After spending the first half of our vacation on the golden circle and south coast, Eric and I headed westward. I know I keep saying in each post that this was my absolute favorite part, but this really might have been my favorite part of Iceland, haha.
We stayed in a sleepy little fishing town called Stikkysholmur, which was the perfect dose of relaxation for the end of our trip. We unfortunately didn't make it up all the way to the West Fjords, which are supposed to be gorgeous. However, we were a short drive from old volcanoes and lava fileds, lovely fjord views, and glaciers. As you can see by the photos below, we definitely didn't miss out on beautiful views.
Most memorable moment of this portion of the trip? Eating Iceland's famous delicacy: fermented shark. Luckily – being on the coast and all – we got to offset the old shark meat with some of the best seafood I've ever had ;)
First up: Visiting the Shark Museum! They walk you through the anatomy of sharks, plus the history and how they make the fermented meat. The guys that run this place are hilarious.
The shark meat wasn't the worst thing I've ever had, but it was pretty bad. It tasted like really salty, chewy fish with a strong hint of ammonia. Mmmm.
The museum was just a room filled with taxidermy and old nautical trinkets. I was ready to move in.
Shark skin! Felt like sandpaper.
The closest I ever got to any puffin on the trip. Unfortunately, this one was dead.
Shark jawbone. Check out all those teeth...
The only non-selfie we got together on the trip :I
Another reason why this place was my favorite: chickens.
After tasting the meat, we walked outside to see where it was fermented. Be glad smells can't come through your screen - it was HORRENDOUS.
Of course you can't drive anywhere without checking out more ponies.
Discussing our pony tails.
Kirkjufell Mountain. We passed on climbing this after our previous hiking experience at Glymur the day before. It sure was gorgeous to drive around though!
One of the places I was looking forward to visiting most was Djupalonssandur, the site of a 1948 shipwreck. It was so cool to wander along the black pebbled beach, play in the tidepools, and check out all the debris.
Eric and I dubbed this "goth church". So eerie.
Stikkysholmur. The one rain storm of our trip hit while we were here. Thankfully we got to enjoy some beautiful magic hour views on the coast before it hit.
We had our first B&B experience ever in Stikkysholmur. I'll admit it probably is not for us for any future trips, but thankfully we only had one other person staying with us. One bonus was that the place was filled with the coolest things. I wanted to steal this pillow.
How cute is this nautical restaurant? It was filled with old photos of the town.
If you ever find yourself in this small Icelandic town, you've got to eat at the "green house" restaurant. We enjoyed some homemade bread and butter and black lava salt, super fresh mussels and fish, and the classic Icelandic fish soup. I was expecting the soup to be disgusting, but it was amazing! Tasted more like a creamy tomato soup than something made with fish.
Stay tuned for the last post of the trip! Want more Iceland till then?
