Iceland - Day 9

I think today can best be described as a day of extreme photography! After an early breakfast we went to the black Budir Church which is a stone's throw from our hotel. There was a vicious wind that made conditions very challenging - it was freezing cold and we could not stay out for long. 

We then drove the coastal road of this peninsula to Arnarstapi which apparently is a bustling little fishing village in the summer - today it was like a ghost town, very quiet with no one around. We took a few photos of the sea stacks and houses but then were desperate to go indoors for a coffee. Everything was closed but eventually one cafe opened at 11am where we had a mediocre coffee. The cafe owner warned us that the road ahead was challenging due to the extreme weather conditions, but we decided to see what it was like. The wind had picked up, I think it was something like 45mph and the temperature of -3C was actually -14C due to the wind chill factor. We kept stopping to photograph the swirling snow in the wind, it was like a sand storm the way the snow was skidding across the open fields. 

The conditions at this little church (Ingjaldshóll church) were extreme - we could barely open the minivan door to get out or get back in again, the snow was swirling in our faces and onto the camera lens, and so this has to be my blip today as it represents the conditions of the day. The softness in the foreground is the snow skidding across the ground.

We continued the coastal road in the hope of finding a cafe for lunch, but no, on a Saturday in winter every cafe we came across was closed. We found a supermarket in Grundarfjördur where we bought snacks for lunch and thankfully they also had toilets.

On the road back to our hotel in Budir we passed a picturesque rescue hut (first extra) and then going down the pass to Budir I asked Lee to stop the vehicle while I jumped out to capture the second extra - I had seen this view yesterday and loved it, but there was nowhere to park - I was just about blown away taking this image but managed to hold on to my camera! 

Back at the hotel we photographed the black church again. This morning in the blue hour the photos were very moody with dark blue skies, but the last extra shows what it was like in the afternoon sunshine. 

Tomorrow is our last full day. We will try to photograph Kirkjufell again, if the light is good. It did not look inspiring for photos today so maybe tomorrow we get better light on the mountain. We are driving back to Kevlavik tomorrow afternoon to a hotel near the airport.