Iceland XII: Dynjandi Waterfall--the Fairest of Them All

Iceland is full of waterfalls, hurtling down nearly every hillside.  Audrey counted them from her car seat, as Mike drove. "One, two, three, four..."  For me, the most beautiful of all the waterfalls was Dynjandi, which we visited on August 22, 2022.  It has seven tiers.  The streams of water separate and float down like a wedding veil.  
 

We drove, on August 22, south from Isafjordur, at the northern tip of the West Fjords, to Dynjandi, and then all the way south to Patreksfjordur, where we spent the night before catching the Baldur ferry.  On the map, you can see the deep fjord, halfway down the west coast, which we crossed by ferry.

Dave and I were up early and took a long walk around Isafjordur.  

The town clings to the bottom of huge, gray cliffs, with the fjord beyond.  We sat on the boulders that formed the breakwater.

Mike and Heidi were staying at a B'n'B further south.  We drove through a long tunnel, straight through the huge gray mountains south of Isafjordur, to meet them.

It was still early when we neared Mike and Heidi's B'n'B, so we detoured to Flateyri, which was once a giant support base for Norwegian whalers.  It is now a base for kayaking, fishing, and beautiful scenery.

I met a German fisherman, as I wandered near the pier.  I think he told me that he and a Polish friend had rented an apartment and fishing boat and were fishing for a month just for the fun of it, with the catch sent home.  His English was sketchy and my German was non-existent, so I'm not quite sure....

On our way south, we stopped at Skrudor Botanical Garden, located in the unlikeliest of places, on a barren hillside.  It was established in 1909 and is a labor of love for the local residents who maintain it.  Only the hardiest of plants survive.

The garden is also noted for the massive whale jawbone at one of its entrances.

Finally, we reached Dynjandi.  You can't see all seven tiers of waterfalls without climbing to the very top.  Mike led and/or carried Audrey up all seven tiers, as I huffed and puffed behind them. 

There was a view out to the fjord from the top of the Dynjandi waterfall.

We drove  further and further south, until we reached our hotel in Patreksfjordur.  Mike liked to lead, and Dave and I liked to follow.  Heidi and the children were tired, so they rested up for dinner while Dave, Mike, and I drove along the fjord to visit the "ghost ship" and the Latrabjang cliffs.

This is the oldest steel ship in Iceland.  It was built in Norway in 1912 and beached on this beach in 1981.

We hiked onto the top of the Latrabjang cliffs, where shorebirds typically nest by the thousands.  They begin to fly south in early August, so we were too late to see hordes of birds, but we did see some, as well as the spectacular cliffs.