Tuesday 9/6/16

We left the hotel at 7:45 to drive to the local airport.  We boarded the plane with our carry-ons and it seemed quite strange to not have to go through security - we just had to show our passports.  Apparently, this is how all domestic flights are in this country.  Our guide pointed out the Minister of Finance - he was taking the same flight.  Our bus driver picked us up when we arrived after our 45 minute flight (it took him 5 hours to drive the bus back last night) and we headed off to visit some of the highlights of the Golden Circle.  Our first stop was Pingvellir National Park where we got to see the Rift Valley between the North American tectonic plate and the Eurasioan one.  They are moving apart at the rate of 2 cm. per year.  We saw some brave souls who were suited up in wet suits and scuba gear - they were going to see the separation of the plates underwater.  This is also the site of the settlement era parliament meetings: 36 chieftans would meet here to decide the laws.  You can see why they picked this spot.  There were towering rock walls and sloping fields in front of them down to the river.  The walls were used in the TV series, Game of Thrones.  This meant little to us as we don't watch the show.  We walked a little further and found the execution pool - here women were put in bags and drowned if they had committed adultery.  The men were beheaded for the same crime.  As we were walking toward the bus, we passed a lava field all covered in a thick bed of moss.  Our guide lay down on the moss to show how soft it was.  I felt it with my hand and it was quite thick and soft.  We then drove to Gullfoss waterfall - a wonderful two-tiered waterfall.  It was a wonderful sight and again we were lucky enough to see a rainbow in the spray.  We went back to the Geyser area (apparently the word geyser comes from the name of this area.  There were several small water and steam vents, but the main geyser shot up 100 feet about every 4 minutes - quite impressive.  We stopped at another waterfall on the way to Selfoss, which is were we will stay for two nights.  We took a little walk around the downtown area after being reunited with our luggage.  We found a wonderful handcraft shop just across the street from the hotel and we enjoyed looking into the local supermarket.  Much of their salad produce is grown in greenhouses taking advantage of all the geothermal energy in the area.  We had dinner in the hotel and I have just come back in from taking some pictures of a church beside the hotel in the beautiful sunset.

Monday 9/5/16

Another beautiful day in paradise!  Today we went on a whale watch.  We drove close to the end of the fjord and almost immediately after leaving the dock, we saw dolphins.  The dolphins here are black and white.  Some of them came quite close to the boat.  When we got out a little farther we started seeing the spray from blowholes of the humpback whales.  We saw quite a few - some from a distance and some close to the boat.  It was a great day - blue skies, sunshine and the water was very smooth.  After, the boat stopped and we had a chance to fish.  My first catch was the line of the person standing next to me.  I think he came too close to me as he was reeling in his fish.  The second time, I caught a cod - 15 to 18 inches long.  One of the crew filleted the 15 fish that we caught and when we got back to shore, cooked in on the grill.  We had collectively caught pollock, haddock, mackerel and cod.  What a treat!  You couldn't ask for fresher fish - The samplers were delicious.  We then walked to a buffet, which was located in the library (very small).  The lunch was quite good, but I tried to eat sparingly as we have been having too many large meals.  The owner and chef of this restaurant has started a festival in the town.  All of the local fishermen and restaurants have one day in which they serve a sampling of free fish - soup, grilled, fried, etc.  It draws a huge crowd from the surrounding towns and everyone has a wonderful time - similar to the Taste of Mystic, but free!  When we got back to the hotel, we had to pack up our larger suitcases as the bus driver will be taking them back to the south of Iceland.  We will fly out tomorrow after breakfast to meet him.  Lana, John, and I took a walk (down a long steep hill) to the shopping area, while Dave took a nap and Kelly got ready for her special trip to go horseback riding on an Icelandic horse.  The four of us (minus Kelly - she will get dinner at the hotel when she returns) will walk down the hill again to go to dinner in an hour or so.  I have to say that the walk up the hill was not as bad as I envisioned it.  It is about the same steepness as Clift Street and ten times longer, but it does have a few curves in it so it doesn't seems so bad.  I hope everyone at home had a relaxing Labor Day.

