NORTHERN LIGHTS
We knew when we came that Northern Lights weren't guaranteed. We were coming at the very end of the season but we still held out hope. Josh found a website that showed cloud cover and aurora activity probability by hour. Each night we would check it. Last night was the first night where it looked possible. When we checked in, our host had told us that last night had been a good night and tonight seemed possible. We asked if someone would wake us up. She said that around 10 she goes to bed but that if they are out before then she'd let us know. Everyone had fallen asleep except me when I heard some talking outside the room next door. "Yes you can see them a little bit!" I peeked out our curtains and some some people popping out of rooms. I saw some faint grey streaks in the sky. Hmmm. This is it? I went and woke up Josh who headed out with his gear and tripod. For the next 30 minutes the lights just got more intense forming a dancing lines of smokey lights through the sky. They shot up over our guesthouse, then the mountains, then the glaciers. Changing so quickly we were constantly rearranging our shot. I had no idea what he was doing with the camera so I stood, pointed and awed. I tried to wake up the kids but it was a losing battle. One managed to stumble out the door, look at the sky and declared he was going back to bed. The other wouldn't even get out of bed and cried this morning when she realized she missed it. Considering we aren't professional photographers, nor have we shot anything like this. I think the photos are pretty awesome but for now, the back of the camera shots are all we can show. We are having problems with the card that connects to the iPad and don't want to risk losing the images already shot. Also of note: My iPhone hates Iceland. Every time I take it out in the cold (like dogsledding or Northern Lights) it won't allow me to take photos, shuts down and drains the battery. So that's awesome. So the lesson for this night was that staying with other travelers pays off - you can hear other people freaking out. Kudos to the owner of the guesthouse. She turned off the exterior lights and walked around to knock on every door. I can't imagine having a better viewing experience.
BREAKFAST
We were excited to have someone else cook for us. The common living and dining room was stocked with bread, cereal, meats, cheese, pancakes and dippy eggs. We were the first ones in for breakfast and fueled up while we planned the day. Luckily, Josh asked about his shortcut and was told that was an icy road up a steep mountain, that should be avoided. So yes we will be having a long drive today.
REINDEER
Today's mission is to find reindeer. We saw our first sighting shortly into the drive right after we came out of our first tunnel. Three females drinking between the Ring Road and the ocean. Quite impossible to get pictures since the sun was rising directly behind them. We needed reindeer on the other side of the road and big antlers. Later we found a group of 5 baby reindeer. And then later we stopped when we saw a jig group of reindeer on the side of the road. So if we don't see any more, we are at least covered.
EAST FJORD DRIVING
Much of the day was going to be in the car to get up to Northern Iceland. It's hard to complain when the drive is along the coast through the East Fjords. We would have made much better time if we didn't stop each one of saw something we wanted to look at. The steep cliffs down to black rocky beaches with water crashing against the rocks made for some of the best scenery we had scene on the trip. We made a stop in Djupivogur for snacks and gas. And to our shock the grocery store was open! They had everything. Yarn to knit a sweater, a kit to dye your eyebrows, pretty much anything could need - except contact solution. Ugh. All was not lost as we drove through the cute village and found what I believe to be elf houses!
MOUNTAIN DRIVING
The road then curved inland where we soon ended up in 4 km tunnel through a mountain. I'm used to tunnels but I'm not used to physically seeing the exposed insides of a mountain. It was wild. I think my daughter started asking to go to the bathroom halfway through the mountain. We started driving in between large snow covered mountains. The temp dropped to -7C quickly. Without any events we found our way to the large town in Eastern Iceland where we found a pharmacy! And guess what they had behind the counter! The coveted saline solution. Hallelujah. I will never make that mistake again. After a quick stop for lunch we were back on the road for a long stretch of extreme mountain driving. We had never seen anything like this. I think we were on the outskirts of the highlands. I can best describe it as what I would imagine Egypt to look like if all the sand was snow. And huge hills not pyramids. It was crazy how far the mountains and snow went. We stopped for a photo shoot on the side of the road and the kids went crazy. Running through the snow up to their knees. At one point we suctioned the GoPro to the front of the car to capture the insane drive. That beautiful video lasted about 30 seconds until the GoPro went flying off the car and across the road where it came to rest. It's an amusing video. It was a lot of driving but an awe inspiring day. Josh and I could think of few road trip days that could compare. Maybe that one in Costa Rica when Jered navigated 10 of us on an 8 hour trek through dirt roads that resulted in ) people getting car sick. But seriously we enjoyed. The kids probably not as much. We let them watch Little Mermaid after a couple hours.
DETTIFOSS
I think Josh was considering skipping it but I really needed to get out a bit. Our directions said it was 24 km off the Ring Road and a "short 5 minute walk". So the 24 km was right. But the short walk. It was 800m. My handy units converter tells me that is 1/2 mile. I'm not sure who is trekking through hills at a 10 min/mile pace, but it wasn't us. There was a good 3 feet of snow under our feet. There was a distinct path that was packed down but if you stepped off you went right down. Of course our kids walked off the path every chance they could. I only fell over once, so I saw that as a win. My phone managed to stay alive to get a couple pictures. We got to the viewing platform and could see nothing. The air must have been so cold the water was misting or steaming straight up. This waterfall is supposed to be the strongest in Europe. We did see a double rainbow and for a little bit the wind shifted so we could get a view of the falls down below. The kids wanted to go down the "dangerous" path where you could see closer over a steep ledge. Uh, no. So we just sent Daddy to get pictures. I was now convinced I had frostbite on my toes so we trudged back to the car and made our way to tonight's stop.
VOGAFJOS FARM
I'm pretty sure Josh gets credit for finding this place. They get an extra star because they were the first of our reservations actually expecting us! Yay for that. It is a working farm that has a guesthouse and restaurant. Like everywhere else we have stayed, super nice staff. The farm is right by Lake Myvatn with thermal steam filling the horizon. Several cabins with multiple rooms make up the guesthouse. The reception building is actually the cowshed aka a really nice dairy barn. The left side is the reception, a shop with local artists and the restaurant. The right side is a modern dairy barn. The two are separated with a full glass wall. An alcove of tables lets you eat and watch the cows be milked or fed. For dinner I had hoped to eat at one of the glass surrounded tables overlooking the fields, sunset and geothermal. However the kids wanted to look at cow butts. So... The food was great. They really do everything local. All the dairy is made on the farm. The Geysir bread (like a sweet pumpernickel) is made in their underground bread oven. It was delicious. I decided if ain't broke, don't fix it and got their stew. It was a tomato based vegetable soup with lamb and potatoes added. Yummy and filling. Josh got the lamb shank which was equally good. Of course we had to get their ice cream for dessert - it's a dairy far. The receptionist (I think the older daughter) gave us some details on coming to see the cows in the morning and we headed to bed. Although the nifty ranking only gave it a 2 out of 9 for aurora activity, we woke up at 11:30 to see some okay lights. They didn't last long and were fainter than the night before but they were visible from our beds. Much easier to wake our daughter up for.
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