We headed out of town on the main highway in Iceland, the Ring Road, towards the Golden Circle. After about 45 minutes on the highway, a good two-lane blacktop road, we turned off towards the beach. Our caravan of Jeeps drove right onto a long curving black volcanic sand beach, and the thirteen vehicles raced along the waterline for over a mile before stopping.

Low grassy bluffs and the black sand bordered the beach, and the group welcomed an opportunity to hop out and take a few pictures of the vehicles clustered on the beach. One of the women found a small bird skull half-buried in the sand, and offered it to me. It was well-preserved for such a small fragile specimen, and I placed it gently in our Jeep for safekeeping. We climbed the bluffs for a better view before hopping back into the Jeeps and heading on to our next destination.

Back on the Ring Road, we headed for Stokkseyri, a small fishing village on the 8000-year old Pjórsá lava flow. The houses in Stokkseyri, like many of the dwellings in Iceland, are white, with brightly colored roofs and trim. We debarked at a small hut, where we were greeted by our hosts for the kayaking expedition.