Iceland, Days 3, 4, and 5!

On day 3 we began our easterly trip from Hvammstangi. Hvammstangi is in a region known for its seal harems (that's what they're called, look it up).

Some jerk painted this horse

Skirting the edge of the fjords, there were always mountains in the distance.

Can't believe this guy married Heidi Klum. He's way out of her league.

Dat sassy face. Zoom in for sassy face.

Could be a postcard

We decided to take a scenic route through Fjallabyggð, a peninsula on the northern end of the island. The GPS decided to send us on a route that became impassable after 20km, so we had to double back and go along the coast. We snagged this picture to commemorate our near Donner Party experience.

We finally arrive in Akureyri, find our lovely accommodations and enjoy a sunset and nice evening out.

 

We ate whale! Soft like fish, meaty like steak. Yummy?

 Next day we head out for Egilsstaðir by way of Mývatn. On our way we climbed Hverfjall, an enormous volcanic crater.

Climbing volcanoes is hard work. But someone's got to do it.

"Holy shit, a crater!"

 We knew that Jesse Goldman was going to be in Iceland, but he was going a day earlier and leaving a day earlier. He was going counterclockwise and we were going clockwise. Somehow we still managed to cross paths at the base of this volcano.

After Hverfjall, we went to Dimmuborgir (A.K.A The Catacombs of Hell), a field of cone-shaped volcanic rocks

These santa guys are the mascot of Dimmuborgir and their pictures are everywhere. These guys are known to be tricksters, and we blame them for our getting a bit lost

We arrived in Egilsstaðir and cooked a traditional Icelandic meal of hot dogs

Day 5 we climbed Litlanesfoss and Hengifoss

Litlanesfoss

We didn't take this picture, but that's how it looks in the summer.

As the lava cools it forms hexagonal basalt, perfect for Ore in Settlers of Catan

Hengifoss was frozen!

After Litlanesfoss we drove to Djúpivogur, on the southeastern side of the island. In Djúpivogur we stopped at an artist's house called 'Sticks, Stones, and Bones. The artist was nowhere to be found, but his dog greeted us by rolling a ball down a hill in an invitation to play.

Tomorrow, the eclipse! (weather permitting...)

Halló frá Eylenda (Hello from Iceland!)

We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!

-Led Zeppelin, Immigrant Song

Our latest adventure takes us further north than we've ever been before. Iceland! The past two days have been extremely exciting, exhilarating, and exhausting, and even more ex- words.

We caught our flight at 9:34pm (9 minutes after 3/14/15 9:26:53, pi time) and got in at 6:20 am Icelandic time... A 4-hour flight during which we barely slept. First things first we drove into Reykjavik and got some much-needed caffeine and breakfast

We stopped at a lovely place called Mokka Kaffi. Bettie fell asleep into her coffee

After breakfast we hopped back in the car and headed to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal hot bath where we spent several hours relaxing.

Trevor really needed a bath.

After the Blue Lagoon we headed back into Reykjavik for a late lunch. Trevor had smoked salmon, Bettie had kjotsupa (traditional Icelandic meat soup), and then we both tried Hákarl, which is made by pressing the urea out of shark, allowing it to ferment iwth ammonia, drying it and allowing a black crust to form, then scraping off the crust and serving it. It's a traditional Icelandic food considered by many to be the worst food in the world. The smell was worse than the taste but it was still quite unpleasant. We've had worse airline food. The Hákarl was followed by a shot of Brennivin, a traditional Icelandic liquor

The odor was of ammonia. The smell actually hurt.

After that, we explored Reykjavik. Had an Icelandic brew, and then headed to bed for a much-needed sleep.

Lazy sculptor didn't bother finishing the top half of this statue

In front of Hallgrímskirkja, a beautiful church in the center of Reykjavik

Monday we headed out to the Golden Circle a collection of nearby natural wonders. First stop was
Þingvellir (Þ is pronounced like 'th'). During the 1 km hike up to the scenic point, we experienced gale-force winds, rain, snow, sleet, hail, and sunshine. Ths crazy weather continued throughout the day.

A neat church (Mosfell) shaped like the prow of a Viking boat

A bit of sun poked out and we had to snap a picture

Next was Geysir, which, as the name implies, was a geyser that spouted sulphery water into the air

We found a gnome!

Then we headed on to Gulfoss, a huge and beautiful series of waterfalls

Kerið (The ð is pronounced like a 'd') is a huge volcanic crater that exploded 6500 years ago

A path led all the way down to the basin of the crater

Back to Reykjavik for dinner at Fishfelagio, where lamb and fish before a 2.5 hour drive up to Hvammstangi

Bed, finally!