A Sealed Deal

Oh good! It cleared up! I bet you guys were pretty worried after that cliff-hanger in our last post. Well, we made it, and Bonus Ben scooted off to his next adventure, leaving one Ben and one Julia to sally forth on the next leg of our journey.

This particular stretch of road proved particularly strange and mysterious, with sun showers, uncountable hills, and ridiculous pot-holes at every turn.

We stopped and met some friendly little horses who just hung around and ate grass while we looked at them.

Below, Julia gets snubbed by an especially emo equine.

How does this even happen?

At the road's end, we parked the car and continued down a path towards the water.

Ben's mind boggled as he beheld these strange rock formations at the water's edge...

But it was nothing compared to what he saw moving in the water!

They were hesitant at first, ducking under the surface with a freaked-out splash whenever we moved.

Then, in one big blubbery wave, they all flopped into the water and swarmed towards us!

SEALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Apparently they're really just slightly melted dogs that have learned how to swim. Needless to say, it was super cute.

Eventually we grew tired of their endless curiosity and moved on down the beach to this gnarled monstrosity.

His name is Hvítserkur, and he's a giant troll who, one fateful day, lost track of time and got frozen in the sunlight. Now he hangs out here and looks after the seal colony. What a good dude.

Join us next time for more mountains, some lava, and a magical place we like to call Snæfellsnes.

200% More Ben

Our departure from Vallanes was quickly interrupted by an unanticipated blockade...A large truck parked on a one-lane bridge...the only bridge that leads from the farm to any kind of main road. And so...we wait...

Shortly after acquiring our vehicle, we stopped in the nearby store to stock up on tasties and yarn. We were immediately distracted by beautiful and immaculate packaging in the produce section. Whoever wrote "500g" on this package is probably undeniably awesome and probably keeps a kickass semi-regular blog about Iceland...or whatever. Maybe. Just guessing.

Even though this kale is PERFECTLY PICKED AND PACKAGED, it's on sale...50% off. The 2011 summer was rough on Icelandic farming, one of the coldest in the past decade (at least), so a lot of the produce suffered. After struggling with tiny kale leaves, we eventually resorted to cutting off full heads of the plant. While it's not aesthetically ideal, its taste and nourishment doesn't falter.

A good omen at the start of our journey, we left Egilsstaðir at 11:11 on 11/11/11.

With great natural splendor comes minimal toilet accessibility. Additionally, with great natural splendor comes highway roadside isolation...and so the countryside becomes our personal and scenic lavatory. In other words, regular pee-breaks were a must.

Oh dear, what's wrong Ben? Why you covering your nose?

Bonus Ben? You too? What could be inflicting this olfactory offense?

Ah...Yes. Our good friend, the mudpits. We meet again.

Visual awe fights its constant battle with fragrant chaos.

Not even sulphuric stench can prevent casual rock collecting

A brontosaurus emerges from the steam...See it?

Back up to Krafla

Ohh, so much for originality (June 2010, June 2011)

Spying on Laufás

Some Willy Wonka door-within-a-door biznazz going on

Face to face with sod.

too much beauty

Godtoss. I mean Góðafoss.

Water creature!

Bonus Ben made a solid effort in trying to throw rocks over the falls...

...But ultimately the falls were victorious.

Before Iceland made the move to European outlets, they used to have these funny little sockets with the secret to electricity written inside

Mega reflective pond in Ásbyrgi

While this pond is usually neon green with algae, encroaching winter covered its surface with clear and crackly ice

Dwarfed by the grandeur of Ásbyrgi, the Bens relax inconspicuously on the observation deck.

Iceland isn't Iceland until you've frolicked through some solid meadow.

Our drive back from Ásbyrgi was only mostly terrifying as we disappeared into the claustrophobic fog and darkness.

Do we make it out alive? THERE'S NO WAY OF KNOWING....to be continued...