ICY ICELAND

Another long day started with early breakfast and leaving in the dark of the am. We have the best driver named Oly, and he maneuvered us across some VERY icy and windy stretches of the HWY #I.....the ONLY highway on Iceland. We traveled East with clear skies to see huge glaciers and the land these monsters have carved throughout centuries. 
We learned about the most major volcanic eruptions and heard stories of Icelanders who survive these harsh conditions. Yes, it was cold, but we could see everything! We got out and walked carefully near the glacier tongues with our trusty crampons.
After a lunch of fish we drove to the beach and river of Glacial Lagoon. The ice was sparkling in the sun on the black sand. It made for very beautiful scene. 
This was one of the BEST days so far, as far as weather and scenery. I swear I could have taken a picture every 30 seconds and still could not capture all the beauty.

I was wondering of we were going to make the long drive back in time for.....you know...1/2 price happy hour, when walking back to the big van we spied our trusty leader with a "happy hour" spread out on a large ice chunk. Except, this wasn't wine...this was Black Death....Icelander version of a most potent vodka like swig. We needed this swig because we were tasting the most vile piece of Greenland shark and needed the Black Death to get the shark taste out of our mouth. It was pretty funny......
Finally we set out to drive back to VIk. There were warning signs on the hwy to alert motorists how high the wind guts were..so they don't take that stuff lightly! Yes, we got slammed a bit and the roads had black ice on them......made for an exciting ride back. 
Steve and I hoofed it over to a small diner across the street from our expensive hotel restaurant, and had a salad and NON 1/2 price wine. $$$. Long day...fell into a deep sleep. Thank goodness.