This fascinating penninsula is home to Snaefellsjokull, a volcano featured in Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was a worthwhile, even though much too short, detour before my trip to the Westfjords.

I got up at 2am. I had a long day ahead of me having booked a night in Paetreksfjordur, one of few towns of any size in the Westfjords, and planning a detour to some sight on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. It was the first of June, and it does not get dark at all that time of the year in such northern latitudes. The sun rose about a half an hour after I left Reykajvik as I was driving along the fjord of Hvalfjordur. The mountains above the fjord still carried plenty of snow. Together with the sunrise light, this made for some really scenic views. A few minutes later, I stopped by the road to see a group of Icelandic horses that grazed calmly in the dawning sun.

Moonset above Reykjavik	Farm and Hvalfjordur	Horses and Hvalfjordur	Hvalfjordur scenery	Barn	Barn
	Icelandic horse	Black horse	Face to face	Grazing duo	Backlit mane
Calm of the morning

As I crossed a river to reach Borgarnes, a small town at the southeastern start of the penninsula, I was drawn to its church prominently beckoning to travelers from its location on a small hill. Farther west, the highway winds its way through a beautiful landscape that features volcanic mountains rising from coastal meadows on which sheep and the beautiful Icelandic horses were grazing.

Bridge across Borgarfjordur	Bridge across Borgarfjordur	Bridge across Borgarfjordur	Church in Borgarnes	Scenery along Hwy 54	Horse and mountains
Horse and mountains	Rental Nissan on Hwy 54	White horse	White horse	Highway 54	Snow speckled mountains
Curve	Curve on Snafellsnesvegur	Church along Snafellsnesvegur	Crosses	Icelandic horses	Along a creek
Horses near Snafellsnesvegur

It seems that these days no photographer misses this erect nipple of a peak on the north coast of the penninsula. I arrived around the time low clouds broke up and gave way to sunshine. It was mid morning and well after some interesting light could make for a more interesting scene, but it was not a letdown by any means. I enjoyed the elements - the incredible gale that accompanied me the rest of the day was just picking up and made the place seem raw enough even in the sunshine. Yet, as striking as the mountain is, it did make me wonder why so many converge on the same places.

Rest area at Vatnaleid		Bridge across Hraunsfjardarvatn	Kirkjufell reflection	Kirkjufell in BW	Kirkjufell in BW
Kirkjufell	Nipple	Kirkjufellsfoss	Kirkjufellsfoss	Kirkjufellsfoss	Kirkjufell shower
Photographing photographer	Kirkjufellsfoss in BW

Continuing west of Kirkjufell, the highway follows the north shores of the penninsula. Sheep and horses grazed on the pastures between the mountains and the beaches. The wind seemed truly primal. Now I could understand the warning from the rental car company that the most common damage was from car doors being wildly by the wind as people opened them. The wind and the chilly temperatures did not seem like a place for babies, but it was the beginning of summer and a newly born, and still wet, fowl did not seem to mind the wind as it stood by its mother. It soon became clear that much of Snaefellsjokull will remain in the clouds for much of the day and I turned around some distance before Olafsvik after enjoying the view of the surf on a black sand beach.

Road toward Brimilsvellir	Surf near Brimilsvellir	Waves and the mountains		Sheep crossing
Ram					Mare and foal
Mare and foal	Fanily	Feeding

On the way back east I stopped in Grundafjordur, a fishing town of colorful houses just a couple of kilometers east of Kirkjufell, to buy some groceries and supplies for the trip. As I continued east along the north shore. I passed a cyclist braving the gale and could not help but admire his determination. It seemed a wise course of action would have been to wait out the winds in Grundafjordur, but this guy probably set out to re-enact heroic acts of Icelandic sagas documented on a display by the roadside. I hoped he would make it wherever he was trying to get that day.

Much of the Highway 54 east of its intersection with Highway 56 was not paved. I was not sure if that or the continuously impressive scenery slowed me down more.

Oystercatchers	Harbor in Grundarfjordur		Colorful Grundarfjordur	Harbor and Kirkjufell	Cyclist
Resilience	Waterfall		Grundarfjordur		Pastoral Iceland
Ship and Kirkjufell	Eyrbyggja saga	Road west of Kolgrafarfjordur			Hwy 54
Qashqai	Alftafjordur	Church and Hvammsfjordur	One lane bridge