We ended up accomplishing so much yesterday, that today was mild in comparison. We ended up with a hotel farther east than the tour usually uses, so we were already part of the way toward our destinations.
Our first stop was at the geothermal pools of Deildartunguhver. This was a similar set of sulfur geysers as we saw in Unzen, but on a much smaller scale. We did not stay long.
Next were the waterfalls of Hraunfossar and Barnafossar, virtually right next to each other. The first one that I took a picture of had extremely fast rushing water in greater quantities of water than I am used to. My picture ended up lasting too long and created an effect that made it look like it was ground fog rather than a waterfall. The second falls look more natural.
We then took a quick stop in the town of Reykholt. This very small town was known for housing Snorri Sturluson, a man of great significance to the history of Iceland. Among many other things, he is known for his writings of epic proportions, that also served to highlight what it was like in the early days of Icelandic settlement. The two churches looked beautiful in the sunlight. As today was the first day I've seen mostly without rain, I noticed that the sun is almost always in a state of sunrise/sunset lights, going only up about one third of the way into the sky.
Just a few minutes away was the Sturlureykir Visiting Horse Farm. In the main house lived two cats that seemed fond of each other. Two dogs were also on the premises. The woman gave a presentation involving a video, outlining some of the differences between Icelandic horses and all other horses, proclaiming that the horses here have two different kinds of gait that others do not. I felt that she came across and pretentious and arrogant. I sensed that she meant well and was unaware of how she came across. In any case, I focused on the cats.
I was hoping to watch horses in the fields but instead we were guided into two different barns. In between the barns we were brought to a geothermal guyser that the property owned. In the second barn we got to spend some time with the horses, and Miles was allowed to hold one for a photo. I still would have preferred watching them in a field.
Our guide took us to one last destination, one that was not originally part of the itinerary. It was to the Glanni Waterfall. I used the wrong filter on my camera, so another picture that wasn't so great. On the walk back I saw a beautiful snow covered mountain in the distance.
Once I was back in the car, I overheard the middle of a conversation between Zaho and the other couple on the tour. It turned out that the night's forecast was supposed to have some clear skies, which would allow for a potential northern lights sighting. I decided to sign up for one of the group's tour that simply went out to an area without light pollution and had a good cloudless view. If you don't see any lights, you can go again for free.
The tour started off a bit bumpy as the driver struggled to locate the final passenger, driving in circles for 45 minutes before finding them. I was sitting right behind him and asked what was going on, but he never went on the speaker to inform anyone else, and after all the delay, he never even apologized or offered an explanation to anyone else. We drove out of town and camped out there. Miles was quickly snoring. It was a full moon which made the night sky quite bright, which isn't great for photography. No northern lights ended up showing, but I ended up having fun hanging out with some of the people while waiting. I contacted the company to see if I could try again tomorrow. All I was able to capture was a picture with the big dipper.
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