You may be wondering “where are they going now?”, given that we spent a glorious month in Iceland in 2022 and drove the Ring Road around the entire island.

We decided to double down on the Westfjords and headed back up north. Yes, the same place we were with Hawk. Well, not exactly the same. We don’t have Hawk and Hadda’s expertise, and monster truck, so we are going to do a more civilized version, and maybe hit a few tourist traps no self-respecting Icelander would be caught dead in.

This time we will be joined by Mark and Cat, and will follow the same counter clockwise direction, but stay in a few towns for 2-3 nights each.

It was time for Peter to get behind the wheel. Thankfully we were not assigned a white Dacia Duster at the rental car counter. The car that screams “I am a tourist in Iceland, who thinks they can go off-roading in this car, but can’t”. We have a silver Toyota Rav 4 instead. But after being in Hawk’s car, the Rav 4 feels like a go-cart. And there seems to be quite a few silver Toyotas in parking lots at tourist sites. At the first stop we tried to get into the wrong car.

It’s taken a car navigation system, and Google maps, but I am finally wising up to what traffic cameras look like here. They resemble those creatures in Star Wars that tried to kill those little teddy bear looking things in the forest.

We encountered road construction on our way back to Hólmavík. Which might not seem like a big deal, but it’s a different sort of set up in Iceland…at least on this little road heading up north. No flag people telling you when and where you can go. Just large machinery, a road that would be 4×4 rated as Level 3 in the US, and a bunch of cars trying to maneuver around it all. Now imagine Peter channeling the driving techniques in Mad Max: The Road Warrior movie and passing every other car like our lives depended on it.

With all that blood and testosterone pumping, he wanted a burger and fries, so we stopped at a gas station. But remember, gas station food is quite good here. He chose a place called Dirty Burgers and Ribs. The “dirty” comes from their special sauce called Dirty Sauce. I asked Peter what was in it….ketchup and mayonnaise was all he said. He did overhear an American woman ask for a glass of ice for her soda. She was told they had no ice. A bit ironic, no ice in Iceland for beverages. I guess it is cold enough here.

Our only stop of the day was The Old Akranes Lighthouse. There was a friendly man in the information/pay house that most people seemed to walk right by. He was wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and shower shoes. We each had at least 2 layers on. He encouraged us to sing in the bottom level of the lighthouse because of the acoustics (or he just wanted a good laugh). I offer a few seconds of Peter’s solo here. It’s times like these I’m reminded how much I love this man.

We climbed up four steep flights of stairs, and a narrow ladder to get to the top. Peter declared it was unsafe given the wind conditions. I went up any way. He was not thrilled. But it has been a few days since our last piece of Happy Marriage Cake, so maybe I need to find one in short order and restore marital harmony. The man does appreciate a good pastry.

I did share Peter’s American Idol submission video with the lighthouse keeper. He said Peter was “very good”. I suggested he says that to everyone who sings at his lighthouse. His response, “Everyone can sing. Most people can’t listen.” Mic drop.

PS: we didn’t see the aurora last night. We fell asleep. I’ve been telling myself all day it probably wasn’t that good so don’t send me your photos to prove me wrong.