After a soggy night, it was time to drive back to Reykjavik, turn in the rental car, and get ready for the arrival of my parents, and my friends Ed and Gloria.

On the way back, I stopped in Skogar, to check out the start of the trail that I´ll be backpacking in July, the Laugavegur, a 50K route beginning on the coast and ending in the highlands. The trail starts at a spectacular waterfall, and goes straight up. The route ultimately leads between two mountains, Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull.

Up the stairs and into the highlands ....

But there will be time for this trail in a few weeks ... Now, on to Reykjavik!

Here's where we'll be staying for the next few days, the Castle House right near the lake in downtown Reykjavik.

Here are the instructions that were posted in the guesthouse ... if you need medical aid ... house calls?!?!?

Ed and Gloria arrive the next morning. After a short nap, we explore the town.

That evening, we go to Harpa, the beautiful new performance hall, for a concert on Icelandic music, and the next morning, on our way out of town, drive to Perlan, which rises above the city and has excellent views.

Checking out the huge relief map of Iceland in City Hall

We made a short stop at the National Museum of Iceland, then the botanical garden. Our main destination for the day was the power plant, where a tour was intended to educate us about the country's use of geothermal power. We had been fascinated by the sign at the guesthouse that informed us that the hot water comes from geothermal sources, while the cold water comes from mountain springs. Unfortunately we made several wrong turns and went in the wrong direction on the main road out of town (we won't assign any blame except to say that it's difficult when there are multiple navigators, multiple maps, and an iPad, all trying to be helpful!). At one point, we were on a gravel road with a sign informing us that the road was closed in winter. However it was a spectacular drive, and the weather could not have been better.

We followed the route to the Nesjavellir Power Station, stopping along the way for short walks or to check out the views. This power plant, which supplies much of the hot water for the city of Reykjavik, apparently produces 500 gallons of hot water per second. They don't give tours here, but we walked around and took the obligatory group photo. We're planning to visit another nearby power plant, which does give tours, later in the trip.

We had dinner that night at an elegant but somewhat deserted hotel right beside the power station. We were their only dinner guests. Entries included local lamb and local trout from the nearby Lake Þingvellir.

At the end of this rather full day, we checked into our cabins on Lake Þingvellir, Ed and Gloria in one cabin, the three of us in another.