A lot of things tourists complain about in Iceland is the amount of tourists every where (the irony). My suggestion, skip the major tourist attractions if this is a thing for you (and check your attitude, we are all here as tourists). Hotpoticeland.com is a great site for finding hot pools. We noticed that The Ostakar was near our campsite so decided to check it out (we have been here four days and haven’t visited one yet). The Oskatar was set up by Husavik residents to help psoriasis patients in the area. It is an iron tub fed by geothermal water and as it isn’t a major tourist stop, was empty. Another thing to mention about Icelanders, they are a-ok with nudity. It was a communal change room (read: shipping container) and shower (you need to shower completely naked before getting in any pool, my prudishness has to take a back seat here). For 300 isk (completely an honour system, but should be respected) we had the place all to ourselves. It was a great way to start the day.
For all you Game of Thrones fans, we went to Grjotagja, which is the John and Ygrette sex cave! No clue how they fit a camera crew in there. It used to be a public hot pot, but the temps got too high so they shut it down.
We’ve been trying to slow ourselves down as best laid plans have gone by the wayside and we are way ahead of schedule. We are stopping at most side of the road “things to see now”
A random chair?
Egilsstadir is in Eastern Iceland (the East Fjords). We stopped there to re-stock and re-plan (essentials like gas and beer). Onward to Laugarfell! Spoiler alert, we didn’t go. By the time we got up the crazy mountain (so many switchbacks, I kept my eyes closed as to not scream while Greg was driving) we realized, it was still far off and likely pretty pricey for the hot pools (it’s like a resort). Change in plans! Back down the mountain (eyes closed again) and to tonight’s campsite. We are the only people here which is nice, but I can’t find anyone to pay for it, which is giving me anxiety. Greg just shakes his head. Guess I will have a beer.
Skal!