Dear Ariel, sorry but my experience sitting in the blue lagoon was much better than yours. No eels, no guy same your name is “kinda pretty,” blablabla.

 

Before getting into the water, you must shower and put conditioner in your hair. Leave the conditioner in your hair and try not to get it wet in the lagoon! The silica in the water turns your hair blue. Just kidding, but it will dry it out for a good two to three weeks depending on your hair type. It’s best not to risk it. Some spots in the water are warmer than others, so find those and stay there. It was freezing cold and windy outside so many people stayed by the entrance to the water to muster up the courage to get out and run to their towels and back inside! There is an exfoliating and revitalizing face mask to put on, found in stations around the lagoon. You leave it on and rinse it off all in the water. There is also a bar on the water, but the prices are not so fun. Just enjoy your time in the lagoon. I unfortunately didn’t get any pictures of the lagoon this time, but I will be sure to next time when I have a GoPro.

I am now on the bus to go back to the airport. I don’t want to leave! There are only a few birds here during winter, the landscapes are amazing even when covered in snow, you get used to the ever-changing but always cold weather (just layer properly and you’ll be fine), awesome people, and lack of hysteria about terrorism and guns and social issues in general. Honestly it’s been really refreshing.

The PTSD-like flashbacks of the fermented shark experience have mostly subsided, except for when I take my shoes off and get a whiff of that. The bus ride from the Blue Lagoon to the airport is less than half an hour. The perfect time to go to the lagoon is on the way to and/or from the airport. Well I am at the airport now, and past through security in two minutes. Now it’s time to go home. There is a layover in Minnesota, and there are puppies everywhere!!!

My roommate and her boyfriend picked me up from the airport, although it took a while for them to find me since we were in different terminals ahha! On the way back, we went to In n Out because, well, it’s In n Out. I pulled out my credit card to pay, but Evan said he got it. Thank you Evan! I put the card back, or so I thought. I traipse around a country on the other side of the world for two weeks, and the moment I get back is when I lose my credit card? Hmm. (It has since been handled and I am good to go!).

Today is my last day of active adventures, so I’m going all in with climbing an ice wall, Game of Thrones style. It’s really snowing right now! It’s coming straight at us as we drive and it looks like we are transitioning to light speed. I still have yet to see the new Star Wars film, but I guess I don’t need to now because it is my life.

I had a bacon wrapped hotdog for breakfast. Oh my it is so good! It comes with fresh onions and fried onions too.

We hiked up the glacier to our climbing spot, and encouraged each other during everyone’s turn. I was the second to last person to go, and the second fastest to climb. If there was more time, I would have done it with one ice pick instead of two. It was really cool and I kind of felt like a badass!

After walking and climbing around on ice for four hours or so, I trip and fall on the step of the van when getting back to the car. Why. Whenever I am doing crazy things that normally hurt people, I am totally fine. But the simple things like avoiding walls, or tripping over things that aren’t there…those are my downfalls.

So many of us bought sandwiches in the morning and are just eating them now at 17:00 (5PM), because it’s cold enough to properly refrigerate our food! Today’s adventure is over. So worth it! This was definitely one of the top three highlights of my trip! Tomorrow I am going to the Blue Lagoon on the way back to the airport to go home. I can’t wait to come back! Iceland is like no other place in the world, from its ever-changing and unpredictable weather to its versatile landscapes that make you feel like you’re on a different planet!

 

Golden Circle and Fontana Wellness Center is on the agenda today! I woke up in the middle of the night and there was another guy in the room sleeping. When the hell did he get there? I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and what not, but when I came back to the room he was gone. I’ve lost it. Oh there he is, I am not crazy. He’s from Brazil and is cool. He asked if he could turn the lights on, and since they don’t really work to well it wasn’t much of a bother.

I’m really spacey today. I didn’t miss the bus though. If you don’t come outside, the driver will come inside and call your name. Usually I see them and go out to the bus, but we met halfway by the time I realized the bus was here. This driver is a little crazy.

There is an airport by the bus terminal, built by the British during World War 2, but they built the airport without asking for permission. That’s nice.

Aaaaand I got sick. I am not sure why, but probably something I had for breakfast this morning. Great. I was an upside down geyser.

