting upward,
piercing the blue sky. It was here, in
this deserted fishing village, that we
tourists tried our strength with the
lifting stones—four rocks weighing
154, 100, 54 and 23 kilograms
respectively—that prospective
fisherman would have to lift onto
a waist-high platform to prove they
had what it took to be oarsmen on
the fishing boats. Turns out I’m a
weakling.
MAKING FRIENDS WITH ROCKS
Toward the end of the trip, after a
stop in Bjarnarhöfn for putrefied
shark tasting and a lesson in
preparing them for consumption, we
got to meet one of Hörður’s friends,
who he’d been speaking of for hours.
The anticipation was killing me as
Hörður directed the bus driver to
pull over not far from Bjarnarhöfn,
and off he went running into the
lava field, disappearing down into
crevasses and resurfacing some
metres beyond until he came to a
stop beside ‘his friend.’ It was a rock.
A strange rock, shaped eerily like a
man in profile.
While Hörður was returning to
the bus I spotted a ‘friend’ of my
own; a large face in a rock-formation
not two metres off the roadside,
peering up at me in the bus. I named
him Rock Biter.
THE FINAL VERDICT
The Snæfellsnes Peninsula is truly
a mystical and beautiful part of the
country and this tour exploring the
wonders thereof is perfectly suited
for tourists keen on covering a large
expanse of land in relatively minimal
time, with little to no physical effort.

Travel | Destinations
CATHARINE FULTON
JULIA STAPLES
Book your own Snæfellsnes trip at www.re.is.
Trip provided by Reykjavík Excursions
Enjoy weekend brunch
or delicious buffet
for a quality price
Experience great cuisine
accompanied by a breathtaking view
Smáratorgi 3
next to Smaralind mall 201 Kópavogi Tel. 575 7500 veisluturninn@veisluturninn.is www.veisluturninn.is
Open everyday from 11 AM - 2 PM
…in the tallest building in Iceland
Reykjavík Excursions
www.re.is
354-580-5400