Time to go home.

Good morning, last day in Iceland! Let's start off right with a hot coffee and bowl of granola, topped with Skyr and raspberry jam. Not good enough? How about heading to the aquatic center in Reykjavik, next to the city center campground, for a hot shower and a soak in the geothermal pools? Good. Now pack up those bags - they'll never fit on the plane that way, contents exploded all over the back of the Duster! Too much stuff? Just leave the excess in the campground's gear swap - it'll go to another needy traveler. That's it, don't need that leaky tent, the well-worn sneakers. The table and chairs can stay too, as well as the food box - someone will use it! Alright, drop off that postcard, then it's off to downtown for some last minute shopping! You can stock up on all the chocolate-covered licorice you can fit in your bag, then it's hot dogs for lunch! But these aren't just ANY hot dogs, they are the famous Icelandic lamb hot dogs, topped with dark mustard, remoulade and crispy onions. Even Bill Clinton ate these hot dogs when he visited the country! They are a must!

Alright, one last gas-up before returning the beloved Duster, then it's time to check in! This should be a relatively smooth process: Boarding passes? Check! Odd luggage drop-off? Check! Vat refund? Check!(well, almost. Those sweaters from the little farm don't count. Boo.) A quick pass through security and passport control and we are on the other side. Now is the time to stock up on bottles of that delicious Brennivin you enjoyed all through the trip, a quick walk about the crowded airport(darn Iceland and its skyrocketing popularity!), and any last stops you need to make before boarding. Before you know it, you'll be cruising through the sky, over Greenland, then the Canadian Shield, 34 000 in the air, pouring over your trip notes and remembering what a wonderful time you had camping your way around such a beautiful country as Iceland.





Until next time.

Touring the Golden Circle

This morning's wake-up call consisted of little birds tap-dancing on the roof of the car. We have coffee and granola while looking out at our own private volcanic valley - not another soul around to disturb the tranquility. Seems like a fitting way to start the day touring the biggest tourist attractions in Iceland, doesn't it? Going from the completely isolated to the overly crowded? Yes, well, later - first, we hit the local aquatic center in Selfoss for hot showers and hot tub-soaking. Such an untapped, inexpensive resource, and WAY better than those crazy lukewarm rivers and natural hot springs - so overrated!

Off we go again, with one last complete day to enjoy the natural wonders of Iceland. We kept the big ticket items for last, the big three in the Golden Circle area, the sights that EVERYONE wants to see on their layovers in Iceland, and where all the tour buses begin their routes. After 10 days at the furthest reaches of the island, we will now immerse ourselves into the stream of tourists. And...GO.

First stop is for lunch, at the Friðheimar greenhouse, growers of the majority of Iceland's tomatoes, basil and cucumbers. Here, they use geothermal energy to power grow-lights 12-18 hours a day, to produce optimal growing conditions for the plants. What's really cool is that they also serve a buffet lunch every day, IN the greenhouse, of tomato soup, cucumber salsa(more of a pickle) and freshly-baked breads. So you can come and see the tomatoes, and eat the tomatoes, while sitting AMONG the tomatoes. And the soup was soooo good, just a little sweet, just a little spicy, topped with the cucumber salsa and a dollop of thick Skyr. The breads were all different, some topped with cheese, some studded with olives, some brown and rolled in seeds, all delicious. We ate our fill and then some.

Second, we head to the most famous waterfall in Iceland, Gullfoss. What makes it stand out from all the others(and the are LOTS) is that it weaves down a narrow valley, falling over one 45 degree cliff, then a second reverse 45 degree cliff, finishing in another narrow valley. This creates maximum visual impact in a small space. Unlike other large falls, you can only access Gullfoss from one side, and though the walkways are excellent, they are PACKED with people - either lone travelers like ourselves, or bus tours. While we were there, we counted up to bus # 19. Yikes. Combine that with a too small parking lot, small access roads(one approach is on gravel!) and a welcome center that is still trying to catch up, and you have the perfect example of how Iceland has gotten more popular than they are ready for. Hopefully they figure themselves out before it gets ugly.

