Carpets of blue and white lupins and fields of Icelandic ponies

After a brilliant stay in our guesthouse Saxa with only two other guests, I think, we hit the road again. Actually, just up the road from the accommodation was Petra's House and garden, where an avid stone collector used to  live. Apparently, this is one of the largest collections of stones in the world and it was certainly colourful and interesting. Every nook and cranny inside and out was crammed with rocks of all shapes, sizes and colours. She was a strong woman, the posters said, so I guess she ignored comments from her husband about how the collection was getting out of hand!

It was a typical Icelandic day as far as the weather was concerned - low cloud, hanging like a great sheet just above the fjords, the occasional light drizzle for a few minutes, a bout of low fog, or possibly sea mist, a hint of sun doing its best to break through, but, in general, really good visibility and once again the fantastic undulating roads with their pleasant, gentle curves and virtually nobody on them, apart from an occasional sheep with lambs popping up from the ditches beside the roads. It is about as restful a driving experience as you can hope for, comparable with some of the more remote areas of NZ. Considering we were on the main ring road, it was incredible!

We had already been struck by the beauty of the blue lupins, but today would have to be one of the most memorable days of my travels thanks to the vast carpets of the most gorgeous blue lupins I have ever seen. Unbelievably, with so many places to stand for a photo, a Russian lady came and stood just behind me, just as the photo was about to be taken. If there had been one clump of lupins, I would have better understood!

What a magical place this was and what an incredible feeling it was to look around at this sea of blue! A truly heavenly sight.

Of course, there were a few patches of white to break up the blue,  but I imagine that the lupins will win the battle for places to grow, slowly pushing out other plants.

 
We so enjoyed driving over the hills and through wide river valleys. This place was a perfect picnic spot, though at only 9 degrees it was quite chilly.

Once more, flowers caught my eye everywhere.

After a stop at Egilsstadir, the largest town in the east, we took a small detour to a horse farm, Finnstadir, where there was supposed to be a chance to pat  the horses! I had to do that! Luckily, it proved to be a wonderful decision to go there as we not only got to see dozens of the most beautiful horses imagineable, but we were also allowed to go in and stroke them. They were fabulous. Such extraordinary creatures - so docile, so friendly, with so many different colours, long manes, forelocks and tails, very pointy ears and really large heads compared to their body size.

This one below was particularly handsome, but with a slightly wild look in his eyes, under the forelock! His muzzle was soft as velvet.

Not only do they have all the attributes mentioned already, they also have the most exceptionally long and beautiful eye lashes! How many women would spend their entire wages for them! This horse had a very soulful face!

The owner of the farm was surprised to see us there, as the 'petting zoo' no longer exists even though the tourist office had the brochures! She was super friendly and even offered us the chance to feed her young calves - a new and wonderful experience, although the calf got quite angry when the bottle was finished and gave me some hefty nudges as if to say ' where is the rest of the meal' ?


There were two manic piglets there too. They came hurtling towards us at a great pace as we went into the pen to feed the calves. They just about knocked us over and went crazy whilst we fed the calf. They were tiny, but very strong and heavy!


What a brilliant afternoon we were having. Now time to head over the pass to Seydisfjordur. It was a fabulous trip and our first trip through a snowy landscape. Not sure it would be so pleasant in winter, and as we descended we found ourselves in dense fog with very little visibility, but fortunately not for long.

We soon popped out of the fog to find ourselves next to this lovely waterfall. Amazingly, in the distance we could see a bridal couple posing for photos! They must have been freezing.

I had been to Seydisfjordur before with the cruise, but it was a delight to be there independently and to have time to look around. It is a very pretty place, with picturesque, colourful houses and a stunning backdrop of snow- capped mountains.

The main street is very colourful too and the little, pale blue church with its very simple wooden interior was very attractive and uncomplicated.

This tiny cottage was one of the first in the town and used to have a family of nine living there. Why do we need such huge homes nowadays?


It was refreshing to head towards the waterfall which dominates the town. Back in lupin land.

And now, time for bed in our very comfortable youth hostel with one of the best views in town over the fjord and the waterfall. Another amazing day in this wonderful land.