The weather was not our ally again today as a yellow warning was in effect for most of the country. The previous day, route 1 had been closed heading west until 13:00 so we were concerned about the rest of our trip. Looking at the road conditions, we abandoned, reluctantly, our plans to drive around Tröllaskagi peninsula and go to the Hofsós pool and opted instead just to stay on the Ring Road. The car was covered in three inches of fresh snow we needed to brush off before we started on our way out of town on snow covered roads and headed into the countryside slowly.
We made a quick stop at the Stephan G. Stephansson monument, erected in the honor of an Icelandic poet, just to get off the roads and take a break as they were icy and snow-covered.
We found the small town of Blönduós and stopped into the B&S Restaurant for lunch after a quick stop for gas. They served excellent fish & chips made with Icelandic cod and it made for a good break from the drive.
It was a short drive from lunch to the horse farm but we were too early to check in. We stopped at Vatnsdalur valley for a short break before we decided to drive down to Kolugljúfur Canyon, which is 40-50 meters deep and 1 kilometer long. There should have been 7-8 small waterfalls, but all were frozen this time of year. We probably had our scariest moment as we reached the end of a dirt road with nowhere to turn around. J. R. had more experience driving in these conditions so he executed a 20-point turn on the gravel road to get us pointed back the right direction.
We were still early for check-in so we parked at the horse farm to wait, but Magnús & Selina, the owners, and their three dogs, came out shortly after we arrived to greet us. They led us over to the bar and stables where Selina took us on a tour where we got to meet and pet their fine Icelandic horses and one cat.
We drove down to the row of small cabins and checked into number 3, which was very cute and well apportioned with microwave, sink and hot plate and a nice sized shower. The room was heated via radiant floor heating which kept it quite warm throughout the night.
The view out our window across the farm lands to the mountains was magnificent and since we were the only guests tonight, we had complete piece and quiet.
We saw a few of the horses were in a pen outside the stables so we walked back up to see them. Magnús came out a little while later and said it was time to feed the horses and asked if we wanted to join him. He loaded bundles of hay into a wheelbarrow and took them down the aisles to each horse and then we stood and chatted with him about the changes he had made to the farm since taking it over from his parents. He had sold off his sheep, which he said was disappointing, but there was not much income from sheep farming any more. This allowed him to expand his horse barn into the sheep area to increase the number of horses he had. In the Spring and Summer, the farm offers horse riding which is popular with tour groups.
After a snowy day, we did not expect much from the night sky but we were surprised by a beautiful sunset and then a great display of the Northern Lights throughout the night.
