Wednesday, June 29. Sun came out for most of the day. Warm. First stop was Seljalaandssfoss Waterfall, which can be walked behind. Yes, the backside of water. The entire drive was along a mostly green cliff face that had a variety of impressive waterfalls. They would have been individually stunning if they weren’t so common. 

Visited the Reynisfjara viewpoint at the southernmost point of land to see a jet-black beach, rock arches, and puffins. The puffin photos all seemed out of focus by just a little. Everything else was in focus. I have an unreasonable theory that their colorful beaks confused the camera’s processors.

Volcano Hotel for lunch, in Vik. A delicious version of salmon. The afternoon Climate Change discussion with Ingo wasn’t anything new. When 95% of a country’s power source is hydroelectric or geothermal, being green isn’t that hard. The story of Iceland’s continued whale hunting tradition was entertaining. The primary advocate is both rich and crazy.

“SuperJeep” Tour to the Kotlujokull Glacier. “Jeep” is a misnomer. A wildly decked out bus with huge wheels. Fantastic time walking over the glacier’s topsoil. The guide was extremely careful with his charges. Other groups had hard hats and ventured closer to the ice cliffs. Vodka with glacier ice. Dirtier ice than South America’s, but still fun. The glacier is retreating several hundred meters each year!

Stopped at another waterfall that was large but also of a pretty standard shape. Barely glanced at it. The remarkable has become common.

Dinner was a $25(!) bacon and onion ring burger at a food court. Great fries.

The countryside is so beautiful. Every farm or ranch looked like they’d just been painted. I wanted to just stop and stare so many times. Anna had obviously seen it all before, so she maintained a constant discussion of geography and history, while I was trying to soak up the views.