Sunday, August 16 - GSA tour day 8 - the last day

This is the last full-day message about the trek Liz and I took in Iceland.  The planning took months, and it was all over in 12 days.  I will be posting a few more messages during the next week or so as I remember tidbits I would like to share.  I also once again borrowed the book Island on Fire from the library today.  The preface is all about the eruption of and formation of the volcano Eldfjell.  The rest of the book is good reading if you are interested in volcanoes, particularly in Iceland, but this preface captured my attention the first time I read it.  I believe it is the main reason for my happiness when we visited that location.  I will try to write a brief summary of that preface during the next few days.

After a troubled night of sleep for both of us, Liz and I headed down to meet others in the lobby at 8:30.  We decided to check for local places to eat breakfast.

We had set up an event geocache for 10 am that morning - partly to see if we would meet other cachers in Iceland, and partly to round out the many types of caches we had found in Iceland - traditionals, multis, mysteries, earthcaches, a letterbox hybrid, a challenge, and now an event.  Currently there are no other types of caches in Iceland.

We found a little place for breakfast, and only one person was working there.  He kept saying he would be right with us, and it took forever.  I settled for a chocolate muffin, Skyr, and coffee - things that wouldn't take time for cooking.  I quickly ate the Skyr and muffin and drank some of the coffee.  I then asked for a take-out cup for the coffee, paid my tab, and headed for the event since I was listed as the person sponsoring it.  I left while the others were still eating.

I arrived 10 minutes early, and the first person had just shown up.  We started chatting, and next Matt showed up.  While on a morning run, he had seen some folks searching for a cache and asked if they were on their way to the event.  They hadn't known about it, and shortly they arrived.  Great recruitment technique, Matt!  Soon another family showed up.  Now we had folks from Germany, The Netherlands, Canada, and the US.

But where are most of the folks from the GSA tour?  Matt and I were curious, as they were almost finished eating when I had left.  We finally saw them in the distance.  They had stopped for some geocaches along the way which took a bit more time.  As they arrived, the trading began - travel bugs, pathtags and geocoins.  Adventures were shared, and those just starting their time in Iceland were even more excited after hearing tales of what was ahead of them.

 

Let the trading begin

New friends logging discoveries

Joy in this one

Matt, the runner, in this one

After half an hour or so of trading, signing the log book, finding the cache at this site, and visiting, we went our separate ways.

The event was held at a sculpture along the waterfront.  "Sólfar, the Sun Voyager is a dreamboat, an ode to the sun, symbolizing light and hope. Intrinsically, it contains within itself the promise of undiscovered territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom." The sculpture commemorates the 200th anniversary of the city. It was unveiled on the birthday of the city of Reykjavík, August 18th, 1990.

A few of us hadn't been to the top of Hallgrímskirkja yet, so headed in that direction.  This Lutheran church was designed to resemble the basalt columns of Iceland's landscape.  You can take a lift to the top and enjoy panoramic views of the city from up there.  We arrived on the observation deck just as the bells were tolling 11 am.  I haven't been that close to tolling bells since my family visited Riverside Church in NYC many years ago.

 

 

Yesterday Jóhann told us to check out the artwork on the front doors as he thought they were beautiful.

One side...

 

...and the other

It's pretty high up there

One view of the city from above

Those on the tour group who had gone to the church separated into even smaller groups after that visit.  I walked back toward the hotel with Charlie as he was finished for the day.  As I wanted to find the caches the group had found on their way to the event, we meandered back the same way, picking up three caches.  One of them was at an old train engine.  Currently there is no rail system in Iceland.  They did have a short, narrow gauge, train system from 1913 to 1928.  It was used to construct harbor breakwaters, after which the engines were retired.  There were two engines, Pioner and Minør.

Yes, I found a train - it's Minør

Back at the hotel, the group re-grouped, and there was still more than an hour before our airport pick-up time.  I mentioned that I thought it would be fun to have another hot dog.  Matt said he was going that way and would show me the stand where Bill Clinton had once had a hot dog.  We left the others to their own devices and set off.  It wasn't far away, and Matt ended up buying two and giving one to me before he headed off on another errand.  They have a photo and article posted about Clinton's visit inside.

Always a line according to Matt

I strolled back toward the hotel, and knowing that I would be sitting for hours on the plane, decided to go beyond the hotel.  I found a cache completely on my own - the first time in Iceland.  I returned to the hotel with time still to spare.

