On Friday we ended up back in Reykjavik with three days left in our trip. It was Friday and what else do you do in Reykjavik on a Friday night but stay up with the locals and drink all night. Ginger and I called it a night at 6 am, but the downtown bars we showing no signs of stopping. On Saturday, after dragging ourselves out of bed bright and early around noon, we organized a rental car for Sunday, wandered around town and went to see “Harry Potter”. We decided to rent a car so we could go on a tour commonly called the Golden Circle, but we did not want to be crammed on a bus with 75 other people and only have 10 min. at each stop. Plus the car gave us the opportunity to go see other interesting sites and go at our own pace. We still had to dodge all of the tourists at all of the sites, but there was usually a nice break between tour buses so you could see the sites.

The next morning we picked up the rental car and were off to our first stop, a place called Thingvellir, which has a lot going on. This site is where the Vikings established the first democratic parliament in 930 AD and it is also the place where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates come together. These plates are separating at a rate of 2mm a year and over time have created an immense rift valley. Not really much to look at other than a giant split in the Earth, but being in such a historical place was cool.

The next stop took us to Geysir, a place where there are... you guessed it, geysers. There are two geysers to speak of, the big one is called “Great Geysir” and the smaller one called Strokkur, which is supposed to be the world's most reliable geyser in the world, going off about every 6 minutes. The big one did not go off when we were there and from what were told it may be days, months or even years before it went off again. We were running low on snacks and did not think it would be wise to wait for the next great eruption so we took a few pictures and moved on.

Moving on took us to Gullfoss and to our great surprise we found yet another waterfall. This waterfall is said to be the most famous in Iceland and it's double cascading falls got our vote to keep that title. The weather was a bit dreary, but the sun did peak out for a while and really showed why these falls were so well liked. We snapped a few pictures wandered through the gift shop and then motored on down the road.

We had a grand plan to head up into the mountains about 150 km outside of Reykjavik to a place called Thorsmork, this all changed when we realized that our Toyota cracker box might not be up to the task. This fine piece of automotive engineering was in danger of getting high-centered on the yellow dashes in the middle of the road. Now, I had seen all those Toyota commercials back in the states about all the mean, terrible nasty things that you can do to a Toyota and I was game to go down the road to Thorsmork. After a brief conversation, Ginger convinced me that the car looked more like something that had escaped from the Toyota gift shop rather than the show room, and I conceded that Toyota tough may not apply in this case and we were then left to find a new adventure.

After a quick dinner stop we found our new adventure when we picked up two hitchhikers from the Czech Republic. Now to give a bit of background on Iceland, hitchhiking is a normal and safe mode of transportation, except on Sunday, on Sunday your chance of getting picked up are almost zero. These two guys had already been waiting over 2 hours for a ride to Vik and since we had unlimited kilometers, and 16 hours left on our rental contract we felt like giving these guys a ride would be a good thing for us to do. The two guys turned out to be really cool so we decided to play tour guides and showed them to all of the great waterfalls that we were shown about a month ago by our impromptu tour guides Rafn and Suzanne. We eventually got these guys to Vik and they thanked us by buying a few beers and sharing a few stories. We finished our beer and then headed into the twilight of the Icelandic night. We have started to notice that it is starting to get almost dark here and the sunsets last about 3 hours and the sunrises last about the same. We drove on into the night until we found a great place to stay for the night - at the base of a waterfall.

The next morning we woke up with our sights set on the Blue Lagoon. It is said that no trip to Iceland is complete until you have visited the Lagoon and so we figured it would be a good way to spend part of our last day. Much like the pools in Myvatn the water is a stunning blue and the pools are full of relaxing thermal water. The Lagoon was quiet in the morning hours that we were there and we enjoyed a soak while reflecting on our trip so far. After we couldn't wrinkle anymore, we drug ourselves out of the water and head back to Reykjavik, returned the rental car, did a bit of shopping and got ready to head home the next morning.

