We got up just after 06:00.  Justin had a dream about running late to a IAH-DFW flight, and in the middle of the night he moved the alarm up 30 minutes.  Once we were up, we re-arranged our stuff into checked bags and carry-on.  Justin decided to put almost everything in the waterproof backpack, and just keep the electronics and clean clothes (basically none) in the larger backpack.  It was just easier to store things not in one huge pouch.  We were moving a little slow this morning, but in pretty good shape considering our afternoon and evening yesterday. 

It was only a block to the car, and once we had put our bags in the back, we checked the car for anything we might have left in the seats, the consoles, the glove box, etc.  The only thing we had forgotten was a magnet for holding the cell phone so as to easily see the map (because we couldn’t connect to CarPlay).  There were a fair amount of construction slowdowns on the way to the airport, but eventually we got there, and with plenty of time before boarding.  

There was a gas station right next to the car rental place, and ironically it was some of the cheapest we purchased on the trip.  Yesterday was the only day we didn’t purchase gasoline on the trip, best as we can remember.  We drove 3850 kilometers on the trip (the map below shows our complete route), so that makes sense.  We had purchased the Platinum Insurance for our rental, and despite it costing a fortune, it bought us peace of mind and gave us some perks.  One of them was that we went straight to the front of the line in the office this morning, and they also held up the shuttle van so that we could board.  It was all pretty painless.  Sue drove us nuts, but the actual mechanics of the car treated us well and got us everywhere we needed to go.

At the airport, we tried to figure out how to apply our own luggage tags, as we were already checked in, and the line for check-in (where we would’ve had to go to have the airline do it) was really long.  We had no real experience applying baggage tags, but we managed to do it okay.  Security was a non-issue, and once past it we got breakfast at La Trattoria.  Crystal got a sausage pizza and red wine, Justin got a margherita pizza and a draft beer.  The orders were taking forever to come out, and for a bit we were worried that we wouldn’t have time to eat before boarding.

But it ended up being a non-issue, and we boarded without issue.  We were also lucky enough to not have anyone else in our row, so we had an empty seat between us again.  On the unlucky side of the spectrum, there were probably at least 30-40 kids under the age of 5.  We’ve never seen anything like it.  We wondered if there was some sort of event or huge family reunion, as almost everyone seemed to know everyone else.  Crystal noticed that the adult women were all dressed the same, and wondered (mostly jokingly) if it was some sort of cult.  Again, it was no issue, almost certainly something benign, but it was wild to see so many little kids on one plane.  

Somehow, despite this, Justin slept the first 3.5 hours of the flight - go figure.  The seat back screens were not working on this flight, and the USB charging plugs also did not work.  We have a big issue with planes that expect you to use your own device for 5+ hours, but don’t give you any way to charge them during that time period.  We landed a little before 17:00 in Tenerife, topped off our bus cards (they’re free, but they need to be renewed every month), and got on the bus to Santa Cruz.  Sure enough, the USB plugs on the bus didn’t work.  Justin slept a good chunk of this bus ride, and also the one from Santa Cruz to Puerto.  We got back home around 19:00, made arrangements to get Cerdito the next day, got a quick dinner around the corner, and then went straight to sleep after getting back.

***

In the week or two after we got back, and after we saw some of our photos and videos and had time to reflect a bit on what we did, we think this trip went about as well as it could have.  Sure, certain things could have been better, but not in a realistic sense.  Plus, having less-than-ideal weather somewhere (e.g., Stokksnes) makes us want to return to see it in better conditions.  Interestingly, we’ve already discussed where we would go when we return, and how we could go 5-6 places as “bases” where Justin could go explore and Crystal could enjoy the towns, the spas, or whatever.

Some of the places that have come up for a return trip are: Valahnjúkur (correctly this time), the area around Vik (where we had poor weather), Mulagljufur Canyon (we didn’t have time, but it looks amazing), Stokksnes and the Eastfjords (but at a more leisurely pace), the east side of Dettifoss, Aldeyjarfoss (we didn't have time on that day), Kálfshamarsvík (we didn’t have time, and we really liked our hotel in Blönduós too), and the Westfjords (to spend more time at Dynjandi, Látrabjarg, and some of the other villages in the area that we didn’t have time to see this time).  Also, to the extent it wouldn’t be too difficult, going to more areas in the center of the island would be nice too, but only if the roads are halfway decent.

But, for the most part, we saw what we wanted to see and did what we wanted to do.  Aside from the day in Thórsmörk, we really enjoyed every day.  The planning we did ahead of time really helped, as we weren’t spending much time trying to figure out where to go, or what to do next, or where to park, or any of those minor things that can really add up when you’re visiting 10-20 places in a day.  Now we can start planning our return trip…