If you've come to Iceland in search of magic, you'll find it in the landscapes of the Westfjords.
I'm a little behind with updating on a few of my most recent adventures (journeying to the centre of the earth in Snaefellsness, a midnight road trip around the Golden Circle, clouds of midges at Myvatn) but this one can't afford delay. Nicholas and I roped a couple of girls from the residency into a two-day excursion to the Westfjords - mostly so I could scope out the Sea Monster Museum there. The following pictures are of the landscapes, strange sights and twisted roads we encountered on the way - I'll fill you in on our strange adventures and activities at a later date.
The Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft in Holmavik is home to more than magic - next door there is a cafe that serves tasty biscuits and soups. If you're sitting at that cafe long enough (because, in the lunch rush, your meal has been forgotten) a fat, friendly, fluffy cat might join you at the table and temporarily adopt you. If these events occur, you've stumbled upon Mr Hippopotamus Lawson. The chef, handing us a plate of raw fish for him to snack on, explained his name.
"Hippopotamus," he said, "because he is bi-i-i-ig like a hippopotamus." He drew out the word and gestured to his belly to illustrate. "And Lawson, like Nigella Lawson - because he, too, is chubby and beautiful."
Close to midnight we were nearing Dynjandi - which I think takes the cake for most spectacular waterfall we've seen in Iceland - so we pitched our tent at the base and listened to the bucketing water all night.
