Day 15: Rejkavik to Olafsvik. 245km

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'Northland, Highway and Sky' sung by David Lyle Morris was the first song of the day that popped into my helmet on random shuffle this morning.
In this song our friend David is singing about Northland, the winter-less north in New Zealand. 
It was lovely to hear his voice as we rode along the highways alongside the North Atlantic Ocean  in the chilly summer with the temperature around 10-12 degC most of the day.
It prompted me to think about how blessed we are to live in a wonderful country, New Zealand, with wonderful friends; and  how blessed we are to be able visit so many other places on earth and make new friends.

 
The church at Hellnar.
We stopped for lunch here at the Fjoruhusid cafe on the recommendation of a local bus driver who we met at Skogar.
A very good recommendation.

 
Fishing fleet in port at Olafsvik.
We are at 65deg north.. The fishermen are working in arctic conditions.We are grateful for  their  hard work and for the harvest that we are enjoying eating... Especially the succulent cod.

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Cod for dinner at Hraun restaurant, the only restaurant,  in the small fishing port, Olafsvik.   We are very impressed with the wonderful food we are served in even the smallest of settlements.
My favourite fish in NZ is blue cod. The Icelandic cod is similar in flavour and texture to blue cod but it is a much larger fish and has much bigger flakes. 

 
Dried cod has been a staple food of Nordic countries for centuries.
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We have been pleasantly surprised by the good road conditions. Traffic is light and people observe the 90kph speed limit.
We are riding here before the height of the tourist season. 
We appreciate the notices for  drivers from the Unite Kingdom who may not be used to driving on the right hand side of the road. 
Dick seems to have that well under control now. 
 
More lava flows. 
 
 

This church in Olafsvik was consecrated in 1967. The architect was Hakon Henevig and the builder Boovar Bjarmason of Olafsvic.
I love the design of this church. As we rode into town it seemed to rise out of the hill side.
It is built predominanlty of triangle shapes. It  resembles a ship. Apparently from above it has the shape of a salt cod fish.

We have been on the road for two weeks now.

Comments

Margit said…
Reading your blogs are now part of my daily ritual. It is nice to hear from family nearly every day.
You are doing a great job with blogging!
13 June 2016 at 11:55
Ken said…
That church at Hellnar looks just like the one at Jerusalem on the Whanganui River.
13 June 2016 at 13:41
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