Iceland Day 10

Well I learned something about myself in Husavik this morning.  I could never ever make a living as a sailor in the Atlantic!

Husavik is a beautiful northern coastal town on the shore of Skjálfandi Bay and is known as the whale capital of Iceland. We arrived just in time for a three hour tour (everybody sing, "a 3 hour tour, a 3 hour tour!"). Our boat was a beautiful old wooden schooner with about 30 passengers. 

On board we were issued heavy duty waterproof coveralls that also served as life jackets.  To put them on, we had to take off our shoes to get our feet through the legs. That's where I made my first mistake - not doing my "waterproof" hiking boot laces back up tightly.  What I didn't count on was the boat taking on so much water and soaking my right boot and sock completely. Wool gets pretty heavy when its wet. And just like rafting and snorkelling, that water is unpleasantly cold, to put it mildly.  

My second mistake was in my choice of seats. I thought that the middle would be a smart choice. I could easily get to where the 'whale action' was or so I thought and it wouldn't be as rough as the bow. As I sat on the end of a bench, the boat began to pitch with such violence that I fell right off and onto the floor. If the floor hasn't been so wet I would have stayed there!

The third thing I did wrong was to leave my Gravol and my motion sickness bracelets tucked away in my suitcase back on shore. I'm not a complete landlubber. I’ve been whale watching on the ocean before in Canada and toured the Galapagos in a small yacht, so I thought I knew what I was in for....NOT! I was good for the first hour or so but then I began to feel quite queasy. Keep your eyes on the land they said, and I tried. They passed around cinnamon buns at the end of the excursion but the thought of food made me ill. I sure wasn’t the only who had a hard time on that trip.

On the plus side, I saw whales…lots of them! They were humpback whales and they were really swimming, jumping and breaching. My plans were to get some good photos but it was all I could do to stay upright as the boat was heaving up and down. I decided my safety was more important than the ‘National Geographic’ shot I had hoped for. My SLR would have got soaked if I had used it, so that was another reason to keep it tucked inside my jacket and get a few 'grab' shots with my point and shoot.

When we returned to shore, it was lunch time. I managed to keep a bowl of Icelandic meat soup down, that,  and a big glass of ginger-ale. The town of Husavik is very picturesque. The harbor is beautiful, there is a lovely old wooden church on the main street, and the mountain behind the town is almost covered with lupins.

We headed towards our next stop for the night, the city of Akureyi. A welcome stop along the way was Godafoss. The sun came out and the falls were spectacular. The height is only 12 meters but the width is 30 meters. The water splits in the middle and goes down 2 sides.  

After Reykjavik, Akureyi is Iceland’s second largest urban area. Our hotel is lovely, and is only a few blocks away from the downtown area where we had supper and browsed in the store windows. Like in Reykjavik, a huge church towers over the town and is a beautiful landmark for miles around.

I hope I don’t dream of the ocean tonight! 

Iceland Day 9

Today was spent touring the Lake Myvatn area of northern Iceland.

The first stop of the day was at a place called Leirhnjukur (say that fast 3 times!). It was only about an hour’s walk but we walked on every type of terrain possible…gravel, hard rock, boardwalk, lava, and snow. Signs warned you to stay on marked paths or light brown clay as the ground had hot spots. Steam was rising out of many places and there were several milky green-blue pools along the way.

This place had the funniest sign I’ve seen yet on this trip….see below. Walking in soft snow was easy for this Canandian!

Although we weren’t really hungry, lunch was on the agenda and we stopped at a nice place nearby. It was so good, we came back there later for supper as well. I had a slice of hotspring bread with smoked arctic char. It wasn’t too filling so I had dessert – a chocolate, date merange concoction with whipped cream. Oh my! That filled up the cracks.

After lunch we visited Dimmuborgir. It is a walking path around some fascinating, solidified lava formations. One of them was called the ‘kirkjan’ (which means church) and we posed for a group photo. The trail was an easy walk for a change.

We had brought our swimsuits and towels and headed over to the Myvatn Nature Baths, which are thermal pools. The water was quite hot in places and bearable in others. I was surprised to find that the pool bottom contained rocks and sand or mud. It was not a traditional pool with a man-made basin. There were large natural rocks for sitting on in various places around the pool and I parked myself one of those for quite a while. The mineral water is supposed to heal all kinds of ills. It sure felt good on my tired feet.

