Lupins and Langoustine

As we left Pakgil for a long stretch of driving on our way to Hofn, you could see nothing but fields of Nootka Lupine (I just call them lupins) on either side of the road. It reminded me of the poppy fields in Wizard of Oz.  

Lupins are not native to Iceland, and so obviously some people are really against them because they are an invasive species.  They were introduced in 1945 as a way of fighting erosion and adding nitrogen to the soil.  This has worked, but, as you can imagine, almost too well.  Lupins are flourishing and they are hard to contain, much to the detriment of the low-lying plants, grasses and mosses that are native to the area.  

We followed a trail through the flowers, until all of a sudden the fields of purple and green ended, and there was only black sand and rocks.

Like walking on the moon

Lucky model shot for when the wind was cooperating.

Reality of what most pictures of me look like in the wind

Right in the middle of low-lying grey sand plains is an area that has (to my untrained eye at least) only native plants and species dotted along the landscape.  I was constantly stopping to take pictures of these tiny plants making their way up out of the gravel.  They reminded me of the little succulent plants we have in our windows, and I was obsessed with them.

We continued along the track until it eneded, and the followed some very subtle blazes that guided us through the grey expanse to a small white building partially protected by a bluff.  It was a strange sight to see this little building, with nothing else as far as the eye can see.  We had lots of questions, and fortunately there was a little plaque that explained its purpose.  Years ago, in the winter, that expanse of land was troublesome to travelers and there were many deaths as people traveled from one town to another.  This building was put up as a safe haven.  The inside boards and beams of the tiny building were covered in carved names and dates - a mix of weary travelers from 80 years ago, and more recently, curious tourists like ourselves - a different sort of traveler.

Well worth the investigation

Our next stop was Svartifoss Waterfall.  You've probably seen pictures of the waterfall before, and I'm going to add ours to the fray.  It was an easy and beautiful walk up into the hills, and it was as impressive and as interesting as I thought it would be.  

The same pillared rock that we saw on the beaches of Vik

Back onto the road, and it was straight to Hofn to get a campground spot and find some dinner.   By the time we arrived it was getting pretty dark for that time of year (which is a generous dusk), and we were pleased to check in before they closed up the office.  The gentleman at the desk was super friendly, gave us some recommendations on where to find dinner, and we chatted a little bit about the Montreal Canadians.  He had a Habs windbreaker and a Habs tattoo on his upper arm. I asked how he came to be such an avid fan of a Canadian hockey team, and he said simply "Because they are the best team."  Smart man.

We parked our van, and headed into town.  We were very discerning, and literally stopped at the first place we found, Kaffi Hornið.  It was warm and cozy inside, and we were not disappointed.  We started with  Langoustine Tempura, and I later had Langoustine Pizza while Daniel had the local lamb chops. Like I said, we had frugal and simple meals during the day, but at dinnertime we certainly made up for it.   Langoustine is a smaller relative to a lobster, and is also known as Norway Lobster or Dublin Bay Prawn.  They grow to be about 8 inches long, are a pale orange colour, and are delicious. 


With bellies full,  We went back to our little campervan to plan out the next day's adventures, read our books, and get some much needed sleep.

This day's route, Pakgil to Hofn.