The guy behind me is smacking his food…in my ear! I am mostly a tolerant person in regards to people’s behaviors, but for some reason this behavior really bothers me when it happens a lot.

We drove through the Rift Valley where the tectonic plates split then onto the geyser-filled area. So many geysers!

For lunch I had lamb soup (of course) and bought a couple of traditional pastries and a Swiss mocha. I put too much whipped cream on the top so it kinda exploded out of the whole you drink from haha.

The kleinur, which are like thick, dry donut pieces, without any frosting, was good but not my personal favorite. It was too dry and cake-y. I am not really that big on cake or similar desserts, unless they are really good! That probably played a part in my lack of favoritism towards this particular treat. It wasn’t bad, just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t finish it. I tried. I thought, “What would my family do?” So I tried it with better, which helped!

Onward to Gulfoss! Wow this waterfall is amazing. I would love to see it in person when it isn’t snowing, but it is still astonishing. There was a sign that said no walking…so I crossed it to get a better view.

Afterwards, it is time for spa time! Fontana Wellness Center is a hot spring bath and sauna, but they also make their own rye bread (baked in the hot springs). It was so relaxing. I haven’t been to a spa in so long, but it really does need to happen more often.

There was a walkway to a very cold lake that crazy people could jump into…so Shannon and I did it twice. I would do it again! Why? Why not?

Today shall be interesting as I will be hiking ON a glacier.

There are 134 volcanoes on Iceland, mostly near the Mid Atlantic Ridge, which we are driving over now. Years ago, an earthquake created a hot spring right inside a guy’s living room. He had to move.

The environment/weather depends on the glacier you are driving by. Some are nicer than others. I went back to Skogafoss, but the weather was nicer so I hiked up the hill to get a view from the top of the falls.

When renting a car, get insurance or you’re basically screwed because they’ll ding you for scratches small things caused by weather, even though they know the weather is unpredictable.

The glacier I will be hiking on is called Solheilmajokull, which means “Home of the Sun” glacier.

In the last seven years, three polar bears got stuck on an iceberg in Greenland and floated over in Iceland. They have to shoot the bears because they are predators, and can and will kill you. They try to put them to sleep first and ship them back to Greenland, but that doesn’t always happen. 😦

I am eating chocolate covered bugles which tastes like chocolate covered puffin cereal I used to eat as a kid.

There is no army or navy in Iceland. There is also no need. There are not many police spotted anywhere either.

Another visit to Black Beach. There was a cave with an opening about 5-6 meters high, semi close to the water but far enough to be safe for now. Every 12 hours or so, the water will reach the cave and the waves are tall enough to reach the top of the cave. It was getting close to that time so I left.

There is a large volcanic eruption that has been due for many years. They are just waiting around to see when it will happen. Would it happen when I was standing on a glacier? Or how about when climbing it? Or when I was in a cafe eating fermented shark? Or maybe the day I am supposed to leave? We will see…

I had the fish and chips for you, Sheila! Yeah, I am not the biggest fan of fried food but it was good. However, I am really excited to eat an Icelandic hotdog wrapped in bacon.

Non alcoholic beer. But why? Okay it was pretty good actually. It was sweet and almost like a cold but flat soda, but in a good way.

I went back to the Seljalandsfoss waterfall and walked behind it this time. It was so worth getting showered with icy cold waters! There were chunks of ice everywhere like perfectly shaped crystals, I felt a little sad walking on them with my crampons.

In the van before we drove off again, the van moved. “Woah, what was that?” “We call that an icy road.”

Fun fact: Skyr yogurt, as creamy and thick as it is, contains less than 1% fat. The actor who played the Mountain in Game of Thrones eats it all day every day. Many bodybuilders do. Seriously, we need this stuff in the States!!!

Aaaand my gloves are frozen. It’s colder with them on than with out. I have hand warmer things that go inside the gloves, but they don’t do much good in my hostel room when I am not there.

“Can you drink and drive in Iceland?” “You can, but you’re not allowed to.”

“Oh look, a police man”-Andres “They’re probably looking for drunken Americans”-traveler from India. Americans have a reputation…thanks *sips non-alcoholic beer*. (I will be going out for a beer later haha).

