Barnafoss

 After another good night’s sleep, we head out to the church before

leaving the downtown area and then head to the airport in Reykjavik to have the Europcar people there check it.  We let them know that there is a reverse light out and that there is a warning light, but the woman at the front says that it

happens all the time with the changes in weather.  I tell her we were told to bring it in and she takes it back to find out that it’s flat and needs a new tire.  This takes 20 minutes or so, and when we ask about the reverse light, the guy laughs and says

that it’s fine.  I say, “we won’t get a ticket?” And he laughs again and says that he hasn’t seen a police officer in months.  Okay.  We head to the mall.  Yeah, you heard that right, we head to the mall.  It’s the only place with a sporting goods 

 store that might have a mouth guard for me and they don’t.  I will be using a pacifier for the rest of the trip to keep from grinding my teeth.  But, Oscar was able to get new goalie gloves and that’s at least a souvenir that he’ll use.  We also got more groceries 

at the mall and then headed out of Reykjavik on the Ring Road.  Again, you could see my pathetic abilities with a stick shift in action because we were going up hills and I didn’t downshift, so I’m falling behind everyone…..there’s tunnels and I can’t find a way to set the cruise….I know that somewhere ahead

     are tunnels that are one lane and I can’t even begin to imagine how that happens, but am trying to figure out how to drive in Iceland and not lose my mind.  This little tablet that tells us every where we’re going in an itinerary and then tells us how to get there, how many kilometers we’re going to drive in the day and where we’re staying that night is amazing.  First stop is Krauma

baths and Iceland’s hottest spring which is currently getting construction around it, so it’s not that amazing.  Not as good as Gunnehver the other day it seems like.  We have a hot dog here and some snacks and keep going to Reykholt where we make the discovery that Oscar now has a blister.  So, he’s barefoot for our stop at Snorri’s Pool and the monastery that used to be here.  The next stop is a

waterfall, which is what we were told to expect everyday that we were here.  This is Barnafoss and Hraunfossar which are long falls that creep out of the pillow lava and seem to appear from nowhere.  It’s a beautiful stop, but Oscar is unhappy about something and we decide that we all have to be kind to each other because there is a lot to do and see every day.   We arrive at our hotel that had to be added to the itinerary because the

  first couldn’t accommodate us to find that it is not a room for 3.  So, we get upgraded into a room for 4 with our own bathroom and this works well for us.  And this hotel has hot pots available and a soccer pitch.  So, while John and Oscar play soccer, I get in the hot tub to let all the driving and stress melt away.  We make dinner reservations at the hotel and have a delicious meal of beef tenderloin with bernaise….which makes me ask why we don’t use that sauce more in our lives….we all three put on bathing suits to head back out to the hot pots and our love of Icelandic water culture has begun.