After that we made a quick stop at Namafjall – a geothermal area with fumaroles and mud pots. Fumarole gas mixed with steam rises out of the ground like a mini-volcano. It smells very sulphury. They are very hot and super interesting.

Supper was on the agenda again then we headed back to our hotel. The light was wonderful and I snapped a few good ones. Our hotel is right by Skutustadagigar (say that fast 3 times). I walked amongst the pseudo-craters formed by steam explosions when burning lava encounters lakes or wetlands.

At the end of the walking path, a pretty orange-legged bird warned me not to get too close. I took some shots from a respectful distance and headed in for the night.

Iceland Day 8

Our stay in the town of Seydisfjordur was a short one. But before we left the area, visiting a farm was on the agenda. 

Seydisfjordur is the innermost point of the fjord which is big enough for large ship traffic. Today there was a ferry in port which was headed for Norway.  We drove out towards the ocean for quite awhile. Pavement turned to gravel, gravel turned to bigger rocks, then the road disappeared into a fast moving river. Our guide actually got out and had a look at the rushing water to see if crossing it was doable. I was aghast as I was sure it wasn't a good idea. He came to the same conclusion. 

So we went back a bit, parked the van, then set off on foot. It was a 4 kilometre walk to get to the farm. We alternated between a footpath and a rocky road, crossing several fast moving streams in the process.  Some had bridges, some did not. I was so glad of my hiking boots and superwool socks today. 

We walked by thousands upon thousands of purple lupins in bloom. The landscape was gorgeous with the fjord moving out to sea on the left and rocky hills to the right. 

The farm is literally in the middle of nowhere. I have no idea where the nearest neighbour would have been...not close enough to easily borrow a cup of sugar. The farm is actually a kind of research facility. Students are working on soil research and they are trying to be completely self-sustainable. There are chickens, pigs, and a garden. 

We were served a delicious bowl of vegetable soup together with bread and butter. I'm getting quite addicted to Icelandic butter...what a treat! And with all this serious physical activity we've been doing, I don't feel one bit guilty. After we ate, we set off again on a hike across to the ocean cliffs for some bird watching.  

We had to pass by some of their nests which the birds really don't like. They show their displeasure by dive bombing whoever is in front. It's important not to lag behind or you will become the new target. They don't just swoop a little like the barn swallows back home. They are quite capable of doing some real damage. A good way to protect oneself is to hold up something high up on the air. Some people held lupins on top of their heads. Haha!

At the cliffs we saw many nesting birds of one type or another, including puffins. Their wings are short in relation to their bodies and they really seem to work hard when they fly. 

When we returned to the farm, I was so glad we were getting a jeep ride back to the van. It was not so much the distance I objected to but the terrain. The jeep actually went through the raging creek where the van had turned around. 4 x 4 transmission makes a big difference!

We drove back through Seydisfjordur one more time and joined up with the main highway once again. The weather turned rainy as we left east Iceland and headed toward the north country. 

A welcome stop was at Dettifoss and Selfoss. A 15 minute walk brings you to some pretty impressive falls.  Dettifoss is the bigger one while Selfoss is a series of smaller ones. 

The countryside has changed. There are lots of huge rocks close to shore. It's 7 PM and I’m starving. The vegetable soup I had 7 hours ago  is no longer sustaining me. Must. Eat. Soon. 

Iceland Day 7

There was only one activity on the agenda today but what a great day it turned out to be!

It was pouring rain but we were going on a wheeled boat ride to look at glaciers and I thought ‘how wet can I get?’ Ha! Although the boat ride was only about half an hour long, it was pouring, and I mean really pouring! I was wet right through my Gortex jacket and didn’t warm up until hours later.

The boat ride was at Jokulsarlon Lagoon in the southeast of Iceland. The ocean current carries pieces of glacier into the lagoon of various shapes, sizes and colors. It was absolutely breath-taking! (or was that the cold driving rain?) The guide had a piece of 1000 year old ice onboard and chopped it up for us to taste. The ride was over all too fast and I would have liked to go up to the top of the hill and view the lagoon from above. But I wasn’t prepared for the cold and wet today. Rain pants and waterproof boots would have been the wisest choice. Live and learn.

