Chapter 5: Halfway ’round the bend and I missed the pancakes by two days

By October 27th, 2020

There was no breakfast buffet this time. At least there was hot water for my thermos and for my morning coffee. Luckily, I had come prepared. Breakfast was spent in the car after parking by the church for one last photo op of rainbow lane before the tourists start waking up. Also, I wanted to leave some room for pancakes and coffee from a turf house in the middle of nowhere. I hear it’s a special experience.

Good Morning Rainbow!

I had spied a waterfall on the way down from the pass driving into town. I planned to make the stop there on my way over. I was the first car parked there so I was able to enjoy a little bit of solitude and had the waterfall all to myself for a good half hour before other folks began to filter in.

Random roadside waterfall

From the waterfall, I made my way to a seemingly random left turn along the main road to a 20 minute trip down a dirt road with something special at the end. Along the way, I passed by a two-for-one special on waterfalls. It was quite a bargain so I decided to make a stop.

Two-tiered special of the day
lower falls

Back on the road, my phone somehow managed to find the correct turn-off from the highway. It was an interesting drive down a rocky road with nothing but more rocks on either side of the road. every crest of the hill promising something just beyond it. After 20-plus minutes of bouncing around, I came to a small farm by a lake. I could see two little turf houses and a couple of sheep grazing by it. Unfortunately, the sign informed me that I missed pancakes and coffee by about 2 days. Summer season was officially over so the residents have closed up shop for the year. Well, I’m here already so I might as well explore a little bit.

Looks cozy

I found a guy staying at one of the turf houses and he told me in heavily accented, slightly broken English that he is renting the turf house for a few weeks. He found it through one of the homesharing sites. I figured that would be a great idea for my return trip.

Missed the pancakes. Try again next time?

There were no pancakes but there were two very placid sheep munching along. I slowly approached one and propositioned it for a photo shoot. It was very obliging. I decided I would perhaps risk life and limb and pet it. If I got injured, I hope my Garmin emergency service could airlift me out of there to the nearest ER quick enough.

one sheep
two sheep
Making friends in the most random places

The lack of pancakes was a letdown but petting my first Icelandic sheep made up for it. I decided to motor down to the next town and gas up my car and perhaps grab lunch before heading to my next waterfall.

Thankfully, I had managed to get a decent brunch before getting back on the road. It turns out the road to one of the viewpoints for Dettifoss was going to be an ordeal. From the turn-out, it was 45 minutes of bone-jarring driving along a rocky and muddy road riddled with enormous and deep potholes. Thankfully, the rental was up to the task even if I could not say the same for my back.

Detiffoss side A. Saving the B-side for next trip

I decided to forgo visiting the viewpoint on the other side of the waterfall. It was promising to be another 30+ minutes down another rocky road and I had a hot springs reservation I wanted to make sure I could get to. I decided to head to Myvatn. I still had a couple of stops to make before my reservation at the hot springs and I was beginning to feel lunchy after the 90 minute F-road ordeal.

Lunch was a lamb burger at a cafe next to a tourist attraction. Dimmuborgir is a maze of trails winding around amazing lava and rock formations. Unfortunately, all the jostling from the road to Dettifoss left my injured ankle sore so I had to forgo the hike and sat down to lunch instead. At least I could see some of the park out of the cafe window.

yet another lamb-burger
enjoying the trail from the window

There was also a little cave with an underground hot spring that I had been hearing about so I decided to make my way there. The road going to the cave was a nice drive through some interesting rock formations. The cave itself was tiny and the much-hyped underground spring was a bit underwhelming. There were signs discouraging tourists from taking a swim (dangerous!). Also, the cave being tiny, the many tourists milling about made it feel more unpleasant. Besides, where I was going promised to be way nicer than this one.

It looks so much better than it smells.

After checking in to my quarters for the night and charging my equipment, I decided to recharge myself before dinner and headed for the hot springs. It proved to be a lot less crowded and a lot more pleasant than the Blue Lagoon. Since it was a further drive from the capital, fewer tourists make it there. Chessy and I had a good soak and relaxed in the water for a bit. I actually had to fight to stay awake in the water since it was putting me in a mood to nap.

Chessy getting ready for a relaxing dip
Getting wet and not too wild

After the relaxing soak, I headed back to my room to check on my equipment and get ready for dinner. The guesthouse staff recommended a restaurant down the road. I also noticed it was close to a church. Maybe I could do another photo shoot before turning in for the night.

Dinner did not disappoint. I had a starter of some smoked fish on local bread, the soup of the day, and a fish entrée that was delightful. Just as I was finishing up dinner, one of the diners just coming into the restaurant announced that everyone was missing the amazing sunset outside. I was able to capture a shot just as the sun was disappearing into the horizon.

Course 1 of 3: smoked fish on local bread and a healthy slather of butter
Course 2 of 3: Lamb stew aka soup of the day
Main course: Fried local fish with potatoes and fresh greens
catching the last sunset of the day

I decided to make a quick stop by the church while the light was still good. It was peaceful and quiet apart from the whinnying of a horse in the distance. One could not help but feel a little contemplative. I said my thanks for another wonderful day before heading back to the guesthouse for the night. After the relaxing soak and the good food, I was ready for bed.

evenings are also for contemplation