Sunday 9/4/16

It was another beautiful sunny day today.  I hope our luck can continue through tomorrow as we are going on a whale watch.  Our first stop this morning was to see the Godafoss waterfall.  It was a smaller version of Niagara Falls - about 42 feet high and 100 feet wide.  It was pretty spectacular and to top it off, there was a rainbow in the spray.  We also went to the hot springs and saw boiling mud and fumaroles.  We went to see Dimmuborgir which is similar to Bryce in a way, but instead of eroding sandstone, this was volcanic rock formations - very interesting and it was fun to use your imagination to find witches, ogres, etc. in the formations.  We went for lunch in a restaurant next to Lake Myvatn and then walked across the street to hike among the pseudo craters - formed by hot lava meeting water underground.  The landscape here was covered in them.  On the way back to Akureyri, we stopped at the botanical gardens and had a lovely walk.  My favorite part was the fall flowers section - lots of purples and yellows.  We came back to the hotel for a little down time and then boarded the bus again to go to our home-hosted dinner.  The group was split into two and our group, 7 of us, were hosted by a family of six.  The three older boys were not at home, but the 13 year old daughter was.  The mom is an occupational therapist and the dad teaches English at the university.  She is Icelandic and he is a Palestinian from Israel.  They met in England at the university.  The meal was wonderful.  She served cod, potatoes, pasta, salad and lots of small dishes of different raw veggies.  The dessert was rhubarb crumble.  I asked her for the recipe as it was the best I have ever had.  I just hope she remembers to email it to me.  We had just returned and I will stay up for a while to see the Northern Lights.  Tonight it is cloudy, but sometimes that is when you get the most movement.

Saturday 9/3/16

What a disappointment!  I had no luck getting any of my photos to download to the iPad - I think it's time for a new camera.  I got Dave's downloaded, but I couldn't get them up on the blog - bummer!  The pictures of this beautiful country will have to come after we get home.

On a positive note, I went outside last night and saw the Northern Lights again.  This time it was a clear and starry night, but honestly, I thought the show was better with the cloud layer.  Last night was mostly a green glow on the horizon with a few weak flares.  The night before, there was a lot more "dancing" of the green lights.

This morning we left the hotel and worked our way east and north.  We are now in the town of Akureyri.  On the way here, we stopped at a replica sod house of Eric the Red.  The local owner of the "museum" was wonderful - very funny and informative.  John was chosen to be the Viking mannequin.  He donned a very heavy metal helmet and a Russian wolf collar (it was the pelt of the whole wolf) and sported a sword and large round shield.  We sat inside the sod house while he regaled us with stories about Eric and his son Leif.  On the way to our next stop, we saw a man on a quad cycle herding sheep in a field - the sheep were running and it was quite amusing.  We got to the sheep round-up and had a wonderful time talking to the locals.  Two days ago, the sheep up in the mountains were herded down (on horseback) to this central area where they were divided by farm ownership.  People who live on farms farther way came with trucks and loaded their sheep for the trip home.  Those who live nearby get the older sheep started for home and the rest will follow as they know the way.  All of the lambs born on the high meadows were tagged - they are identified by which mothers they go to.  One man estimated that there were 3000 to 4000 sheep that had been rounded up this time.  They will go out one or two more times to make sure that they gather them all before real winter sets in.  In the worse weather, the sheep will be in barns and fed grass.  One bale of grass will feed 60 sheep for 3 or 4 days.  All of the lambs will be sold for meat.  Our next stop was to an Icelandic horse farm.  We had a delicious lunch: pumpkin soup, salad bar and rhubarb cake for dessert.  After lunch, we went outside to watch the horses go through their paces.  These horses are shorter than the ones we see at home:  14 hands is the average height and 900 pounds.  They also have very shaggy manes which are never cut.  They are very cute.  They were brought to Iceland by the Vikings and no other horses are allowed on the island.  They have 5 paces: walk, pace, gallop, tolt (pronounced tuff), and fast tolt.  During the tolt, the rider can carry a full glass of beer and never spill a drop - a very smooth ride!  Our last stop of the day was a folk museum, a collection of peat houses used in the 18th century up until after World War II.  They had dirt floors and very small windows.  Some of the furniture was wonderfully carved.  We got here after a long day of being on the bus and then had dinner downstairs at the hotel.  We will look for the Northern Lights again tonight.  This is the farthest north we will be on this trip so I hope that they will be more brilliant.