Snaefellsnes Pennisula

July 15, 16 & 17
Leaving behind a cold and rainy Isafjordur, we headed by bus south toward to the ferry to Stykkisholmur. Along the way we stopped at one of the countries largest waterfalls, Baejarfoss. It was another great view but to be honest there are more waterfalls in Iceland than people so the awe of this big waterfall might have been a bit under appreciated by two weary travelers. So we loaded back on the bus, then onto the ferry, sailed past a little island known as Flatey, and on into Stykkisholmur; right back into the cold and rainy storm we had just left. It is hard to get excited about a place in the cold and drizzle, not that there is that much to see in Stykkisholmur, so Ginger had the great idea to rent a car for the next day and go explore the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.
The next day we had the car, 24 hours and 250 kilometers to burn and off we went. The weather really turned in our favor and we were treated to stunning coastal views as we drove. Our journey took us past small fishing villages, the tallest structure in Iceland (which happens to be a US radar tower), sandy beaches, lighthouses and lava fields...lots of lava fields. On one of our travels from the lighthouses we saw an arctic fox, which is a rare things so we were really lucky to not only see one, but also get pictures.
As we continued around the Peninsula we hiked to the top of a volcanic crater, drove inside a volcanic crater, drove around volcanic craters and eventually came to the volcanic black sand beach of Djupalonssandur. I decided that it was time for a swim in the ocean and Ginger decided it was time to take pictures and laugh. It was a brief but brisk swim in the North Atlantic, and the Japanese tourists who were also on the beach seemed to get a kick out of the event.
Moving on from the beach we traveled in the shadow (not really a shadow cause it is light all of the time) of Snaefell peak and the Snaefellsjokull glacier.The most notable thing about this National Park is that it is the setting for the book "Journey to the Center of the Earth". It is easy to see why Jules Verne was inspired by this place, it has one of the most unique landscapes we had ever seen. Ginger and I ventured through the park and even into the caves where the story takes place. The caves were once used by the Vikings as meeting places and thanks to the stupidity of some people the caves are now full of graffiti, there are carvings on the walls however dating back to the 18th century.
From the caves we continued our adventure west along the southern coast and came to the Raudfeldargja Gorge. We decided that is would be a good idea to go into this unexplained dark creepy split in the earth. We walked up the middle of the stream that ran through the gorge and as we moved deeper into the narrow crack it felt like we were heading into the pages of the Verne Classic. We explored as far back as we could but had to stop when we came to a waterfall (yes, another waterfall). We could have climbed up the fall and kept going but neither of us had on the proper gear to keep going. By the time we left we were soaked, but we had a good time doing it and we were off to our next spot.
In Iceland you don't stop exploring because it is dark, you stop exploring because you run out of either road or energy, luckly we ran out of both at the same time and at the end of a dirt road in a place called Ytri- Tunga we camped for the night. To say camped would be misleading, we slept in the back of the Hyundai Accent and either due to sheer exhaustun or a miracle, we actually got a decent nights sleep. The next morning we woke to a great sandy beach and a sight of seals sunning themselves on the shores. After watching the seals for a bit we packed up the car and headed back to Stykkisholmur. Of the 250 kilometer limit we were given we used 249.7 of those kilometers. We proceeded to drop off the car take our traditional walking tour of town and then catch the bus headed to Reykjavik.

