For those wondering, last night felt like an earthquake that never ended. Despite all this, we were able to sleep pretty well even with a 3am sunrise.
Today’s agenda was to hit up more of the sights along the so-called “Golden Circle,” a close grouping of different natural wonders that are within striking distance of Reykjavik, making it a popular day tour. We, however, did it in reverse and didn’t encounter many people.
Our first stop was not technically on the circle, but it was relatively close to our cottage. The road conditions required us to make use of our 4×4 capabilities. When google maps said we had arrived, it was very nondescript. We had to pull over on the desolate road and walked up to the edge of a cliff to get a view of Þjófafoss, a rarely visited waterfall.
From there, we continued onward until we reached Kerid Crater. Somehow, the wind is getting worse every day. We went for a walk around the rim, and the wind was doing its best to knock us into the crater.
After scurrying back to the car, we went to Geysir Hot Springs. We ate a makeshift lunch in the parking lot before braving the wind once more. This geothermal area is full of all sorts of wafting geysers and pools, so at times the air felt a little bit warmer, even if it did smell like a fart. Strokkur, currently the most active of the geysers, erupts every 10 minutes or so. We watched two of its cycles. I have video, but no pictures of this event.
Our last stop was in Thingvellir National Park. We did a short trek up to Oxarárfoss. As a waterfall, it was fine. What was more interesting was the geological rift along each side of the river at the bottom.
From there we made our way in increasingly stronger wind back toward the cottage. The rain never really came, but it did look menacing for most of the day. The wind, against all odds, was stronger. It was in the realm of 35-40 mph. After making some dinner, we tried to figure out an exit strategy. We have a covid test scheduled tomorrow that will cover us for our next flight, but we don’t entirely know if everything will work as planned. The Keflavik to Amsterdam flight we had intended on taking has been canceled, so things are always changing. Tomorrow we make our way to Reykjavik and will check out some of the things there if we don’t get blown over. There is a small window tomorrow when the wind is supposed to drop down to 20-25 mph or what Icelanders might call, “calm.”
passports & pepto bismol 