Iceland 2.8: The scenic drive from Hofsos to Asbyrgi

     I slept late the next morning and woke up to sunshine.  After gathering myself, I attempted to pay the camping fee at the honesty box.  I didn't have correct change.  I had to go to the supermarket down the road anyway, so I figured that I would get change there.  I walked through the first automatic doors and the next set wouldn't open.  I took a step back and tried again.  Then I searched for a potential button to open it, to no avail.  I happened to look right and saw a group of young girls gesturing to me to use a door that was to the left when I entered.  That one opened.

    I paid the remainder of my camping tab and then backtracked two minutes down the road I had come from the previous day.  Here was the first church built in Iceland.  It had been ransacked at some point and then rebuilt around 1940 if I remembered correctly.  Like the previous churches, the door was locked.

    Next I drove north.  Eventually I came upon another one lane only tunnel.  Out the other side were magnificent mountains.

I slowed down once I entered Siglufjordur.  I had intended to stop at a cafe known for its chocolate, but it was closed.  The village was very cute.  I stopped to take a few pictures.

    

    On the other side of the town was another tunnel and then a small stopover with a park bench.  A couple were having a picnic there.  It was absolutely beautiful on both sides.

    After the short stopping area there was another tunnel.  I stopped again at the next town, Ólafsfjörður, at Kaffi Klara.  I had a coffee and a chocolate cake.  I asked the proprietor how to pronounce the letter that looked like a "d," near the end of the town's name.  He said it was similar to the "th" sound.  I continued southeast until I reached the larger town of Akureyri.  I stopped at a supermarket for groceries and then visited the botanical garden.  It was surprisingly free of charge, and most of the flowers I had not come across in Iceland before.  I will post pictures of the flowers as the last part of this entry.  

    I very briefly stopped for the Godafoss waterfall, shrugged my shoulders, took a handheld picture, and continued on my way.

    I traveled northeast and stopped to take a picture of the church in Husavik, a town known for its whaling tours.

    North yet again, I stopped at a known birding spot there on the Tjornes peninsula.  Unfortunately, instead of Puffins, there were only seagulls that I could tell.  Disappointed, I left toward my final destination for the day, the Asbyrgi campground.  This area is parkland, so there was no town in sight.  The walls of the campsite was a very tall rock face.

    These are the pictures from the botanical garden-