Ólafsfjörður to Hvammstangi, 22 Aug 2026
We finally had a rainy day. We started in Siglufjörður to get snacks and lunch for later, rode horses in Sauðárkrókur, and ended the day in Hvammstangi in the northwest of Iceland.
Since we were staying in cabins with breakfast, we just ate there to keep out of the rain that had started overnight. Once we saw our van was unlocked, we put our things in the van, and we were off.
‘As soon as we left town, we went through the two Héðinsfjarðargöng tunnels, 4.5 and 2.5 miles long. These ones were two lanes wide, so traffic coming the other way was no issue.
Siglufjörður
We stopped in Siglufjörður to go to a bakery to fill out breakfast, as well as pick up sandwiches to eat lunch on the road. After we were done, Melody and I started wandering around the town, walking along the harbor until we ended up across from the Herring Era Museum.
We knew we wanted to try to at least get a quick look at the museum, since we needed to head out a half an hour after they opened. We were there early, but the door was unlocked, and Melody went in to check things out. The woman there said it was fine for us to start looking around, even though they weren’t opening for another 15 or 20 minutes. We let the rest of the group know, then started looking around. There were many ships in the building, which represented a harbor as it would have looked in the 1950s. There was one ship that you could climb on and even go down the ladder to the galley.
There were a couple of other buildings which were part of the museum, so we went to the next one since it would be opening time by the time we got there. This one let you go upstairs where you could see how the herring workers lived. There were many bunks, and a couple of small kitchens. There were even things in the attics. Clothes, radios, and other items were on display.
We had some time left still, so we went towards the third building which showed how the herring was processed. Overall, the museum seemed simple, but there was a lot there, and it was well-presented.
Riding horses
We all met up at the vans, but since half of us were going to ride horses and the other half not, we shuffled the vans so the people not riding could stick around in Siglufjörður before heading to Sauðárkrókur to meet us after we were done.
This was the first time the van riders had been mixed up like this. According to what we’ve heard, our van is quite chatty. The other van was pretty quiet, so much so that the driver (our group leader) started playing an audiobook about Iceland. With four of us in the quieter van, there did seem to be quite a bit of chatting going on all around.
Soon after we left Siglufjörður, we went through another tunnel, Strákagöng, a one-lane tunnel which is about half a mile long. We didn’t see any traffic coming the other way, so no need to navigate the pullouts.
As we were driving along, the rain stopped, so we became hopeful that our horse rides would be dry.
When the time came, we went to the stables and were given helmets. With those on, we were assigned horses, based on experience and size. Once we were all on the horses and had our saddles adjusted, we headed out to the trail.
For the most part, the horses followed each other in a line, but every now and then we needed to coax them back onto the trail. Mine seemed to really like to stop and graze, so I needed to coax it to continue to follow the horse in front. Melody said that hers liked to go off the trail a lot. While we were out, it started drizzling, but not too much.
At one point towards the end of the ride, there was a short section of trail where they had us let the horses go faster using the tölt gait which is unique to Icelandic horses, kind of like a smooth, fast walk.
We made it back to the stables and led the horses to a pasture area. Once we had taken off the reins and helmets, we went back to the van and had seen that the other van was already there. They had gone into the café that was now open, and we joined them briefly. We didn’t have a lot of time, but Melody and I got a slice of cheesecake to eat later.
Our next activity was supposed to be walking through Kolugljúfur Canyon, but our group leader decided that it was probably too chilly, windy, and wet to do that (no one disagreed), so we instead went to Sauðákrókur to find a bakery and hot chocolate. Unfortunately, while we were waiting for our hot chocolates, the server came by and said the hot chocolate machine had jammed, so Melody and I ended up sitting with the others and chatting.
Hvammstangi
When people were done at the café, we continued driving to our hotel in Hvammstangi. After checking in and unpacking, most people were planning on going to the Icelandic Seal Center, then dinner after that. We were a bit tired, so we decided to just go straight to dinner.
We had just sat down when people started going outside because there was a whale going by. Melody sent a message to the rest of the group, and we saw some on the balcony outside our table and others downstairs. After the whale had passed, everyone returned to the museum and us to dinner.
Dinner done, we made our way back to the hotel to settle in for the evening.