We loaded into a van and headed for the airport.  Then the usual stuff of waiting in line, checking in, checking your luggage, and by then I had lost all the folks in the group.  I looked all over and didn't spot any of them, not even Liz, although I did spot the folks from the Netherlands who came to the event.  I almost went through security before remembering that we were planning on finding a geocache at the airport.

Of, of course, that's where they are.  So I headed off to join them, only to arrive there and see no one.  Well, find the cache and see if they have already signed it.  I found it and just as I was about to sign, I saw them approaching.  Thank goodness.  I knew I would be fine on my own, but didn't like the idea of others hunting for me.

We headed back to the terminal together and I offered to let them put a leash on me.  It was time to buy chocolate to bring home and Skyr to eat right then at the duty free shop.

Time to say good-byes and head our separate ways.  That's always tough.  Liz and I headed to a place for her to get a rebate on the taxes she paid when she bought the new phone battery charger.  She had pulled a number earlier, and with so many ahead of us, we decided to say our good-byes and then head back to wait.  She sat on the floor to fill out some forms, and sooner than anticipated, her number was called.  The rebate was big enough that we were glad she had done that.

We were on our own, and headed first for something to eat, but decided to get fruit slurpees of some sort instead.  Very good and it stopped my growling stomach.  It was chaotic when we got to the location from which our plane was leaving.  Just one huge crowd of people and no place to sit - except lucky us - we found a table that some folks were just leaving and sat ourselves down.  I began texting everyone to use up the time left on the Icelandic sim card.  We also corresponded with Liz's husband to let him know our flight would be late.

When our plane boarding was announced, things happened smoothly and quickly.  Time to settle in for sitting for most of the next 8+ hours.  I did watch the Secret Life of Walter Mitty because it is set in Iceland.  Yes, I'm addicted.  I want to go back, but I know it would never be the same, so will have to hang on to happy memories.

Back in Seattle it was the usual mess of getting through customs, picking up luggage, and getting approval to leave.  One of the men startled me by asking, "What's a Jersey girl like you doing visiting Iceland?"  He had grown up in NJ as well and we agreed we weren't going back.

Within minutes of getting outside, Liz's husband Paul was picking us up.  As Liz mentioned to some on the tour, Paul is our enabler.  He bought travel books and maps for Liz (and I was to borrow them) and dropped us off and picked us up.  Liz has herself a wonderful man.

We stopped in Fife just long enough to get a simple cache so that we could say we had done caches in two countries, near two different oceans, etc. on the same day.  Just because...

By the time I got home, it was beyond my Icelandic bed time.  I managed to unpack and was asleep soon after 8.  Of course, Monday morning, I gave up trying to sleep after 4 am.

That's the end of the daily activities.  I already know one extra thing I will add in an additional post, so stay tuned.

Saturday, August 15 - GSA tour day 7

Once again a delightful breakfast and the hotel offered to store our luggage in a small room until our ferry left that afternoon.

We gathered outside and began our walk to the top of the volcano - Eldfjell - formed in 1973.  The main color of the tephra, the material ejected by the volcano, was red.  Small pieces crunched underfoot as we walked up the pathway.

 

The path we took up

Red tephra

Jóhann chatted with us as we made our way to the top.  At one point he stopped so that Genevieve could record him talking about Eldfjell and later show it to her students.  Unfortunately I can't figure out how to copy that from our group's Facebook page and get it here for you to see.  I would like to share that with you if I can ever figure out how to do it just so you could get a live glimpse of this person we grew to love.

Genevieve taping Jóhann

 

Jóhann told us that he was in high school at the time of the eruption, and the day after the eruption he headed over to Heimaey and began to help.  He stayed for a number of weeks, and told us it was much better than going to school.  Now he's a teacher.  Would he encourage his students to do the same?

Later, in a separate blog, I'll write about this eruption and the formation of Eldfjell.  The original volcano on the island is Helgafjell.  "Fjell" refers to mountain; "Eld" refers to fire; and "Helga" refers to holy.

Looking south from Eldfjell, with Helgafjell on the right

At the top, we were amazed at the many colors in the tephra.  Most minerals needed high heat and moisture to oxidize and show their colors.  We took turns sitting on the "high rock."

