Day 194-a successful finish to the Ring Road tour

   July 16-Given how late it was when we got to bed the night before, it was remarkable that only Alex slept in very late today.

Our final campsite of the Ring Road tour.

Bill, Alex, Jean, and Shan prepare for a two hour tour.

   When she finally got up, we got around and headed into Hvammstangi.  This part of Iceland is known for its seals, so we visited the seal center in town, where Jean found out about the ocean-going seal-watching tours.  This struck her fancy, so we bought tickets for the excursion.  While Sally and Spencer went shopping at the wool factory in town, the rest of us boarded the boat and headed out onto Miðfjörður, which was very choppy, since the north wind had returned today.  Luckily, none of us were adversely affected by the motion of the boat and we ended up having a delightful time cruising the fjord.   The ship was rather small and water sprayed over the bow as we headed across the fjord.  By the time we got to the other side, we were all wet.  However, we had worn rain jackets and rain pants (except Alex), so we were not in much discomfort when we arrived at the viewing sites on the western side.  We drifted south with the waves and saw a couple colonies of harbor seals, including a few pups.

We never could figure out what the sheep were doing. Maybe viewing the seals? or the boating humans?

When we returned to Hvammstangi, Alex and Jean were invited into the cabin by the captain, where they rode most of the way, visiting with the captain and watching the waves breaking over the boat's bow. 

Hvammstangi.  We campted near the green-roofed building above the town.

   We ate dinner upon our return and then spent the rest of the afternoon driving around the Vatnsnes peninsula, seeing the sights.

The seals in the lower right are pups.

Icelandic horses, arctic terns, and eider ducks.  You don't get much more Icelandic than that!

  

The arctic tern summers near the Arctic Circle and then summers again near the Antarctic Circle!

Hvítserkur off the east coast of Vatnsnes.

Behind Bill are seals sunning themselves on the Sigrdðarðstaasandur.

An Icelandic horse drive.

   Once we got back to the Ring Road, we turned our horses towards home and gave them free rein.  We got back to Bifröst around 8:45; we had successfully driven the Ring Road!  Even the CDs of the Eurovision songs survived, despite being played over and over for the past week to the delight of the kids.  Spencer paid particular attention to the songs and has memorized their order and countries of origin.  In some cases, he has even memorized the songs themselves.  That is also partially true for the rest of us, although it is more due to the endless repetition, rather than any conscious effort on our part.

   We unloaded the vehicles and unpacked.  Shan started getting doing the laundry, Spencer went for a ride on his bike, and Alex took off to see if her friends were around.  She found Brynja, Ástrós, and Þórgeður and spent a couple hours with them.  Then she came back to the apartment and stuck around just long enough to eat supper and gather a sleeping bag and pillow so she could go over to Þórgeður’s for a sleep over.  Sally and Shan got partially caught up on e-mails and the latest news of the world. Then, we all took showers and hit the sack.  Spencer got to have his grandparents all to himself in his room.

Ástrós, Brynja, and Þórgeður.

  

Ágústa and Íris.

             Meanwhile, Joslyn was having a wonderful time at Óspakseyri.  She woke with their cat Glanni on the bed this morning, which was quite a treat for her.  The kids spent much of the morning jumping on trampoline.  By the afternoon, Íris was feeling homesick, so they took her back to her folks in Hólmavík.  While in town they went swimming at swimming pool.  Luckily, Joslyn could borrow a swimming suit, so she could join them.  After going shopping for food, they returned home and the kids returned to jumping on the trampoline.  After supper, they watched a movie.  Family friends, who had a girl that was Ágústa’s age, showed up late in the evening and set up their camper while Joslyn went to bed.