Thursday - Reykholt to Reykjavík to Newark to Hamden

The day was bright and sunny for our our final drive.

It has been an outrageously wonderful trip but it is time to come home.  Our dirty clothes vastly outnumber our clean clothes and Iceland does not know about laundromats (where do the folks who do not have washers do their wash?) plus we have to deal with Blue Car Rental about the accident eventually and it might as well be today.

It was an easy trip to the airport with a quick stop at Þingvellir National Park to see a small portion of the continental rift that runs through the middle of Iceland.

View of Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland as we approached Þingvellir

Þingvellir National Park 

Our last look at Icelandic lava as we approach the airport.

Blue Car Rental was pretty reasonable but we had to pay the deductible.  If both cars were moving (and both were) it is considered both contributed to the accident.

The flight was great, took off on time, and we had a free seet in our row, no turbulance and we landed early. The pilot landed the plane in Newark like he was Jeff Gordon coming in for a pit stop.  We were half way down the runway before the wheels touched down with a thud and a sway.  The brakes were applied hard and we came to a quick stop about a foot from the gate.

There was a question on the Customs Declaration about fruit and vegetables - they took two bananas and two oranges that we thought we might eat on the plane but didn't and let us keep some carrots and two apples.

There was another question about being in proximity to animals or being in a farmers field.  Well Iceland is basically recent lava with not enough vegetation to support for sheep, lava that has enough vegetation to support sheep, hay fields or villages.  The whole country is basically a farm.  You can't hike and not come in close proximity to sheep, lots of sheep.  The few cows and the horses have better fences.   So we answered yes. Iceland must not be country where the US worries about animal diseases because they did not ask us about how we came in contact.

We are safely back in Hamden looking forward to seeing the kids and grand kids.

Wednesday - Hvolsvöllur to Reykholt

Our last full day Iceland 

It was a day of waterfalls, geysers and small towns as our visit to Iceland winds down.

The day started with a dramatic sky which cleared by the afternoon. 

And a drive across the expanding prairie.

With some friends along the way.

Our waterfall of the day.  It was impressive, but also ore touristy than other places we visited on Iceland.

And a bit of the flora and fauna

Fortunately we were just leaving when the busses started arriving!

Then the boiling hot springs at Geysir.

Strokkur went off about every 5-7 minutes while were there.

Mary at the top of a small mountain we hiked at Geysir.

Art at the top of a small mountain we hiked at Geysir.

A fox across the field on the way down 

A sample of the flora and finally a bee!

Some blue poop and what caused it

Washing the mud off our boots after the joke.  They were caked with red mud at the beginning of the hike.

What the well dressed camper wears in a sleeping bag room (in bad light for the camera).

One more friend along the way.

Last night in Iceland at the Guethouse Fagrilundur

Tuesday - Vik to Hvolsvöllur

It was a fairly short distance to Hvolsvöllur in drizzle and light rain but we were soaked and dried three times. 

First a stop at Kirkjufjara opposite Vik

Then past lush fields

Then Skogafoss where we got soaked in by the mist and the rain

Pretty impressive 

Short hike above the falls

A smaller waterfall above Skogafoss in the fog and the mist.

As we continued the trip, we took a wrong turn and ended up in Nebraska

Next on to Seljalandsfoss where there is a trail behind the falls.

Below the falls, the wind shifted and the mist really soaked me

A ram posed for us

Some flora at the falls

After checking in with our host, we attempted a hike.  But the road to the trail required that we ford a river, which was expressly prohibited by our car rental company.  On the way we saw yet another waterfall.

With yet more flora from the area which actually had trees nearby.  Tress are not a on sight in Iceland.

Cold and wet, we decided to end our day with a rare indoor activity - a visit to the Saga Museum.  The Saga was part if the oral history of Iceland around 1000 and as written down around 1200.  Lots of feuds, retributions, reconciliations, killings, and blood money (compensation) paid.  In several instances, women had their husbands killed for slapping them.

Our lodging for the night was a studio apartment through AIRBNB.