Due to weather conditions, I will not be hiking on a volcano tomorrow. That means I have a full day for food experiencing. I still have to try the fermented shark, puffin and whale. As good as lamb soup is, I think three times is enough when there is much more out there to try.

Today I am exploring the South shore of Iceland. “Please buckle your up your seat belt the whole tour. We’ve got winter out there, and it’s the law in Iceland.”

If you are going in winter time an want to see the Northern Lights, just book one tour because they may end up being canceled due to weather. You can reschedule and keep trying for free, so keep trying.

I rode past Eyjafjallajokull, the volcano whose eruption shutdown flights around Europe in 2010 and put Iceland on the media map.

I gots my snacks! I have my dried fishies, paprika pringles, sparkling water, and some kind of candy. I will have a more balanced meal for lunch later.

I stopped at Skogafoss waterfall. “Foss” means waterfall. “Jokull” means glacier. I got really close to the waterfall, but any step closer would be shower time. It would be refreshing on a hot day, but as seen in today’s pictures, it was not a hot day. I played around in the snow and there were some slippery ice spots so I did some “skating.” It is much easier to ice skate with ice skates, not hiking boots, but I still didn’t fall!

The bus had to stop for a bit because the wind was so strong, it couldn’t get around the curve until the wind died down. Welcome to Icelandic winter. The weather gets worse the farther east you go (fjords). The wind, just like any other weather in Iceland, lasted only a few minutes.

Black Beach in Vik is not the kind of beach you want to be near. Some time ago, a woman died, but it is fairly typical for issues to occur. The waves are extremely strong and come high up on the shore, easily dragging out unsuspecting visitors.

Warnings from anyone who visits this beach:

“Do not go near the water. Do not turn your back on the sea. The wind is very strong, the waves are strong. It will take you and drown you. If you are so unlucky, there will be no rescue.”

My face. I can’t feel me face. It is so windy it stings when snow hits your face and the wind pushes you. It pushed me over last night but I dug my feet into the sand for stability. The wind works on the same team as the water, searching for its next human meal to engulf.

I hiked to Solheilmajokull glacier, which is blue when not covered in snow. This is the glacier I will be climbing either tomorrow or the next day. I forget my plans already. I just look at what time the bus arrives, set my alarm accordingly, and the day’s adventures will be a surprise.

Apparently phones can die due to the cold. My phone has overheated and turned off before when I did my 5.5 hour drives in summer, 2015, to and from Northern and Southern California without working air conditioning. Good to know it doesn’t like extreme weather on either end of the spectrum.

Someone is putting eye drops in on the bus while going over a bumpy road. That is a little unnerving, but that is quite a talent!

I am attempting to see the northern lights again. Curse the full moon. Even when the sky isn’t cloudy or windy, the light from the full moon affects the Northern Light visibility too.

Fun fact: At Skogafoss waterfall, it is said that a Viking had a box of silver that he had two people hide in it. He killed them to ensure their secrecy. Unfortunately he killed them before having them tell him where exactly they put it, so even he didn’t have access to it. That was poor planning dude. Semi recently, the chest was found but when people tried to pull it out of the water, the handle broke off. The handle is in a nearby church.

“It takes five beers to become a poet, and ten to become a Viking.” I will become a viking on this trip. There was an old Viking village that had houses and a church from way back when. The buildings were so small, even I almost had to duck!

Iceland uses nothing but clean energy. All the electricity comes from waterfalls, and they only use a small amount of the energy produced.

My phone charger decided to stop working completely. The hostel gave me one to borrow until I am done using it. I may or may not have accidentally taken it home with me, and my phone may or may not be plugged into it right now.

Okay so today is the correct snorkeling day. I started my day off right with some lemon green tea, and bringing Skyr yogurt and biscuits for the road. Today is definitely the right day. They are here and now I am on the bus this time.

Ok Mr. Kentucky, it was nice talking to you but I just want to sleep now rather than talk about people in Russia not speaking English. They’re not obligated to. Yeah, it would help to learn some Russian too since you know…you’re going to Russia… (Retrospect on the way back: I was just tired and cranky and was hoping to sleep on the bus haha he was nice though). He did actually mention that he and his family only eats food from the restaurants that serve food from the country they’re in. Absolutely no McDonald’s, and I can absolutely respect that. My exception would be going to one that has something unique about it, like Macca’s in Australia because they have so many other options than we do here in the States. Mind boggling.

