Wednesday 30th July

Today we decided to drive to Husavik to go whale watching (see picture below, taken on whale watch boat). It is quite a long drive, and to break it we made some stops on the way. The first was at Dettifoss (see picture right), billed as Europe's largest waterfall: impressive and a good spot for photography with no shortage of rocks to sit on to get a good view of the water crashing hundreds of feet down right next to you.

The roads at this point were getting a lot worse, or better if rally cross is your thing (see picture left), and progress became somewhat slower. Despite this I was pleased to post an average speed of 80km/h over the longer stages which is about 50mph. It is possible to get these kind of averages over the rough terrain because of lack of traffic and the strange high-speed-directly-proportionate-to-comfort phenomenon that we noticed.

We arrived in Husavik at around lunchtime and the sun was shining. Husavik is a pleasant little fishing town with some pretty houses and a delightful wooden church (see picture right) which looked strangely American/New Englandy. Inside the church it was warm, bright and welcoming and smelt of wood and polish, in contrast to English churches which tend to be very dark and cold with a musty aroma.

The next whale-watch was scheduled for around 4.45pm, so we had a couple of hours to wait. A short tour of the quayside and some fishing boats followed, along with some photography in the harbour area. We then reclined on the grass atop two humming mounds (!) and looked at the sky and out to sea. It is easy to relax on grassy areas in Iceland because dog-keeping is frowned upon and dog turds are not the common-place decoration we take for granted on our pavements and green areas in the UK.

The whale-watching trip was conducted on a small former fishing boat which bopped about like an apple in the water and had room enough for about 20 tourists and 3 crew. We were treated to a very informative commentary and introduction to whales. During the trip, which lasted about two and a half hours, we saw plenty of dolphins but only fleeting glances of a Minke whale. Whales are not guaranteed to make an appearance, obviously, so it is best just to go to enjoy the trip (which is great fun) and the sea. The whale watching tour cost 5000 kronur for the two of us which is about £25 each and they were kind enough to feed us sticky buns with raisins in them and hot cocoa.

Upon our return we went to a small café/restaurant near the harbour. Husavik is not the kind of place where you expect to find a real restaurant as the population is small and made up mostly by fishermen, fish industry workers and a few old folk who perhaps go there when they retire. The decor in the café we went to was resolutely 1970's orange and brown but the service was quite sweet and friendly (as almost everywhere in Iceland). We ate fried fish and chips ­ I had halibut chunks generously coated in a spicy batter and Samantha had salmon. It was reasonably well done and tasted like good, robust, home-made food. It was cheap too: around £16 for the two of us.

We took the long route back to Narfastadir and it was nearly ten o'clock by the time we got back to the guest-house. However, it was still light and warm so we decided to go horse-riding. We asked the smiling proprietor if this was possible, so late. "No problem!" he replied, and made a telephone call. He then instructed us to drive down the road a short way and stop at a roadside corral, where we would be met by the man from the riding centre. We did so, and just as we arrived so did he, in a Land Rover with trailer full of riding helmets and saddles. With the help of his sheep dog puppy he rounded up all his horses from the hillside and corralled them. He then selected horses for Samantha and myself, gave us hats and gave us a few tips. Firstly, Icelandic horses have more gaits than we are used to. The 'funny' fifth gait has an unpronounceable Icelandic name which sounds like 'tusht'. When the horse is doing this gait, it looks as if it is doing a funny dance in an old movie played at double speed. I think the reason these horses do it is because they can cover ground quickly over awkward irregular terrain more easily, as they are not transferring all the weight from fore to aft as in a canter, while still moving quicker than they would if walking or trotting. It is an easier gait to ride that the lumpy rising trot we are used to in England. Icelandic horses are small and look as if they would have a problem carrying any kind of weight but they are surprising strong and able. The ones we rode were also incredibly well behaved, and completely free of annoying vices. The friendly man from the riding centre chattered the whole time about horses, Iceland, and a host of other things during our ride, which took us around local countryside through a valley, along a river and along networks of narrow earth pathways through the lava along which the horses managed to make surprisingly rapid progress. The strength and ability of my horse became apparent when it was required to run up a steep mud bank with a gradient of at least 30%, bouncing up casually with 80kg of me on its back.

The riding school man invited us round for coffee the next morning, and, once we had groomed the horses and set them free for the night, we settled up and went back to the guest-house. The cost for the riding was around £30 for both of us for about 90 minutes, which is exceptionally good value compared to UK/European prices. What's more, it really brought home to us the generosity and pleasant nature of the Icelandic people that someone would come out late in the evening to take just two of us for a ride, and be so obliging and unhurried about it. I'm sure that a slower pace of life and less people has got something to do with it.

Upon our return to Narfastadir at around 1am, we weren't feeling particularly tired. So we stripped off, put our swimming costumes on and jumped in the outdoor hot tub! After twenty minutes of soothing, relaxing hot jacuzzi with the mild night breeze wafting over us we felt tired and wonderfully relaxed and had one of the deepest night's sleep of the whole holiday.

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© Richard Harrison

All photographs are © Richard Harrison and Samantha Coe 1997