Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.10.2015, Blaðsíða 24

ÞÓRSHÖFN
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR
GRÍMSEY
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
AKUREYRI
EGILSSTAÐIR
REYKJAVÍK
“Equine Chernobyl.” There were no sur-
vivors on either side. It was only with the
Sugarcube Pact of 1131 that the bloodshed
stopped. The tragedy later inspired the for-
mation of a hit band and a blockbuster
movie, now in cinemas!
4. Búðardalur:
Delicious cake! Exhibit!
Okay, enough of that nature shit. Let’s eat
again.
Drive on to Búðardalur. Búðardalur is
pretty much the only town in Dalir, which
means it has a shop and a tourist informa-
tion thing. First, go to the shop. They do
good hot dogs there. You need a coffee.
Head on down to the information
station. Look across the water and think
about the mistakes you’ve made. Okay,
now go inside and get some more coffee
and a slice of DALIR’S MOST DELICIOUS
CHOCOLATE CAKE! The guides in there
will give you all sorts of interesting advice
and stories about the area.
If Dad’s House in Eiríksstaðir didn’t
sate your settlement history appetite, go
check out the settlement exhibit next to
the café. It gives a good interactive history
of Vinland and other early brutal coloni-
sation efforts by Icelanders. Take a selfie
with some tapestry. Move on. We’re only
on number four and there’s still loads of
shit to do today.
In Búðardalur, a cow farted once. The
locals thought it was a rave. The policeman
from Snæfellsnes was called. No arrests were
made.
5. Cross on a hill
This looks interesting! There are hills
now! Wait, what is that? A cross? On a
hill?! LET’S STOP HERE!
Climb up some rocky rocks. Wow,
look at that. A real-life cross. Oh, and
the views. I can see Búðardalur from
here!
This is actually a very interest-
ing cross, all jokes aside. It is to com-
memorate a lady from long ago with
vast tracts of land, which made her very
popular with all of her strapping young
Norwegian gentlemen slaves. She
claimed this part of Iceland for her own,
and gave some of it up to her slaves.
Some of the farms on the peninsula to-
day are these same slave farms, prob-
ably!
Across? From where?
6. Here be seals, apparently
Put your goddamn smartphone down.
Look out the goddamn window. Have
a real, authentic experience for once in
your miserable life. Things on this rock
are about to get interesting.
To your right, there will be some
more farms. Some are old and creepy.
Whatever. But to your LEFT, you will see
more bird life than you can shake a hot
dog wrapper at. If it’s low tide, there’s
a pretty big chance you’re going to see
seals being lazy fuckers on the beach.
Gosh. Would you look at that?
There aren’t really any local legends
about the seals. They’re generally pretty
chill. Although there was that one guy.
Half-man, half-seal, full mutant. His is a
true rags-to-riches tale, and it all started
out on this beach. After attending the X-
Men Academy, he is now the real Prime
Minister of the whole of Iceland! Wow!
The West
24 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 16 — 2015TRAVEL
How to get there: Take route 1 north, and turn onto route 60 to Búðardalur, from
where you can continue on route 60 to Sælingsdalur, or 586 to Haukadalsskarð. To get
to Dagverðarnes, retrace your steps onto route 1 and then turn onto route 508.