8/12/15 Reykjanes Penninsula

On this last day of our tour we disembarked the ship and took a bus to the geothermal fields of Krysuvik-Solfataras, the volcanic plateau of Reykjanes. First stop - thermal pools.

 

Diane the drowned rat

It was raining hard with winds at 50 knots gusting higher. Our next stop was the Blue Lagoon. It is a big pool fed by geothermal heated mineral-laden water. It supposedly has great healing effects on skin problems. It was pelting down rain so Diane went in but only 10-15 mins. It would be a great place without the rain and wind. There are bridges and a bar and a mud pit where you can smear mud on your face.

8/11/15 Golden Circle

We docked at Hafnarfjordur, south of Reykjavik in the Reykjanes Peninsula. Hafnarfjordur is well known for its "hidden population"  - people have believed thata elves, dwarfs and other supernatural creatures live in its lava cliffs in peaceful coexistence with residents. Hafnarfjordur. It has the only Viking restaurant in the country. Trolls are giants and hidden.

Today we toured the "Golden Circle" visiting several sites by bus. First we visited Thingvellir National Park. In 930 AD Iceland became a commonwealth and created their national assembly (parliament) Althingi and chose Thinvellir as the site of government. The 36 chieftains would meet on the plains, build covered booths and meet for two weeks. They would elect a Law-speaker to run the proceedings. We walked down a narrow rift between the North American and Eurasian continental plates.

Rift Walk

Drowning Pool

After walking the rift trail we arrived at Drekkingarhylur - the drowning pool. Women were punished by drowning and men by beheading.












Next we stopped at Fridheimar for a horse show. They demonstrated the five gaits of the Icelandic horse. When they demonstrate the unique tolt the riders went swiftly around the ring carrying full mugs of beer or milk to demonstrate how stable the ride is. Afterward we could pet the animals and talk with the riders.

Our next stop was Geysir & Stokkur - 2 geysers. The Great Geysir hasn't erupted since 2000 but the Stokkur erupts about every 15 minutes and reaches a height of 66ft. There were also many water pools along the path.












We visited a well known waterfall Gullfoss "Golden Falls". River Hvita falls 105ft into a 1.5 mile ravine. A trail takes people right next to the falls. A rainbow often occurs on sunny days.

8/10/15 Heimaey, Iceland

The morning found us cruising towards the 15 Westman Islands and Heimaey the only one inhabited.

First we had a lecture on Iceland Today.

The captain of our ship found several whales. He seems to have a special knack for it. After watching whales for about an hour, we continued on our journey.

8/9/15 Vigur Island and Isafjordur, Iceland

Eider Ducks

We were in the Isafjordarjup fjord for the day.

Vigur Island is a small island where there is a farm which has been owned and operated by the same family for 4 generations. The farm has a dozen sheep, some captive eider ducks and many wild birds. The family also earns money by hosting tourists and harvesting eider down which is used to make pillows - very soft. There is a large room in the farm house which accommodates about 100 people after  their mile long hike around the island for traditional Icelandic desserts (rhubarb tart, wedding cake). There is a 1830 windmill on site which is the only one left in Iceland. It was pouring rain when we went. We saw puffin, Black Guillemot, Eider, Arctic Terns, gulls and ravens.

The Farm

Garden back of farm house

Next we took the boat back to the ship and got on a bus to tour the area surrounding the town of Isafjodur. Isafjordur population is 3500 and is divided into 4 sections. There avalanche danger in some areas.

Our first destination was a beautiful waterfall with cold, clear and refreshing water. To watch a video and hear the rushing go here http://ow.ly/RPPhm. To get a drink of the fantastic water you have to go there.

We then went back to town to visit the Westfjords Heritage Museum which is housed in a 1785 warehouse. There are maritime exhibits, fishing exhibits and a primer on Westfjord's regional history. In addition the upstairs was dedicated to accordions! We had the opportunity to try Icelandic "delicacies": dried fish, fermented (rotten) shark and schnapps. We didn't try the shark but tried the others.

We next went to Osvor to see a turf-roofed fisherman's house and learn about the life of an Icelandic fisherman a few generations ago

8/8/15 Akureyri, Iceland and Lake Myvatn

Akureyri is the "capital of northern Iceland" - it is the commercial, cultural, and governmental center of the north. It is the largest fishing port. The 16,000 inhabitants work in fisheries, light industry, and food processing. The climate is mild despite being only 60km from the Arctic Circle. In the winter Akureyri is the winter sports center and provides many tours of the Aurora Borealis. In the winter there is only 3 hours of daylight. In the summer people hike and garden, young people sail boats. Kids play outside until the 10PM curfew. People love to swim and bathe in mineral baths year round.