Third, we continued down the road to nearby Geysir, an active volcanic area where the original geysir is found. That's right, the reason it's called a geysir is because it is the Icelandic word for the water spouting effect. No word existed before this discovery. Geysir, however, is on a cycle of low activity, so it's basically a pool of boiling sulfuric water. Lucky for us, its neighbor, Strokkur, spouts off a blast of water and steam quite regularly, and so everyone stands around, fingers poised over shutter buttons, waiting for that moment to arrive. Steam rises, the water bubbles and boils, the surface expands, and WHOOOOOOSH, a cloud of hot vapour shoots into the sky, eliciting a few shrieks and gasps from the crowd. Water rains down into the surrounding run-off pools and the whole cycle begins again, every 5 to 7 minutes. It's exhilarating to watch, and yet over so quickly. The rest of the area houses a few more geysirs, steaming and bubbling away, but Strokkur is the real show.

Insert here a pit stop at the Efstidalur dairy farm for homemade ice cream in flavours of rhubarb and strawberry, an interlude with newborn calves, and small children feeding sheep with baby bottles. Onwards!

The next must-see on the Golden Circle tour is Thingvellir National Park, the birthplace of the Icelandic government and the site of the signing of the country's independence in 1944. It is also located in the great rift valley, the point at which the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are being pulled apart at a rate of up to 18 mm per year. Needless to say, it is an awe-inspiring place. Add to that the surrounding mountains, the intense geological formations throughout, the waterfall cutting through the center and into the largest lake in the country, and you have an impressively spectacular location. Immense in size and crisscrossed by trails, here the crowds are less noticeable, being more spread all over the site. We also noticed that standard tours finish up somewhere around dinner time, so the longer we stayed into the evening, the quieter it got. Remember, natural wonders don't have opening hours!

We stopped at a rest area next to a vast open field, with a single solitary farm house off in the distance, surrounded by mountains. Mario brewed coffee out of the back of the Duster as I scribbled in my notebook. This quiet routine has become our "normal" these past ten days; it will be hard to throw ourselves back into the hustle and bustle back home.

And as if trying to avoid civilization for as long as possible, we find a quiet campground on the outskirts of the town of Mosfellsbaer, north of Reykjavik, for our last night in Iceland. Up on a hill, overlooking the rivers below, listening to the squawking of the birds and a lone plane flying over the fjords, we cook up our last camp dinner and watch the long sunset. We drink the last of the Brennivin alongside squares of licorice chocolate, and once again attempt to browse through our photos before falling asleep, without success.

Change of plan

We paid for two nights' camping in Landmannalaugar, to take advantage of the day hiking in the area - more on that later...It's a cold, cold morning in the mountains, made no more comfortable by the fact that everything touching the bottom of the tent got wet. But it's ok, we just put on another layer of clothing, warm lamb's wool sweaters, and fill our bellies with hot apple oatmeal and big cups of coffee.

This morning's goal is to attack one of those wonderful day hikes, the 13.3 km loop to Ljotipollur, or "ugly puddle", but the skies threaten rain, so we pack all the rain gear, sandwiches and snacks, bottles of water, then set out for adventure. The walking in this part of the highlands is awe-inspiring: rainbow-striped mountains in reds and purples and browns on one side of us, moss is every shade of green imaginable on the other, brilliant blue lakes scattered throughout, all dotted by pitch black lave rocks and hiking paths. Every new turn is another gorgeous vista, every vista incites even more photo-taking - my memory card is over-flowing. How much MORE beautiful could it possibly get when the skies are not so grey?!

Soon, though, the wind picks up, and then the drizzle begins, and we just barely have time to finish our sandwiches and don our rain gear when the rain falls. We continue our walk with renewed energy from lunch, and maybe from wanting to be back at camp, and dry, and maybe just to make sure that our tent is not floating down river.

Turns out, our tent is not exactly as waterproof as it once was, so we extract what we can and hide out in the shelter of the Duster for the afternoon, reading and napping, and planning our tour of the Golden Circle. The rain is unrelenting, and soon we have thoughts of desertion - yes, we have paid up camp for 2 nights, but neither Mario nor I can see ourselves lasting the night out here with the weather continuing as it is. Rather than being stuck here, we might as well be in the car, but moving, so Mario scoops up the tent, soaking wet, and we accept defeat, fording the rivers out of camp while we still can and heading out of the highlands for good.

