We have a long driving day tomorrow. Just a few words tonight, then the pictures, so I can get some shuteye.

We drove from our home town of Stykkisholmur on the northeast corner of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, along the north coast to the westernmost tip and back to Stykkisholmur, a loop that took us the better part of eight hours 10 AM to 6 PM. Lots of neat things to see, including the most beautiful mountain in Iceland, Kirkjufell – it says so in all the guide books. It’s not hard to look at, that’s for sure.

We were told that while the peninsula has tons of moss-covered lava flows and craters, there hasn’t been an eruption for “thousands of years,” according to one local who we talked with at lunchtime in Hellnar. “We’ve drifted off the shelf divide and so we’re not likely to have another eruption,” he said. Famous last words?

We found the memorial honoring Guoriour Porbjarnardottir, the first “white” (that’s what the sign said) woman to give birth to a child on North America. She sailed to Newfoundland from Greenland with Leif Erickson. She had the baby by some other guy. Guoriour made eight ocean voyages and traveled overland to Rome twice. The memorial is placed near her birthplace.

And we found a roadside plaque commemorating Vestarr, the first settler to the peninsula. Being lazy, I’m going to quote directly from the sign:

Vestarr, the first settler in this area, built his farm at Eyri (Öndverdareyri), after which the saga is named. The descendants of Vestarr play a leading role in Eyrbyggja Saga as troublemakers, showing gross disrespect at Thórsnes meetings. Viking ruins from those times can still be seen at Öndverdareyri. A church was erected on the site during the early days of Christianity. Thórdur Sturluson, brother of the principal author of the sagas Snorri Sturluson, was buried in in the churchyard in 1237.

And in case you haven’t been keeping up with your Saga studies, here’s an excerpt, again from the roadside sign:

“Then Steinthór ran across and threw his shield over Thórdur just as Thorleifur aimed a blow at him, and with the other hand he thrust at Thorleifur Kimbi, severing his leg below the knee. While that was happening, Freysteinn Rascal thrust at Steinthór, aiming at his middle. Steinthór saw it coming and leapt high into the air, and the thrust went between his legs. These three things that we have just described, he did in the same instant.”

Why the Sagas haven’t been made into a Netflix miniseries is beyond me. Maybe they have and I’ve been binge watching Ted Lasso and For All Mankind too much.

Tomorrow we’re off to Lake Myvatn. Myvatn, several people have told me, including Diana yesterday at the Eider shop, is Icelandic for “Mosquito.” We’ll see.