July 30/14

Today was our last full day in Iceland, and we had a very relaxing one! Before leaving the volcano area by our B&B, we saw a short film about its eruption in 2010. We learned what happened to the farm that is situated right below the volcano, and how, with the help of many people, they were able to restore their home and business. It was a very touching story, because it was told by the owners themselves, and also showed the actual eruption, which was amazing to see.

It was a short drive to our last B&B in Selfoss, but we continued a bit further west to Hveragerði. This town is a big geothermal area. We walked around an area with many holes in the ground that are now dried up, but clearly used to be filled with hot water. There were benches beside one small pond of geothermal water in which you could soak your feet. It felt too hot when I put my hand in it, so decided not to. Beside this was a mud bath, where you could cover your feet in lightly coloured mud. Many people believe that it has health benefits, and if you go to a spa here, they would rub it all over your body! You could also hard boil an egg in that water if you wished, or eat some bread that had been baked underground. Right next to this area is a dairy that uses the steam from the ground to pasteurize the milk. Next we drove to a similar area a bit north of town, where there were several big holes with steam coming out of them. We couldn't get very close, however, as the area was roped off because the ground is too hot to walk on. Apparently it can melt your shoes! Because this area is so geothermal, they have a large outdoor swimming facility using the heated water. It has two hot tubs, with one being warmer than the other, a cold tub, steam room, and a very long pool which was cooler than the tubs. We were so lucky, because apparently this was the first sunny day that they had had for a very long time! The pool had one lane at the side, so I was able to swim some lengths, and since most people were either in the tubs or playing in the larger area, I often had the lane to myself. This is a wonderful facility, as it wasn't designed to be a tourist place like the Blue Lagoon, which many tourists flock to and spend lots of money at. We spent a few relaxing hours there, and I finished with a visit to the steam room. It's much steamier than the ones at home, and of course has a bit of a sulphur odour.

After the pool we drove to a nearby park with the intention of reading for a bit while waiting for check in time, but as it was windy, we checked on a place to have dinner, which we later returned to.

Our B&B is on a farm out in the country, a bit past Selfoss. The owner has chickens, horses, cats and birds, and out of our window we can see fields with the volcano Hekla in the distance. It's a relaxing location in which to spend our last night in Iceland.

July 29/14

Drove back as far as Skaftafell Park today (two hours each way, not including time to stop for photos!) to do a couple of hikes. The sun shone most of the day, which was a nice change from yesterday, so we had beautiful views of things that we couldn't see then. We saw some gorgeous glaciers, including Katla, the one that's overdue to erupt. We also saw beautiful green mountains with basalt columns and interesting shapes, areas of grass-covered lava, huge expanses of black sand, and a small area that looked like many green boobs!

The first hike was out to a glacier, which took a couple of hours round trip. It looked pretty cool up close, although some of it was covered with volcanic ash, giving it a dirty look. There were some unusual shapes resembling modern art, with dark streaks through the snow. It was chilly up close to the glacier, so we wore hats, gloves, jackets, and I had a sweater on as well.

In contrast, the other hike that departed from the parking lot at the Visitor's Centre was much warmer, partly because the sun was shining, but also because we were climbing the whole time to a waterfall. We walked to Svartifoss, a waterfall flanked by basalt columns, but the Falls themselves weren't that impressive.

Still, we got in some more exercise, which was good after a very long day in the car yesterday, and four plus hours in the car today.

Tried unsuccessfully to find a geothermal hot pool that apparently is very close to our B&B. This was disappointing, as we have yet to try one, and the trip is almost over.

July 28/14

Today was a very long driving day. We filled up the tank in Reykjavík when we left and it was empty when we got to our B&B! We are staying in front of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull, which erupted in 2010, causing flights west from Europe to be temporarily cancelled.

Our drive took us along the south coast as far as Jökulsárlón, a lagoon full of small icebergs that have drifted down from a glacier which is one thousand years old! The colours are beautiful - blue, clear, white and black. The black came from volcanic ash, and looked really neat mixed in with the white. Despite the on and off rain all day, we could see them well. You could walk around the lagoon or take a boat tour, but thought we could see just as much from shore, especially given the weather. Just as we were leaving it started raining hard, and you could barely see the ice or the beautiful colours, so we just got there in time. This is as far east as we're going along the south coast. On the way to the lagoon we passed Skaftafell Park, the southern part of Vatnajökull Park in the north. There are lots of excursions and hiking in the park, including one to a glacier that we hope to do tomorrow, depending on the weather. We'll have to drive two hours back in the direction we went today, so we won't do it if the weather is as bad as it was today.

