Day 6 in Iceland

As I mentioned in the video, today, we began our trip back to Reykjavik. More waterfalls were on the agenda (surprise, surprise). This time: Gullfoss.

I was surprised to see ropes aimed at deterring the selfie/might-fall-in crowd.

After Gullfoss, we went to check out some geysers.

While we were struck by the beauty of the geysers (also the magical ability of the earth to shoot steaming hot water out of itself), we were more struck by how entertaining it was to watch unsuspecting people gather around the geyser, only to get sprayed when it erupted.

Ah, schadenfreude at its finest!

When we arrived in Reykjavik, we celebrated coming full circle (literally) since we began our journey there.

Making friends.

Attending the Marathon Expo was our second order of business in the city (hanging with Viking gnomes was clearly our first).

Marathon expos always get me so excited for the upcoming race! They make me feel like I'm a speed demon, like I can do anything, and like I've actually trained for the race (even when, like in this case, I haven't).  And, honestly, who doesn't love free protein bars?

My "ready to run in Reykjavik" pose. A more accurate pose would have been me dragging myself across the finish line while onlookers ask if I'm okay, but for now, I'm all smiles.

After working up an appetite at the Expo (hey, pretending like you're running in pictures is hard work), we went to Glo. Ever since visiting Reykjavik in 2014, I'd been dreaming of their food. This time I had the raw lasagna, and it was fantastic!

At night, we had to return our rental car to the airport and then head back into the city. Unfortunately, not many buses were running from Keflavik to Reykjavik, so we got to navigate the Icelandic bus system. We were told we would have to transfer buses in a small town in between the two cities since there were no direct buses operating at that time.

There was a man on the bus who offered to help us navigate the transfer. He then asked where we were going and told us he was getting off at the same stop. He said his girlfriend would be picking him up, and that she would be happy to give us a ride to our destination as well.

Keith and I immediately looked at each other, confused and hesitant. In the U.S., at a bus station, I would never accept a ride from a complete stranger. But, then again, this is Iceland, and there's virtually no crime. So, we decided to take a chance.

We ended up chatting with him for a while. Turns out, he was the son of one of the most famous actors in Iceland, and he was also on Iceland's Olympic handball team.

So, despite it seeming like a completely foreign concept to just be nice and offer strangers a ride, that's exactly what he was doing.

It turns out, our stop was a bit farther than his, so we didn't get the ride after all, but there was another passenger on the bus who offered to walk us to our destination so we wouldn't get lost.

My mind was completely blown. That's one of the things I love most about travel: you have to trust people. Whether it's asking for directions, taking restaurant recommendations, or getting rides from strangers, you have to go out on a limb and believe what the new person is saying is true. In the States, I'm so quick to be leery of people and to question their motives. But, when I'm traveling, I rarely do. I go with the flow, I dive in, I take people at their word.

And, that feels so refreshing.