Anyhow, one thing led to another, and we found ourselves making a midnightish excursion to a nearby hot spring with a couple of locals that Svein knew (because Iceland). Unfortunately, the hot spring was closed for the evening, much to our dismay, so we retreated dejectedly to Höfn and vowed to return in the morning.
Random midnight twilight wildlife sighting
I'd say that we returned bright and early, but cute lower-latitude phrases like "bright and early" don't make as much sense in a place where it doesn't get dark. Anyhow, we went back in the morning after a leisurely and delicious breakfast at our hotel and treated ourselves to a soak.
You might die
These springs, maintained by one guy, are pretty simple, but there's no reason to make things fancier than they need to be. Because the setting makes up for anything that could be perceived as missing...
Horrible view
Sniped during a selfie...
...and from the other camera
Iceland is the world's largest green energy producer per capita, with ~75% coming from hydropower and ~25% coming from geothermal. Astonishingly, 85% of Icelandic homes derive their heating from geothermal sources. In other words, they're winning.
The relevance to this post is that there are vast areas of the country that are simply known as "hot areas" due to the proximity of the geothermal sources to the surface. End result: hot springs everywhere.
Murphy practicing crucial relaxation skills
Somebody else finally came to enjoy this particular spring, and having more than just us within a few kilometers felt a little crowded, so we let them have them place all to themselves and continued on our way.
Campervan paint jobs...always good for a laugh
Our meanderings were starting to take us back toward Reykjavik, but it'd be a looooong time before we showed our faces there; too much else to see!
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