The change in weather made our stop at Vik’s impressive black sand beach rather chilly. Nonetheless, we still had fun! Eilidh saw the Atlantic Ocean for the second time in her life, and grinned a huge grin! Noah and Emmie had a blast repeatedly daring the surf to soak their shoes. Brian took Eilidh to the van a little early because of the violent wind, but Cassy, the older kids, and I continued to search for cool lava rocks before joining them in our van.
In addition to running from waves, the kids enjoyed throwing rocks into the ocean.
Eilidh watched her siblings, sporting crazy hair from the wind!
Mýrdalsjökull Glacier was next on our list. Eilidh fell asleep on the drive from Vik, and she was not happy about her nap being interrupted to go on a hike. Partway through the walk to the glacier we thought one of us would have to stay back with her, but she eventually settled in once we moved her out of the Tula carrier and into Amanda’s arms and her Tula blanket.
As soon as Eilidh left the Tula carrier, Emmie jumped at her chance to be carried to the glacier.
Brian held Eilidh while Emmie was in the Tula… at least long enough for a photo.
Noah and Emmie were at first apprehensive to cross a board bridge spanning a stream of glacier runoff, but both kids ultimately handled the challenge marvelously. Everyone enjoyed touching the ice, and we had some fun climbing on the glacier and taking fun photos.
Touching the glacier!
Eilidh remained somewhat cranky on our return from the glacier, so I decided to stay with her while Cassy, Brian, Noah and Emmie tackled the 429 steps to overlook the Skógafoss waterfall. Emmie rode in the Tula, so Brian reported frequent stops on their ascension to the top. Once they’d taken in the overhead views, they snapped a few photos at the bottom of the waterfall before retreating to the van.
A look at the 429 steps before Brian and company began their walk.
Kaffi Krus, in the general direction of home, was our next and final destination for our busiest scheduled day in Iceland. Two years ago Noah broke his own personal pizza eating record at the restaurant by eating 5 whole pieces of pizza. Noah had been hoping to break his own record, however, midway through his first piece he declared that his stomach felt funny and, recalling the disaster on the plane, decided to forgo any additional slices.
In front of Nootka Lupine flowers, which painted Iceland’s countryside!
Kaffi Krus featured new paint and a new menu (since our last visit), but the pizza was still great!
Cassy, Brian and I got the Vestmannaeyjar pizza, which consisted of BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese and a garlic dipping sauce. Our pizza was good enough that Emmie kept swiping pieces en route to four total slices of pizza, a record for her and just shy of Noah’s five slices eaten two years ago at the same restaurant.
Eilidh refused any bites of pizza, a bit disappointing given she’s usually excited about pizza. While we were grateful to avoid any full-blown vomiting she had a several big burps and a few small spit-ups while we dined. At home I am able to vent her belly to help with her issues, but this has proven more difficult while traveling, when the process is performed on street corners, large rocks, and the trunk of our rental.
Everyone smiles so happily in these photos! Emmie and Noah especially look like they are having fun.