Day 11: Grundarfjordur - Reykjavik

On our last day, we woke up to some of the worst weather conditions we'd had all trip. It was pouring with rain and sounded like the roof was going to get ripped off the guesthouse in the wind. We didn't have much choice but to gingerly set off, taking it really slowly and hoping the weather would improve up the road. Crossing the peninsula from North to South was some of the scariest driving I've ever done; the rain was a pain, but it was the wind that was so dangerous. The gusts were so strong and blowing our little car all over the place. At one point we had to cross a low-bridge, and the sea was splashing over the sides, with wind blowing us around and I felt like crying! We didn't know what to do; the sensible thing would have been to stop, but the weather had set in, so we had to keep going. Luckily, once we'd crossed the mountains and made it to the South of the peninsula, the wind dropped, and gradually it all started to clear up.

We stopped for a family portrait with Jim; our trusted car who kept us safe despite some awful driving experiences over the last few days, and made our little pile of rocks to leave in the Icelandic countryside. It's a tradition to leave them as a symbol of safe travels. I like to think they will still be there in 50 years!

We had a brief stop in Borganes at the settlement centre, and look round the excellent farmers market, before we drove our last section along R1 back to Reykjavik. After 1673 miles, it was sad saying goodbye to Jim, but we had the distraction of the big Sunday afternoon market to get to, and happily spent the rest of our holiday money on Icelandic knitwear! We had an amazing dinner, and went to a couple of bars, before ending where we started; in a lovely, cozy little café near our guesthouse with a soft drink!

I can't really believe all that has happened, all that we've seen and done over the last eleven days. Iceland has been truly wonderful, beautiful, magical. I'm sad to leave, and will be returning at the first chance I get.