This weekend was one of the best I've had in a long time. Friday I woke up bright and early to climb Esja, the mountain across the bay from Reykjavik. I headed out on a bus with a Canadian guy and a Swedish guy all the way out to the foot of the mountain, then our hike began!

There was a trail up to the top which we had planned to take, but all the signage was in Icelandic so we got confused and kind of wandered off the main trail. :p Whenever I turned to look around, the view was breathtaking, and it just got better and better as we climbed higher. We couldn't have asked for better weather, too.

Eventually we made it up to the snowy peak of Esja, where it was considerably colder than down below. It was an arduous trek, and it took about 3 hours to get up to the top. Once we got there, we kept walking until we reach the opposite side of Esja and looked out towards the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. It was strange how distances were distorted on Esja - when it looked like just a couple of minutes to reach the next cairn, it wound up taking a half hour or so. Eventually, we climbed back down. Our legs had turned to jello by this point but we made it, about 5 hours after we had begun the climb.

It's impossible to do the Esja hike justice in words or photos, but the experience was quintessentially Icelandic - shades of fall colours; the tiny buildings of Reykjavik down below; snow, rock, and the ocean; vast, open spaces as far as the eye can see. I really enjoyed it and I'm so glad I was able to climb Esja before winter sets in.

Later on Friday I got to make poutine again!! I went to my German friend's place and then we made poutine and some kind of Germanic potato dish for our group. This time the poutine turned out much better than the last time and it was delicious. Then I introduced Apples to Apples - it was like Thanksgiving all over again, but with other people! We also played some Scandinavian card game about numbers which I actually enjoyed a lot.

Then yesterday was incredible. Five of us - two Germans, me and two other Canadians - rented a car and explored around the Reykjanes peninsula and beyond. There were two main attractions we visited: the Klambragil River and Raufarhólshellir cave.

First up was the river. We drove out past a town called Hveragerði and into the mountains. Then we had a hike of around an hour before we reached the hot springs area. This place was awesome - I've seen hot springs in Iceland before, but it's always strange to see water bubbling out of the ground and steam rising up all across a field. We came to a river called Klambragil in a valley. Klambragil is warm - its hot water comes from the geothermal pools. We put on our bathing suits and laid down in the river. It felt great - the air was cold, but the water was toasty and very relaxing. We sat in the river for two and a half hours before we realized that we needed to keep moving. The river bath made us all mellow. I've never done anything like it before, and it was a surreal, fantastic experience.

After that, we hiked back and drove to Raufarhólshellir cave. Last time I went into a cave, there were thirty of us including an experienced guide, but today it was just the five of us, so I was hoping the cave wouldn't collapse, and luckily it didn't! It was a lot like the last cave I visited, since it was rocky and pitch-black on the inside. However, we went deeper into this cave than I did the last time. Caves are strange places, and it was creepy when we turned out our lights because all I could see was blackness and all I could hear was water dripping. I like it a lot, but it's always a relief to emerge into fresh air at the end.

After that, the sun was setting soon. We hurried to the shore at Strandakirkja where the waves were enormous. Then we went to Krýsuvík where we saw more hot springs, but these ones are way too hot for taking a bath. By now it was about 6:30 pm and the sun had set, so we settled into the car and drove back home. I was absolutely exhausted when I got home and I had a nice long sleep for the first time in a while. Iceland is full of beautiful places and I'm so grateful that I'm getting to do these amazing things!