There is another guy who keeps complaining about everything from the cold to the sulfur-smelling water. Some of the water smells like sulfur, but it’s not bad and it’s certainly not bad to drink. The bus driver said a lot of Americans end up buying bottled water. You don’t need to. Save your money, the water is clean and tasty. And this is coming from a girl who hasn’t really been the biggest fan of water.

The bus is wavering in the winds. They have special tires and lots of experience for winter driving so we’re okay, but it is certainly an interesting experience. At least I am not trying to pee like I was when Hurricane Sandy hit New York City. There is very low visibility due to the wind and snow.

Okay we have arrived and are now getting geared up to go into the 1-2 degree Celsius water. Since it is so cold, we use a dry suit. The suits are a bit like Vegas, what happens in them tends to stay in them….so take that however you want to and use caution. The first step of the suit is putting on the warm suit which makes you look and feel like a gigantic marshmallow. It’s great! Then the dry suit which is hard to get into when it is stiff and possibly partially frozen on the outside. The best part is when you get the residual air out because you lunge down and everything gets tight and toasty warm as you stand up. WARNING: you hold a space up by your neck to get the air out…do. not. fart. or forever hold your peace. I didn’t do this so I am not speaking from experience this time, but I can only imagine the awful experience that would be. The gloves and of course everything were too big. The gloves were frustrating because I was worried I wouldn’t be able to take pictures since I couldn’t bend the fingers properly. I should get a GoPro and just strap it to my head. The pictures could have come out better, but oh well.

It was freakin’ cold outside! Colder than in the water. Today I believe was -5C outside. My feet are freezing and my picture taking finger is too. Oh and also my snorkel. Everything thaws when its in the water, which is good so then I can breathe haha That’s fine, breathing isn’t necessary. I can drink my way through the water. With the water here, you actually can. It’s so clean. There is no sea life in this water, only crystal clear water. The driver does it all the time and my God he was right. This was the best damn water I have ever had. It was like swimming in Evian.

The water is crystal clear and indeed felt much warmer than the outside. Towards the end, my right foot started struggling, and I thought it was because my fin fell off. No. My foot ended up sliding out of the boot part of the dry suit haha and getting back towards the stairs to get out of the water was interesting. Actually, getting out of the water was even better because I grabbed the rail for stability since I only had one foot in a shoe, and my glove with my hand inside froze to the pole. I’m talking full on Christmas story status. I couldn’t move it and had to use all of my might to pull it away, but of course my hand was closed around the rail so there was a curve involved. Why me? Right, because it makes for a good story. It would make for a really boring blog if everything always went smoothly, so you’re welcome.

I fixed my boot and off I went on my merry way back to the van. I took off my hood and someone warned my to be careful because my hair was frozen. Don’t touch or bend it or it will snap off. I have seen this happen. I instantly thought of the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, when the guy accidentally breaks his frostbitten toe off. Ha okay so it’s just hair, not my toe, but I worked too damn hard to get my hair this long. No I didn’t, I just eat protein and it grows. Plus, I’ve gotten to the point where I need to take care of the split ends and redo my layers anyway, but I don’t think this would be the way to take care of that.

Was it worth it? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes, in summer. Would I recommend it? Yes, in summer. The water is 1-2C year round, but the outside air is not. It would be much nicer to prepare, get into the suit and out of the suit without subzero temperatures. Plus you won’t have to deal with the risk of pieces of frozen hair being broken off. Unless you don’t have hair, then go whenever! 🙂

I tried to see the pictures I took but the camera was off and the on/off button was frozen so I guess I will have to wait until they send me the pictures. Hopefully it’s a less grueling process than it was getting the pictures from diving at the Great Barrier Reef.

I’m hungry. I think my yogurt is bad because I left it out which sucks. I will stick with my biscuits. I am not sure what I am having for lunch and dinner yet, but I assume I will be unable to get food at a restaurant for dinner due to Christmas time. They really like their Christmas here! I want more of that dried fish stuff but the store across the street didn’t have any.

