A Ten Hour Tour (a ten hour tour)

We woke up and got ready for our 10 hour tour of the south coast of Iceland. For once, I got to be a passenger! We grabbed a quick breakfast, and loaded into the car. We only had to drive about 10 minutes to the tour meeting spot. It was a fuel station right off of the highway. It was pretty nondescript, except for the bronze statue of a child urinating on a rock. Ummm, Okay.

We were at the last pickup of the tour, so we were at the back of the tour bus. We had a very enjoyable trip out of Reykjavik, and it was very nice to be able to see the countryside, instead of being so focused on the road, and staying on the proper side. We were revisiting places we had seen on our last trip to Iceland, but it was all new for Walt and Rosanna.

We stopped at a fuel stop for coffee and restrooms, and Pat and Carrie found maple donuts! After our brief snack, we were back on the bus. Our first stop was at a beautiful waterfall - Skógafoss. It is a very tall waterfall, and really impressive. We saw several waterfalls in Scotland, and they all seem like little babies compared to Iceland’s falls.

After that, we drove to Vik, a very old fishing village. We stopped at the church on the hill overlooking the town, for some amazing shots. We then went into town for lunch. As we really didn’t have much for breakfast, I wanted something hot. Everyone else wanted the sandwich cafe, so we split up. Mine took a while, so I crammed it down before it was time to go to the bus.

We left there, and headed to Reynisfjara, the black sand beach. It has been used by lots of movies, like Rogue One, and Prometheus, among others. The waves there have claimed 2 lives this year alone, so it is no joke. We saw a whole flock of puffins out on the ocean, and several nesting on the cliffs.

Back on the bus, it was time to drive to the glacier, Sólheimajökull. We had a pretty good hike up to the view spot, and did get some great photos. After walking back, we got some coffee and hot chocolates.

Our last destination was a famous waterfall - Seljalandsfoss. This is a great waterfall that you can actually walk behind. Carrie, Pat, Les, and I did this walk the last time we were here, and you can only see the “back side of water” (thank you, jungle cruise) so many times. We weren’t in the mood to get drenched, so we just took photos from the front.

Then, it was time to head back to Reykjavik. Since we were the last ones on, we were the first ones off. The crew had decided they wanted KFC for dinner. So, I found one nearby, and we set to have some familiar food. And then, we went inside…

There were a couple of oddities - they had gravy, but no mashed potatoes. And, their soda machine had “regular” Pepsi, and non-diet orange soda. They both had fake sugar in them. PEPSI, I HATE YOU!!!. Their small fries were equivalent to our large, and their medium is like - “do you really want that many?” We enjoyed our dinner, and it was time to drive back to our apartment.

The photos crew sat around the dining table to import and select. Carrie discovered how awesome Cleanup in Photos has become, and was incredulous. I got caught up on the blog, which is good, because we only have one more full day in Iceland, and then we travel back home. I think we are all about ready to be home. Walt is pining for his shower. I miss my grandkids, my bed, and our river. Goodnight