From abandoned fish factories to volcanic beaches, the hinterlands of the West Fjords are Iceland at its most desolate.
Day 1
East to Heydalur
As my 4WD tears around another bend on the road from Ísafjörður Airport, the next fjord unfurls before me. Moss-cloaked, flat-topped peaks slide down into the vast expanse of water, their slopes framing the view.
After an 85-mile drive south east, hugging the coast of Ísafjörður’s fjord to Heydalur guesthouse, suddenly we’re off the tarmac and onto the gravel track to Heydalur, which announces itself with a scattering of barns, outhouses and hot pots (geothermic pools).
We stop the car, and within seconds I’m submerged in a boulder-ringed pool — my exposed skin prickling in the cold air, while the rest of me warms in the geothermic heat.
My pool is said to have been blessed in the 12th century by the bishop Guðmundur the Good, and as I look down the valley all the way to the sea, I feel the benediction was justified. Afterwards, Heydalur guesthouse owner Stella joins us for a meal of fresh, fragrant trout and local beers. “I was retired before we moved here 14 years ago,” she explains. “This is a second life for me.” The fresh air here is enough to give anyone a new lease of life.
Denne historien er fra December 2016-utgaven av National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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Denne historien er fra December 2016-utgaven av National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Dianne Whelan
THOUGH NOT A SEASONED HIKER TO BEGIN WITH, THE FILMMAKER BECAME THE FIRST PERSON TO COMPLETE THE WORLD'S LONGEST TRAIL NETWORK
NIGERIA
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WILTSHIRE
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BATH
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GRANADA
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FORGED BY FIRE
A SUBTROPICAL ISLAND IN THE ATLANTIC, MADEIRA HAS RUGGED VOLCANIC MOUNTAINS THAT RISE ABOVE THE CLOUDS, NATURAL SWIMMING POOLS DOWN AT SEA LEVEL AND MORE THAN 1,900 MILES OF HISTORIC AQUEDUCTS TRACING THE LANDSCAPES IN BETWEEN
ADRIFT IN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
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the RETURN
ON A PRIVATE GAME RESERVE IN SOUTH AFRICA'S KWAZULU-NATAL PROVINCE, AN UNLIKELY CREATURE IS MAKING A TENTATIVE COMEBACK - AND VISITORS ARE OFFERED A GLIMPSE INTO THE CONSERVATION EFFORTS TO SAVE IT AND OTHER NATIVE WILDLIFE
