9/14/2025
The drive to the hotel last night was familiar as we got to see sites we saw on our very first day. At the end of the drive found ourselves in a wonderful hotel. It was spacious and clean and bright, very different from the dark atmosphere we had stayed in the night before. Our planned adventure for the day is Haifoss waterfall. It is not normally visited as the road to get to it is an opportunity in perseverance.
After driving for an hour and a half, we finally got to the dirt road that would take us eight miles to our goal. As we started the road there was a car to the side with a broken axel! It was an ominous omen. I still had PTSD from the last flat tire we received. I knew we did not have the tools needed to change the tire and we would be far from any help. The road was not classified as a 4×4 and I had intentionally rented a SUV for this road. I just did not anticipate how cheaply the tires of the SUV would be. I did not trust the vehicle would not break down, so I enjoyed the journey less than I should have. The further we went the rougher the road became. We were jostled and jolted for a solid hour, dodging and hitting hundreds of pot holes. We spent more time on the interior roof of the car than we did in our seats.
After paying our dues on the road, we finally got to the waterfall. It was truly the best waterfall we saw in all of Iceland. I was majestic and we enjoyed looking at it for several minutes. My original plan was to do the two mile hike to the base of the waterfalls. The rough road and removed all desire from Mercy and Jodi to do any hiking. I looked longingly at the trail, but knew it was for the best as we would probably get caught in the coming rain if we did decide on the hike. After seeing the waterfall back in the car we went to start our rough ride back to pavement. We eventually made it and the rain started. It rained straight for two hours as we drove back to Reykjavik.
We were all hungry so we walked around downtown until we found a restaurant to satisfy Jodi’s hunger and not break the bank. Many of the restaurants had $50 hamburgers and I just was not able to stomach paying that much for a burger. After eating pancakes, we made our way to a gelato shop and had ice cream while wrapped in winter jackets.
Mercy’s Take – 9/14/2025
I woke up at 7:00. After I took a shower I read a letter from Elijah David Tuten and it was amazing and encouraging. After I read his letter we got ready to go to (Haissof) waterfall. Then we went and had Gelato ice cream.