Sitting at the top

 

Jóhann showed us some little "caves" in the rocks that still were venting heat from the volcano.  A few of us warmed our hands a bit.  He then took us back to town the short and easy way to get us to the museum.  This museum is one of the few I have ever enjoyed.  The displays were excellent, and it included a house that they had uncovered from the ash/tephra so that you could see the damage done.  I believe the museum was built around the excavation - they didn't move the house.  We spent well over an hour there, first watching a great movie and then using headsets that were programmed to talk about each area in which we were standing.

The museum's upper level was about the formation of Surtsey Island between 1963 and 1967.  It was protected from human interference from the beginning, providing the world with a pristine natural laboratory.  It is amazing how plants, birds, and invertebrates have been colonizing this new island.  It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2008.  It is already eroding due to wave action and it is estimated that it will disappear below water level in the early 22nd century.

On our walk back to the hotel, we went through the town cemetery and passed a few interesting sculptures.  Back at the hotel, we were served a lunch of sandwiches, Skyr, and fruit, plus wonderful hot coffee.  The man who brought our food asked if he could show us a video about the Eldfjell eruption.  Of course!  So we watched another amazing video of the eruption that had many first hand stories from those who experienced it all.

A cemetery without a cache

At that point, we were told that arrangements had been successfully made for us to take a boat tour around the island.  There had been some uncertainty about the schedule, and we were happy that it was truly going to happen.  We started walking to the harbor with about an hour in which to enjoy the good weather and views.

One of many wall murals

I was strolling with Kathy, and she was checking out her game to see if we would go by any locations she could capture.  We had dropped a bit behind the rest of the group.

A truck pulled up and a young man jumped out, ran over to Kathy and pretty much told her that they wanted to drive her to a spot a few kilometers south on the island so that he and his team could do something special in the game.  Kathy explained that we were with a group and were scheduled for a boat tour.  He assured her it would take less than half an hour.  She was looking a bit uncomfortable, so I told her that if it worked, I would go with her so that she wouldn't have to be alone.  Why not have an adventure if it fit into our schedule?

Meanwhile Matt and a few others had gathered around.  The most important thing, of course, was whether Matt and Jóhann would be comfortable with us leaving the group.  After some discussion, it was agreed that the team would leave two of their players behind with our group, and Kathy and I would head off with the other two in the truck.  We teased about being abducted.

Someone noted that we would be near the locations needed for a few caches, so we agreed to see if we could accomplish this for all.  We made a 2 woman for a 2 man exchange, and Kathy and I hopped into their enormous truck.  We headed south through town to the southernmost part of the island.  At the first stop, they and Kathy made some exchanges of resources - trading things they each had in excess.

All a mystery to me, so I just took photos

 

At the first stop

 

Kathy and I walked just a bit up the hill to the waypoint for an earthcache to get the altitude there.  During this entire time, she was explaining geocaching to them and they were interested in knowing more about that game.  It also turned out that they were the people who had responded to her captures last night.

View from the earthcache waypoint - nothing special

They guys in constant communication with their buddies with our tour group, and it was decided that there was time for us to go to the Puffin Observatory and find the cache there.  This gave them a first hand experience of what it is to find a container.

Kathy signing the log for the group

With that accomplished, we had a wild ride back through town to meet up with our group.  Again, their communication was perfect and they drove right to where our group was waiting.  We teased some more about abductions, so I had a photo taken of that happening.  And then I got hugs from each of them.

 

Being abducted by the men of Reykjavik

 

I may never understand the game, but it certainly brought a lot of fun into my life today.

 

We strolled down to the location for the boat tour and Jóhann found the place to get our tickets and we were soon boarding a small boat for a tour around the entire island.  This wasn't on the original schedule, so may have been something the tour company arranged for us to make up for the broken van.

 

I love being on the water, and when you are seeing such glorious things as this island, nothing could be better.  I'll post some favorite pictures here.

 

Nesting places - we only saw flying puffins

 

Puffin Observatory from below

Basalt columns forming a rose

Basalt elephant

Approaching acoustic cave

Entering acoustic cave

Inside acoustic cave

Concert by the skipper

Yes, the acoustics were great.

 

All too soon we were back on land with some free time before the ferry would take us back to the mainland.  Jóhann offered to take us to "see the ropes."  I had no idea what that meant, but didn't want to miss it.  Debbie, Mike, Matt and I joined him for a walk to the west side of town.  Turns our the ropes hang from the cliffs, you grab an end, climb up a bit and then swing.  Again, if I ever figure out how to get a video here, I will post one of either Jóhann or Mike swinging.  Debbie and I tried, didn't do all that well, but we positively can say that we participated in sprangan.

