Reykjavik, Iceland

We arrived after a 6 hour red eye flight from Minneapolis and hit the ground running. Porter picked us up and took us out for the day, keeping us busy so we wouldn´t fall asleep until Iceland´s night time. Our bodies kept saying it was 2am, but we resisted for another 12 hours.

Walking through the rift between the European and North American plates, north east of Reykjavik, columns of basalt defined the path. The river flowing through was deep enough for snorklers and scuba divers in full dry suits and neon green flippers. Volcanic rocks were covered in a soft bed of gray-green moss that looked as comfy as an overstuffed couch. The short, thin grasses felt like the wiry guard hairs of a churro sheep and gave contrasting textures to the moss and heather. Overall, the landscape looks mostly like alpine meadows or tundra, although the temperatures are so mild (30-55 F throughout the year). The largest waterfall in Europe emerges surprisingly from this landscape with no foreshadowing. Only the roar and suspended mist suggests the presence of the three tiered cascade.

A sleepy dinner in an Argentine steakhouse in Reyk finished the day. Lamb tenderloins and peppered steak, medium rare of course, gave us just enough energy to walk back to the hotel, too sleepy to shop.

This morning, we take off south along the ring road, stopping at two more huge waterfalls and reaching the black sand beaches of Vik, hopefully to spot some puffins before tasting them for dinner.