Time for another shower and of course a nice blow dry in lieu of a towel. Resourcefulness makes up for stupidity.

I ended up being able to get a reservation for dinner. It’s fancy, but I won’t be tonight. I wasn’t the only one in hiking shoes, and at least I had a nice shirt and skinny jeans. For lunch I had to walk down Laugavegur for a little bit, but found a cafe called Durum. I had a Swiss mocha and smoked salmon panini that was so big, they serve it with a knife and fork. They warmed the sandwich, which changed the salmon a little, but it was still marvelous.

I am at a larger table by myself, partially because there is nowhere else to sit, but it also means others will have to join and share the table, which means potential conversations with whoever. It worked! A couple originally from Turkey now living in Atlanta sat down. The woman was also in psychology. We talked about their travel plans, and I was able to recommend some things since I’ve been here long enough to know my way around now. It’s one thing to make recommendations and what not here on my website, but people may forget by the time they go, if they go out all. In person, people will be more likely to go out the next day or so and do the stuff you talked about as it is more fresh in their brain. Also at this time, I can warn them about what’s closed. They left and a Scottish couple joined me. We talked for a little but then I had to pee so I left because I was on the inside of the table and there was a couch in the way. I’ll go back and charge my phone for a little before dinner. I probably shouldn’t have as big a sandwich as I did. The Christmas buffet was 10500 krona ($85), yikes! But I would rather not starve. There were no labels on anything so I had no idea what I was eating some of the time, unless I asked. High school and younger me would rather starve than be in a position like this, now I love it!

Walking home was interesting. It wasn’t a long walk but there was lots of wind and slippery ice. Not the best combination if you don’t weigh much. The wind literally pushed me and I fell ahaha no one was around to witness this which I suppose is a good thing.

 

Goooooood morning! Well I’ve had sounder sleeps but that’s okay. Some guy was speaking Chinese in his sleep, and he was snoring loudly in between phrases.

While waiting to be picked up for Silfra, I had some coffee and talked to the bartender. His name is David and moved here from Czech Republic two years ago just because. I noticed there was chocolate milk and I wanted that instead of coffee but he misunderstood me, thinking I was planning on combining the two. Instead of clarifying, something came over me and I decided to play it off as if I do it all the time. It’s kinda like a mocha. He was like “Oh wow, I have never heard of that!” (you and me both). “I shall try some too,” (oh God). So we both did it and it worked out! It was really good and now I may end up actually doing it all the time. He started raving about it to his coworkers. What can I say? I am a genius! I am going to take this time to recommend it to you all too. Chocolate milk in your coffee…do it. Do it now. Unless you are lactose intolerant, or don’t like coffee and/or chocolate milk. Eh, no, do it anyway!

Today is snorkeling day! I am very sad that I left my scuba certification at home so I can only snorkel, but snorkeling is still cool. Diving is better. Lesson learned. Bring the scuba cards everywhere you go even if you don’t expect to need them. I mean, I knew I needed them. I thought I brought them. I was wrong about this.

Again with the coffee. Why why why. Always the least ideal time to have your stomach being ripped apart…then again it is also not the best week to be a girl so then there is that.

They don’t always check your reservation or verify your ticket. They show up, call your name, you say hi, get on the bus, have fun, then get dropped off where you came from. This whole trust thing is great, and not really experienced often where I’m from. At all. It’s kind of disappointing and depressing. Then again I’ve always kind of felt that way about where I am from. It really is quite nice to experience an alternative way of treating and interacting with people, even while knowing you have a return flight. This time at least…

So they aren’t usually this late for picking people up, so I go to the front desk and call the company. Turns out I am going to Silfra tomorrow. But I am also doing some other activity tomorrow. There is indeed a dilemma here. I just changed the other activity for a later date that I left open anyway. No free days for me! I wrote everything down on a paper rather than fixing everything in my phone notepad. That way I can eliminate simple errors since that was clearly the problem in the first place. What we have here is a failure to communicate between my brain, my hands, and my credit card. At least it’s an easy fix! Everything worked out so I am going to relax in my room for a bit then explore parts Reykjavik that I didn’t get to the first day. Then later this evening we will have yet another Northern Lights attempt. I’ll keep trying until I leave and hope for the best, but if it doesn’t happen this time around, I will be okay. I will see them at some point, just maybe not this time. We will see!

