Hope Goes on a Hike Strike

I am currently on strike. There will be no more hiking out of these tired legs. Here is a summary of events that have brought us to this current situation: Tuesday: We walked from our hotel to the waterfront and opera house. I was told this would be a 20 minute walk. That was not the case and furthermore, I just google mapped, it and the walking distance is 40 minutes. HELLO false advertising. Then Dad and I got tickets for a puffin tour. The guide was really nice and the boat was pretty small so there were only 4 other people aboard (5 including the captain). It was incredibly windy so when we tried to exit the harbor the waves were too rough. Fortunately, the puffins were breeding on an island within the harbor so we were able to see a lot of birds. When we returned to shore, dad and I stopped for a great lunch on the dock. Dad got mussels and I got french onion soup (and now I am realizing I am talking about food so I am going to move along with the story). We strolled and picked up sweaters from the Handknitting association of Iceland. Nana is really sitting on a gold mine-seriously we should just import Icelandic wool and she can make a small fortune. We had planned to take the hop on hop off boat around the city but we finished shopping at 4 and the bus stopped at 6 so there would not be enough time to be worth the cost. Then it started raining. Rather than being practical and cabbing, we decided to WALK back to the hotel (I think you are catching on if you are noticing a walking intensive theme throughout this story). Wednesday: Dad and I got up at 8 and grabbed breakfast before heading to the rental car place. We decided renting a car would be a great way to see more of the island and I think we realized that most sites could be visited without a tour group. So with me navigating and dad driving a standard car we headed off into the unknown. Dad said that driving a shift stick is like riding a bike and that he just needed some practice (meanwhile I was trying, successfully, to not to throw up in the passenger seat).

I did some research on Tuesday night and thought that the Glymur hike would be great. The hike leads you to the tallest waterfall in the country and is 2 hours each way. We meandered along a dirt road until we reached the trailhead/parking lot. Surprisingly, we did NOT get lost. The hike took us over a fallen tree bridge, through a natural tunnel/cave and up to a great view of several waterfalls. I only chose the wrong path once and that forced dad and I to scramble up a rocky hill rather than using the rope planted on the actual trail..oops. From where we stopped dad and I could see that the trail continued up a vertical rock wall and that people on guided tours were completing this maneuver. I told dad that I would be staying put unless he phoned mom and got permission. Since I promised her that I would come back to the states with all of my limbs intact (which includes no exsanguination) that this jagged rock face would not get the Leens seal of approval. So we headed down.

Once we returned to the car we realized that it was only 130 or thereabouts so we decided to drive up to another site that I had researched. The attraction is a volcano named Thrihnukagigur (which translates to three peaks crater). Usually when a volcano erupts, the lava seeps out the top and eventually hardens, which leaves a solid interior. Or the entire magma chamber collapses. Thrihnukagigur is rare in that there were lava channels which left a hollow dome near the top and the chamber never collapsed so it is the only volcano IN THE WORLD that you can enter.Dad and I joined up with the tour group in the parking lot and then had a 40 minute hike across a lava field to the base camp. It was unbelievably windy and dad had to hold on to me when we made the final ascent so that I wouldn't blow off of the mountain. Then we hopped onto a window washer elevator (I believe there is a name for this but I am too lazy to google and I am sure you get the idea) and then descended 400 FEET to the bottom of the magma chamber. The colors on the walls were unbelievable. I learned that the extreme heat of the volcanic eruption brings out the colors of the elements found within the walls of the volcano (eg. sulfur turns yellow, copper green etc.). It was incredible! After 40 minutes at the bottom we ascended, got some soup and made the trek back to the parking lot. SO that brings my milage to 10 miles for the day. Keep in mind this was 10 miles up and down a mountain, across a windy lava field, up a volcano, down a volcano etc. And for that reason (and to preserve what little steam I may have left) I am on hike strike. No more hikes! Thursday: Since hike strike was imposed, dad and I drove to Vik, a city in the south. We checked out the black sand beaches (minimal walking involved). Then we pulled over and I played with some Icelandic ponies. We had to be back by 5 to return the car so we didn't have much time for detours. Then the shuttle brought us to our hotel where we watched some world cup soccer. Tomorrow I think we will do a tour of the city. Dad seems to think I will be walking to the center of town...lets see how my legs are feeling (we may need hike strike day 2).

Hope all is well at home, mom can't wait to hang out with you on the hammock and see the visitors to the bird feeders. Love, Hope