Ok, where to begin. It seems like “I slept with Eric Clapton” is as good as place as any. Five words I never thought I would hear in my lifetime, much less in Iceland… at breakfast. This is what Hadda said as an Eric Clapton song started playing. My first thought was “Mary, get a hold of yourself, wake up for God’s sake” and then “maybe I should start drinking coffee”, and then “did I hear that right?”. Yes, as it turns out, I did. A tornado of questions ensued, and the story emerged. Hadda sat next to Eric (since they “slept” together I think we can be on a first name basis), on a flight in which she napped.

Moving on. Hawk took us to Latrarbjarg, the majestic cliffs where the puffins like to hang out. In the summer. It’s technically winter now, so no puffins. But there were lots of sea gulls. Latrarbjarg is Europe’s most western point, and their largest bird cliffs which measure at 1450 feet.

Hawk, had a picture he wanted to make and directed Peter and I up the trail……for miles. Well not miles, but it felt like that. When we got to the right spot and looked back, we could barely see Hawk in the fog. Perhaps I should show him my photoshop technique of moving and adding things, instead of asking two unsuspecting people to trudge to a lookout at the top of cliff. And we fell for that not once, but twice. But more on that later.

We went in search of a lighthouse, but it was so fogged in we couldn’t see it. And the lighthouse was white. And there was a closed gate. But that didn’t stop us. We spent almost an hour there trying to photograph the sea gulls dive bombing our cameras, and me asking the cosmic universe not to end up covered in bird poop.

We had another arctic fox sighting. This time it was in the middle of the road, and Hawk started chasing it…..with his car. Hawk has seen 5 foxes this summer, three on this trip. It’s been a good trip. Now if I can just get a good photograph of those wile fast foxes.

We spent the afternoon on a stunning red sand beach, Rauðisandur. Hawk declared it a “tourist trap” after seeing a few Dacia Dusters parked at the end of the road. At first we weren’t going to walk on the beach, but after some persuasive nudging, we walked on the beach and were really glad we did. It was surreal.

Last stop was, what Hawk has designated the most spectacular, waterfall in Iceland. It was 8:00 PM (not a typo), when we got there. For those of you who know me, that is about the time I am crawling into bed to start my nightly rejuvenation ritual, what most people call winding down for sleep. For me it’s a multi-step thing. Anyway, we pull into the parking lot, it’s pouring rain, not really pouring, but heavy, and Hawk takes a picture from the car. He zooms in (that’s an important detail), and shows us where to walk and he will take our picture….from the parking lot. I think, “Ok, just a few steps up”. 22 minutes later (not exaggerating), straight up the side of a mountain, in the slippery rocks and muck, soaking wet we get to the point. It seems I still manage to fall for Hawk’s “it’s only 10 minutes” or “it’s only a ‘short’” hike definition of the activity. The waterfall was magnificent, we will go back and try again under different conditions.

Ok, you are no caught up. On to another day’s adventures.

Report correction: before all you textile experts correct me on the zen activity Hadda engages in while on the road, she has already done it, in her gentle tactful Hadda way. She is crocheting, not knitting. Although she does knit too. Honestly this woman is so multi-talented I need to keep a list just to keep track.