5
Location: Lake Myvatn
The beginning:
We woke up. Some of us before others. Breakfast was cereal and yogurt. We were informed about the plan for the day, which was ecological service work.
Spoiler alert: That didn’t happen. Instead, we got whale-watching and a hot spring!
Confusion:
Turns out, the service work company had some confusion, and we ended up moving the whole Thursday schedule to today, which involved whale watching! We sat around for a while, some of us complaining, but soon we were entertained by a game of ninja. Look it up; I’m not gonna explain it. Kiran won.
Progress:
Eventually, we got a plan together and ended up with a spare three hours to burn before the hour-and-a-half whale-watching tour, so we took a hike into town and went shopping. Purchases included a pizza roll (Max), a croissant (Emily), batteries and a hot dog (Leigh).
We walked back.
COLD:
So the whale-watching tour wasn’t actually an hour and a half. It was three hours. And it was cold. And windy. And there was vomit. But it was fun! First was Emily, whose puke was apparently expelled from both her mouth and her nose. Half the group ended up at the back of the boat, trying to keep down their lunches. Eventually, they decided to sing various songs at various pitches to try to settle their stomachs. Half a dozen seasick teenagers singing The Star Spangled Banner and Party in the USA. It was exactly how it sounds, but absolutely hilarious.
There were whales, though, and they were fantastic. They came right up to the boat and produced smiles for everyone.
Waterfall rain:
Given the length of the whale-watching tour, we debated whether to go see a waterfall or go straight to the hot springs (our other plans for the day). By nearly unanimous decision, we headed to the waterfall. And it was in a cloud. And cold. And raining. And great! It wasn’t busy, and everyone seemed pretty impressed, but we were still happy to get out of the cold at the end.
The bus was very warm.
Peace and rotten eggs:
The hot springs. What can I say about the hot springs? Well, for one, they were hot. They also smelled like eggs. Swimming was really very relaxing, but getting out of the water was torturous, and I forgot to bring a second pair of underwear, so I spent the rest of the day… uncomfortable. And that brings us to now. We all played around for a while and relaxed after a long, cold day. That’s it!