Enlarge photo for directions!

 

The day was far from over.  We headed back to the hotel where the rest of the gang were having tea, hot chocolate or whatever tickled their fancies.  Soon we retrieved our luggage, loaded the open trailer, and walked to the harbor.  If you lived here, you could do well without owning a car, as everything is within easy walking distance.

By the time we got on the ferry, there were no good seats left inside, so we pretty much congregated on the back outside deck.  Back on mainland Iceland, it was the same story, down some steps, gather your luggage, down some more steps, and then head to the van.

Once everything was loaded in the trailer and van, it was time to head straight to Reykjavik.  It was pretty late by the time we arrived, and as soon as we were settled in, we headed to the restaurant for our farewell dinner.  Because her plane was leaving so early, Nona said goodbye to us all here and went back to get a bit of sleep.  This was a true 7 course meal with all sorts of delicacies.  (yes, another first for me)  The courses were being served at long intervals, and finally Matt asked if things could be speeded up because we were hungry for the main dishes and also very tired.  This was about the time that Jóhann said his good-bye to all of us.  He will soon be a pensioner, and I know that he will be spending far more time hiking, guiding, and exploring.  He currently teaches new guides how to lead tours during his summer breaks from teaching at school.  If I were ever to return to Iceland it would only be if I could spend some time with him.

It was well after midnight when the last few of us headed back to the hotel.  Liz had left a room key for me downstairs, so I didn't have to disturb her, although she was still up.  I quickly organized my things for heading home, and when Liz was ready to settle in, all I needed to know was how to deal with the lights in the room.  We left one little panel on after turning everything else off.  I was wired, so checked e-mail and read on the Kindle for a bit.  Finally I decided I should really try to settle in.  I couldn't figure out how to turn off that little panel of lights, and gave up.  After an hour, I realized I needed to get those lights off if I was going to sleep.  I finally realized there was a switch next to Liz's bed that I needed to turn off.  Not sure why the lighting had to be so complicated.  Why not a simple little light over your bed that you can turn off?

Oh well, I could sleep on the plane tomorrow if necessary.  I think the reasons it took me until about 4 am to go to sleep was excitement about the wonderful day and sadness about going home.

Friday, August 14 - GSA tour day 6

We woke to a view of the falls from our window.  What more could a person ask to wake up to?  Add a good Icelandic breakfast to that and I was feeling very good.

Jóhann stayed nearby overnight - a place and people he knew.  After all the problems with the van plus dealing with us, I'm thinking he needed a break, so this was good.  He met us in the morning with renewed ideas of how to alter our trip so that the important things were still included.  The glacier walk that had to be cancelled a few days ago was rescheduled for today.  The morning's ferry trip to Vestmannaeyjar had been cancelled to accommodate the glacier walk.  Instead, we would walk onto the ferry in the afternoon.

Jóhann and Matt reworked our schedule so that all the important things were still going to happen, plus they arranged a special museum visit in Heimaey that had not been on the original plan.  It was great that we had a group that was laid back about the changes that were happening.  We were all simply enjoying everything we were doing.

Off to the glacier for our glacier walk.  First on the agenda was getting fitted for crampons.  These were tied together and slipped onto an ice ax for each of us to carry almost 2 kilometers to the Sólheimajökull glacier tongue which is one of two that extends from the Mýrdalsjökull glacier.  Matt remembers a few years ago when the tongue of the glacier was right where we started our walk today.  Glaciers are retreating in Iceland as well in the US.

At the tongue of the glacier, we were taught how to put on our crampons and how to walk on them.  Once everyone was geared up, we headed down the ice to cross over to the main section.  At first everything was black on top - ash and scoria from volcanic eruptions.  The main part had a lot of "white" as well as cracks and fissures.

Geared up and ready

A bit behind the rest, but happy

On the walk back, everything of the last year or more hit me.  Here I was.  Healthy and well.  Running around with the "gang."  Good balance.  Nothing slowing me down.  A time to feel blessed and thankful.

Dyrhólaey was our next stop.  Again, this was an example of erosion happening to the weak or soft parts of land.  There were a few small arches developing in the outcropping still in place.