Friday 9/2/16

We saw the Northern Lights last night.  We left a wake-up call at the front desk and the phone rang at 11:30.  We went out into the parking lot and saw them.  Unfortunately, there was a cloud cover so the color was muted, but they danced across the sky and we watched them for about an hour - so beautiful. My camera did not capture them as there was not enough light, but one of the group has a really fancy camera and he thinks he got some shots and is willing to share and John thinks he picked some up on a video that he took.  The memory will stay with me forever - it was a lovely display.  After breakfast this morning, we took a tour around the Snaefellsnes peninsula.  Our first stop was an unexpected one as our bus driver is local to this area and knew about a hidden waterfall - it was lovely.  Our next stop was at Sandy Beach to look at harbor and grey seals.  We saw both kinds fishing just off shore.  We also saw what we thought was a cormorant drying his wings on a rock, but apparently it was a shag, which I have never heard of.  We then went for a walk along the cliffs ear the ocean.  Most of the birds have migrated already, but we did see kittiwakes and Arctic terns.  Some of the group left us partway along as the second half of the walk was over lava fields.  I stayed with the walking on group and at one point I looked out over the water and saw a fin.  At first I thought it was a porpoise, but realized that the dorsal fin was way too big.  I then realized it was an orca (killer whale) and there were two of them.  I looked back and saw that Kelly had also spotted them so I let  out a great shout and everyone up ahead got to enjoy the view - quite exciting!  Our hike ended at a tiny restaurant, where the others had gone by bus.  It was quite warm so we were able to sit out on the deck and enjoy seafood chowder and lovely homemade bread.  Dessert was skyr with loganberry sauce - yum.  Our next stop was a National Park.  They had a small exhibit in the ranger station - all about the sea life in the area and the fishing industry.  We took pictures of a nearby lighthouse and then saw some sheep grazing on a sand spit - they seemed to be enjoying the dried seaweed.  Our next stop was to a farm, where besides normal farm animals, this family is famous for its Hakari.  This is a shark that can get up to 23 feet long and live for 400 years.  They get the sharks from accidental catches in the fishermens' nets - some years they get 20 and other years, 100.  They get the meat off the shark and let it putrify in closed boxes for 3 weeks.  Then they hang it and dry it for 3 to 4 months.  When it is dry, they skin it and eat it as a delicacy.  This process has been known since the 1400's and this particular family has been doing it for 400 years.  They had cut small cubes of it for a tasting (which Dave and I did not participate in).  You get a cube on a toothpick and dip it into a shot glass of "Black Death", a type of alcholic drink for 5 to 10 seconds, eat and then follow with a Black Death chaser.  The smell was enough to put me off, but those who tried it, including Kelly, said that it wasn't bad - in fact, she had seconds.  This particular shark pumps urine into its flesh to maintain its osmotic balance and apparently you could die if you ate the fresh meat.  This is why they putrify and dry it.  Not my cup of tea.  The young lady who showed the film and gave the presentation, was from Italy.  She is over here for the season.  She was charming and gave a great explanation of the whole process.  We walked out to the drying shed, which had a stronger smell of shark to see the hanging pieces and then helped to feed the ducks and chickens.  There were 3 baby ducks and they were very cute.  They also had quite a few of the Islandic horses on the property.  We went back to the hotel and the five of us, Lana, John, Kelly, Dave, and I walked down to the harbor for dinner.  Kelly had steamed mussels and the rest of us had fish sandwiches on squid ink rolls.  Everything was very good.  If I wake up in the middle of the night, I may look out to see the Northern Lights again as it is not as cloudy today.

