Hotel Keilir Keflavik Keflavík

... is where the plates run through the ocean and NO we were not in the ocean to do it but pretty close.

Finally we go to a lava tube. Lava tubes were constructed by flowing lava where the outside was hardened by the wind and weather but the lava still flowed through it. By the time an eruption finished, the tube would be cleared of the lava and form a tube. I have been in lava tubes before but they were always ones where you could just walk into them and stand. Atines warns ...

... the pressure on the earth's surface. The water temperature in the bathing area of the lagoon averages 104 °F (40 °C). What else is there to say - I bathed, I tried the mud mask, I relaxed in the sauna, I felt the white mud squish between my toes, and I floated around in the arctic blue waters surrounded by black lava rocks and scenic mountains!

Awesome times, highlights were: Seeing the Aurora Borealis, Cruising on a glacial lagoon full of icebergs, then standing on a beach watching them float out to sea...., walking on a glacier, snorkelling in 2 degree water over a glacial fissure in dry suits )Franc's with a hole in it!) and floating for hours on end in a geothermal/ocean water mineral hot spring! AMAZING.

... our first full day by driving over to the world famous hotsprings, the Blue Lagoon (check out Google images for better pictures of it than we could take). While it was cold and raining, it was nice to dip into some naturally hot water, put on an ex-foliating facial scrub, sit in the sauna, and just try and recover. We spent the next few days driving around Southern Iceland ...

I have not updated this blog for what feels like ages. But really, what can you do in a country where everything is darn expensive, with $12 kebabs and $6 an hour internet fee. Still, you have to see iceland once. The land of fire, ice, waterfalls and hot springs. Arriving from spain it was a 20C change in temperature, and stark change in food choice from exquisite tapa to white bread, but there is the icelandic stuff to enjoy. I love hot springs, period, and iceland provides such varieties ...

... away...however our rush was unecessary as the airport bus that was supposed to leave at 5:45 ended up waiting for a full half hour for all the airline passengers...(we rushed because the next bus only left at 8 am) We jumped on the bus, which cost 1200 kronur (approximately $16 CDN) and headed off to the capital city and its domestic airport...

... city to find an open restaurant. We stopped off in Hellisgerdi - one of the biggest communities of "hidden people" (elves, faries, trolls, and such) - in the country. Nothing was open but we took a walk through a neat park (home to elves) and met a few cats (elves??). Iceland is known for a belief in "hidden people", which one cannot see without having the gift of second sight and most residents believe in these people and the tales about them. So, there ...

Iceland - our first stop ...

... for all fish eaters, I would highly recommend Harofiskur, dried haddock, cod or catfish. If you can take it past your nose, you will love it. Steering away from the fishy topic, let's move onto the bus which was supposed to take us about 40 kms away from the city, into the wilderness for our rendezvous with Aurora Borealis. We reached at about 11.00 pm, and stepped out of the bus to gaze at the sky and wait for lights to appear. A gust ...

Last night I chased the sun set as I headed north in the world, I was asleep before the plane took off and work again for food (of course!) before switching off again. I was thankful to see that at on landing at 11.30pm the sun had set, but visibly was fine. With my bike in tow, by the time I had made it through customs, set the bike up and loaded all of my panniers on board it was pitch black - fekking grate! Leaving a foreign airport at mid night on a bike ...