September 15th in Iceland must be a pretty pivotal time... It's the official date of the end of the tourist season and beginning of the winter winds. We left Vik on the 15th, with the intention of stopping off in Skogarfoss to see the waterfall for a night and stay in a guesthouse. Needless to say, after sitting in a gas station for 3 hours due to the bus schedule change (because it was September 15th) and being chilled to the bone by the ever-increasing winds, we decided to just head on back to Reykjavik. Another factor was that the mini-bus we boarded was almost blown off the road by the wind. I'm talking hurricane force winds here... Iceland is a place of extremes and there are no trees to muffle the winds, so they blow and whip all across the flat plains. We were driving along the "golden circle" road near the ocean and we could see mini-typhoons coming in close to shore, meanwhile our bus is getting shoved to and fro by the wind... At one point a guy who was among a group of German backpackers said the only English I head him speak during the ride, which contained an explicative in reaction to the bus being pushed into the other lane by the wind.. It was an interesting ride indeed.
One great thing about Icelandic buses is that they all have Wifi.. So, while we had no place to stay booked in Reykjavik for the remaining nights, we were not to worry because I could hop on airbnb.com and find a kind local to take us in. I searched for a place with the dates we had remaining and found a bright, clean apartment that belongs to a girl named Inga. If anyone makes it out to this part of the world, I would definitely get in contact with either of the hosts we have stayed with because it made our trip so much better.
Inga came to pick us up from the bus terminal and I immediately knew it was going to be a good ending to our visit to Iceland. You know when you meet someone and you feel like you've known them for a while? That's how I felt about Inga. She is very genuine and kind, and likes to have a good time. We enjoyed talking with her and playing with her dog, Cohen. We have a lot in common and I hope she comes to visit us when we get back to Jacksonville!! :) I was sad to leave our newfound friend today, but our itinerary calls us back to the airport and onward to London.
Tonight we get to sleep in Paul's brother's flat in London. We joked that it will be 3 of us staying in a place the size of Inga's bathroom.. Tomorrow we get to go on an adventure to the Vietnamese consulate in London to see about getting our visas, and have made plans to return to London to get Indian visas, see the Local Natives play a show, and maybe even reunite with fellow Jacksonvllians as the Jaguars take over Wembley stadium for a NFL game.. Sad to leave this country of the kindest people I've met, most dramatic scenery, and best wool sweaters, but excited to see friends and family in the UK!
Until next time,
MC
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