Remembering a rather vacant parking lot with toilets near the Settlement ruins, we opt to try our luck that they also allow camping overnight...and lo and behold, lucky us, as there is no sign forbidding it! In fact, the back of the toilets are set up like an outdoor kitchen, with sinks, running HOT water AND a roof to shelter us from the rain! It's like an invitation to spend the night! While I cook up a hearty meal of chili to warm us, Mario dries out the tent in the wind and resets the Duster for sleeping mode. We eat dinner overlooking the vast valley below us, with nothing but the sound of sheep braying in the distance to break the silence. We may have lost a second night of camping fees, but this experience makes up for it in spades.

And we get to sleep another night in the Duster! Hee!

Vikings and Landmannalaugar

Leaving our campsite in Skaftafell this morning is bittersweet, because it is so beautiful, the services are great, and the hiking is good. We must, however, move one, as there is still more of the island left to see, and we must continue chasing the sun!

We chart a course for the nearest town, Vik, to pick up food for the rest of our trip, gas up the car, and visit the Icewear factory outlet. Here, we see how the garments are knit by machines, and buy about 1.5 lambs' worth of woolen goods because, well, Iceland. Being so close already, we make a quick detour to Reynisfjara, home of the dangerous black beach, where sneaker waves can hit and drown unsuspecting tourists (It's true!). It is also the home to gorgeous basalt cliffs, towering black rock "castles" sitting out in the ocean, and colonies of nesting seabirds in the overhead cliffs, including PUFFINS! We lie on the ground looking up, watching the rather awkward birds taking flight out to sea, then coming back in for uncoordinated landings. They are rather comical creatures. We gather up handfuls of round black pebbles on the beach, volcano seeds, rolling them around in our pockets and our hands. We eat ham and cheese sandwiches perched on the hexagonal basalt columns, becoming the bane of every tourist's photos.

Our ultimate goal for the day is the remote hikers' camp Landmannalaugar, part of a 5-day hike through the Icelandic interior. By car, it is quite difficult to get to, travelling through the highlands. Along the way, we first stop at a recreation of the oldest know Settlement farm in Iceland. A large turf roof long house contains common areas, sleeping quarters, a pantry and lavatory, and probably housed a large family and all their help. Like a village under one roof. It's quiet and cozy and incredibly sturdy in its construction, and probably really warm, too. It's helpful to see what the long house would have looked like, as next we bounce down an f-road to the actual ruins of the same long house, the inspiration for the layout of the recreated Settlement. Everything here is now so much clearer now that that we know what we are looking at and what we are supposed to see. Very interesting.

Further down the path at the ruins, we discover a gorge full of waterfalls, all coming from different directions, surrounding us, falling into the pools below and converging in the same river, then flowing downstream. A scene from Game of Thrones was shot in this very spot, but neither of us recognizes it. Mario thinks it must have been shot in winter, as part of the story north of the wall, but I'm not so sure...more research is needed.

Now we begin the long trek into the unknown, the bumpy, lumpy F-roads into the highlands, into Landmannalaugar. We weave between the pylons of a nearby hydro power plant, trying to avoid all of the monster potholes that cover the track, like a slice of Swiss cheese. In the end, it is WAY less stressful than the climb from Dreki to Askja, and I am glad that Mario got that practice in already. I am less happy about the two rivers that we have to ford between the main parking and the campground. Sneaky Iceland.

We desperately try to find high ground on which to set up camp, as the entire site seems to be a flood plain for the nearby mountain run-off. Satisfied our tent won't float away in the night, we head to the nearby natural hot springs, a nearby river where a sulfuric vent heats one river, that then mixes with a larger, cooler river to create the perfect temperature for lounging. Sadly, it's a flawed system, as the water mixes unevenly due to people sitting in from of the hot streams, blocking the direction of the hot water flow. The approach to the springs, about 100 m, is through cold river water, so you cool off by the time you get out. And all that would be so much of a problem after a nice hot shower, but here, the hot water cost money(WHAT?!), the registration desk is closed for the night, and we only realize AFTER I am already under a cold stream of water. I am cold, wet, and no longer very relaxed when I finally fall in to bed.

Hiking in Skaftafell

Today was an awesome relax day, where we hiked the surrounding hills to the Svartifoss waterfall, had lunch, napped the afternoon away in the sun, then took a leisurely stroll to the Skaftafellsjökull glacier lagoon before dinner.

Total walking on this "rest" day? About 12 km. Go us.

Back on the road again tomorrow!