Good morning, folks. I was hoping I could have written this post yesterday, but I was feeling kind of poorly. This morning, I took a COVID test, and it came up positive within seconds. That will probably slow down my progress in putting up this series. Fortunately, I don’t feel too terrible right now. It just feels like I have a cold with a low grade fever and body aches. Still, I am rather fatigued and achy, and will probably want to go back to bed before too long.

I just broke the news to Bill, who is also feeling badly this morning. I’m sure he’s got COVID, too, but he’s on a business trip. I’m not sure what that will mean for him. I had to get him to cancel a vet appointment for Charlie today, because I don’t want to be spreading this. Just a reminder than COVID is still out there, so be advised!

Anyway… back to Iceland.

Saturday, August 31, Bill and I got up and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Then, at about 9:00 AM, we went down to the lobby to wait for our guide from Iceland Luxury Tours. Bill checked out of the hotel while I watched for someone looking official. All of a sudden, I noticed a very tall SUV with huge tires. Bill saw the Iceland Luxury Tours logo on what we found out was a very well-equipped Toyota Land Cruiser.

I took one look at that vehicle and said, “I’m going to need a mounting block!” It was very high off the ground for me.

Bill went out and spoke to the driver, who turned out to be Ivar (pronounced Ee-var), the man who would be guiding us around the hinterlands of Iceland for the next five days. I immediately noticed that Ivar is very fit and quite handsome, but he’s married, and likely at least ten years younger than I am. Besides, I don’t think there’s anyone for me but Bill, who is definitely my soulmate.

Ivar helped us put our bags in the Land Cruiser, then invited us to “mount up”. I was immediately reminded of my days as an avid equestrienne, trying to mount an especially tall horse. I really did need a mounting block to get into that vehicle! I’m not as strong or as lean as I once was… not that I was ever especially lean. It was cold and rainy, which made getting into the Land Cruiser even more of a challenge. Fortunately, I had spunk and determination, and on that day, I didn’t have COVID. I managed to scramble into the backseat, while Bill sat shotgun. We headed to our first destination, Thorsmork Nature Reserve, in the southern highlands. It is one of Iceland’s most popular hiking destinations.

Driving through the nature reserve gave me insight as to why we needed the Land Cruiser. The terrain was full of rivers that the vehicle was capable of driving through without flooding. I also realized why wearing a seatbelt in the backseat isn’t just the law, but a really good idea. The roads are very bumpy, and it would have been easy to hit my head on the ceiling of the SUV. Just before we went into the reserve, we stopped by a convenience store/restaurant for a bathroom break. I had a real time getting back into the SUV! I also got soaked!

Ivar stopped to let out some of the air in the tires to make the ride more comfortable. I can’t imagine what it would have been like with fully inflated tires! Not that I minded, of course. Even with the steady rainfall, the nature preserve was beautiful and remarkable. I didn’t get a whole lot of photos during that segment of the tour because the weather was bad, and there was a lot of rain. Still, I did manage to get a few pictures…

On our way through the reserve, we ran into other brave souls in massive trucks passing through the wild, other worldly Icelandic terrain. We got to one spot where it looked like someone was stuck on the side of the river. We watched some guides with Russian clients go across, but Ivar wasn’t keen to try it himself. That was fine with us. We’re definitely not thrill seekers.

The three photos in the second row above were taken at a very inhospitable spot that was incredibly beautiful. Bill got out and took those pictures for me, while Ivar spoke to other guides who were there. One guy, a Russian with lots of money, had brought a professional photographer along with him to capture the moments in this brutal landscape!

After we drove through the nature preserve, we headed back the way we came. The rain continued to fall steadily, while the wind blew. We stopped at a beautiful waterfall called Seljalandsfoss, which Ivar said we could walk under if we wanted to. Unfortunately, the weather was so terrible that we weren’t tempted by the waterfall’s charms. I did get some pictures of it, though, and availed myself of the handy WC. Meanwhile, Ivar used the Land Cruiser’s internal air compressor to reinflate the tires.

Below is a short video that shows the conditions we were working under when we got to this waterfall. I’d love to go back there on a better day. The whole area was surrounded by waterfalls, and even in the rain and wind, it was very beautiful. But I did see a few folks trying and failing to use umbrellas!

Below are some photos from our visit. I managed to get one of a guy trying to use his umbrella. It was a fail! I wish the weather had been nicer, but Iceland is one of those places in which you just never know what you’ll get from the Norse gods…

After we visited the waterfall, we went to a restaurant for lunch. All the while, Ivar was telling us about growing up in Iceland, and his very adventurous grandfather. He seemed to know the roadside eatery where we stopped. As we got out of the Land Cruiser, I looked at the skies and wondered if we were in for that weather the whole time…

As we were about to leave the restaurant, I asked Ivar if the weather was typical in Iceland for this time of year. He said it wasn’t, but then very quickly realized that we weren’t really prepared for the elements. He offered to stop by Icewear, a large outdoors retailer in Iceland, where folks can load up on outdoor clothing essentials. I ended up getting a raincoat and new hiking boots. I wish I’d gotten rain trousers, too, but the place was packed with people who were as unprepared as we were, buying up better gear so they could enjoy their trips more.

After we dropped about $500 on clothes, we made one last stop at a beach before stopping at our first hotel on the road, we stopped at a beach… and to be honest, I can’t remember what it was called, mainly because I was focused on the weather. But I did get some photos. I got a lot of photos like this over our time in Iceland… I also got a video of the rough seas, but I got so many of those during our tour that I think I’ll just add it to a longer video that I’ll do when I’m closer to the end of this series (when I’m hopefully feeling better).

Once we visited the rocky beach, we headed to our first hotel of the night, Skalakot Manor. I will start the next part with our experience at that hotel, since it included a stable visit. For now, I need to go lie down for awhile. 😉

Damned COVID!