Edges where we stood are constantly eroding

 

Now timing was a question.  We had to be aboard the ferry at a set time.  There was also a great movie in a little museum about the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010.  We had just the right amount of time to see it if it started right after we arrived.  Perfection!  We walked in and sat down just as the movie was about to start.  It had been filmed by a local farmer who restored his farm after the eruption was over.  The personal narration was very special.  They cleared many tons of ash and the farm is once again alive.  Once the film completed, we dashed back to the van and headed to the ferry.

Here's a YouTube link in case you don't remember seeing the eruption back in 2010 - shorter than the farmer's story, but it gives you an idea of what it looked like.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGPD_0SCDp4

At the ferry, we only took small suitcases with the things we would need overnight.  The rest was stored in the van (rather than the trailer) for safety.  Then I remember a walk to the ferry, up some stairs, up a few more stairs I think, a place to drop the little suitcase, then up some more steps to the top deck where we found seats.  Shortly after, the ferry took off.

The interesting thing about this ferry is that the front of the ferry lifts up to allow vehicles to unload.  Then as it pulls out of the harbor, this slowly moves down into place, the ferry does a 180, and you are off to the island.

The waves were very strong thanks to the wind the day before and the boat dipped up and down with each of them.  Debbie was thinking she would like to be outside in the air, so I headed out with her.  Soon after we saw our first puffin madly flapping its wings over the water.  A few others joined us and we saw more puffins.  Soon we were entering the harbor at Heimaey, part of Vestmannaeyjar.  Vestmannaeyjar is an archipelago and Heimaey is the only island of the group that is populated.

The beauty of the harbor as we arrived was breathtaking.  I had read various accounts of the eruption in 1973, and it was exciting to be right where it had happened.

on-line photo for you to see the ferry

A cave in the cliff

There were sheeps up on top!

 

The ferry docked and we headed down to gather our suitcases, then headed down some more steps and gathered on land.  A small van with an open trailer was waiting for us.  We loaded our suitcases into the trailer, Matt got in to ride along to the hotel to protect our luggage once there, and Jóhann and the rest of us began the short, meandering walk to the hotel.  We turned a lot of corners, but the blocks were very short.

Found along the way - I belong - never figured out what boost was,

but ice cream and coffee?  Gotta love it.

 

This was a very nice hotel.  We settled in and then gathered to head to a restaurant for our dinner.  Another delightful walk.  Oh - I forgot to tell you that the sun came out as we were crossing on the ferry.  There was no rain which made the walking even nicer.

 

I was walking with Kathy who was working with her phone.  Of course I asked, and it's a game she plays and had hooked up with some places to capture(?) on the island.  She explained the concept just a bit as we walked.  The interesting thing is that within minutes of her first capture, someone wrote to her asking her to capture three other locations.  Of course, no idea where this message had come from - maybe Reykjavik?

 

Dinner was in a room all to ourselves at an enormous table - so big you almost had to shout at the person sitting across from you.  Another first for me - roe. And then a broth with mussels.  The main course was fish.  Dessert was special as well.  A very happy meal for me to eat, along with drinking peppermint tea.  We were having such a good time visiting that they finally asked us to leave because they needed the space.

 

I wandered back to the hotel with Kathy and we made minor detours to do some more capturing.  Back at the hotel, a few of us weren't ready to settle in for the night.  It was too early and too beautiful.  So we walked to the site of a cache that was missing and replaced it with permission from the owner of the cache.  This was just beyond the edge of where the lava flow had stopped and we were standing on top of buried homes about 40 meters under us.

 

We were wondering why there were signposts like street signs up there.  We later realized that they were marking the old roads that had been covered.

 

Location of replaced container

Then it was back to the hotel where we finally decided to settle in for the night.  Liz was already cozy, so I settled in as quickly as I could as well.

What a day.  I want to go back and do it all over again.

Thursday, August 13, addendum

One thing I forgot to include in this day's adventures was the waterfalls that went up.

You already know about the incredible winds we had that day.  At the moon earthcache, when we got out of the van, we either had to run forward to stop or be blown off balance.  Once you figured it out, it was funny.

Jóhann had told us about waterfalls that went the wrong way, but didn't think we would actually see it.  He was pleasantly surprised to have us witness this happening.  Mike had not seen it on previous trips here, either.  I guess the wind was truly strong.

