Our last morning in Patro. Love this little town. Wish we would have stayed an extra day but I wanted to get back to Reykjavik and see my dad. We packed up early, I said goodbye to my grandparents house, and off to the ferry we went.
When we drove to Patro on Friday we drove the entire way. While it was amazing, a lot of it was unpaved roads with lots of potholes and narrow roadways (See map below to see our journey). It was definitely worth the drive, but at this point... it is just easier to take the ferry and cut off 2 hours of rough driving! The ferry was VERY expensive (over $200), but it was nice to get out of the car and take a break.
Brett and I went up on the deck for about 10 minutes to look for whales, but unfortunately we saw nothing! Brett kept joking he wanted to see a shark snatch up a seal (seals are my favorite animal)- I didn´t think he was that funny. Back on the road, we found ourselves in some "Icelandic traffic". ;) LOTS of cars and campers headed back toward the capital.
We pulled into a gas station once we got home, filled up the tank, and Brett rinsed off my aunt´s car since it picked up quite a bit of dust over the weekend!! Finally arriving home, dad and Heida had a DELICIOUS cod dinner waiting for us with sweet potatoes and tomatoes. YUM!! After dinner we all grabbed a spot on the couch and watched the big soccer game. Brett and I kept laughing about all the "injuries" on the field. A player would get a hand to the face or a small tap on the leg and they´d fall on the field like their life was ending... would like to see them play hockey. But congrats to Germany on the big win!!
Day 12-
Aunt Debbie picked us up again today to head downtown to the shops. We ate lunch at a delicious noodle restaurant- sooo good, wish we had known about it sooner! The last few times we have gone downtown have been later in the evening and many shops were closed, so I was finally able to get into the Christmas store and buy an ornament. Thought it would be a neat souvenir from Iceland to take home with me! The trip has been pretty spendy and we´ve split a lot of costs along the way. I paid for the ferry the other day so Brett owed me a few bucks. He thought it would be funny to give me his BAG (seriously, he had it in a bag) of change from the trip- about $15 worth. When I dumped it on the counter, he walked away laughing. Lucky for me, the nice lady at the Christmas store helped count out what I owed! ;)
Since Iceland does not have Starbucks, my aunt told us we needed to get an "Icelandic coffee" while we were here, so we made a last stop to Te & Kaffi- Brett grabbed a coffee and I had my chai tea. One final stop on our way back was to the man-made beach in Reykjavik. I had never been here before! It was pretty neat looking- there were kids in swimsuits building sand castles, and others playing in the water (they pump thermal water in so it is warm). Last but not least, it had some beautiful views... something to do on our next visit for sure.
And now finally, we were off to one of the best parts of the trip and Brett´s most anticipated adventure- the Blue Lagoon. My aunt suggested we go later in the evening to avoid most of the tourists. We passed many tour buses on our way in so that was a great sign!! It is a very weird feeling going to the blue lagoon. You feel like you´re driving in the middle of nowhere- and it is not a pretty drive in my opinion. Everywhere you look is black lava rock and it looks like hell honestly. Hahah. But as soon as you get close to the lagoon you can start to see some of the blue/white water. It´s really amazing the first time you see it in person because the brightness of the water against the dark lava rock is really spectacular.
Brett and I decided to make the most of our visit and get a premium package, complete with towel/robe/sandals (that we got to keep), cocktail, lava face mask, and dinner voucher. We decided to go to the lagoon first so we could enjoy it without a full belly!!
The lagoon was wonderful and the water was perfect temperature. We were treated to 3 different kinds of face masks. The first was their mineral mask, second was the lava rock mask, and third was the algae mask. Needless to say, our faces feel brand new. Haha! The lagoon is massive, so even with all the cars and buses in the parking lot, it doesn´t feel crowded when you´re in there. We walked around quite a bit and finally grabbed our drinks.
I had a few people asking about my GoPro since we were in the water when I had it with me. The guy at the bar joked that I should just start taking peoples pictures and then charging them for it. We started talking to him and his girlfriend and it turns out they are Canadians! Of course, this made Brett happy. Hehe. They are from Edmonton and were just in Sweden for a wedding and decided to spend a couple days in Iceland.
After the lagoon we got showered up and headed to dinner at the Lava Restaurant at the Lagoon. We had a 4 course meal with our purchase. First sampling was a scallop and leek pairing. Then our first course was cod, second course was salmon, third course was lamb, and fourth was skyr and raspberry dessert. Oh my.... every single thing was SOOOO tasty. That was the first time I´ve ever had a multiple course meal like that.
Full, relaxed, and happy, we headed back to the house. When we pulled into the driveway we noticed my dads car was gone and figured he had gone out to sea. He has been working most of the time since we´ve been here so we figured he had gone out for another night. When I asked his girlfriend Heida if he has gone back out on the boat she asked if I had received his message- I hadn´t. Apparently the fish were biting and it was off to the West Fjords for him (likely a 2 week trip). It was very short notice (obviously) and he had to leave quite quickly so we didn´t get the chance to say goodbye.
I ran off to our room and began crying. As quickly as I turned around, Brett was there, arms wide open waiting for me. Brett only sees his dad a couple times a year and I have been there when he's had to say goodbye- he knew how hard this was for me. :( And to not get a proper goodbye after going over a year without seeing my dad... I am absolutely heartbroken. Dads girlfriend Heida came in to comfort me a little later, and since my sister is having a baby in October, I told her to make sure he buys a plane ticket and comes to visit soon. Not the best way to end my night... but I will see him again. ♡
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