03-09-16

Our last day in Iceland. I think we were all pretty sad to be going. But probably also quite tired and ready for a return to normality.

We enjoyed a simple, but pleasant breakfast at the hotel and then went for a quick walk to a shallow and wide river which ran close by. The boys seemed intent on letting off some steam play-fighting for a bit longer than I had patience for....

We took a bit of a drive along a track which would take us to some caves we could walk in, but the track was very bumpy and slow and I didn't know where I was going so we turned back and drove to Husafell Hotel where we'd be getting picked up for our last excursion - a trip into an ice cave on Langjökull glacier. I was relieved when the bus arrived because this was the last planned trip - I'd been concerned that we'd miss the pick up point for each one, but we hadn't - phew!

The bus (out of the 70's), made its bumpy way along the track which meandered  up to the glacier through Mars like slate grey boulder fields. We donned another set of thermal overalls and got into the ex-army people carrier which could drive onto the glacier.

We waited our turn for the tour of the Ice Cave, which was impressive, but as a man made construction, it left me feeling a bit cold (no pun intended). Overall it just failed to live up to some of the stuff that we'd done over the past 10 days.

When we got back to the car we went over to a small arts and crafts centre which Luca had seen in the distance and recognised as being somewhere that Muse had recently visited and shot a small video in - of them playing traditional instruments. Unfortunately it was closed and we were reduced to just looking through the windows.

We drove into Reyjavik and checked into the Hilton (usual thing really, it could have been anywhere in the world), and then walked through a cold and drizzly Reykjavik and had the least enjoyable meal of the holiday. Took some photos of the Viking Boat and returned to the hotel with a heavy heart readt for an early start in the morning and full of hopeful intentions of returning soon.

02-09-16

This was to be another big driving day, the biggest of the trip and the only one in the middle of the day. We stopped at a very nicely presented folk museum on the way (replete with turf covered houses), but Ellis was sleepy and frankly not in the right frame of mind to enjoy it, so he waited outside. Luca and I wandered round and Ellis had picked up by the time we got out.

Navigation became a bit more problematic once we left Route 1, but we found the hotel ok and went off to explore a bit. We happened upon a great little gorge and had a nice walk through some ancient lava fields and then set off in search of somewhere to eat. For the first time in Iceland we struggled to find somewhere, but eventually found this great little roadside diner which did a wonderful fish for me and burgers for the boys.... It also sold a handsome selection of bow ties!

We went back to the hotel and Ellis and I played chess in the lounge - Ellis' first time, but he still beat me.

The forecast for the Northern Lights was good, but the cloud cover was increasing. We managed to get a brief, but subdued performance before the cloud cover took over and we went to bed. I vowed to check during the night and wake the boys if the cloud had disappeared - I did, but it hadn't.

01-09-16

Ellis had now pretty much reverted to computer addiction and Luca seemed to spend most of his time wandering round the house staring at nothing. It was about midday by the time we left - today would be the Diamond Circle. Unfortunately, the amazing scenery was starting to wear a little thin on Ellis in particular, but with a bit of persuasion we walked round the volcanic formations of Vesturdalur, the Hverfjall crater, the other worldy geothermal plain of Hverir and the geothermal pool and chasms of Grjotagja cave (where Jon Snow was deflowered in Game of Thrones).

The area around Lake Mývatn reminded me of the Scottish Highlands where the land is breaking up into the sea and it seems like the earth has only just formed. Except it was prettier, but more populated. I found a phone which I guiltily returned to where I found it - worried I'd spend the rest of the day arranging to meet people in order to give it to them....

We finished off the day with a dip in the Geothermal baths and then another gourmet burger at  Hamborgarafabrikkan in Akureyri.