Lunch was at a small authentic little eatery in the town of Hofn. It is known as the lobster capital of Iceland and I had a delicious and reasonably priced lobster baguette. We had a lot more miles to go to our destination in east Iceland so on we went.

I was surprised when we turned off the main road onto gravel but as it turns out, the main road is a gravel one and we hadn’t turned off at all. The coastline began to get real interesting but photos were difficult in the driving rain and it got super foggy. Then we began to see snow (old, not fresh) by the sides of the road – lots of it. Eventually the rain and fog quit. We made a stop for ice cream, then we headed toward the town of Seydisfjordur in the east of Iceland.

Just before we got there we stopped at a pullout by the side of the road to view a raging, waterfall and enjoy the astounding, drop-dead gorgeous views! The town of Seydisfjordur is also a photographers delight and the guesthouse we are in for the night is adorable! Supper was Icelandic lamb served with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and yogurt in a delicious warm panini type of bun. What fancy restaurant served me this? The food truck across the street!

After supper I went for a walk around the town and up to one of the waterfalls. Seydisfjordur is located at the innermost point of a fjord nestled amongst mountains. Beautiful yellow and pink wildflowers and purple lupins added to the composition of so many photos. There is a harbor here too and ships come in from Scandanavian countries. The wooden buildings are colorful, the architecture is fabulous and I had a ball exploring with my cameras!

Iceland Day 6

This morning started with a half an hour drive to meet our guide for the glacier walk. We got fitted for crampons and were given a serious-looking ice pick as well. Then we drove a further 15 minutes to the base of the Virkisjokull Glacier in southeast Iceland.

We had about a 45 minute walk along a rocky, gravelly path to where we needed to put on the crampons. We didn’t realize we were already walking on the glacier for quite a while as the ground didn’t seem icy. But underneath the loose black stuff that looked like gravel was ice.

Our guide showed us how to put on the crampons, then checked to make sure they were tight. I was wondering what I had signed up for when I was issued the 2 foot long metal ice pick. But it was just so that we could stick the pointy handle end in the ice if we needed extra traction.

Walking on the glacier was easier than I expected. It wasn’t solid ice but kind of soft and crystallized. It was also quite dirty looking. Our guide showed us how much melt had occurred using plastic pipe as a measuring device. There are scientists measuring and photographing the ice on a regular basis to check on the health of the glacier.

There were dangerous looking holes and crevices in the ice. Our guide led us single file and stopped frequently to give us information. I enjoyed hearing what she had to say and I was glad of the chance to catch my breath. This G Adventures tour has been rated a 2/5 in terms of activity level - light walking, nothing too challenging – is how they put it. Ha!

We walked as high up as we could go without ropes, helmets and more serious ice climbing equipment then turned around and made our descent. I was a little worried about slipping as some of the slopes were on the steep side but slow and steady wins the race….or at least gets you back to the bus in one piece!

Our noon meal was a picnic lunch provided for us then we were off again to the next stop – Ingolfshofdi Cape. Our form of transportation to the Cape was quite unique. We piled into a long wheeled wagon and our guide pulled us there with a powerful tractor. I say powerful because there was about 30 of us altogether and we went through quite a deep river right at the beginning much to the amazement of most of us.

It was a bumpy half hour ride across the field of black volcanic ash mixed with basalt. We piled out and hiked up to the top of the cliff where it was grassy. We had to be careful where we walked because of the skua birds nesting right along the path. The parents weren’t too happy with us and swooped pretty close to our heads to show their displeasure. One of these feisty birds attacked a sheep that it thought was getting too close to it’s babies…what a sight!

As we got closer to the ocean side of the cliffs the view was amazing. We were quite high up and I was glad of my fleece and waterproof jacket when it started to rain and blow. I also got good mileage out of my rain pants, gloves and light ear muffs today.

Our guide was a long time resident from the area and knew a lot of history as well as a lot about the local  birds. We saw our first puffin and then some more! They seemed quite curious and posed nicely. The guide set up a spotting scope and we really had a good look!

We hiked for about an hour and a half before we went back for the return tractor ride. I am definitely going to recommend this tour of the Cape on TripAdvisor when I get home.

My new hiking boots got another good workout today