Michael Powell's Blog, page 105

Flying Over the Westfjords

You Also Might Want To Check Out Our First Flight Over Iceland!

We had spent an exhausting six days driving and camping around the Westfjords: the remote slice of land that makes up Iceland’s northwestern corner. It was an amazing trip, but also amazingly tiring. “That’s it!” we cried once back in the capital. “That’s all the Westfjords we can take!” Little did we know, we’d return the very next day. But from a completely different angle.

When the opportunity for a flight over Iceland arises, w...

The Látrabjarg Bird Cliffs

Home to millions of puffins, guillemots, razorbills and gannets, Látrabjarg is the westernmost point in Iceland and the largest bird cliff in Europe. Birds are lured here by the infinite rocky outcrops, protected from the northern winds and perfect for nesting… and humans come for the sheer spectacle of so many birds in one place.

We knew that we’d see puffins on our visit to Latrabjarg, but hadn’t expected to get so close to them. Despite being hunted in Iceland, the little guys completely un...

Breiðavík

Hotels and guesthouses are certainly more comfortable, but as far as we’re concerned camping is the best way to see Iceland. This country is all about experiencing nature, and has some incredible places to pitch a tent. Many of the campsites we visited during our trip to the Westfjords were highlights in their own right, and Breiðavík might have been best of all.

The peninsula on the southwestern corner of the Westfjords is home to the Latrabjarg bird cliffs, some gorgeous nature, the Hnjótur...

The Dynjandi Falls

A magnificent triangular cascade, Dynjandi was the most impressive waterfall we saw during our time in the Westfjords. Quite a feat, considering how many there are in the region. Every half-mile we drove, we would spot another… but none could hold a candle to Dynjandi.

Dynjandi begins where a wide glacial river drops off a cliff on its way to the Arnarfjörður fjord. From the parking lot, it looks like one huge waterfall, but as you approach you realize that there are actually up to a dozen sep...

The Western Westfjords: It Gets No Westier

The Latrabjarg Cliffs are about five hours from Ísafjörður by car, but the drive will take most people a lot longer thanks to all the fun places to stop along the way. We needed all day to amble along Route 60, stopping off in five villages before ending at the beach of Breiðavík.

Most of the drive between Ísafjörður and the nearby fishing village of Flateyri is through a long tunnel. Trapped between a towering mountain and the Önundarfjörður Fjord, Flateyri is most famous for the tragic 1995...

Socializing in Suðureyri

It’s hard to imagine what life must have been like in tiny Suðureyri prior to 2001, and the completion of the tunnel which connects it to Ísafjörður. Today, the drive just takes twenty minutes, but in the none too distant pre-tunnel days, the only connection Suðureyri had to the outside world was by boat.

Traversing the tunnel to Suðureyri was quite an experience. It narrows down to a single lane and there’s even an intersection midway through. A little nerve-wracking, but the view awaiting us...

Þjódmenningarhúsið: The Culture House

Nothing is so important to Iceland’s historical identity as its sagas. Transposed onto vellum leaf by anonymous scribes in the 13th and 14th centuries, these are the blood-soaked stories of the country’s settlement. Today, the best collection can be found in the Þjódmenningarhúsið, or the Culture House.

The Þjódmenningarhúsið might be dedicated to preserving and sharing Icelandic cultural heritage, but it’s housed inside Reykjavík’s most non-Icelandic building. Ostentatious and neoclassic, the...

A Day in the Hornstrandir

The Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, in the northwestern corner of Iceland, is almost completely unmarred by the dirty, corrupting fingertips of mankind. No roads scar the landscape and there are no permanent residents, unless you count the arctic foxes which abound in its hills. We spent a long day exploring a small section of the reserve.

Hornstrandir is a major destination for hikers seeking to get away from civilization, and most stay for four or five days, walking from one end of the peninsul...

Ísafjörður

Memorably situated on a narrow spit of land which nearly cuts the Skutulsfjörður fjord in half, Ísafjörður is by far the largest town in the Westfjords. Not that it’s terribly large — just over 2700 people call it home.

Ísafjörður is small enough to comfortably see in a couple hours, but most visitors tend to stay a lot longer. After long hours spent negotiating the remote and lonely roads of the Westfjords, Ísafjörður comes across as a relative metropolis, and is such a beautiful town that it...

Suðavík’s Arctic Fox Center

The arctic fox is the only terrestrial mammal native to Iceland. Without any natural predators, the little furballs thrive in the harsh climate of the country’s interior, but they’re skittish and can be difficult to spot… unless you pay a visit to the Arctic Fox Center in Suðavík, near Ísafjörður.

Aside from being a great resource for learning about the animals, the Arctic Fox Center doubles as a recovery home for orphaned or injured foxes before they’re re-released. During our visit, there we...