Time to hit the streets! I wish we had enough time to drive all the way around the island, instead of just the southern coast. Motivation for a return visit?!

Eyjafjallajökull – A tiny little building right off the Ring Road tells the story of Eyjafjallajökull’s eruption. You know it- the one that stranded millions of European air travelers in April of 2010. At the foot of the volcano is the Þorvaldseyri family farm. The story of their perseverance, along with the strength of their neighbors and the entire country in the face of natural disaster was inspiring. This is a story that has been repeated for this nation numerous times over.

Professional picture at the Visitor Center, on the day of the erruption.

The farm and mountain today. Quiet, for the time being.

Jökulsárlón – Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull, is breaking apart and moving out to sea at this lagoon. It was really amazing to watch the icebergs turn over and move around in the current.

Underside of an iceberg that just tipped over, and two Puffins.

Amazing iceberg on a cloudy day.

The colors and striations of the formations were so interesting. A huge piece of this iceberg broke off and thundered into the lagoon right in front of us. It was surprisingly loud! Sadly, our reflexes weren’t fast enough to get it on film.

What's left of the iceberg, after a chunk fell off, and the glacier it came from.

Joe and his iceberg.

I'm not sure what we were doing either, but it was obviously hilarious.

Countless waterfalls – All along the Ring Road (main thoroughfare and only road to circle the island) there are numerous amazing waterfalls. Several times we had them all to ourselves.

Skógarfoss

Seljalandsfoss

Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar – For our last day in Iceland, we ventured south of the mainland to the Westman Islands. Only one of this cluster of 12 islands is inhabited: Heimaey. The mission was to find Iceland’s most iconic bird…the puffin! After 7 miles of hiking, we found most of them to be enjoying the summer sea.

Squint your eyes and search for the black dots. Those are puffins.

There were a few who chose not to brave the chilly water.

These were our hiking grounds for the day. Not too shabby!

I hate when I lose my tractor over the side of the cliff! There are actually four puffins in this pic too.

Finally…Iceland!! The beauty and diversity of this country was astounding. There is no denying that the island is alive and bubbling right under your feet.

My opinion might be skewed, but I think the best way to see the hidden corners of a country is on the back of a horse. Joe and I spent the morning riding two unique Icelandic horses through the Reykjanes peninsula.

View from the horses.

My unwilling model.

Joe’s horse had the best hairdo I have ever seen!

Where can I get a mop like that?

After 11 trains, 8 busses, 7 airplanes, 5 ferries, 1 horse ride, and uncountable hours in the car, we were ready for some R&R and the Blue Lagoon! The water is 102^oF and is recycled every 40 hours. The unique color comes from a mix of mineral salts and silica.

This shot of the Lagoon is from the "creeper's balcony"

Volcanic rock, silica, and milky-blue water.

We totally got photo bombed while snapping this one. Nice work kid. I bet your parents are proud.

Photo Bombed!!

The best thing about being in Iceland in June is that is it light 24 hours a day! It is so easy to lose track of what time it is, but we didn’t care. As long as the sun lit the road, we were on it. We actually took the long way to the Blue Lagoon, drove to the southwestern tip of the peninsula, and stumbled upon Gunnuhver Hot Spring. Located at the boundary between the North American plate and the Eurasian plate, the area is a bubbling, boiling, steaming, seething model of the Earth at work.

The colors were amazing!

We get it...it's hot.

Whilst driving to our next stop, Joe spotted horses running on the top of a hill…without riders. They ended up coming right down the road we were on. We are not sure where they were coming from, or where they were going, but there must have been over 100-head being herded to somewhere. It was really cool to see!

Arriving at Gullfoss after 10pm, we had the entire place to ourselves! The grass is really that green, due to the continual mist coming off the falls.

Our last stop for the day (mind you this is approaching 11pm), was Geysir. This is the original geyser, after which all other geysers are named. Sadly, it only erupts 2-3 times a day so we didn’t get to see it. Strokkur, however, blasts every 3-6 minutes, so we watched it over and over and over!

Strokkur geyser

So, does that mean lira, rupees, and a few others are allowed?!

When we arrived back at our hotel around 1am, it was still bright as could be. Quite a day, filled with unbelievable sights.