Just go chasing waterfalls

Wow. I am exhausted writing this tonight. We hit the road in an attempt to get to Hofn. Our first goal was to get some Petrol. About 20 minutes into the drive, we found the petrol station – however, it was broken!! The owner came out to try and help and basically in his body language and Icelandic language said it was broken.
So we continued on our way. We put another petrol station in the gps and we found one that was much better than the one we were going to. It had a grocery store right next to it (apparently this is common), but it also had a yarn store across the street (win for Lauren!) So we filled up the half a tank for about $45, got some yummy bread and snacks and hit the yarn store. I guess I should point out that we found out there was a MAJOR storm heading our way and we were hoping to make it to Hofn, where we had a reservation for the night. At this point in the day (around 1030am) it wasnt all that bad. From the Secret Lagoon to Hofn should have been about 5 hours. 
Ok, back to our drive. We were listening to a podcast and Lauren noticed a waterfall off to the left. We decided to stop and see it, why not, we are on a road trip to see as much of Iceland as we can!! Well, we werent the only ones, turns out its a pretty big waterfall stop for tours and such. We had to pay for parking and then got to walk the area and check out the waterfalls. We are starting to realize that people and their snow pants/water proof pants are smarter than they look. There was an opportunity to go into a cave area, but you would get soaked. I was willing to go in, its just it was way too busy and people were just hanging out on rocks to wait their turn. So instead we headed back to the car to continue on our way. It was a beautiful stop!!

On the road again….our next stopping point was Vik. Our hopes was that we could make it all the way to Hofn still, but time was ticking and we were getting ready for the worst. Again…Lauren noticed a waterfall off to the left, so of course, we had to go. And guess what?? You could climb to the top!! So we had to climb. I promise you Lauren would NOT have climbed if I hadnt been there, but Im glad we went up. It was INSANE. The wind had picked up by this point, like dangerously so. The rental car lady had warned us to hold our car doors when we get out, and she wasnt kidding. None of the insurance covers doors going the wrong way, so we had to hold on carefully. We bundled up in rain jackets, sweaters, gloves, scarves, etc. and took to the stairs. LOTS AND LOTS OF STAIRS. We made it to the top, took a couple pictures and then headed down. Im not sure I can describe the wind enough for anyone who wasnt there to understand, but maybe my Aunt and Uncle in Florida would, hurricane force winds and all. On our way down a gust of wind knocked a girl off the stairs (parts only had rope hand rails) and she screamed. Luckily, her fall was all of 2 feet into grass, but still, thats how strong it was. We hustled back to the car to warm up and continue on our way.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

It was about 230pm at this point. The reality that we wouldnt be making it to Hofn today. We were discussing options of things to do when we came upon a parking lot on the right side of the road. Lauren realized this was the DC3 plane that I have wanted to see this whole trip!! WOOHOOO!! I didn’t think we would make it!! And it looked so flat to get out there, I was even able to talk Lauren into coming with me….until we got out of the car!! Then the wind WHIPPED!! And the frozen rain pelted, and she went back to the car. And I, ran to the bus that charged you $27 to take you out the 2.5 miles to the plane. And let me tell you, best $27 I have spent, because the wind was so intense. Lauren said when I came back she didn’t know if I was going to get to see the plane because the weather was so crazy. When the dropped us at the plane, we had about 2 football fields to walk to get to it. There were only about 15 of us total there, and about 40 people who were crazy enough to walk the whole way. The wind was intense enough that it almost knocked me over at one point. And when you lean into the wind so you dont get pushed over its perfect, until the wind just stops and you almost fall over in the opposite direction!The DC3 plane was eerie. And weird. No one died during the crash landing. It was a US Naval plane, all 5 members survived the crash. Rumor has it the pilot switched to the wrong fuel tank and ran out of gas and they had bad weather so they crash landed. Anyway, the plane is just sitting there on a black sand beach. Nothing around for 2.5 miles (the parking lot now). I loved this place. I am so happy I got to do this!!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

It was here in the parking lot once I was back that we changed our Airbnb to tomorrow and were on a mission to find a place to stay tonight. That actually wasnt the easiest thing to do. We were about 20 minutes from Vik and most of the hotels and Airbnbs were sold out for tonight. Luckily with 4 different apps we were able to find a place called The Farm House. It was 7 minutes from the plane parking lot. And let me tell you – we won!! This is a win for us. We got a great room, private bathroom (many of the places available did not have that option) and a kitchen. We checked in and the host recommended we hustle to go get food if we wanted to (it was now 4pm) because the roads would be closing soon – ya know hurricane force winds and all. So we “booked” it (at about 50kph) and got some pasta (duh), crisps, cheese, sauce, and a 7up for me. When we got back we cooked up our yummy food and enjoyed a hot meal in for the night! After dinner we played Sequence and I got killed again. But it was fun to learn a new game!

• 

•