North Iceland - Iceland - page 547

Bus 79 to Þórshöfn (Ikr4200, 2¾ hours, one daily Sunday to Friday summer, three weekly
winter). See note above.
Húsavík to Ásbyrgi
Heading north from Húsavík along Rte 85 you'll sweep along the coast of the stubby
Tjörnes Peninsula . The area is known for its fossil-rich coastal cliffs (the oldest layers
dating back about two million years).
At the tip of the peninsula is the Mánárbakki Museum (adult/child Ikr500/free;
9am-6pm Jun-Aug) , home to the eclectic personal collection of friendly farmer Aðalgeir,
who will give you a tour of his turf-roofed house and show you various assemblages of
photos, furniture and crockery.
Giant cracks, fissures and grabens (depressions between geological faults) scar the earth
at low-lying Kelduhverfi , where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge enters the Arctic Ocean. Like
Þingvellir, the area reveals some of the most visible evidence that Iceland is being ripped
apart from its core.
Sleeping & Eating
River Guesthouse GUESTHOUSE
( 463 3390; www.skulagardur.com ;s/d without bathroom Ikr5500/9000; )
This huge blue portacabin offers 30 simple budget rooms with shared bathroom and kit-
chen. Prices listed are for sleeping-bag beds; including linen is Ikr6500/13,000.
Hótel Skúlagarður COUNTRY HOTEL
( 465 2280; www.skulagardur.com ;s/d incl breakfast Ikr16,600/23,000; )
A country hotel behind an unpromising exterior (in a former boarding school),
Skúlagarður offers a warm welcome, plus compact, modern en-suite rooms, and a no-frills
restaurant serving good home cooking (oven-baked arctic char or lamb fillet; mains
Ikr2800 to Ikr4200). It's 12km west of Ásbyrgi.
Keldunes GUESTHOUSE