I ended last evening with a comment that I would stay up to try and see the northern lights…well, I think they eluded me once again! I actually stayed up until 12:30 am, and accompanied by Dan, this was the best I got! The sky was clear and there were definitely some colours, but no dancing lights! Oh well…3 more sleeps!

Staying up for almost 48 hours with maybe 1.5 hours of sleep made me a very tired puppy…especially after all the hiking we did yesterday as well. Needless to say, we slept well last night…maybe a little too well! I foolishly turned off my morning alarm and finally woke up at 10:15, or 15 minutes after breakfast finished! I quickly showered and then went over to the lobby where I pleaded insanity, and they sweetly put together a breakfast plate for Dan and I with a couple of piping hot coffees! I can’t recommend this place enough!

After a quick bite, we got ourselves ready to head out for our adventure. This trip was another recommended via our manager’s currated QR code in the lobby and would take us inland to do some exploring.

Our first stop was Hjalparfoss falls. Here we saw a lovely waterfall surrounded again by a complex basalt formation formed as a result of cooling lava.

From here, we wanted to venture a little deeper into the countryside, but alas we’ll have to save that for another trip as the road was closed to everything except super ATV’s. Yes, there’s such a beast! You see them coming down the road in giant jacked up tires…ready to ford any shallowish stream and make it through the worst the spring thaw can throw at you. Our little Toyota hybrid wasn’t up for the task!

We decided to go a different route back to see if we could visit the Hekla Centre. The drive was rugged, and we arrived at the centre to find that it was by appointment only this time of year. No worries, as we took in more scenery including lava remnants left from Hekla’s last blow in 2000.

From there we headed south again to join up with the highway that would take us out towards the falls that we saw yesterday. Today, we planned a stop at the Lava Centre to learn something about the dramatic formation of this isolated island. Our visit included a movie that depicted the volcanic activity throughout history…no words, making it understandable in any language!

We had been in the car quite enough for one day, so we decided to return to Skogafoss and take in the hike above the falls that we left out yesterday. It was definitely time to stretch our legs!

Once at the top of Skogafoss, we followed a well marked trail that over looked the river valley and found more falls along the route. All spectacular!

It was time to turn back for home, and face going down all those stairs we came up!

We made it back safe and sound to our hotel by 7, just in time for dinner. It will be an early night for us as we wish to head all the way over to the Diamond Beach and Glacial Bay which is about a 3.5-4 hour drive one way tomorrow! The hotel staff think we’re crazy, but we just said no, we’re just Canadians!

That’s it for today. Looking forward to talking tomorrow!