Thursday 9/1/16

Wow!  We were really tired last night!  I had set the alarm  for 5:30, but was so fuzzy-headed last night that I didn't notice it was for PM not AM.  We woke up at 20 after six and jumped in the shower and hurried down to breakfast.  We really had plenty of time, but I hate feeling as if we are behind.  The bus ride was lovely.  We have moved north and west and are staying for the next two nights in a small town of Stykkisholmur.  Our first stop this morning was at the Borgarfjordur, a lovely fjord with a beautiful waterfall and a river that was very glacial.  We then stopped to see the town where a famous writer, Snorri, lived in the 13th century.  He wrote down all of the folk legends and sagas about Iceland, but instead of writing them in Latin, he wrote them in the Icelandic language.   Just a bit down the road we stopped at the Deildartunguhver thermal area.  The pipeline that runs from this area to surrounding towns is 74 km long and the 100 degree (212 F) water runs at 50 gallon per second!  We had a beautiful day again today - about 50 degrees and bright sunshine.  We saw many mountains, glaciers, and lava fields on on ride along the peninsula.  We stopped for lunch in a small town and had a vegetarian buffet and then went into a museum that explained about the early settlement of Iceland via audio tape.  It was very well done.  We boarded the bus again and stopped by a river where many people come to go salmon fishing.  In high season, permits for fly fishing of salmon run from 1500 to 4000 dollars per day!  At this time, the rate is a (mere) $300/day.  Kevin Cosner and Quentin Tarintino have both fished nearby.  Our guide is also a fishing guide and he treated us to salmon that he had caught and smoked.  He has also written a book on fly fishing in Iceland.  On our way to the hotel, we had one more stop to make, Helgafell Mountain (Holy Mountain).  It was only about 250 feet high so was an easy climb.  The legend is that you have to climb the mountain without looking back, face East, and make 3 non self-serving wishes and they will come true.  The short drive to the hotel was through lovely countryside near the water and when we got to town, the bus driver gave us a brief tour of the town and the harbor.  We checked in and then went for a walk down by the harbor and then across to another small island that sported a short lighthouse at the top.  The views from the top were wonderful and by the time we got back to the hotel, it was time for dinner.  Tonight's meal was huge:  cod (which I thought was the main meal, chicken with a variety of veggies and homemade ice cream for dessert.  The ice cream was drizzled with loganberry sauce - yum!  Again there does not seem to be time to post pix, but will try to get some on soon.

Tuesday 8/30/16

We are on our way to Iceland!  We fought Boston traffic and got to the airport at 5:15 PM only to discover that Icelandic Air goes out of a remote terminal and there was no line at security.  We ate dinner at Legal Seafood and then had a wait until our flight left at 9:30 PM.  I am not complaining though as I would much rather be early than late.  We had a good flight except that our area of the plane was quite hot and Lana John and Kelly who were about ten rows behind us were freezing.  About 4 in the morning, an elderly woman fell into the aisle, whether from dizziness, sickness or stumbling we do not know.  The flight crew was wonderful and reacted immediately and there was a doctor seated two rows in front of me who helped out.  They started oxygen and an IV and had her in the aisle administering first aid for quite some time, but she seemed to be much better by the time we landed.  An ambulance crew came on board and took it from there.  We were met by our guide after we passed through passport control/customs and then waited a few minutes for some of the others of our group to get through.  We took a long ride in morning rush hour traffic and finally got to our hotel in Reykjavik.  We had breakfast at the hotel and then were able to get into our rooms before meeting Loftur, our guide, for a walking tour.  We walked by some lovely and colorful houses before stopping at the Hallgrimskirkju, a lovely Protestant church in the city.  The organ was very unusual with some horizontal pipes and we were lucky as the choir was practicing for a concert and we got to listen in.  There is a big statue of Leif Eiricsson (their spelling) outside of the church.  The statue was given to Iceland by the United States on what is thought to be the 1000th anniversary of his landing in North American - 950 AD.  Continuing our walk, we passed by a few houses that were sided in corrugated iron - very unusual, but after a fire in the 1950's it became quite popular.  We then went to the Harpa, the concert hall.  It was a great building made of glass.  The glass is in blocks meant to remind us of basalt columns as was the church (concrete, though, not glass).  The group then split up:  A few went back to the hotel for a nap as few of us had slept on the plane, a few including Lana, Kelly and I went back to a wonderful shopping street that we had passed on our walk, and the rest went with Loftur to see the parliament buildings.  Unfortunately, the shopping looked better from the street - I only bought a few postcards.  We made our way back to the hotel and had a short nap before going down to a welcome chat and then dinner.  I will have to put pix on later as my eyeballs are falling out of my head.  We are on the road tomorrow so will tell you all about it when I can.