Day 6

We spent day 6 driving between Akureryi and a small town several hours away.  We visited this beautiful waterfall along the way.

We clearly aren't the only people who think Iceland is incredible.  The number of people this trip compared to 5 years ago when Brian and I were there is astonishingly different.

We stopped in Husevik to visit some recommended hot springs.  This place was incredible with pristine pools, a bar at the pool and these views!

We then made our way to these stinky boiling pots of mud.

We decided to climb up this (honestly, I didn't think we would make it far, but before I knew it we were at the top).  It was STEEP and once at the top, B slipped and was tumbling down, Brian snagged him and they both fell.  Luckily they stopped before it was too bad, but it scared us all.  Getting down was going to be treacherous, but luckily Ads looked at the backside and realized there was a (slightly) more gentle way down that wound back around the mountain.  

These pictures don't do the steepness justice, but there was nothing to grab onto and it was loose dirt.  Probably not our best decision making, but it turned out OK in the end, luckily.

 

Akureryi- Days 4-5

We left the east coast and drove up north to Akureryi for 2 nights.  On the way, we drove out of the way to see this natural structure in the water (thought to be different things).  Honestly, it was a bit of a waste of time.  

Akureryi was the sweetest little town and we had a wonderful airbnb with lots of space outside for B to play in.  It was sunny, the people were friendly and the stoplights were hearts.

We went on a whale watching tour one afternoon and learned (and saw) a lot about humpback whales.

Ads, Brian and I went on a hike one evening and came across this board in the middle of a yard and the little elf homes down below.  

The airstrip was built on the water.

 

Iceland-Day 3

On our third day, we drove around the Snaefellsnes Penninsula.  While parts of it were worth the trek, the drive was long and there wasn't a lot. 

B has been very into sharks and so we went to the shark museum (in the middle of nowhere).  It was only one room with lots of artifacts, but not much about sharks.  After 15 minutes of looking around, a young girl gave us a presentation.  This museum and fermented shark has been in her family for generations.  The only sharks near Iceland are Greenland sharks and if eaten fresh, they kill.  Somehow, they figured out if the shark is dried for an extended period of time, it ferments the shark, therefore making it edible.  The kids and (vegetarian) Brian all tried it, no one was impressed, but the presentation made the whole museum experience worth it!

Our next stop was the "most photographed mountain in Iceland", Kirkjufell.  It was pretty spectacular and unlike anything I'd seen.  We climbed up a ways, but none of us had worn our hiking shoes that day and it was incredibly steep.  

Across the road were these beautiful cascading waterfalls (small in comparison to what we would see later in our trip, but nonetheless spectacular).

This bouncy thing was in a little park along our drive so naturally we stopped to laugh and play a bit.

And then we headed to a dormant volcano.  It was really cold and windy so we didn't stay long.