On the Road Again…

Charlotte:

This morning we left for a 6 hours car ride to Akureyeri. We did lots of stuff on the way. First, we stopped at a store and we bought some food and one of my favorites – we bought wool from Icelandic sheep. I like that because I’m going to knit a scarf. I chose magenta wool.

Then, we went back in the car and went to a hot spring. We swam in the hot water. It was FREEZING outside, but it was so warm in the pools.

Next, we went to a church and we went to see lots of crosses. There was little nice, cute houses made out of grass, wood, and dirt. I also got to try lamb on a bun from a food tractor.

Then I was SO excited because we arrived at Akureyeri, at the house we are staying in. I played with the toys in my room. And then when I went shopping, I saw this very weird, creepy car that had blood and the arm rests were bloody hands! (We’ll try to get a picture of this car tomorrow – it truly is a sight to behold!)

Mom and Dad:

We got on the road right after breakfast, heading north. We stopped for some snacks and made our way to Grettislaug, a natural outdoor hot pot in North Iceland, fed by a hot spring. It was right on the ocean and the 11°C outside felt a lot colder with the strong wind. Luckily, the two pools were steaming and ready for us! The soothing water was so welcome it even made the slimy algae (or “spinach” as Charlotte called it as she collected it from the rocks and rubbed it all over her bathing suit and played with it) much less disgusting. ♨ We both loved finding the hot rocks on the bottom of each pool where the springs were feeding in. Some places we’re almost hot enough to burn our feet!

Another highlight of our day was when we made a video chat call to our nephew back home to sing him happy birthday. (Happy birthday, Isaac!) The kids were happy to say hi to a bunch more of their cousins, too!

The scenery was amazing! The variation between ocean, mountains, valleys, rocky lava fields, lush farms, and rushing waterfalls makes everywhere we turn in this country breathtaking in a new way! We appreciated it a lot more than the kids, who were reading their books and doing activities most of the time. Both would humour us with a quick “Wow!” when we called out to them to take a look out their windows. Kids!

On our way back to the Ring Road, we stopped at a black sand beach and felt how cold the water was before snapping some more photos.

Sam:

My favourite part of today was going on a really long trip from Reykjavik to Akureyeri. It took more than 5 hours and we got to look at all the scenery.

After about 4 hours in the car, we got to swim in a natural hot pool. It was really slimy and very warm. It was really fun because you could walk along the bottom and step on the stones – some of them were heated up by springs. 

We also saw lots of cool waterfalls on the way and a lot of sheep and horses.

The apartment in Akureyeri has a WiiU, a great view, and bunk beds, too! (Lots of giggling and a couple of snorts – “I rhymed!”). You get to the top bunk by climbing up a rock wall!