Day 29: Drangsnes – Ísafjörður

It was a lousy night. Stormy and rainy. Gusts of over 60 km/h from every direction were shaking the rooftop tent. For the first time ever, we folded the tent down and spent the final few hours inside the car. But hey – at least the seating is better than in Germanwings economy class! :-) And when we saw that the Icelanders were in a bit of a bad mood the next morning too, we didn't feel quite so alone – the communal kitchen was packed.

We stocked up on diesel and groceries in Hólmavík.

Then we headed into the Westfjords; the weather was equally changeable almost everywhere. Unfortunately, visibility wasn't great because of it, but the landscape was truly dramatic and beautiful.

There’s a small campsite in Reykjanes, but the covered seating area was poorly positioned against the wind and was wet. Plus, the hotel looked like nothing had been done to it since the 60s. So, we stuck with muesli for lunch...

The campsite in Suðavík was also quite exposed to the elements – we really wanted a communal kitchen again. The weather was just too miserable for cooking outside.

We drove on to Ísafjörður. On the way, we made a nice little stop at Litlibær – an old farmhouse dating back to the early 20th century, when two families settled there. One family had 15 children, nine of whom reached adulthood; the second family had eight children, seven of whom grew up.

As luck would have it, a few of the direct descendants were having coffee there (we enjoyed some delicious waffles with ours), so we got a brief glimpse into the family history. The large number of children was summed up with the comment: "This is how you build a nation."

We also met two incredibly likable New Zealanders, Moppy and Sally.

The Ísafjörður campsite is in a beautiful location; it’s situated about 4 km into a valley, with a waterfall rushing right next to the site.