We had a more relaxed start today as we had a whole day to do as we wished with the only constraint being where we got to by bed time. Sadly this resulted in a substandard breakfast as three coaches worth of locusts had already eaten. No plates, no cups, no glasses, no fruit juice, no pastries, no milk and egg that could have masqueraded as rubber. Added to that, almost every table was covered in dirty plates. We managed to scrape the bottom of the porridge urn and gain scraps off nourishment from crumbs (and mountains of bacon that had apparently improved with time). Then Keith and Mila found the waffle maker and everyone was happy again – especially as there was Nutella.
We were planning to start with the Lava Centre, but as the weather was set to deteriorate during the day, skipped the inside activity and headed to Gluggafoss – which means window waterfall. It wasn’t particularly busy and when we arrived, it wasn’t raining. We walked up to the pool at the base of the falls and watched a white wagtail wandering about. The waterfall has cut it’s way into the rock, so that in places you have to look through a “window” of rock to see the water. On our way back to the bridge to climb up to the observation point above the waterfall, we saw a few angelica flowers covered in dead, green caterpillars. No idea why. The climb was slippery grass and half way up the rain started again. The view from the top would have been spectacular, but the low cloud and heavy rain made us inclined to rush back down after a few photos. After getting so wet yesterday we were not keen to start the day soaked again!
After a quick check of the weather, we decided to head back to the first indoor activity of the day: the Lava Centre. We are starting to get used to the eye watering cost of everything here, so didn’t feel the entry fee was too bad. It is a fascinating space with an exhibition in the foyer with live data from the Icelandic meteorological office. It shows the number of earthquakes that have happened in the last 48 hours, 3 months and 3 years. The wall panels show the 6 active volcanoes in Iceland and have data and graphics for each: earthquake data in each place and how much each of the GPS recording points are moving vertically. The last of these was a bit scary – most of them are measured in millimetres, but one of them had moved by half a metre in the last year. You cannot escape the very real and present danger that is here! After the data exhibition, we watched a film composed of footage from every eruption in Iceland that they have recorded (obviously just the most recent ones, there was no-one around for the one in the 10th century!). There was no voice over, but someone still got credit for the script. I like that! I didn’t consider before the noise that a lava flow would make – imagine nails down a blackboard and you are close. After the film we went around the interactive exhibition, which required us to spin an enormous wheel around a hemisphere that showed the tectonic plates moving from 65 million years ago to now. It showed how the “hot spot” was stationary and how the plate with Greenland on moved away from it and the land now called Iceland was born. Then we got to wave our arms and stand on vibrating plates while we learned (although the children already knew!) about the three different types of plate interaction: conservative, constructive and destructive. The next area was an earthquake corridor that simulated how a mild earthquake would feel, then we went into a large room with a 3 storey model of a lava plume. The next corridor showed mud springs and explained that hot springs only occur outside of volcanic areas. That one led into a room explaining different types of lava and how they are formed – tomorrow we are going to the lava show were they are going to show us how that works! The last exhibition was another arm waving one. I enjoyed watching tourists try and wave in the right place to activate the display so that I could read the information about each volcano’s last eruption.
I was feeling smug at this point as there wasn’t much enthusiasm for the museum but everyone was impressed by it. Well done Mummy! Even better, lunch was ready and waiting in the car. Our leftover pizza from the night before was delicious and followed by leftover yoghurt from our packed lunches. Very efficient and reassuringly cheap!
Keith wanted a slightly more interesting route to our next stop, so we went back round the smaller gravel roads, past the window waterfall and across the centre of the enormous glacial valley, past fields of lupins and flocks of oyster catchers and a skua! Back on road 1 – the ring road – we saw a small door in the side of the hill, with a parking area in front of it. We managed to stop in time to turn in and investigate. It turned out to be a very old dwelling with the outer area still being used by sheep fed up of being soggy all the time. The inner area was full of gnomes and a battery powered candle and a request for child specified donations. We saw a drumstick sweet and an apple among the Krona notes.
Our next planned stop was Skogar to visit the waterfall – Skogarfoss and the museum. It was STILL raining, so we put back on all of our wet weather gear and left the car to visit yet another waterfall. This one was quite wide and quite busy as it has a cafe and toilets and caters for coaches. It reminded us that we don’t really like people. The waterfall was nice though!
A short distance from the waterfall was the museum recommended us by Audley. It was made up of three parts: some turf-roofed homes with historically accurate fixtures and fittings (and weirdly small beds!); a transport and technology section; and a local craft museum. Mila and I did all three parts, particularly enjoying the kitchen gadgets and stoves in the old houses. Keith and Danny had a little rest while we did the outside part, and joined in for most of the rest.
We were all exhausted again by this point – I am not even sure why, but it was definitely time for a rest. We headed along the ring road again to our next hotel in Vik. Another shopping adventure to get more snacks and plan a budget lunch for tomorrow and a delicious supper in a brewery brought the day to a close.
[EDIT: Keith – this burger was probably the best I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve eaten a lot! The patty was so soft that it just melted. Incredible]