Here are some photos I took.  They don't really tell the story because they are still photos.  I'll add a few links to youtube videos as well.

The water didn't get to the ground

Here's a link to a short clip showing the strength of the wind - I suspect that's a determined geocacher up there?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryQAMQ2FC9Q

Here's a link to a longer video done during a hurricane at the waterfalls Liz and I were able to walk behind on our visit.  Hard to believe that the volume of water we saw coming over the falls could have that happen.  Again, a few determined cachers out there?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxGAU2FWk34 

Here it is as Liz and I saw it.

Not a hurricane day

 Another note before I forget - we received a report two days after switching the van that the entire problem was due to a computer problems in the van.  A computer was running our van?  That's as mind-boggling to me as my first blog or learning to Skype.  I need to get younger so that I have time to learn all these things.

Yes, there will be other things I forget/got and will add them as I remember them.

Thursday, August 13 - GSA tour day 5

The breakfast at the Farmhouse was just as good as last night's dinner.  Everything about this place was gracious and welcoming.

Van problems were continuing.  Jóhann was trying to sort things out again, as this was causing problems with our schedule.  He and Matt were coming up with other things for us to do, so the major problem was accommodations.  This is high season, so we needed to be at the planned locations for our overnight stays.

Those of us on the tour had no problems with substitutions and doing things on alternate days, but understood the pressure Jóhann was experiencing.  We did feel sad for him that his tour company couldn't just send out another van - they said they had no spares.

Today we started by visiting the village of Vik and taking a walk across a black sand beach to see the sea stacks there, called Reynisdranger.  The legend was that there were three trolls who were trying to pull a three masted ship to the shore.  They were caught by the sunlight at dawn and they and the ships were turned into the needles of rock now seen.  Of course, the earthcache wanted a better answer about their origin, so we had a talk on the beach about that.  Were they from uplift?  Had they once been part of the nearby hill and what you now see is due to erosion?

Do you see the trolls?

To prevent further erosion of the beach, it was planted with Lyme grass which is known for stabilizing sandy areas.  Nootka lupine was then planted as well because it is a legume (pea family) and "fixes" nitrogen into the soil.  The beauty of the flowers is also enjoyed, of course.

Nootka lupine

 

We were next dropped off at a combination wool factory/souvenir store while Jóhann once again headed off to deal with the van, once more trying to siphon gas and put new gas in.  The woolen goods were beautiful, but are not as highly prized as those made by hand.  Some of our group bought extra rain gear as it was still raining quite a bit.  Others had a great opportunity to buy souvenirs.  I enjoyed looking down at the work going on making woolen goods.

 

I pointed out a coffee mug with puffins to Nona, and she bought it for me!  Now every morning I remember this tour when I have my coffee.

 

Down below - not much happening today

 

Nona discovers that long johns are truly long

 

 Next we headed to Stuðla­berg Hellar.  Stuðla­berg means basalt column (singular) and Hellar means caves (plural), so basalt column caves.  This was a true highlight for me.  Funny, because the rain was pelting down and the wind was the strongest experienced so far.  Enormous waves were rolling in and crashing on the shore.  Once you got around and inside one of the caves, everything was calm and quieter.  Looking above you, you could see the bottoms of the basalt columns.  The bottoms of these monstrous columns were hanging over my head.  Impossible, but true.

 

In the cave

Above me

Looking out

Outside you could see columns that were still "attached" to the ground.

They're tall!

 

Back in the van, and it would barely go.  We decided to stop for lunch at a restaurant while Jóhann headed off once again.  This time supposedly there was a hole in some line?  And it got fixed?  I hadn't had a famous Icelandic hot dog yet, so decided to have one of them (plus some Skyr and chocolate) for my lunch.  They're different and better than the average hot dog we are used to.

 

Back in the van, still problems.  Off to a garage where we waited for the expert.  The expert could find nothing.  We put in something to get rid of water in the gas line.  Worked for a bit, and then up the first hill, we could go no faster than a few kilometers an hour.  More phone calls.

 

One of Jóhann's many phone calls about the van

 

The amazing thing as we went, Jóhann would start tell something about the volcanoes or begin a story.  That would be interrupted by a phone call.  Phone call over, he we pick up and continue as if there hadn't been an interruption.  This time, finally, we were told to limp as far as we could toward our next destination, as they had found a van in Reykjavik that was on its way to meet us.

