31/5/24
Fri: *Woke up at 4.30am before I slept till 6.45am again. I was not that
tired but thought it’s the jet-lagged problem.* Had our breakfast at 8.30am.
Their mango was nice and the skyr was not bad. I enjoyed the original,
blueberry and vanilla ones albeit the two flavoured ones were a bit sweet.
The
car representative from Avis came to pick us up at 9.15am. *He was
smart-looking in suits and even Potato couldn’t resist and praised that he
looked cool haha.* As guests, we felt somewhat privileged, even if we were
there only for their budget small cars haha. It was the i20 Hyundai as stated
and we drove off at 10am while it was raining.Skipped
the drive around Fjord 47 because it would take longer than going through the
Hvalfjorour tunnel. *It was a tunnel under the sea that spun a few kilometres
long maybe? Some people may feel claustrophobic in there.* As we drove
towards Geothermal Bath and Spa, it dawned upon me how much weather can change
the next minute here.Parked
close to the Deildartunguhver hot spring at 11.30am. Potato took a short nap in
the car while I went to the hot spring to take photos. *It’s 100 degrees Celcius
and I was not going to go that close!* The sky was still gloomy and the
wind was strong at times, so the steam made it difficult to see the hot spring
clearly.We
shared fish and chips (3,200 ISK, S$31.56) bought from the food truck nearby
Krauma Baths as we had heavy buffet breakfast and was going for our onsen soon.
We ate inside their greenhouse, where they grew their own tomatoes. *Good
thing about Iceland was Youtrip/card payment worked everywhere!* It was
quite salty.Entered
Krauma Baths half an hour earlier at 1.30pm. The water in Krauma's geothermal
baths comes directly from Deidartunguhver, Europe's more powerful hotspring.
The water is not mixed with cold water and there are no excess chemicals added
to it. The hot water is rich in minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and
sulphur, which are commonly found in Icelandic soil.We
had to shower first before entering the pools in our swimsuits. Tried four
pools bar one at 6-8 degrees Celcius lol. There were not many people around and
it was quite shiok to stay in the pool as the weather was cold and gloomy. *I
don’t think the water helped with my skin rashes though.* We also went into
their infra-red, steam sauna and relaxation room. Did not take any photos since
it was technically not allowed and there were other customers around. Felt rather
refreshed after two hours!Drove
towards Myrar Eldborg but as the weather was dark and the skies were overcast,
it did not look nice. We could not see the peak with the low and thick clouds around
too.Reached
Ytri Tunga beach to see seals and stayed there from 5.15 to 5.45pm. *Their
parking payment system’s cool. One can make payment just before they drive off
because the entry meant they’ve captured your car plate number and ensured u’d
have already paid before leaving. Costed us 750 ISK to park there.* There
were two types of seals, the Harbour or Common seal and the Grey seal. We saw
three lazy ones from afar but the wind was blowing so hard that my left ear
felt painful for a moment.Settled
our dinner at Arnatstapi fishing village at 6.30pm. Ordered one beef burger (3,850
ISK) and one prawn squid ink pasta (4,150 ISK) and it was the saltiest pasta I
ever had omg! The chef must have thrown a ball of salt in or if not, his
tastebud’s not working. 8000 ISK was S$78.63 via Youtrip payment.Walked
around Arnarstapi fishing village (Cliff viewpoint, Gatklettur, Stone bridge)
after a disappointing dinner. Arnarstapi cliff viewpoint and the Gatklettur were
quite pretty, albeit it would be nice if there was sun.The
path on the Stone bridge was quite narrow. We took turns to go there and take
photos but if there was a strong gust of wind somehow, it would definitely be
dangerous for anyone standing there. *Phew we made it.* There were many noisy
seagulls hovering around too.As we drove towards Fosshotel Stykkisholmur at 8pm, we saw that much ice has not melted in some of the areas. The sun did “peeked” at 8+pm and so we took photos at a random spot!The
clouds were beautiful when we saw Kirkjufell viewpoint at 9pm. They felt so
near even though we were not at high altitude. Took a photo of Búlandshöfði viewpoint as well.
As
we neared Fosshotel Stykkisholmur, Potato came to an unmanned petrol station to
do his first petrol refuel of 17.57 litres, which costed 5,457 ISK (S$53.63).Checked in to room 242 at 10pm to rest for the night (or day)~
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