The next morning we got off to a slow start. We wandered around the pond with ducks and felt a bit grey and misty like the weather. Still recovering from Covid and feeling the effects of the drizzling Iceland morning.
I had researched the area and suggested a drive to visit a geyser, a tomato soup spot, and a bigger waterfall. Dusty was not thrilled with the idea of a long drive, and the suggestion that a tomato soup stop was worth our time sounded ridiculous.
The drive started out looking like I would regret suggesting the outing in the first place. High plains with lava flows and no plant life and no real scenery. After nearly an hour the road dipped down into a valley and there was green again. Signs pointed to Strokkur Geyser and we found a spot to park.
We could see steam rising in the distance and we began to feel like we were in a mini Yellowstone. Before I go on I should mention that the work "geyser" came from Iceland. Deep blue pools of steaming water bordered the path into the park.
In the distance we saw a large crowd surrounding a calcified limestone mound when suddenly we heard the whoosh and saw the namesake geyser launching scalding water fifty feet or more into the air. Followed by applause and oohs and aaahs. I caught a quick shot of it from a distance and feared I had missed getting a good shot. About three minutes later we had approached nearer the center of attention when the show began again. This was a very generous natural phenomenon.
By now we were getting near noon and lunch was on the menu. The soup thing was now a bit more appealing to Dusty and we made our way there. On arrival it became obvious that Fridheimar was not just a restaurant. There were three tour busses in front of the greenhouse/restaurant that was a landmark in the area.
Inside there was row after row of ten foot high tomato vines trained onto wires and hydroponically nurtured. They had bees dedicated to pollinating the plants and producing honey. They made wonderful bread and tomato beer. Oh yes, and tomato soup.
We tried to get a table, but without a reservation and with the hordes of tourists streaming in that made finding one impossible. Instead we found a barstool at a little spot in the "bar" and got our soup and bread to sit and watch the show that was the other tourists.
Soon a pair of younger men asked if they could join us as the value of a spot to sit was of high at the moment. It turned out that the guys were from the Netherlands. One was from Middleburg where we had seen the science festival about a week before. A nice reminder of the happy coincidences that can occur in travel.
It was a fun stop that Dusty agreed was much more than she had expected. It was supposed to be about one hour to Gullfoss Falls and I was back in good graces for my travel abilities. We plugged in the directions on the GPS and started down the road.
After many twists and turns that gradually became a gravel and then a dirt road we came to a bar across the road that had a sign saying this is not the way to Gullfoss. Just lost my guide points. Not sure what to do, I changed from Google Maps to the iPhone Maps app and I put in the same destination and got new directions. Now we were only about five minutes from the falls and I was given a temporary reprieve. Yes. We would give it a try.
As we drove towards the falls we could see the front edge of the glacier that occupies the center of Iceland about twenty miles away. A big white sheet of ice wrapped in a fence of snow covered mountains.
Before we even got to the falls you could see the mist rising from the valley below. We wandered down to the falls and the roar and the spray were impressive. The view was something, but we still had that darned grey sky that refused to relent and let the sun shine through.
On the walk back up to the Center for tourism and restaurant at the top of the falls we were stopped by the song of a robin coming from one of the few bushes along the trail. We began to notice small patches of sunshine on the far side of the valley moving towards us and my photographer self started to hope for a rainbow to come from the falls if the sun hit it just right.
Dusty began to share a song with the robin in hopes of pacifying the cloud gods of Iceland. Her selection? Here Comes the Sun. Dusty sang and then the robin sang and soon the clouds parted and I found myself trotting back towards Gullfoss with my camera in hand and a song in my heart.
I stood at the overlook for the falls where I had been earlier and watched as the beam of sunlight crossed from the hillsides in the distance toward the falls. As I did the colors brightened and soon the spray above the falls erupted into a brilliant rainbow. I took too many pictures, but that is the benefit of digital photography. The brilliance lasted only a few minutes, but I was grateful that it happened while we were there.
Our return to the little cabin in the little woods on the little pond was a much shorter trip than the outbound journey of the morning. Climbing the hills behind Reykjavik where the rain had been blinding the previous day we again had rain, but not so severe. Once again there was a break in the rain and the sun shared another rainbow with us and Dusty got out to pose with the rainbow behind her.
Back at the cabin I decided to download the pictures from my camera onto my iPhone. I got about half way through it when I got the warning that there was not enough room on my phone and the download was aborted. So I plugged my camera into my laptop and tried to download the rest. The laptop read the card in the camera. Then it said there was nothing there. I tried to read it again on my camera and it said I had no pictures from the whole trip! OMG OMG OMG. I said nothing to Dusty, but said a lot of prayers as I changed out my card in my camera for the day and a half we had left.
The next day was a trip to Costco to get enough stuff to last us the night and go to the massive Ikea that was right next door.
The Ikea was bigger than any super Walmart or Home Depot I have ever been in. There was a full bakery inside where you could watch through floor to ceiling windows as they cranked out industrial quantities of baked goods. Upstairs it had mock up rooms where everything in it is for sale either individually or as whole bedrooms, offices, kitchens, or whatever. There was a complete outdoor section for lawn and garden as well. After eating lunch in their cafeteria as an immersive experience we decided we would pick up something to drink in the hot tub back at the cabin.
We checked a couple places and found the wine about double what it was at home. No surprise. We looked at a local beer and found it wasn’t too expensive. I grabbed a six pack and checked out only to find that the price was per bottle, not for the six pack. I sucked it up and just hoped Dusty would not kill me and that the beer was good.
Back at the cabin the rain was coming down and we decided to hop into the hot tub anyway. In our underwear. The beer was good and the hot tub was hot. Just the two of us in the middle of nowhere with just the occasional bird to change the soundtrack of the pitter patter of rain.
We drove the next morning through more rain and returned the car with no major drama and boarded the Iceland Air flight for the trip home.
After we got home I spent an hour on the phone with Apple customer service where we recovered my pictures from the card and then I let Dusty know about the technical difficulty. And now I am sharing with you.
And now that I have finished my stories of Tulips and Puffins I can start on something new. What is new you ask? Hint.... As I write this Dusty and I are waiting to board our Emirates Air flight from Orlando to.... (That's called a teaser)
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