We took off and the weather was so temperate today! I can't believe I'm calling 40 degrees (Fahrenheit of course) temperate but I even took off a layer of jacket! The mountains keep switching back and forth between being covered in pure snow with pure brown and green grass fields. The best way I can describe Iceland in March in this stretch of East Iceland is that it's almost like a Zebra. Stripes of snow running alongside stripes of grass. We got to experience bits of winter and bits of spring at the same time. On our way to the Lækjavík, we pulled over randomly and explore this gorgeous field with the striped mountains behind us. One of my favorite random middle of nowhere pitstops. We had the mountains on one side and the sea on the other. Janae and I sat down on the field with our backs against the rocks, soaking in the warmth of the sun and taking in the fresh coastal air. The boys ventured down rocky slopes where they found smaller black sand beaches to skip rocks and frolick.
Our second middle of nowhere pitstop was to explore the area around this bright yellow lighthouse. It was bright yellow so of course it caught our eye. We peeked in and it looked pretty clean so not sure if its still functional and in use, but a really cool area to explore nonetheless! Wei even taught us a really good stretch for our hamstrings, but it looked really funny when we all decided to do it together. Gave us a great stretch and a really good laugh.
Pc: Wei's Psick Pics
So lucky us, the next Airbnb we stayed at in Egilsstaðir was actually right next to a horse ranch! We got to spend some quality time with these cuties. They sometimes came up to us to allow us to pet their noses. We also watched a couple of them running their teeth through each other's manes.. I think they're grooming each other? One minute their snapping at each other over whose food is whose, then the next they are grooming each other. Haha so cute!! The Airbnb we stayed at (so sad I didn't take a picture) had the most unique version of a guestbook ever. The walls in the kitchen / living room were filled from floor to ceiling with small square paintings. There were paintings representing travelers from Korea, Canada, Germany, and more from all over the world. When we walked into one of the bedrooms, we squealed with delight to find an entire table full of paint supplies and blank canvases as an invitation for our contribution to be added to the guest book wall. One of the most creative Airbnb ideas ever.
So basically, other than the Laekjavik coast, we had no itinerary for the day except to stop at random places alongside the road and explore. After all the rushing around in the south coast, we felt like we really needed a day to take it slow, be spontaneous, and travel without a plan. It was basically like a feel good kinda day. Loved it.