 

As we started out, Jóhann began the story of The Seal Skin of Reynisfjara.  I'll post a picture in case you want to read it - you will have to enlarge it.  The story is from the first collection of Icelandic folktales, collected and written down by Jón Árnason in the mid 1800's. 

 

 

 

We limped along for about an hour when Jóhann received a phone call to start watching for a white van.  We passed each other, and Jóhann pulled off into a convenient spot.  The other van quickly turned around and parked next to us.

 

Everything happened quickly.  One man was working to hook the trailer up to the replacement van which had even larger tires than the original.  We gathered our things and got into the "new" van where the other man was telling Jóhann how to use it - talking at high speed.  No time for questions - just listen and here's what you need to know.  They rushed off to the old van, got in and took off.  Jóhann had a question and tried to stop them, but they ignored him and drove off.  We all wished them a dreadful journey back to Reykjavik.  Jóhann must also be part mechanic, because he soon had things figured out and off we went to our next destination - or as we were soon to discover, our next adventure.

 

Somehow I had ended up in the seat next to the driver.  Charlie had been sitting there so far because of a bad knee.  At the first stop I traded seats with him so that he would be able to get in and out with more ease. 

 

Inscrutable, enigmatic Charlie.  Did we ever get to truly know him?  He's from Austin, TX, and obviously enjoys holding geocaching events.  He is becoming a world traveler and after Iceland was going to travel throughout Europe for about 5 weeks until the International Earthcache Event in Germany on September 19.  Soon after that, he will be on a cruise through the Panama Canal.

 

We passed a place where houses had been built up tightly against the rocks.

 

Great protection from the wind

We also saw a large group of horses being moved.  We were told that when there are treks on horses, each rider has more than one horse so that none of them get too tired.

These were just being moved to a new location

Along the way, Jóhann had us walk back into a little canyon.  It was a matter of balancing on rocks in the river bed to avoid wet feet.  We turned around sooner than he had hoped because it was getting too difficult due to all of the recent hard rain.

We went in just a bit deeper

Then it was off to drive to an area affected by the eruption of Eyjafjällajökull in 2010.  You may remember stories of how it disrupted air flights for days.  It was a barren landscape, just ash and rocks.  No plant life, and because of the recent hard rains, the little streams were small rivers.  We crossed more than 20 of them and came to one Jóhann thought we shouldn't cross.  We backtracked and tried another approach.  He reluctantly agreed that we would need to turn back and not visit one of his favorite places where he had done some research after the eruption.  So close and so disappointing.

On the return trip, we stopped for an earthcache called "Earthcache on the Moon?"  We got out of the van, and as we did, almost lost our balance due to the wind.  Here's my footprint on the moon.  When I bent over to take the photo, my rain jacket was blown over my head.

I didn't know the moon was so windy

Just as we were about to leave, we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Once back in the van, we forged through the last 18 rivers to get back to the main road, and headed toward our lodgings for that night - right at the base of Skogafoss.  They held dinner late for us.  It was good, but how many legs of lamb can you enjoy in 5 days?  And dessert was once again carrot cake.  I normally avoid carrot cake, and theirs isn't as good as what I've eaten in the states.  Nona felt the same way.  Matt worked out a deal that we could get ice cream instead.  Oh, yum!  Chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce.  I owe Matt big time for that.

After dinner, we took the short walk to the falls.  On the way back, three of us decided that we were going to climb those 377 steps to the top - me, Nona, and Debbie.  Up we went.  I stopped twice to catch my breath, and at the top I felt victorious.  Some of you can remember when I couldn't climb a single flight of steps in my house without taking breaks last November.  You will understand.

Once up there, we enjoyed seeing the falls from the top.  Debbie mentioned that there was a cache a bit beyond where we were standing.  Because this had all been spur of the moment, I had no camera and no GPS.  We let Debbie lead us, and we had to cross a stile which only added to the fun and sense of accomplishment.

At the top of the stile

 

Joy, Debbie, Nona at the top of the foss

 

On this journey Debbie and I shared the reasons why we both felt victorious doing this.  Yes, Debbie also has something incredible she overcame.  On the way down Nona serenaded us with the opening chorus of Beethoven's ninth, fourth (choral) movement.  In German as written.  My heart was full.

 



The evening/day couldn't have had a better ending.

 

Repeat after me - Eyjafjällajökull