During the ice age, volcanic eruptions continued and mountains were formed under the ice. Lake Myvatn, midge lake, was formed when two tectonic plates separated, still 1cm/year. It was fed by a spring that is under the lava field. It is fairly shallow - 7ft 2in. It is 14 sq mi and has 50 islets. Shoreline is protected for nesting birds. Our coach toured around the lake today.

Godafoss (Waterfall of the Gods) was named in 1000 AD when the Law Speaker of the Parliament proclaimed Iceland a Christian country and he threw all his pagan statues into the falls. The water from the river falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters.

8/7/15 Grimsey Island, Iceland

We traveled through the night to get to Grimsey Island and were delayed from disembarking because of rough seas. We had two lectures this morning The History of Iceland and The Geology of Iceland.

Diane and Bill at Arctic Circle

Grimsey is the northernmost inhabited part of Iceland. there is another island north but not inhabited. Part of Grimsey is in the arctic Circle. There are steep cliffs everywhere except where the port is. We took a tender to shore to begin the hike to the arctic and to see puffins. We were bundled up as it was COLD. The island is 3 sq. mi. The total round trip took about 2.5 hours. The Arctic Terns are like dive bombers but didn't get any of our group. We walked to the Arctic Circle and then on to the puffins. Of course some how Bill got a ride to the Arctic Circle sign but he did walk back.

Puffin

We finally made it back to the port ready for a tender to the ship, freezing to death. Oh and it rained over half of our round trip hike.

8/6/15 Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Iceland

View of scene on way to port

Prior to disembarking, we heard an hour long lecture on the birds of Iceland.  You can see some of the birds at the link to the right and find out some facts on the Facts and Figures page. Our lecturer was  who has a wealth of knowledge and degrees.

The Snaefellsnes peninsula is in the west of Iceland. It is much older than the Reykjanes peninsula, where Reykjavik is located.

We disembarked at Grundarfjordur, a fishing village. Half of the workforce is employed in the fishing industry.

We drove to Budir. There were volcanic eruptions 7000 years ago. There was lava and basalt rock all over. Piles of stones and stakes tell where the road is along the way. In the mis 1800s huge floods wiped away the coastal villages.

We arrived Budir bay which has lots of little islands. We took a 40 minute walk with a stop at the Black Church (Lutheran) to a white sand beach with lava all over.


 Our next stop was Arnarstapi where one group took a 45 minute cliff walk and we took an alternate walk on top. We saw the cliffs and then a statue of Bardur Snaefellsas, the deity of Mt. Snaefell, the introduction of which was in a 14th century saga.

The last stop of the day was Djupalonssandur. Here people took a 30 minute walk down to the black sand beach. Several of us took a walk on the boardwalk at the top. It was extremely windy and Diane had to take the arm of another woman and then another took hers. It felt like the wind would blow us over.

8/5/15 Reykjavik, Iceland

Our Tauck Tour began this day. First we ate lunch at the Perlan restaurant which is a revolving restaurant with great views of Reykjavik. We met some of our cruise mates and also the cruise directors.

8/4/15 Reykjavik, Iceland

Asmundarsafn

We walked to the Reykjavik Art Museum - Asmundarsafn.  Ásmundar Sveinssonar (1893-1982) is Iceland's most famous sculpture. His art is modern and he created huge sculptures 23 of which are in the sculpture garden surrounding the museum. The museum itself was his home and studio and contains smaller sculptures in various mediums, some being models for the large ones outside.

Reykjavik 871 +/- 2 The Settlement Exhibition

This exhibit is below ground and consists of archaeological remains which were excavated in 2001. They are the oldest relics of human habitation in Reykjavik and include fragments from before 871 AD. There was also a longhouse from the 10th century was discovered. They had been buried in volcanic ash.


There was a special exhibition of the Settlement Sagas. These ancient manuscripts are usually kept under lock and key at The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. Four important sagas are: Landnamabok - story of the founding of Iceland and early settlers; Islendingabok - history from 900-1132. Creation of government and adoption of Christianity; Kjalnsugasaga - saga of Reykjavik 15 century; Jonsbok - law code; and Kaupbref - 1615 deed and story of Reykjavik.

Next we saw the Hallgrimskirkja which is a large parish Lutheran church; Lutheran is the Church of Iceland.  It was built from 1945-1986 and is 244 ft. tall - the 6th tallest architectural structure in Iceland. It is Expressionist Scandinavian. It has a huge organ built in 1982 that includes 4 manuals, pedals, 102 ranks, 72 stops and 5275 pipes. Concerts are often held here. Named after Hallgrimur Petursson (1614-1674) poet, author and clergy who wrote "Passion Hymns".

Out front is a statue of Leif Eriksson given by the US in 1930 during the Millennial Festival honoring 1000 years of Iceland parliament at Thingvellir in 930 AD.

We then went across the street and visited the Einar Jonsson Sculpture Garden featuring impressionist and avaunt guard sculptures. He was Iceland's first sculptor.