Final day

The mood over breakfast was a little sombre as we realised this was the last day of the tour. However, even with gloomy weather, BG tried to keep the mood light. We hit the Deildartunguhver hots springs that bubbled, steamed and smelled sulphury. The water spurts out of the ground at over 100ºC at 180 litres per second. The sound it makes is incredible. We then headed to a stunning waterfall collection – the Hraunfossar and Barnafoss falls. The former are amazing, in that the water comes out of the ground and cascades over a lava-rock ledge. The falls are about a1km long and it unusual to see the power of the water that seems to come from nowhere. The Barnafoss Falls were powering down the river system and the water was a stark white as it foamed and raced through the narrow gorge and under rock arches.

A longish trip with a quick stop at another waterfall, Fossá, (yes, Iceland has a lot of waterfalls!), had the added interest of a cute bridge and an old sheep-sorting pen on its approach. The falls were lovely and you could get up close to the cascade. The archaeological appearance of the crumbling, overgrown rock walls added an atmospheric touch. Several strong rainbows tried to brighten the mood, but every kilometre was taking us closer to the end of the trip.

We arrived at Thingverllir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site for cultural reasons, and marvelled at the rift valley that has formed between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. The park is also home to the Althingi, the oldest continuously used parliament/assembly site. An interesting walk along the Almannagjá, the rift-wall walk that hugs the edge of the American plate, was fun. We saw ptarmigan in the snow and yet another waterfall, Oxarárfoss, that has had its course altered by the movement of the rift wall.

A return to our starting hotel signalled the end of the tour. Farewells were exchanged and hugs shared. How to spend the last few hours in Reykjavik and Iceland? With a hot tub soak of course! We headed to Nauthólsvík, billed as Reykjavik’s answer to Ibiza! It has imported sand for it beach, pleasant 40ºC water and a view of the ocean. We warmed up in the pool, then took the brave (or silly) step of running down to the ocean pool for a bracing plunge, it was fabulous to feel the salt water on our skin. We ran back up the beach and rewarmed ourselves in the hot tub. It was a terrific end to the trip.

An early wake up (02:40) for our trip to the airport meant we avoided a late night. The departure from Iceland was smooth (we even got a stamp in our passport!) and we breezed through UK Immigration at Gatwick.

A different sort of road trip – self-guided and at our own pace – now beckons in the UK.