When we went down to the lobby this morning for breakfast at 9am - the normally vacant breakfast area was full of Swedes! Katie ran to the croissant basket only to find a few pieces of white bread and one piece of rye. She was visibly shaken. I then looked to see a Swedish septuagenarian wrestling with the coffee machine... I became shaken as well. Turned out the lack of coffee was due to user error and croissants were in the oven - thank god!
We got on the road and headed northeast toward Geysir. We stopped along the way at Laxnes Horse Farm. Unwilling to take a 9 hour trek, I approached the farm's owner, introduced myself and asked if we could pay for some time patting the horses. He threw his head back and laughed, "Oh, no - just go in there. They are very docile and won't bite or kick. They might appreciate a good scratch!"
We took him up on it and found the Icelandic horses to be as warm and mild-tempered as the guidebooks say. They followed us around like puppy dogs.
On the way to Geysir we started running low on gas and found an N1 station. I managed to figure out how to use the self-filling pump without the benefit of an advanced degree - it involved math, language translation and a little mechanical maneuvering. I definitely filled the tank. I may also have transferred 6380 kronur into a Swiss bank account - the latter remains to be seen...
Then on to Geysir - You can imagine what this town is famous for. The hot springs were visible from the road. We parked in the visitors' lot and walked 100 meters off the road, following the overflow from the springs. Most of the bubbling caldrons had a name next to them and all warned of 100 Celsius temps. The largest one had the largest audience. We all stared at it as it began to breathe. The rising and falling of the meniscus was reminiscent of the rising and falling belly of a sleeping giant. After a few minutes, the water expanded upward in a bubbling tower about 30-50 feet in the air! We all shouted in excitement. Then it burst twice more before Katie and I left to grab lunch at the roadside cafeteria.
It came as no surprise to me that Katie opted for a ham and cheese croissant for lunch, followed by a chocolate croissant for dessert - her third and fourth croissants of the day. I think she has confused Iceland with France.
So, on the road again to Gulfoss. This spot is home to a raging waterfall - but you'd never know it from the road. It looks like the steam behind the visitors' center might be from another hot spring. Instead, as you hike along the trail, you can hear a distant rumble, which becomes a thunderous roar. The steam is actually mist from the frothing torrent. It is two layers of waterfalls. The first appears to be a 30-50 foot drop. The next looks to plummet about 100-200 feet into a deep river canyon. The side of the canyon has green moss on the ledges of deep brown and gray volcanic rock.
Next, we drove toward Selfoss. The ride was full of horses, goats, sheep and swans. Our inn is a bit off the main road and for the second time today, we left the smooth ride of pavement for the rocky terrain of gravel.
As we wound toward the Vatnsholt farm and guesthouse, we saw the many animals who would be our co-hosts. Our human hosts warmly greeted us, pointed out the volcanoes and islands on the horizon and introduced us to their newest addition - a calf whose mother abandoned him due to a birth defect. He now thinks he is a dog because the dogs have been raising him. I agreed to take our our bags to our stunningly renovated accommodations while an exhuberant Katie chased the calf around the field (poor calf).
Our hosts asked us for our preferred dinner time. We gave ourselves 90 minutes to develop an appetite. To prepare, I butchered Katie at ping pong and foosball. Alright, perhaps "butchered" is too strong a word. Perhaps "had my ass handed to me" is slightly more accurate... I mean she IS an athlete! Hey - who's writing this damn story, anyway???
Dinner was made just for us. We had homemade vegetable soup with homemade bread. Then lamb with vegetables for a main course and chocolate fondant for dessert. I embarrassed myself by inhaling it all. Katie took the more polite and leisurely approach. Until I noted that, though it is light out all night, the animals may have a bedtime. She bolted out of the dining room.
I am enjoying a quiet moment in this surprisingly sleek, modern home on the edge of a rustic farm. It is just after 9pm which is just about the time of the day that the summer sun appears to be its brightest and I begin to fade.
We got on the road and headed northeast toward Geysir. We stopped along the way at Laxnes Horse Farm. Unwilling to take a 9 hour trek, I approached the farm's owner, introduced myself and asked if we could pay for some time patting the horses. He threw his head back and laughed, "Oh, no - just go in there. They are very docile and won't bite or kick. They might appreciate a good scratch!"
We took him up on it and found the Icelandic horses to be as warm and mild-tempered as the guidebooks say. They followed us around like puppy dogs.
On the way to Geysir we started running low on gas and found an N1 station. I managed to figure out how to use the self-filling pump without the benefit of an advanced degree - it involved math, language translation and a little mechanical maneuvering. I definitely filled the tank. I may also have transferred 6380 kronur into a Swiss bank account - the latter remains to be seen...
Then on to Geysir - You can imagine what this town is famous for. The hot springs were visible from the road. We parked in the visitors' lot and walked 100 meters off the road, following the overflow from the springs. Most of the bubbling caldrons had a name next to them and all warned of 100 Celsius temps. The largest one had the largest audience. We all stared at it as it began to breathe. The rising and falling of the meniscus was reminiscent of the rising and falling belly of a sleeping giant. After a few minutes, the water expanded upward in a bubbling tower about 30-50 feet in the air! We all shouted in excitement. Then it burst twice more before Katie and I left to grab lunch at the roadside cafeteria.
It came as no surprise to me that Katie opted for a ham and cheese croissant for lunch, followed by a chocolate croissant for dessert - her third and fourth croissants of the day. I think she has confused Iceland with France.
So, on the road again to Gulfoss. This spot is home to a raging waterfall - but you'd never know it from the road. It looks like the steam behind the visitors' center might be from another hot spring. Instead, as you hike along the trail, you can hear a distant rumble, which becomes a thunderous roar. The steam is actually mist from the frothing torrent. It is two layers of waterfalls. The first appears to be a 30-50 foot drop. The next looks to plummet about 100-200 feet into a deep river canyon. The side of the canyon has green moss on the ledges of deep brown and gray volcanic rock.
Next, we drove toward Selfoss. The ride was full of horses, goats, sheep and swans. Our inn is a bit off the main road and for the second time today, we left the smooth ride of pavement for the rocky terrain of gravel.
As we wound toward the Vatnsholt farm and guesthouse, we saw the many animals who would be our co-hosts. Our human hosts warmly greeted us, pointed out the volcanoes and islands on the horizon and introduced us to their newest addition - a calf whose mother abandoned him due to a birth defect. He now thinks he is a dog because the dogs have been raising him. I agreed to take our our bags to our stunningly renovated accommodations while an exhuberant Katie chased the calf around the field (poor calf).
Our hosts asked us for our preferred dinner time. We gave ourselves 90 minutes to develop an appetite. To prepare, I butchered Katie at ping pong and foosball. Alright, perhaps "butchered" is too strong a word. Perhaps "had my ass handed to me" is slightly more accurate... I mean she IS an athlete! Hey - who's writing this damn story, anyway???
Dinner was made just for us. We had homemade vegetable soup with homemade bread. Then lamb with vegetables for a main course and chocolate fondant for dessert. I embarrassed myself by inhaling it all. Katie took the more polite and leisurely approach. Until I noted that, though it is light out all night, the animals may have a bedtime. She bolted out of the dining room.
I am enjoying a quiet moment in this surprisingly sleek, modern home on the edge of a rustic farm. It is just after 9pm which is just about the time of the day that the summer sun appears to be its brightest and I begin to fade.
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