In order to see the northern lights as clear as possible we aimed for the highest point available: the 998m Kaldbakur, the highest mountain in the Westfjords, located between the fjords Arnarfjordur and Dyrafjordur.

I never get tired of short spontaneous adventures, to explore the surroundings of my home. There are surprisingly many fantastic spots within an hour from my home in Isafjordur that I have not been to. One of them was Kaldbakur mountain.

In Iceland it's common to change work careers multiple times during your lifetime. In small communities like Reykholar it's also common to hold multiple positions in the society. If you travel to Reykholar the chances of you meeting Harpa Eiriksdottir are pretty big. When we passed through there this summer Harpa was the manager of the library and the town's swimming pool. She also took care of the Eagle centre in Króksfjarðarnes and was the general manager of the Boat and gift of Nature exhibition - which doubles as the tourist information office.

You know you're off the beaten path when you hike over a mountain, find a guest book and discover that the last entry was written two years earlier by your guide.

The museum hall itself is dark and ominous. The first thing you see is a giant replica of Fjörulalli himself. Fjörulalli is the most commonly known sea monster of the Westfjords. Half sheep and half monster, he supposedly pushes people into the sea and drowns them; inciting fear in all of the children of the Westfjords.

The hike wasn't easy. Walking in a rocky shoreline has never been considered ideal, but it was an experiment to see if the route would be feasible for the Wildfjords trail. It wasn't.