For lunch (fried pasta; we cooked almost every meal in order to save some money) we stopped over at Vik, famous for the black sand and basalt columns that fringe its coastline. We'd been to Tulamben in Bali the previous year, also known for its black beach, but that had turned out to be more pebbly than anything else, so Vik remained a curiosity that we just had to visit in Iceland.
Climbing on the basalt columns ended up being quite an exercise in futility. None of us, tired from two weeks of intensive activities and wobbly from the strong sea wind, made it up more than three levels from the ground. It was a source of great puzzlement to see a bunch of little kids perched high above us. I put it down to a childish lack of fear - certainly as I get older I've become a lot more convinced of my mortality. But that's a more philosophical topic than this post warrants.
We also spent an inordinate amount of time trying to take pictures of puffins. There were flocks of them bobbing on the waves, playing hide-and-seek between the dancing sparks of reflected sunlight. Overhead, they motored frenetically through the air, dogged by screaming gulls.
All in all, a very peaceful day quite out of character for us!
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