Ólafsvík Day 12

Day 12: Ólafsvík

At 7:30 AM our alarm goes off and luckily the weather is better. The sun is even shining. After breakfast, we drive the 3 kilometers to the harbor. There, at 10 AM, our boat tour starts. First, we receive our suits. They are waterproof, insulated full-body suits. Then we board the boat with about 50 other people. We are lucky and grab 4 seats at the front on the box of life jackets. Almost all the other guests are standing. We leave the harbor on time and head into the Breiðafjörður, the fjord.
It's good that we are wearing the suits because it’s cold. The wind and the spray can cool you down quickly. We see some birds, including puffins. The waves get bigger the further we are from the shore. Then we see a whale. It surfaces again and again at intervals of a few minutes, and we get to see it several times. According to our tour guide, this is a blue whale. They last saw one in August of last year. The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth. At about 25 meters long and approximately 150 tons, it presents itself as an enormous species.
It’s always exciting to see animals in the wild. Unfortunately, my motion sickness kicks in now. After reconsidering everything, I feel better again.
Then we return to Ólafsvík. To warm up again, we have soup for lunch.
Around 2 PM we set off southwards. We leave the Snæfellsnes peninsula. After 1 hour, we stop at a hot spring. There are few people there, and we also take the opportunity to bathe in the warm water. We have to wait a bit, then we can step into the small natural bathtub. We just fit in together. It’s about 1 meter in diameter and 1 meter deep. The temperature is a pleasant 39°C. We stay in the hot water for 15 minutes and then finish our bath. More people arrive.
Originally, we wanted to hike to the Eldborg crater, which is 10 kilometers away, but the distance of more than 6 kilometers and the late hour make us abandon this plan. Thus, we arrive at the campsite in Akranes around 5 PM.
After dinner, we take a walk through the city. We are by the sea and look at the houses and gardens right by the promenade. At the end, there is an old boat from 1955. It is on the land and is gradually falling apart. We walk back and take a long shower.