Isafjordur / Bolungarvik

July 12, 13 & 14
I have come to find in my travels that every great trip includes a really long bus ride and this trip was no exception. We loaded the bus at 8:30 am heading for Isafjordur and after three bus transfers two cramped mini buses and several dirt roads that hung right off the edge of the mountain we arrived our destination at 6:30 pm. Isafjordur is a unique little place that is surrounded on three sides by mountains and three sides by water (picture that is your head). The weather was brisk but the towering mountains and the ocean scenery made it worth the drive. We woke up on the morning of the 13th to a bright sunny cloudless sky, did our normal walking tour of town, got supplies and then headed off for a hiking trail and a waterfall. This waterfall like many other in Iceland provided an incredible view and a chance to once again take way too many pictures. Our plan for the next day was to get up and hike to a half crater on the opposite side of the fjord and head to a little fishing village called Bolungarvik.
We woke up the morning of the 14th with the exact opposite weather of what we had the day before. Raining, wind blowing and we would later come to find out it was a balmy 3 degrees Celsius, roughly 37 degrees Fahrenheit. This, with the rain, meant the hike was out of the questions due to mud slides and water running right down the trail so we took our time getting up and ready and headed for the Village of Bolungarvik. On a sunny day this village would have great views of mountain peaks and lush green valleys, today however it resembled more of a place you may see in some horror movies with brooding skies, empty streets and clouds and fog obscuring almost every view. There are two redeeming things about the town, first was the Natural History Museum with great displays of every animal that has ever set foot on Iceland (no kidding, they even have a pink flamingo on display). The second was a great restaurant / bar that would make any pirate proud to slug down a pint of the finest grog the place had to offer. The food here was great; the fish was still wiggling when the slapped it on the cutting board to prepare it and everything was made from scratch. It was great!
We returned to Isafjordur to have a beer only to find the local football (soccer) team having a meal in the pub getting ready for that nights game. Needless to say our night was planned and we sat in the cold, soggy weather cheering on the home team and experienced the finest Iceland had to offer of small town football.

Landsmont UMFI

July 11
Every 4 years the Icelanders get together and hold an 18 and over amateur Olympics called the Landsmot UMFI. The country is split into 11 regions and you compete for points for your region. This year it happened to be in Akureyri the weekend we were in Akureyri. They hold competitions for everything, sports to cooking. Ginger and I were lucky enough to be camped right next door to the basketball arena. After hiking Sulur we relaxed by watching some local hoops. Some teams were definitely better than others, and to make most regional teams you simply needed to be able to tie your own shoes. We were lucky enough to see one of the better teams in action and they even have a kid that will be going to a division II school in Alabama for basketball. It was a very entertaining way to spend the afternoon.

Sulur

July 11
Akureyri sits neatly placed at the foot of the mountains and in the shadow of two peaks collectively they are called Sulur, but separately they are called Ytri-Sula (1,144 meters) and Syori-Sula (1,213 meters). 3979 feet does not sound like it is that high, but when you are going up from sea level, it is quite a hike. Since we have been here there has been a new development, the sun has started to set, it comes right back up, but now we have sun rise and sun set. The event occurs however at about 2 am so the crack of dawn is no time to getting up, so we did the best we could and got up at 6 am. It still felt like noon because the sun was so high in the sky but nobody else was up so we knew it was early. We had planned this trip out a couple of days before, get the bus at 7, to the edge of town, hike up to the parking lot, hike the peak and the hitch a ride back to town. Well at 7 am this morning we found out that the bus does not run on the weekend. So after grumbling a few kind words under my breath, Ginger and I set off on foot. We walked all the way from the center of town to the trail head which was about 5 kilometers, then hiked the 6 kilometers to the summit. The views from the hike and the summit were amazing. The ocean spread out to the north of us, the town of Akureyri to the east and the glacier fields to the south and west. The hike was challenging, but very much worth the effort. On our way back down the road back to town we got a ride from a nice group of locals who gave us a driving tour of town, the Icelanders are very proud of the country and are more than willing to show you around and tell you about all the things going on.

