Once again the weather got the best of us today. Our original plan was to drive to the Snæfellsnes peninsula on the west coast of Iceland to see Svóðufossand the Hellnar Arch but roads in the peninsula were shown as icy and conditions were expected to get worse throughout the day. As we drove along the snow-covered and slippery roads, J. R. emailed to cancel our reservation at Fosshotel Stykkisholmur on the north part of the peninsula and booked a stop at Hotel Hamar in Borgarnes, which had been part of our original 2025 plan. We stopped in Hvammstangi to look for seals but did not see any. We spent some time in the Kidka wool factory but could not justify buying wool sweaters we would never wear in Florida.

We arrived in Borgarnes mid-day and went looking for a place open for lunch and ended up at Grillhúsið Borgarnesi, which was a rock-and-roll theme pub with rock music playing and abstract painting of rock artists. We had a good meal with J. R. having a seafood burrito with prawns and Janie opting for the Icelandic cheeseburger. We got gas and looked at the road conditions again and agreed not to try to head up to the peninsula especially since the path to the waterfall was likely to be icy given the road conditions.

Looking for something to do, we drove to the Settlement Center. We were handed a set of headphones and entered the exhibit and we were the only ones there. The Settlement exhibition provides an insight into the settlement of Iceland based on the Book of Icelanders and The Book of Settlement. It tells how the land was discovered, how the Viking sailors conquered the open ocean and why they left their homelands in Norway. It tells of the first men to set foot on the island and how the land was settled up to the establishment of the first parliament in the world, the Althing, at Thingvellir in 930AD.

The second part of the center was the The Egil Saga Exhibition, which profiles Egill Skalla-Grimsson as one of the most colorful of all the saga heroes. Egil was the son Skalla-Grimur Kveldulfsson, who was one of the very first Viking settlers, and who claimed the land around Borgarnes. Egils Saga provides a perfect vehicle for following one family clan as they settle in Iceland. Egill was a larger than life character. He was both a great sensitive poet and also a fierce warrior and Viking.

We stopped for gas and then some pastries at Geirabakari, a popular local coffee shop featured in the film 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.'

The Hotel Hamar was both easy to find and difficult to locate. The road off the Ring Road was well-marked but once you went up the road, there was no signage. We reached a dead end at a golf course pro shop with a sign that said it was not the hotel, so this must happen often. Google Maps led us back down to where it appeared there were usually flags and we turned there and found the parking lot. We paid 1000kr to upgrade to a room near the hot tubs but with the fierce wind and snow, we ended up not using them.

Not wanting to go back out in the weather, we ate dinner at Hamarinn at the hotel and it was a good choice as they had Icelandic bread and beer and Janie had a great lamb shank and J. R. ended up with fish and chips. They were good but he wished he had ordered the arctic char. It started snowing as we ate dinner so we were happy with our decision to change hotels and not brave the weather.

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