Day 1: Reykjanes Peninsula

We had no problems getting seats on our flight; we sat across the aisle from each other in an exit row, and there was even an empty seat next to me, which was definitely appreciated. After picking up our luggage (it's rare that we check luggage, our motto being, if it doesn't fit in the bag, it doesn't come with us, but we'd been given seat assignments at the IcelandAir desk, so off our luggage went into Luggage Happy Land) and our rental car, we managed to find our hotel, the Hotel Keflavik, despite some initial map issues. Google Maps did not want to find our hotel for us. I can only assume Ed's phone was tired after pulling an all-nighter and freaked out when it tried to figure out Icelandic names.

Nevertheless, we were able to eat some breakfast and were very kindly given the option of an early check-in, which, if you've ever flown internationally, you will understand why we tripped over ourselves agreeing to the extra early check-in charge.

We took a short walk around a volcanic rock-lined pier, but it was a bit chilly, so we came back to the hotel to find our room ready. After a short nap and a chance to look at some of our guidebooks again, we decided to take a short drive around the Reykjanes Peninsula, which was lovely - desolate and windy. And quiet - barely a seagull calling.


It was at this point we came across a lighthouse on Gardskagi, where we stopped for dinner, before heading back to the hotel.