Grimsey (Above The Arctic Circle)

July 8-10
After taking in the sites of Akureyri for a few days it was time for us to head to the Northern most part of Iceland, a little island called Grimsey. Grimsey's claim to fame is that it is above 66 degrees North, placing it above the Arctic Circle. To get to Grimsey there is a ferry that goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Tourist cram on this boat to sail for 3.5 hours, get off on the island for 3.5 hours and then get back on the boat for 3.5 more hours. We decided that this did not sound like a good idea so we decided to get off the Wednesday ferry and stay until Friday. The town itself has 95 people in it, the island can be walked around in about 5 hours. Needless to say there is not much going on, and when the rest of the tourists got back on the boat and left there were on three of us who stayed, the population was now 98.
The island is full of bird life, the best is the puffin and the worst is the Arctic Tern. These nastly little birds would dive bomb your head if you go too close to their nests, and their nests are all over the island. Needless to say we each got hit at least once. The puffins on the other hand were peaceful scared little birds that would pose for a quick picture then fly off and belly flop into the ocean, graceful lands were not their specality but they made up for it in looking cute. Looking cute really got the tourists, but the locals saw the Puffin as just another tasty bird and would go out and net them for dinner. Don't worry, there are more than enough Puffins for both looking and eating.
After being in town for about three hours we had run out of land one way so we decided to head to the swimming pool. The Icelanders are crazy about their swimming pools so the people we had not met in town yet, we met at the pool. It is quite an event for a tourist to stay so everyone wants to get in on the action. See as there were only three extras on the island there were plenty of rooms in the guest house and so we did the only other thing there was to do in Grimsey, nothing. We went to the local tavern for a few beers then to the pool then we went back to the house to watch the TV that had one channel, mostly in Icelandic. At least we got our rest.
Feeling refreshed the next day we got up at the crack of noon and headed out for the day, when it is light all the time there really is no rush. We started walking toward the other end of the island and after about an hour we once again ran out of land, we had done it we had reached the end of the world, all that was left was icebergs and penguins. Feeling good about our accomplishment we dodged the Arctic Terns and headed back to town for a celebratory beer. By this point we were locals so the crowd was much smaller but the fish burgers were still good.
We woke up Friday morning once again bright and early at 11:30 packed our things and got ready to head out. What we did not know was that the biggest celebration in Grimsey was about to happen over the weekend. The Sjostong Sjovak was a big deal, the ferry that was coming was full of people who would be staying for the festival and for the fishing competition that was the center of the festivities. All of the boats in the village went out about half way and greeted the ferry and we got to get aboard one of the boats to bring in the ferry. When the ferry docked 100+ people got off and just like that the population of Grimsey double. We would have like to stay but we realized we were running of days so we said goodbye to a few people, boarded the very empty ferry and headed back to the main land.

Myvatn

July 4, 5, & 6

If you were to make a comparison of places in Iceland to places in the States then Myvatan would be Aspen. It is out of the way, a trip to get to and everything costs an arm and a leg. However, there is an amazing lake, tons of hiking and a natural hot bath that could ease even the most stressed of travelers. Our trip to Myvatn started out with us setting up camp right on the lake shore and taking our usual walking tour of town. Since it was the 4th of July we thought it would only be right to have a BBQ that night and the three French guys who were on our bus seeing another opportunity to party decided to join in. The great thing about being here is at 10:30 at night the sun is still high in the sky and it feels like late afternoon, the bad thing is we stay up too late every night. The BBQ went into the wee hours of the morning, just the right way to prepare ourselves for our day of hiking the next day.
We woke up on the morning of the 5th to a bright sunny day, which was a welcome change from the cloudy rainy days we had been having. The plan for the day was to hike to the top of the Hverfell volcano, then head to the natural hot baths. The hike to the Volcano was great, we passed through lava fields, saw a range of Icelandic birds, horses and sheep and caught several great veiws of the lake. From the top of the volcano you could see the surrounding area and the lake and we realized why this place was held in such high regard by the locals. We hiked down off of the volcano and into the Dimmuborgir lava field on the other side where huge pillars of lava made unique formations and an even more unique landscape. The landscape was so unique as a matter of fact, the Astronauts trained there before their mission to the moon.
From Dimmuborgir we were off to the Natural baths. Now Myvatn has no bus or transport system, either you have a car, you rent a bike, you hitch a ride or you walk. Most of the time we walked, but on the way from the lava fields to the natural hot baths Ginger got her first experience with hitching when a nice German couple took pity on us walking and gave us a ride back into town cutting 4k off of our trip. We still had to walk 4k to get to the hot baths but it was really worth the effort when we got there. The water in the pool was a turquois blue and it was the most relaxing feeling to soak in the warm water while looking out at the mountains and the lake. We spent over two hours in the water and even got a bit sunburned for our efforts. We were able to catch a ride back to town and back to camp. At the end of the day we had walked about 10 miles but it was well worth it.
On the morning of the 6th we had arranged to go horse back riding. The Icelanders are very proud of their horses and they have no problem telling you how great their horses are. Icelandic "pure" bred horses are a smaller breed of horses and they have more gaits than other horses. When we arrived at the stables we got to help corral and saddle the horses. There were only three in our group so we got to see more things and get the horses up to a gallop a couple of times. We rode through the lava fields and rode up to the foot of a mountain where we got another view of the town and the lake. Horse back riding was the last event for us in Myvatn and we caught the bus to Akureyri, the second largest city in Iceland. Akureyri is an amazing town in the northern harbor settled right at the foot of the mountains.

