Iceland Day 12

Happy Canada Day to all my friends back home!

Today was the last official day of the tour. One thing I like about exploring Iceland is that since the days are so long, we get a later start in the morning. 10 AM works for me…haha! We had a short 15 minute drive from our hotel over to the Arbaer Open Air Museum.

There are over 20 buildings representing a town square, a village and a farm. They are all very well preserved inside and out. I really liked the sturdily-built sod houses. The church was even a sod one! One of the homes had an attached shed for farm animals.

I was amazed at the short doorways and extremely steep narrow stairways in most of the two story buildings. Yikes! It was almost like using a ladder in some cases.

There was a group of small kids touring the museum. For their enjoyment, there was an old-fashioned go-cart steered with feet and a rope. I was impressed with the ‘engine’ in the back – other kids pushing. They really got that cart moving!

Lunch was at a very popular eating establishment in Reykjavik. It’s called Baejarins Beztu Pylsur. And what do they serve you may ask? Hot dogs! It’s not a sit-down restaurant, just a stand in the downtown area. There are always line-ups and they even have their own Wikipedia entry!!

Our afternoon excursion was to the famous Blue Lagoon. I was expecting a hot pool much the same as the Mineral Baths at Myvatn. The Blue Lagoon is not only more famous, but bigger, with more to do, and at a higher cost of course. (6,500 Icelandic kronas =$55.82 CDN). It was so worth it though.

Upon entry, you were issued a high-tech waterproof bracelet. That was your key to open and close your locker, but there was also a swim-up bar serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. To ‘pay’, they scanned your bracelet, then after changing and before exiting, they re-scanned your bracelet and charged you accordingly. Due to the heat and steam, I ordered a raspberry slushy drink (crushed ice with flavoring) to help cool down a bit.

There was an area with tubs of ‘mud’ and a long-handled narrow spoon. You reached in and scooped out the white mud, then put it on your face for 10-15 minutes. It was great fun and I did it 3 times.

There were steam saunas and an extremely powerful waterfall you could stand under. It was like getting a massage, that’s how strong it was. There were quite a few people there but it is a big pool with lots of different areas. Like the Myvatn Mineral Baths, the floor of the pool was natural and uneven. It was mostly smooth but you had to watch your step as you could step on a sharp rock at any moment.

We headed back to Reykavik which was about a 40 minute drive. I hung up my suit and towel and headed out to the main shopping street to explore. Since it was after 6 PM there wasn’t much open but I enjoyed window shopping at any rate.

At 8 PM I met up with the rest of the group for one final get-together as some people had flights to catch later that evening. I ordered myself a fruity drink called “Holy Moly”. After our final good-byes I headed back to the hotel to blog and plan for tomorrow.

I’m on my own again! 

Iceland Day 5

The day started out cloudy and grey but it didn't rain and there was no wind. That makes a big difference here in Iceland, well, anywhere really.

We headed east on the main highway that circles Iceland, stopping to buy groceries for our picnic lunch later on. Then we headed to our first waterfall of the day and it was a doozy.

Seljalandsfoss is an impressive 65 meters tall and the cool thing about this goss (waterfall) is that you can walk behind it! Apparently when the sun shines, rainbows appear. We weren't lucky enough to see that but it was pretty spectacular all the same. 

Our next stop on the journey east was Slogafoss Falls. A significant number of steps lead one to a viewpoint at the top of the falls. I decided to stay at the bottom and take my time photographing the beauty there. That and the fact that my leg muscles were sore from yesterday’s hike…haha!

Across the river formed from the flow of the falls, I spied some Icelandic horses peacefully grazing as if they were posing for photographers. The backdrop was a beautiful green mountain and traditional farm buildings. The group included a little baby colt which was nursing, after which he contentedly laid down. 

I walked closer to the main attraction, tucking my 'good camera' under my waterproof jacket. Quite close to the falls, there was a little overhang where I stood somewhat protected from the onslaught of water in the air. There were gulls nesting along the cliffs and beautiful flora and fauna clinging to life on the rocks. We had our picnic lunch at some nearby tables. 

In the afternoon we drove to a wonderful viewpoint overlooking the ocean. The rocks were huge, pointy and quite unique-looking! Below, a mother duck of some sort was walking along the shore with her ducklings. She headed towards the water to escape a human chasing her family for a photo. Stupid human! When the fierce ocean hit the ducklings I thought they were goners but they are ducks of course....no worries!

We piled in the van and headed a little further on towards the black sand beach below. You could feel and hear the fury of the ocean. As I was intently looking through my lens, a big wave came past the 'dry' line and got me good! Silly photographer! 

The cliffs above were made of a brown shale-like type of rock. Above that, the ground was a magnificent green and I was amazed to see a sheep grazing on an extremely steep slope. 

The beach was part sand, part rocks.  And oh, what rocks they were! Although they were mostly black, I managed to fill my pockets with various colored stones. I hope to be able to wire-wrap them when I get home and turn them into jewelry of one kind or another. Some people made inukshuks with the stones. Most of the rocks were smooth and invited ‘play’.

When we went to leave that spot, we discovered we had parked on a soft gravelled area. How soft? It was like getting stuck in mud or snow. Fortunately there was a farmer quite nearby with a tractor. Unfortunately we were the third tour van stuck today, while 5 were stuck yesterday. Really! He pulled us out, but for a fee. Our guide wouldn’t say how much but it wasn’t chicken feed.

Our guide told us today was going to be a 'fossy' kind of day. There are over 10,000 waterfalls in Iceland and we've seen some gooders! Our last stop of the day was yet another fall called Systrafoss. It was tucked away amongst some trees and turned this way and that. Nearby was a picturesque sod house which I photographed from all angles.

We are staying 2 nights at the Islandia Hotel in Nupar in the south of Iceland. There is nothing but the hotel for miles, er, kilometers, all around. Dinner is being served!