Day 5 - Visit Black Beach, hot springs and return to Rejkalvik - Last Supper

Everyone slept well last night after the rigorous glacier walk. Breakfast at the hotel Puffin included waffles that were created on an old waffle irons...no timer or cooking instructions...we made do.

Our first stop was “Black Sand Beach “....another beach I thought....it turned out to be much, much more. The beach was very wide and made up of fine debris from past eruptions...very nice feel to the sand...the geological formations were incredible.....extremely large black crystalline edifices hung from the cave ceiling, the cave cut out by the ocean tidal flow. Surrounding the cave’s entrance were large vertical stone rectangular rocks that looked like they had been man made. These rock structures were of various vertical lengths which allowed adventuresome youth to reach the heights.

Off shore were three large stone monuments guarding the beach.....a beautiful place to visit. 

A grocery store stop and onto our next site...some active hot spring bubbling openings. On our wy, we toured some of the small towns and saw where the USA brilliant chess player, Bobby Fischer, was buried in the small town of Selfoss.

The visit to the hot springs geothermal area was colorful with the smell of sulphur emanating throughout the area. 

 

 

Some people never listen....these areas are extremely dangerous as the grounds outside of the defined paths are thin and cannot hold much weight. You see footprints outside the path areas...I saw a little 5 - 7 year old girl leaning over an active vent spewing steam,  dropping grass into the opening while her a Dad watched....one slip and a catastrophe. 

Our last stop before arriving back in Reykjavík was an extinct lava cave which was not a big deal.....except....the kids found an adjacent small cave that lead underground for about a couple hundred feet. One of the parents had a head lamp which allowed the kids to explore their discovery for about 15 minutes....they found some candles and what appeared to be a fire pit....probably a Viking ceremonial site!! The kids get along very well, play well and without any coarse words among themselves....nice.

As we headed for our hotel, our guide, Thor, drove past the house where Reagan/Gorbachev met on October 11, 1986. The talks hit a speed-bump due to a disagreement about USA "Star Wars" initiative.

Tonight we had our group dinner....Thor led us on a forced fast paced walk to a restaurant near the waterfront, Saeta Svinid Gastropub. The restaurant had three different levels and we were on the top floor. Food was good and some of the teens ordered whale and puffin meat.

An enjoyable evening.....