Barnafossar: one to portage in a kayak

South to Rivers

Raining this morning in Fjarðarhornsdalur, and I let Andy get up first and lurked in bed hoping that the debris of last week’s food box will be sorted out. We left Kollafjörður and the north west fjords today and headed south again in search of more rivers. The north west fjords of Iceland is a great place, but there is not much in the way of river kayaking.

Andy speculating on whether to kayak down Barnafossar

Stopped at a garage on the way south and marvelled at the cost of everything in the shop. £110 for a socket set; very shiny, very expensive. Post some letters home and buy some new postcards and some Icelandic yoghurt. After almost an entire afternoon of driving south, we arrive the at Hvitá, and go and inspect some of the rapids. Hvitá (white river) appears to be the third most common name for  a river in Iceland, after Jolulsá (glacial river) and Laxá (river containing salmon). This is not the same Hvitá we kayaked on earlier in the summer.

The first fall we take a look at is the well visited Barnafossar. This really is one that is not for canoeists. The river pours through a narrow gap in the volcanic rock, and the river really pumps through several drops in the crack. The worst is saved for last as the river pumps under a narrow natural bridge. The river is not a total write-off though, and Tom and I plan to paddle it tomorrow.

Rob hovering around the stove waiting for Andy to finish off dinner preparations

Set up camp further up the river and have a heated debate on the merits of vegetarianism. Since I am the only omnivore in the group, the debate is rather one sided. We have a bit of a walk after dinner, Andy and Tom go up one hill and I go up another.