Ugh, I am hungry (always). I want some more of that magical yogurt, but I will get groceries later. Christmas time is nigh so it will probably be impossible to have dinner at a restaurant (the few restaurants that don’t close for Christmas are already mostly filled up with reservations). Plan ahead for food when going here around Christmas time.

Everything happens for a reason. It’s probably a good thing this mix up happened because I am not really feeling the whole swimming while on day 2 of girly time thing. Or being active in general. I’ll walk around and spend some time at the pool (heated) perhaps, then come back and rest. It’s good to have a balance.

There are kaffitar everywhere (a coffee chain) so I should probably check that out. Also there is a sushi place. Sea food is big here so it’s acceptable to get sushi here then, yeah? Maybe? No. I want soup in a bread bowl right now. I saw a place yesterday buuuut I can’t seem to find it now. Boo!!! I’m starving. I’m going back up the street and if I still can’t find it then I am going to the next place I see because my stomach has begun consuming itself.

Okay I found it! Well I found the sign first, but I misinterpreted where the arrow was pointing and ended up going down this short alley to someone’s house. Sorry. Okay now I officially found it. Today’s soup options were mushroom, some other type of soup that I can get anywhere, or reindeer meat soup. I’ll give you four guesses for which one I picked. Sorry kids, no Christmas this year, I just ate Rudolph, or maybe Cupid, or Prancer. Whoever they were, they were delicious.I had Christmas beer as well. It tasted like an amber ale with added spices, and the spices in the soup resembled the spices in the beer. I liked it!

Most restaurants have signs that say something like, “Sorry, no wifi, talk to each other instead.” Don’t apologize for this…this is great and we need more of it everywhere.

I just realized it’s only 2:30 and I’m drinking a beer, and looking around I may be the only one doing so. Oh well, it sounded good so I went with it. Oh I just heard someone shout “IPA!” so I am not drinking alone, so to speak.

The reindeer soup was good. I didn’t like it as much as the horse, but they are hard to compare and I still do like the soup a lot. It was different than anything I’ve ever tasted so it’s also hard to describe. It was thick like gravy, the meat chunks were small, and the taste of spices were almost a little overwhelming. Okay no more notes for now. I am starving and I have beer to drink.

They really give you a lot. They don’t gyp you like they do in other places outside of Iceland. They pull out the bread in the middle but serve it on the side with butter, and they pull out enough of the middle that allows for optimum soup space, plus the top of the bread bowl for more bread and butter.

There’s a security camera here. The first one I’ve noticed since I’ve been in Iceland. That doesn’t mean it’s the only place that has them, but I notice them everywhere around where I live, probably rightfully so. People trust that others will be respectful, and they are.

I almost finished the soup. I couldn’t. Not sure if it was because there was so much (there was) or because the thought of me eating reindeer caught up with me. Either way, I left satisfied.

 

I went back to the hostel to relax for a bit, then went out for a walk once the Christmas parade stopped blocking the front door. It was cool though. People were holding jars with candles inside and caroling, the Icelandic way of course. When the path cleared, I made my way down towards the water again and walked to Harpa music center and hung out in that area for a bit, then walked up to the church to see it at night time. I couldn’t go inside because it was closed. I then started walking back and am now eating dinner at the 100 hotel buffet restaurant.

On the way home I shall stock up on groceries for the next couple days as I will be being active, and dinner will be hard to find since people would have already made reservations. I haven’t really been all that hungry compared to how I normally am. When I do eat, the portions end up being large enough to tide me over until next time I have access to food.

*Although I prefer diving over snorkeling, I will say that it is a better deal to snorkel than dive here. The waters are crystal clear and there is no marine life, so you can see everything from the surface without having to pay the extra who knows how much for dive gear.

I forget what I am doing today. I think it’s lava tube caving, then dinner with Sheila. Yep! I was right. Already the days are blurring together. It’s kinda nice. I am at least separating all of the notes in my phone by day so it is easier to keep track of when I finally get around to posting this stuff.

