Sunday, Sept. 4. More road trippin'

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I'd imagined what an Icelandic port city would be like from some books I read before and was happy that we got to see the small harbor city of Husavik. It was about what I expected, maybe 20 percent fancier, because of these freshly painted boats and the glacier mountain backdrop. 




The route (see blue line below) today was up and over with a stop for hiking at the cliff place called Asbyrgi. It was so sunny and warm and non-windy that we could have worn shorts but we didn't even bring any.




 I'm reading a book about Iceland called The Greenhouse, by Audur Ava Olafsdottir.  In it, I've learned all these plant names, many sound so wholesome. One name is Lady's Mantle, and I did see some today on a nature trail. Also, there is meadowsweet, burnet rose, pink dwarf weed and sheep sorrell for me to keep looking for.

The lady's mantle and the cliffs and the fall colors shown below were in a park called Asbyrgi, see photos below.
 




We picked and ate these berries which are called bilberries. It is okay, other people are doing it too.

Up here they grow a lot of their fruits and vegetables in greenhouses.  We saw dinosaur kale, red peppers and tomatoes growing.


Also, we found our first hot stream of water just flowing natural through a field. We were on private property but not really close to anyone's house so we stopped for a bit to go down and just feel the water. It was just a narrow stream, but too hot to put your hand in.

Also, there was a sheep drive. It took over the street. We stopped, tour busses stopped, locals stopped. The sheep were being driven down from the high country. Border collies were involved, people on horseback trailed behind and a tall grandmom-type walked alongside the ewes banging her hand on a metal pie plate. 

"How many do you have?" I asked out my car window. 
She stopped scaring the poor sheep for a split section to say: "Maybe 1,000. Maybe 1,500."


What else? Oh yes, what did we eat? A fancy dinner tonight: Arctic char. Quite excellent. Cost was pricey but this is Iceland. This was maybe $35 per plate. Arctic char over mushroom risotto and maybe something pumpkin swirl?

Our breakfast at the hotel was healthy. Fred went for the fish for breakfast. Mackenzie saw the pictures of the breakfast fish and said: "right down your alley."


Sunrise over Lake Myvatn.


















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