(Eden)

This morning we had a lazy start, with everyone sleeping in far later than expected. Dad was up early (again) and this time retreated to the campground kitchen / dining area to make his coffee and work on pictures, the blog, and emails. He texted the family group chat around 8 am and asked to be let known when people woke up. He received no response to this, as most of us began to wake up around 9:30 am, if I recall correctly. We had stayed at Hellissandur Camping, which provided beautiful views last night, but was foggy and a bit overcast today. 

After finally getting our things together and eating a common breakfast of cereal, oatmeal, hot chocolate, and whatever scraps we could find in the camper, we set off on a day of driving. We started in Hellissandur, which is known for its cultural features along the main roads. Numerous murals were spotted, ranging in topic from Icelandic wildlife such as arctic foxes and whales, to popular celebrities. We continued our tour through the town of Rif and along the winding coastal road to Kirkjufell. As feared, the mountain (and other surrounding mountains) was now shrouded in a cloud, making us glad we had hiked the night before!!. We snapped a few pics and then continued to the town of Grundarfjörður, perched on water and in Kirkjufell’s shadow. The architecture here is so interesting, with mostly very simplistic shapes, and saturated colorings. We saw lots of sheep and horses, as usual.

Our first hike of the day was to a fun waterfall named Grundarfoss, which included a scramble of rocks to get closer, as we always do. It had a nice, flat walk for most of it, which had a clear view of the waterfall the entire time, with a field full of horses to our right, and a mountainous wall covered with low-hanging clouds to our left. Elliot had to run back to the camper to take a life-altering poop, while the rest of us enjoyed a peaceful walk back. Dad flew his drone a bit as well, for one of the last times here! We saw that people were feeding and petting some of the horses, so most of us went over to join them in feeding the horses grass. One of them was trying to eat our hands and had big lips with a great personality. We decided to eat lunch there, too – a gourmet meal of lamb sandwiches!! Dad had gotten two lamb steaks at a grocery store a few days ago, and since we needed to empty the fridge, he decided to cook them for lunch instead. They were delicious.

Upon our departure from the waterfall, we decided to make one more stop, at Landbrotalaug Hot Springs. It required going back the roughest dirt and gravel road we have seen yet, and a short walk to a shallow lagoon that was fed by boiling hot spring water. Only Dad and I opted to bathe – the bottom was muddy and silty, but the water was deliciously warm. After a half hour or so, we trekked back to the camper and took showered off before hitting the road again.

Almost all of us promptly fell asleep as we began our longer drive back to Reykjavik. Many naps were taken during our daily driving, despite rather incredible scenery outside! Elliot and Mom are competing for most hours napped in the camper while on the road. As we approached Reykjavik, I saw Icelandic traffic for the first time— certainly an unusual sight, I would think, but we were arriving during rush hour. We all but ended our trip where we began, at Costco! It was funny to be back in the same spot where we started, as suddenly the past two weeks felt like a fever dream. Some of us wandered around Costco for a bit before ultimately not buying much other than an early pre-dinner. Others went into the nearby BONUS, where we loaded up on Icelandic goodies, including a large amount of candy.

To finish our driving for today and to make tomorrow a little bit easier, we pulled into Sandgerði Airport Camping. It’s a very compact camping ground, with small lots packed into rows. It has a nice sitting area, with a spot for people to leave unused groceries and pantry goods, as most people here are wrapping up their time in Iceland. We had a final dinner of pasta, chicken, and broccoli. We somehow got through our nearly 7 pound bag of pasta! We’re now (hopefully) settling down for bed soon, as I personally am quite drained. Our time here has been packed full of fun and exciting things, but I’m always grateful for these slower days in between. zzzzzzz