Egilsstadir

July 3
Leaving Hofn meant the early bus at 8:30 a.m., it was not a big deal since the bus picked us up right across the road from the campsite. The road to Eglisstadir was an interesting one with some parts paved and some loose gravel, the steep hills had no guard rails and the entire road is very narrow. What made the drive much more interesting was our driver, who I am sure was a former New York city cab driver, who had little regard for speed limits, the destruction of property or the safety of others, but he got to every place really early. After an exciting 4 hour trip, we pulled into the very dull town of Egilsstadir in the pouring rain. That night we caved in and took a room in a cabin. There were four other beds in the cabin, but no one else checked in, we had the place to ourselves. We spent the remainder of the day walking around the little town and picking up groceries. Since we had the cabin and we did not have to cook on our camp stove we made a feast: cheeseburgers, potato chips and beer. For the evening activity we played cards with a group of three French guys who had been touring on the same bus we had been. Getting the cabin turned out to be a really good idea as it poured down rain the rest of the night.

Skaftafell (National Park)

July 1 & 2
We took the bus, along with 75 French tourists, from Vik to Skaftafell National Park. This is not only the largest national park in Iceland, it is considered the largest national park in Europe. That is not much of an accomplishment considering most countries in Europe are roughly the same size as our backyard, but what was amazing was that in Skaftafell there is the largest glacier outside of the Arctic regions. Our camp site sat near the foot of the glacier and the mountains shot straight up all around us. Outside of the fact it rained on us most of the time, our stay was great. While there we hiked right up to the glacier and to the Svartifoss waterfall, and hiked up the valley traversing the glacier the entire way.
After we left the park we headed to another tiny town called Hofn. Along the way we passed a place called Jokulsarlon lagoon where chunks of the glacier have broken free and are floating toward the ocean, it took us by surprise and was a great site along the way. We pulled into Hofn about 5 pm where there was a lobster festival going on. We ate lobster, drank beer and celebrated with the locals; not a bad way to spend our 4th wedding anniversary.

VIk

After being in Reykjavik for only one day we met a great couple Rahn and Suzanne, she was from Montana and he is from Iceland. They were planning on taking trip and offered to take us along. We left first thing Monday morning and by 9 am we had already seen more things than most people will ever see in Iceland. Rahn knows every nook and cranny of Iceland and the history to go with it. We saw volcanoes and lava fields, hot springs and little towns not even on the map. We even saw the grave of chess great Bobby Fisher. We were treated to a great tour and saw a lot.
At the end 0f our tour we were dropped off in the little (very little) town of Vik. It has about 30 buildings, a camp site and a really good swimming pool with a geothermal hot tub. What stood out most about Vik was the black sand beaches and the three stone pillars the shot straight out of the water just off shore. We spent the day hiking and in the pool, just like the Icelanders.