We booked a private tour with East West tours again, this time with Toni from Spain showing us around.  We'll be exploring the nearby Snaefellness Peninsula.  People have called this area this a mini version of all of Iceland, since the tour perfectly encapsulates the beauty of this country.  We spend the day:

• Hiking to a small waterfall
• FINALLY seeing some Icelandic ravens
• Visiting seal beach
• Eating lunch at a horse farm (more on that later)
• Amazing landscapes

Here's some pics from the first part of the day

This was all before lunch, and now we're hungry.  We're taken to a horse farm and meet the family for a traditional lunch.  The food was good, but the lunch highlight is our guide bringing us out to meet the friendly little Icelandic horses.  These things are basically large puppies.  They were friendly, bumping into us for pets. We didn't want to leave.

Also important to mention:  Maun the Sheepdog!!!

Maun was excellent at his job. So excellent that.... well, you recall that Iceland has free roaming sheep?  Well, three of them wandered through the farm.  

These are not lost sheep, but Maun was on the case!  See the videos below.

After lunch, we continue sightseeing.  This includes:

• Visiting Búðakirkja (black church)
• Walking a cliff route with lava rock formations along the water
• Even more landscapes
• And finally, some more waterfalls 

The last stop was right near port, so it was a short ride back.  This day was such a great way to wrap up our stay in Iceland.

Back on the ship, we pack for our journey home.  At our last dinner, we all toast to an amazing trip.

The next morning we’re up at 5:30 am going through the usual last day scramble of disembarking, driving to the airport, landing at the madhouse that is JFK, and getting back to Philly. We're happy to be home, but we're also always looking forward to the next trip.

Thanks for making it all the way to the end!

As I said before, Ruth and I weren’t sure what to make of Iceland before we went.  We just knew that everyone raved about it. 

Now we see the appeal.  It's full of breathtaking landscapes, free of big city crowds, with friendly locals, and lots of trekking to the next amazing sight.  Everything is clean, and everyone cares about the environment.  It's just such a difference.

Looking back on this trip 9 months later, I realize again just how much we loved it.  I hope you all get a chance to check it out for yourselves.  Until then, I hope the blog gave you a good idea of what it’s like.