Iceland: Reykjanes Peninsula: SANDGERDI and HAFNIR

Leaving the lighthouses of  Gardaskagi behind, we continue south along the short west coast of Reykjanes Penninsula.
On our right is the dark, unfriendly ocean, on the left, flat lava fields  old enough to be covered by a thin layer of soil.

Weather is not cooperating - what a while ago seemed like timid sunshine quickly disappears behind the low, speeding clouds.
Rain is starting to fall and the wind is picking up once more.


One must be tough to live here, we think.  Humans, animals and plants alike.

Only a few kilometers from the lighthouses is another small community.

Sandergi, I read somewhere, means "sand dunes".
There are no sand dunes to be seen from where we are, only an interesting harbour with small and large fishing vessels.







This community of a couple of hundred people is located near rich fishing grounds which makes Sangerdi one of the most important fishing places in Iceland. No wonder then,  that in the16th century the Scottish chose this area for their fishing and fish-processing enterprises.

It is also no wonder that this area, its cliffs and islands host a variety of bird species advertised by every publication we read.

According to Lonely Planet's excellent tour guide on "Iceland" there are several places to visit here; Nature Museum and the fish processing plant bring just a couple of them.

Unfortunately time is of the essence and in order to stick to our itinerary we must continue on.
Before our departure to this country we heard that Iceland had been rated as the number one regarding the standard of living - or one of the highest in the world anyway.
Perhaps its people do not rely on loans. (???)
 Just Google it for yourself. I got some very interesting answers.

We are slowly finding our way from Sandgerði to Hafnir: another small community where the lava fields seem to encroach ever closer to the coast. 

But first: HAFNIR:

This is a place believed to be the site of the first settlement in Iceland. At least the first to give some archaeological evidence dated to about 800 AC. If you go on Google Earth and zoom down into the village you might be able to find the site. 

I believe that it will show up near this green house in the vicinity of  Kirkjuvogur Church.

 
 Kirkjuvogur Church, one of the oldest in the area, was built in 1860 by a farmer named Vilhjalmur Hokanarson.
Which brings me to the Icelandic naming - if the surname ends in "son"  it means that we are reading about a man.
An ending "dottir" means a woman. 

It is always the father's name that the  "son" or "dottir" are affixed to.

 
The entrance to the church and the cemetery was locked and we had no means of checking who and when was buried there..

Which was just fine - let them all rest in peace.

A strange story is told about this place.
In 1881 a large American ship, fully loaded with wood and destined for England, ran aground here, by Hafnir. 
Strangely, there was no crew on board.
The locals salvaged the wood and put the anchor on display.
What could have happened to the sailors?
What happened to them?

There is a really good explanation there on Wikipedia.

Here, for the first time, we finally meet Icelandic horses! Those of you who follow my blog understand that I like to photograph wildlife. For the most of our trip these special horses and semi-wild, cute Icelandic sheep represented the land mammals of Iceland. 

Never mind - it was the love at the first sight anyway. The only problem was that they just kept on pulling the grass, hardly ever lifting their beautiful fully-maned heads to pose for a photo.

I will talk about the horses in one of my following blogs; for now we shall continue to Gunnuhver where the steam and bubbling mud rise up to the tortured surface from the depths of Earth.