The last day of our tour dawned clear and sunny.(again!) I had a quick walk over to the beach before breakfast.Mom had a cold coming on, so didn't feel much like moving, but just after 8:00am we were on our way back north. This morning we had a chance to see the scenery we had missed with the low clouds and rain on Tuesday. Lots of cliffs, glaciers and rivers, beautiful. As we got further north, the farms had more crops; grains and what looked like cabbage. We were held up for about 20 minutes by a sheep roundup. Quite an amazing sight! Thousands of sheep, with lots of people on horseback, adults and children, herding them.
We reached Gullfoss about 11:00am and had great views of the falls from the many vantage points. The wind was sure cold though! Although we've seen many waterfalls since coming to Iceland, this was certainly the most impressive.
As a side note, this was the first time I have seen pay toilets that accept credit card!
From there to Geyser, the hot springs area. There are many small pools that bubble up and steam, and one geyser that shoots up approximately every 10 min. It's quite comical to see everyone circling the geyser with cameras at the ready, waiting for the water to shoot up!
Then it was on to Thingvellir National Park. It's the largest fresh water lake in Iceland, also where Iceland's parliament was established, and where the North America & European tectonic plates meet. I wasn't sure what to expect here, but it's really an intriguing place. You can clearly see where the plates have been moving apart, and it's rather an eerie landscape. (also beautiful)
It was only about an hour from here back to our hotel, even though we hit rush hour traffic. We said goodbye to Thorey, our guide, and Ragnar our driver. Both were wonderful! And we had such a good group, lots of friendly and interesting people. Most are heading back home tomorrow.
I went for a short walk over to the beach with a friend met on the trip, then had a white ale from Einstok in the lobby bar.(my new favorite) A little later we walked over to the restaurant at BSI bus terminal. Good food at a reasonable price, and huge portions. I had lamb chops which came with soup, roasted potatoes and salad. Mom was just having dinner at the hotel when I got back, and she seems to be feeling a little better. I think she is ready for a few days of relaxation!
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