Monsoons and Hot Tea
Today, we started off with a light breakfast and loaded up the car. We're heading northeast along the coast to Egilsstaðir. The entry today will be short (to the cheers of some, I'm sure), as the weather was nasty. Like, pouring rain and gusts up to 70 MPH nasty. Most of the photos today were taken from the car, to minimize the moisture. It did let up for a while, and Carrie and I explored a dual-waterfall. We took some pictures. One of them appeared to come around a bend in the rock, and I just had to see if I could see more of the river, so I crossed a few small tributaries, and climbed down a rock-strewn island. Apparently, around the bend was yet another bend, so I was thwarted. But, I did get a few good pictures, and one wet foot. That's a great band name, by the way.Back on the road, we continued to endure the weather, and then came upon a tunnel through a mountain. We had driven through one earlier today, and it was no big deal (but Carrie did announce that she was becoming claustrophobic). This one, however, seemed to go on forever. Then, I saw a sign indicating that we had come 2 kilometers, and had 4 more to go. 6 kilometers! That's almost 4 miles. I believe that is the longest tunnel any of us have traveled through. I told Carrie, as we were exiting the tunnel, that it looked like we were emerging in France, and so we may have taken the wrong tunnel. I think her relief at finally being gone outweighed the bad attempt at sarcasm.We made a stop in a small town to take a break and buy some supplies for lunch. Pat (Food Wench) orchestrated the assembly again, and we feasted on sandwiches. We continued on, continuing to turn what should have been a two and a half hour trip into a five hour one. Most of the time, I had to keep both hands on the wheel, because of the wind. Well, that and the fact that we were traveling a coastal road with minimal shoulders or barricades preventing us from plummeting into the ocean.We finally arrived, and set off to find our B&B. We found the turnoff, and then drove for what seemed like forever to finallly arrive at the house. We unloaded and rested, then went into town for dinner. We found a relatively reasonable (for Iceland) restaurant, and had an enjoyable dinner. Back at the B&B, our host had tea and cake for us - a great way to wind down the day. We also spent some time chatting with a very nice couple from Cologne, Germany. They had been to a different Puffin colony, and had WAY better pictures. Of course, they also have a lens that probably cost half what Emma's Kia cost, so I'm claiming that as the reason. Well, that and there were actually multiple puffins at their colony. We're all sitting around the kitchen table working on blogs and pictures. It helps that the WIFI is much better in the kitchen than anywhere else in the house.Well, I said it would be shorter, and now that I've started typing, I realize I have broken my word. Oh well, if <insert whatever politician or party you disagree with> can do it, so can I.
