Readjusting our itinerary

We arrived in Iceland at 6am yesterday and after a cup of coffee in the airport, drove the hour into Reykjavik. Ou room would not be ready until at least 3pm, so we walked downtown to a fabulous breakfast at The Laundromat, then took in a few sites on foot. Although bleary, we decided to drive somewhere (can't remember where) and we took the wrong exit, couldn't find the valley we wanted to be in and all the time, a little voice was saying "you shouldn't be driving......you're too tired", so we went to the public pools and totally relaxed. Two very large pools, three hot tubs, a steam room, all thermal heated and for less than $5. By the time we dried off and dressed, our room was ready, and we were ready for a nap. Dinner was a walk to Reykholt Fish and Chips, of course. Great fresh fish.

Today we started off with the intention of doing the Golden Circle, but just before I let off the handbrake, we decided to drive north, around a fiord, through small towns, to Barnafoss (falls) and then to Reykholt for the night. Easy driving and fabulous landscape. One of the highlights was driving along, seeing smoke or vapour coming from farm fields and then the most powerful hot spring. 212 degrees! And spewing boiling water! They've built a large pipe and for the last 35 years they've been pumping the water to surrounding cities. It takes 24 hours to get to Borgarnes and by the time it gets there the temp is down to 168. By the time it gets to Akranes, it's only 138. Our hot water tanks at home are set to 120!

There's the water pipe.

So now for tomorrow. We had planned on going further north to Akureyri, but the volcano is now spewing noxious fumes which are in the north and north east of the country. People have been advised to stay indoors. So we've made changes and will stay in the south, driving and hiking in Snæfellsnes Peninsula and then the next day, to the south east to the Vatnajökull area to enjoy a few glaciers. 

It's cold, I'm wearing four layers, as is Les, and I bought myself a hat!!!