Goodbye to Iceland

Well this is it guys, the very last full day.  It was a good one, though not as full of photos as the previous days.  We went to bed and woke up with this view.

After a lovely breakfast provided by our hosts, we set out for our last day.  We wandered into a nearby town for a little shopping and a very random campsite where we were sure to be murdered if we were there after dark.  We then drove a little way towards Reykjavik to see a Viking museum.  Not too many real artifacts, but they house the full recreation of a Viking ship that was used to sail to North America several years ago.  It's pretty neat to be able to walk aboard.

These little guys were used by magicians or shamans to attack people.  Though if you knew enough magic, you could turn it around and make it attack the sender.  

Then on to check into our last hotel.  It's situated very near the Blue Lagoon which we will visit tomorrow before catching our flight to London.  For today we decided to grab dinner at a Viking themed restaurant.  We both decided it was pretty much the Medieval Times of Reykjavik.  Without the arena of course.

After that we had a very late appointment for some horseback riding.  The only breed of horse on the island is the Islandic Horse.  Which looks a little more like a pony, but is smart like a horse.  One of their claims to fame is a special gait called the tölt.  It similar in speed to a trot, but smooth... no bouncing all around.  And it was so much fun.  We were out on a trail ride through the landscape for about an hour.  However, I wasn't able to take many photos as I didn't want to fumble through the gloves and drop my phone.  So here's what you get.

And other than the Blue Lagoon, this will be it for Iceland.  Looking forward to seeing everyone in London.   

Lava flow

As we headed out of our hotel in the middle of nowhere, we made our first stop at a place we saw on a postcard.  Yep, you got that right, we saw a pretty picture and figured out where to go.  Fjaðrargljufur.  Say that three times fast.  This felt like something straight out of Lord of the Rings.  And I'm so happy we found it.  Even if walking up a mountain again nearly killed me.  

So all of that above... that's the low end. We kept on going up the sides.

And at the very top... you guessed it... a hidden waterfall.

 

After that it was time to drive to a town we'd passed on our way through.  A little town called Vik.  It´s a charming little town next to a beautiful stretch of black beach. 

We've now decided that there must be some kind of regulation or a sale on pre-fab churches, because they all look like this.  Only the steeple might differ.  BUt they all have the same number of windows on the side and a red roof.  They're adorable even if they are pre-fab.

Just when I thought I'd had the best moments with rock formations, we drove around to the other side of that cliff you see two pictures up.  That's when the fun started.  This is Dyrhólaey.

Believe it or not, all of that is completely natural.  These basalt columns are similar to what you'd find in Ireland on the Giants Causeway.  They're made as basaltic lava cools over an extended time.

So the awesome thing about the photo above, most of the versions of this photo I saw during research were dark and moody.  The wether here obviously isn't always great.  Somehow we've been amazingly lucky and had just fantastic weather.  Here's hoping it holds out!

And of course we weren't done... we knew that we could drive around to another part of the beach further West.  So off we went.

Now I know I don't normally do black and white photos, but a few from this landscape called for it.

And you know we weren't done yet... seeing cars driving up to the very top of this mini mountain, we decided that's what our SUV was for.  So all the way to the top we went to see the lighthouse.  Plus more amazing views.

Then it was time to rest!  We headed to our guest house where our lovely hostess welcomed us into her home.  We got a delightful tour of her family photos and antiques.  Then we headed off for some lobster soup.  I have to say, I've had some of the most amazing soups here, so I'm a happy camper.  But that's it for today!  Things are winding down a little.  We're doing some horseback riding tomorrow and then Friday is a trip to the Blue Lagoon and a short flight to London for the weekend.  Safe travels!