We spent a couple days exploring the Snæfellsnes peninsula, shown below.

For some reason I involuntarily giggle every time I see the word Snæfellsnes, hearing in the far reaches of my memory “snaggletooth” or “snuffles less.” Must be early onset dementia.

Anyway, the western end of the peninsula is Snæfellsjökull National Park, named after the volcano that created this part of Iceland.

There’s a lighthouse at the western tip that you can supposedly drive to. We opted, instead, to spend our time on a pretty little beach that we spotted on the way there.

That beach, which I later learned is called Skarðsvík Beach, is one of the few with golden sand. Most of the beaches in Iceland are black sand, like the one we visited on the south side of the island.

We were there around low tide, as you can see from the exposed seaweed, below. Steini told me that they have a 12-foot tide in Stykkishólmur, and I suppose it’s the same here.

Way out in the distance we saw a fishing boat hauling in its catch.

There are lava fields and volcanic cones everywhere on the end of the peninsula.

We drove to one of the cones, the Saxhóll Crater.

It’s another one with a staircase up to the rim. Here’s a view from there, looking down into the crater:

Further to the east, outside of the National Park, is the Bjarnarfoss, another waterfall.

A couple hikers walked up to the outcropping ahead of us. You might be able to make them out, just below the snow.

The wind was really blowing up there, as you can see in the photo, below. Look at how the waterfall was being blown away from the vertical.

On our last day, we drove along the southern shore of the peninsula. Here’s a typical view along that coast. Everywhere you look is a postcard.

And here’s the namesake of the National Park, Snæfellsjökull, a 700,000 year old glacier-capped stratovolcano.

Snæfellsjökull (elev. 4,744 ft.) was made famous by one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, Jules Verne, in his novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864).

I never read the book, but I remember seeing the movie when I was a kid. If you’re looking for the portal to the earth’s core, this is where you need to go:

We spent about an hour near the Lóndrangar basalt pinnacles, watching the seagulls soaring aloft on the updraft. Lóndrangar is supposedly the remnant of another volcanic crater, most of which has been eroded by waves.

Nearby, we visited Djúpalónssandur, a black sand beach known for its “lifting stones,” four stones used by fishermen to judge potential crew member’s strength.

The stones weigh 23, 54, 100 and 154 kilograms, that is, 50, 100, 220 and 340 lbs. No, I didn’t try lifting them. I’ll save my deadlifting for when I get home and have a hospital nearby.

Our last night as tourists was spent at another Fosshotel (Hellnar). Here’s the view from our room:

From Snaggletooth Peninsula, we’re headed for the airport at Narvík and our flight home.