A Second Birthday and Father’s Day

On Saturday, we woke up and drove to the ferry to Vestmannaeyjabaer Island. It is also Sage’s second birthday today. She has already had two birthday parties at home before we came, so she was very excited about the idea and the song. She opened a gift from Sheryl and Brian on the ferry, of books and activiy books and paper. She loved them.

On Vestmannaeyjabaer Island we walked a bunch. First we hiked up to the top of the volcano that erupted in 1973, swallowing up 1/3 of the city, increasing the size of the 6km long island by 2km, and changing the shape of the harbor. It was very cloudy and foggy, so you couldn’t actually see anything at the top. There was a hole where the earth was still warm.

We walked back through the town, with time for Sage to enjoy the local playgrounds. Many playgrounds here have this large bubble / trampoline type thing that all the kids run and jump on. Sage loved it too.

Next we went to the beluga whale and puffin sanctuary and saw some fish and sea life, a bunch of puffins and two beluga whales, which Sage enjoyed. Then Brian, Sheryl and JaNette did an hour rib boat tour while Sage and Steve hung out in the playground more.

The tour was great, the boat was fast and would steer around the cliffs and islands and in and out of tunnels. The tour guide told us about local folklore, history, and culture. We saw sea birds, Islands and cliffs. On one island, they bring sheep by boat out to the island, and then hoist them up about a hundred feet on a rope pulley to the top of the island, where they live for the summer. The guide assured us that the sheep loved it. We were skeptical.

Back on the island, we met Steve and Sage at the playground and went for a delicious lunch. All the food was great, but in particular we were surprised by the kids meal fish. Then we went for ice cream across the street.

After wandering around some more, we went back to the ferry station and caught the 7:30 pm ferry home. Tired and happy we drove to Skogarfoss campground for the night.

Today we slept in a bit, and then woke up and hiked the Skogafoss hike, all the way to the bridge. My phone told me 15 miles hiking in total and 2000 ft elevation gain. It was beautiful, with tons of waterfalls, and gorges, and stereotypical Icelandic scenery.

Unfortunately, Steve had hurt his calf muscle the day before, so he and Sage didnt go. Instead they spent a fun fathers day seeing the local glacier, and the rock formations along the black sand beach.

We all met up again at Reynisfjorda beach, where there were huge basalt columns along the black sand beach.

Then on to town for dinner. It was quite a busy evening in Vik for dinner. We had burgers, hit the grocery store, had a few quick calls to Grandpa Willie & Nicola and family, and then on to Vik campground to sleep.