The “whale fjord” — although we saw no whales — runs inland just north of Reykjavik and is an easy drive up from the city. We drove along the shore on our way to see Glymur, for which you will need your own car.

The fjord is about 30km long, with a road tracing both shores. There is a long-abandoned naval base here, used by the British and Americans in WWII. Nothing much really remains except a small plaque explaining the site. Some concrete foundations and the twisted remains of a pier remain looking out over the fjord.

This was our first real view of the beautiful scenics in Iceland. But it was also the site of the first out-in-the-wild hot pot that we found in Iceland, a little stone tub along the shore.