DAY 30 – THURSDAY 3RD JANUARY, 2019…

Today is the big day, we are off to Iceland.  It was a much earlier start for us today as we wanted to be gone by 9.30am as we had to walk all our luggage to the bus stop, catch the bus into town and then transfer to the Metro to take us to the airport….

I couldn’t help but think about my Mum today, it was her birthday and if she had still been with us she would have been 84 today.  I have been so blessed in my life to have a mother like her, and even 7 years later, I still miss her dreadfully.

We managed to get to the airport with time to spare and then began the process of booking all our luggage in.  We had quite a bit between us all.  Our boarding gate just happened to be the furthest away and it seemed like we walked forever to reach it.  By the time we got to it, we had very little time to spare before boarding.  Maria tried to feed Theo before we boarded but he wasn’t having a bar of it which was a little stressful for Maria as it was over four hours since his last feed.  Steve and I weren’t sitting together this flight, we had an aisle between us and we were in the exit row, which was great where leg room was concerned but the seats were fixed and terribly narrow and uncomfortable.  Thank goodness we only had a three-hour flight and not a long haul like on our way over.  Peter and Maria were seated a couple of rows behind us again.  

Airport in Keflavik - Iceland

Lots of lovely timbers are used in this airport...

Airport decorated for Christmas... Letters to Santa at the North Pole...

Artistic display outside the airport.

We arrived in Keflavik mid-afternoon.  This airport is no where near as large as the other airports we have flown into on this trip.  The first impressions of Iceland were good, the airport was nice, and it didn’t take us too long to get our baggage and get through customs.   Once outside we had a little walk to the bus, which would then transfer us to the car rental building where we were to pick up our hire car.  It took Steve and Pete some time to go through all the paper work, and get the baby sit installed in our Kia Sorrento.  We also paid the extra insurance for the car as your normal insurance does not cover volcanic or sand damage, and anything can happen in Iceland.  

It was after 5pm by the time we left the airport and headed off to find our accommodation at  Hestjell.  We had to drive through Rekyavik and head off onto the main highway around the island.  Our cabin was situated half way between Selfoss and Hella and was right out in the country with nothing else but a few Icelandic horses around us.  Pete had booked this cabin, as he wanted up to be away from city lights so that we could have good views of the Northern Lights if we were fortunate enough to see them.

We stopped off in Selfoss to stock up on a few groceries like milk and bread and a few other basics so that we could cook dinner when we arrived in our cabin. 

Self contained Kitchen in our cabin

Lounge area

We even had a loft that slept extras as well with a ladder leading up to it. 

Lots of candles around to add atmosphere

Our window was lit up with these Christmas decorations.... they remained on the whole time we were there

More beautiful decorations in our cabin

Maria giving Theo a little rock to put him to sleep

Dining area in our cabin...

Doors out to the verandah at the front of our cabin....

Our little man trying to have a nap...

There were candles throughout our cabin

Our room

Preparing dinner in the kitchen

Bathroom in our cabin

It was about 7.30pm by the time we arrived.  The key was in the door and we were able to let ourselves in.  There was a main cottage that we all stayed in, but it also had a granny flat  with a hot tub which was attached to the property.  We planned to make good use of the hot tub whilst we where here this week. 

By the time we had unpacked, cooked, eaten and cleaned up from dinner, we were all ready for bed.  It has been a bit day today.