Just hike it

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The good thing about the rain (all day long) was that it cleaned all the dust and bug guts off our car. It was looking like it had almost completed the Ring Road circuit. The not so great thing about the rain was that we nixed the plan to take a boat tour that ends with a snack of freshly caught shellfish. Seriously, they toss the nets out at the end of the trip and let you sample. The rain also made for dreary, dreary driving, and a good portion this morning was on winding, unpaved roads. Sigh...I shouldn't complain too much since the previous days were gorgeous.

Yesterday, we headed out early to make a rafting trip on the East Glacial river. About three hours on the river, some fun rapids and a rock jump 😊 A fun, fun day on the river. And yes, we all were dumped out of the boat at some point, just for fun. There were a few times when I couldn't see anythig but water (big spalsh!), but kept on paddling. The 'hold tight' and 'jump in' commands indicate a big rapid and potentially going for a swim. Our guide is from California, so we got some tips for rafting back home.

We've had some full, full days. This was partly due to the amount of driving between places especially when it takes longer due to windy roads or unpaved ones, or both. For example, the road to Dettifoss is about 30 kilometers, but it is a dirt road, and some of it is just wash board. (For those who know the stretch of road, it's like that rough section between Dulce and the Talamante's place.). We also stopped in Husavik and took a whale watching tour. We saw some minke whales, but overall it was a let down because the tour had been hyped up so much. "You're almost guaranteed to see a breaching whale.". Oh well, I'll keep on trying to see that some day.

The day of touring around Lake Myvatn was good. It is a very diverse area - lava fields, the lake, pseudocraters, geothermal areas (more mud pots and steaming vents). We decided to do an 'easy half hour trek' (according to Lonely Planet) to see a more aerial view of the region. First, you have to walk in to the bottom of the hill which takes about 20 minutes. Then, it may be a 30 minute hike up the hill/mountain, but neither of us would rate it as´'easy'. The grade is very steep, and lots of loose rocks on your way to the top. Honestly, I´m not sure it was worth the effort. While the view was nice, it was not spectacular. Still, I prefer to have gone exploring and know than not have done it and wonder. Moving along - this area is also one of two places were marimo balls exist. They're green algae balls that are spherical and grow to be about baseball size. One of nature's anomalies and not much is known about them. Kinda like the Greenland shark - not much is know about their life cycle or why they have such high toxins in their system. This is the shark that is used to make hakarl - fermented shark meat. We stopped at a museum/processing place today. We sampled a piece; it doesn't taste that bad, but the after taste is funky.

I'm sure I've missed detailing a few things, like the sod houses or more waterfalls (Godafoss is the prettiest one). The days have been long, but good. Tomorrow is our last day on the road. I'll have a few days in Reykjavik before going home.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the summer. Happy 4th a few days early!

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