Waking up at 9AM is probably the latest I’ve had to get up since I’ve been here. It’s also probably the only day I can do that. Last night I was trying to sleep but people wouldn’t stop talking. This one girl decided to wash a shirt in the sink. Why can’t you do that in the shower like everyone else? I needed to brush my teeth and didn’t really want to have to go across the hall to the bathroom.

Fermented skate with butter/fat sauce may happen tomorrow as part of Christmas tradition. (It didn’t end up happening, but more on what happens around Christmas time in another post).

Shop at Bonardes for groceriese, 1011 is the most expensive grocery store in Iceland. It is also one of the more convenient ones, however, because they are everywhere. If you really want to save some money, go to Bonardes.

The lava caves were really cool! Even little me had to duck and crawl a few times, though not nearly as often as some of the taller group members. There were some really cool red colors around, and you can see where the lava came through.

There is also this little guy.

The white stuff you see there is the bone remains of a lamb that got trapped inside the cave and probably starved to death. It is kind of a mystery as to how it got trapped so far inside the cave because these animals don’t really venture out much. We turned off all of the lights to experience true darkness where you cannot even see your hand in front of your face, even when it hits you. How the lamb made it this far into the cave without bumping into something and dying of a concussion beats the hell out of me, but maybe I am just way more clumsy than it was.

In addition to the lava cave, we saw the racks where the dried fish fillets are actually hung up to dry. They do not look like this when they are actually ready to eat though!

I asked our tour guide about the horse meat and they do indeed eat it, but more for sentimental historical reasons, as they’ve had to eat their horses for centuries before. There is an authentic Viking tavern where everyone dresses in traditional clothing and serves traditional food like the year 1000, including pickled lamb testicles. Yum? I will find out the next time I am in Iceland.

I got back to the hostel and had originally “scheduled” some Reykjavik exploration before showering and going to dinner with Sheila but I was tired enough and in enough pain from yesterday’s horse riding day to be able to take a nap. So I did that then showered. The water was warm and the showers were spacious, although you had to hold the shower head yourself and set it down on what makes it look like an old fashioned telephone. It took everything to not sing Adele’s Hello, but no not in public, not like this. I forgot a towel. Eh I was the only one in there so I used the hand blow dryer to dry myself off even someone walked in. It’s a hostel. Weird things are supposed to happen. No one did though. Not this time and not future times. Darn? That would have been funny, at least for me. Anyway…

Food time at Kopar, a nice restaurant by the water. This is the restaurant you can get a compensated meal at if you don’t like your Northern Lights experience. That’s not why we were there though. Before the appetizers, we got bread with poppy seed garlic butter. The butter was placed on a rock. Why? Sheila had smoked lamb for her appetizer and I had langoustine with lobster and asparagus. We both tried each other’s. She liked the lamb more than I did. I am not sure why I didn’t like it, but oh well. The taste was fine but the texture was not as favorable to me as other things. She had catch of the day and I had horse steak with sweet potato and other vegetables.

Dinner was funny because we both recently switched from being vegetarians. We switched for the same reason (mainly not wanting to be limited from any cultural experience while traveling), but here we are eating lamb and horse, etc. We both took some time to start at the food and have some more wine to get over ourselves haha. It worked. It was worth it. I am sorry, but the horse was actually really good. It was tender but not rare, and the sauce served with it was delicious too. I want to know how to make it. The sauce, not the horse, though I would eat that again too if given the option.

Conversation with an Icelander about the sauce:

“What is the sauce that comes with horse?”

“Was it the brown sauce?”

“Yeah!”

“We call it brown sauce.”

Needless to say, I didn’t get anything close to a recipe.

 

Tomorrow I am going snorkeling at Silfra on the Mid Atlantic Ridge. It is the only place in the world you can do that between tectonic plates. The water is 1-2 degrees Celsius year round, so a dry suit is required. Even if they aren’t completely cold proof, it’s worth it. Everything here is worth it.

Good morning! Me waiting for the bus to arrive for today’s adventure is like a puppy waiting for its human to come home. Every time I hear a bus I jump up only to have to sit back down, even though I know it makes much more sense to sit down and wait for the person to come inside and announce themselves.

