Day 6 had a lot less going on because we travelled back to Reykjavik from the southern side of the island. We did manage to stop a few times. Our first major stop was at Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. The waves were a bit too crazy for us to go too far, but the pictures I got one the beach as well as a nearby lookout are incredible.
The next stop, which was my favorite of the day, was the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. It was gorgeous and we were able to walk behind it and get a group picture (not without getting a little damp of course. Thank goodness for waterproof gear!).
We then hit Kerid Crater. This was created by glacial melting in the area. While the crater was huge, the walk around the crater was very slippery. That may sound frightening, but we all had a blast sliding around and laughing when we slipped.
Final stop, of course, was Reykjavik. We went to a local restaurant to have a tasting of traditional Icelandic foods. These included puffin, lamb, artic char, and horse. Puffin and artic char became part of the cuisine due to settlers relying on it as a major food source and ease of access. Lamb and horse was used due to ability to raise livestock in the cold temperatures. After trying all of them, they were pretty good. If I had to rank them from best to worst, I would say lamb, horse, puffin, then artic char. None of this is to say they are bad, but I liked them for different reasons. While the artic char was good, it lacked as much flavor as the lamb. This generally applied to my ranking overall. I think flavor is a big part of a dish, but these were mostly made out of convenience and need based on the environment. I assumed the dishes would overall be very fishy due to this being an island. They ended up being way more flavorful than just fish, which was a pleasant surprise. In the end, it definitely showed me just how diverse the Icelandic pallet can be, even with the limited resources.
It was another good day in Iceland. Tomorrow is our last full day, which is strange to think about. Soon I will be home and reflecting on this experience and what I have learned along the way. Stay tuned!
Swanson School of Engineering 