We didn't stop as often on the way back to Reykjavik. We went to Foss to see (more!) waterfalls and we saw the Dverghamrar ("dwarf cliffs"), where locals thought (think?) that dwarves live. Another place we stopped was in Kirkubæjarklaustur, which was once the site of an Irish monk monastery. When driven out by the Vikings, they put a curse on the place. A Benedictine nun cloister was also here: thus the name. A cool story is that when the the massive Lakagígar volcano erupted in 1783 (which was one of the most devastating volcanoes in history), the lava flow was heading towards the town, destroying everything in its path. The local pastor called the congregation into the church and delivered a powerful sermon. When they went out, the lava stopped just outside the church. One of the weird, cool things in town is Kirkugólf. When first found, people thought it was a remnant of the monastery floor because of its smooth, level, interlocking geometry. However, it is just a natural rock formation of basalt (volcanic rock). There are lava crater fields and falls here too.
We stopped in Vík again to get an egg-burger. Again, the weather didn't permit viewing the beach. We hit really really thick fog along the coast. Combine that with the fact that Iceland doesn't have reflectors on the dividing lines on the road, and it made for a white knuckle ride! There were a few other places we had planned to stop at along the way back home, but the dark (and our tiredness!) made us want to just get back to the warmth and comfort of our house in Reykjavik. We did so about 10:30 pm. Phew! That was an amazing road trip.
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