IT’S HERE!!!! Gosh the roads here are extremely narrow.

Horse riding time! I am all geared up in my warm jumpsuit and met my horse for the morning! There are just three people including myself on the ride, as well as the guide. And in the afternoon, it’s just the guide and me.

We made the horses tölt, which is one of their signature gaits that other horses do not have. The gaits of the Icelandic horse include walk, trot, canter, tölt, and flying speed! The horses here are also pure, and pretty much unchanged since the first settlers brought horses over. If for any reason a horse leaves Iceland, it can never return. This is to preserve the breed from diseases and genetic mixing. The horses here truly are majestic, but it is still kinda sad. Also, horse steak is something that is consumed here in Iceland, so then there’s that, but more on that tomorrow.

My horse had a mind of its own, and didn’t like to stop even when my feet slipped out of the stirrups. I have had enough experiences with horses to be fine and fix the issue, so all is well! It was cold and snowing, but worth it. Oh so worth it.

Everyone on the second ride gets a lunch included, so I ate by myself as I am everyone on the second ride. I took the hard way down to the cafeteria. Apparently there was a path around the building, but my way was shorter. There was slippery ice and snow everywhere, though, and I had to hop the fence to get through the back door that they opened for me. haha oops. My toes are freezing. I am having lamb soup, coffee and snacks. There was bread and butter, this flaky cracker thing, and then a crumbly dissolve-in-your-mouth macaroon thing. Things crumbling/dissolving in your mouth seems to be a recurring food theme here, as is lamb soup for lunch. I liked the first lamb soup better, but mainly because the cooked carrots were smaller and easier to avoid haha!

I always seem to pick the worst times for coffee. By the time this coffee kicks in, I will be on a horse. Then again is there really any good time for coffee poos? I am not waking up early to take care of that before starting my day, and having coffee late enough for coffee poo pre-sleep means you had coffee before bed, which means no sleep. That defeats the purpose. Anywayyy….horses.

It’s hard to get up on the horse with the jumpsuit but worth it because it’s soooo warm! I just have to pull my pants up to wedgy level just to get up on the horse because of course the pant legs are too long for my itty bitty legs. Getting down is a little scary because sometimes you have to land right on the ice. I found a method to gracefully and slowly slide down the side of the horse to land softly on my feet. It almost worked. Almost. Nora (the guide) and I both thought it would work. And it did…until my feet touched the ground and then within half a second I was on my a$$. My feet did not appear to receive the message that they were supposed to stay upright once they hit the ground, not continue sliding forward and out from under me. We had a talk about this later. They apologized.

I liked the second horse ride a lot better. Not only was it just be and the guide, but we went through one of the only forests in Iceland, a hot spring and geyser area, and got the horses to tölt a lot. The trees in this forest were planted in the recent past, and there aren’t many trees due to the Vikings cutting them down for houses and what not. My second horse liked to go even faster, and it felt like flying speed. It was fun, but it wasn’t always expected. I get it though, sometimes you just get a little carried away and want to fly! But dear horsey, please make sure I am ready for it. I eventually just expected in at any moment and everything was all hunky dory. The sky was pelting us in the face with snow, and my scarf was starting to freeze. My headband also like to fall down right in front of my eyes, which would be perfectly fine if I didn’t want to see.

It is really snowing right now! I am going to definitely shower and nap before another lights hunt, that is if they aren’t canceled. Yeah…it was cancelled. That’s okay, I can now rest and book more stuff since the pending charges went through so I can use another chunk of money and put myself in the same situation as before. I always leave some money for food though! Priorities.

I brushed my hair after riding, and it was so awful I almost cried from the pain haha. It was bad enough that I half-jokingly messaged Sheila asking her to bring over some scissors. As always, I persevered and succeeded!

Sheila and I went out to the Lebowski Bar for drinks. Neither of us have seen the movie, but everything from the decor to drink and food options were from the movie. I have never seen so many selections for White Russians. I had a White Chocolate Russian and nachos, and Sheila had a Cosmo and fries. When I say we each had “a” drink, I mean we each had two.

We looked at the menu for where we are eating dinner tomorrow. They have lots of seafood. And horse. So stay tuned for what we actually ended up eating!