Had dinner at a restaurant on a farm, where everything is made on site. I had broccoli and blue cheese soup with homemade bread and sauces. Michael's fish was very good as well, but the waitress goofed - there was barley in a salad on his plate. Fortunately he noticed and didn't eat it!

July 27/14

Today was our tour into the volcano. Wow, what an experience! A small bus took us from our B&B to the main tour bus terminal, and then we had a 30 minute ride to the cabin for the start of the hike to the volcano. The hike was about 40 minutes on a gravel path which was pretty easy to walk on, and then at the end there was a steep climb to the top of the volcano. Then 5 people at a time crossed a short bridge and stepped onto a window washing platform. We were wearing helmets, and were attached both to the bridge and to the platform with a harness. On the platform we descended 120 meters - twice the height of the Statue of Liberty! The colours inside the volcano were amazing! When you looked up you could see a very fine rain, which is always the case. The temperature is consistent too - plus four degrees. At the bottom we were allowed to walk around in a limited area. I was very happy to have a walking stick, as it was difficult with the ground being wet and slippery, but it helped that our helmets had a light. There were a few flood lights at the bottom, otherwise it would have been very dark. Once back up they served us delicious lamb and vegetable soup, tea and coffee.

I asked our guide about the volcanos that erupted a few years ago. Apparently she was hiking at the time, and very close to it. They had to close the road back to Reykjavík, so she had to drive all the way around Iceland to get back home. She said that a volcano in the south (where we will be next) is due to erupt at any time! Apparently an earthquake precedes the eruption, and at the first sign the residents get a warning on their cell phones to leave the area. Hopefully for our sakes it will hold off for at least a few more days!

July 26/14

Not much to write about today, as it was a driving day. We headed back to Reykjavík from Akureyri, with a slight detour north to Sauðárkrókur to see the Tannery Centre that we had to miss when we stayed there before, as we needed to leave early for our whale tour. At this centre they make a lot of things out of fish leather (from salmon), and Michael really wanted to get a flask covered with that. As it turned out, not only was he able to get a flask he liked, but also a bow tie!

Ended the day with a walk into town to stretch our legs after the long drive. Tomorrow is our much anticipated trip down into a dormant volcano, so I'm sure there will be more interesting news after that!

July 25/14

Forgot to mention that yesterday it was warm enough for me to go without a sweater or jacket for the first time (17 degrees)! Today was a pleasant sunny day too - not hot, and perfect for our day in the park.

From Husavík we drove to the northern end of Vatnajökull National Park. I was surprised that there was no entrance fee, as there would have been for a similar park at home. The park is built in a very large canyon. At the north end we did a hike along the canyon wall, which resembles basalt columns. We thought we were doing a 3.5 km loop trail, but it ended at the road and then we had to walk back, which took an extra 1/2 hour. My blood sugar was going low, so I had to turn my pump off and consume many tablets to be able to make it to the end, and then of course my sugars rose quite high later. The walk was in an area with lots of vegetation, and the canyon walls were often on both sides of us.

Next we drove to Vesturdalur, which is the mid section of the park. This area is characterized by large and small formations made of basalt columns. The unusual thing about these columns is that they run in all directions rather than just vertically. Scientists aren't sure how this happened. The first part of the walk was tricky for me, as we had to climb on pieces of basalt rock, and my balance isn't very good. Luckily I had my walking stick!

To get to the most southerly part of the park, we had to drive very slowly on poor gravel road with lots of bumps. But we were rewarded at the end with Dettifoss Falls, one of the most amazing Falls I've ever seen! The Lonely Planet guide says that it's one of Iceland's most impressive waterfalls. Although it's only 44m high and 100m wide, a massive 193 cubic meters of water thunders over the edge every second, creating a plume of spray that can be seen 1km away. It has the greatest volume of any waterfall in Europe! And since it was sunny, we were able to see a double rainbow over it!

Arrived later than usual at the B&B in Akureyri and enjoyed a good Thai dinner around the corner (one can't eat Icelandic food every night!)

July 24/14

While having breakfast at the B&B in Ólafsfjörður, we saw some great pics of Northern lights mounted on the wall, which were done by a local photographer. The B&B owner would have sold us one of the mounted ones, but we wanted to talk to the artist to see if it was possible to have one sent home, to avoid possible damage in transport. The fellow has many pictures on his website, so it's going to be hard to decide which one to order. He came to the coffee shop at the B&B and we chatted about various ways to get a print. In the end we decided to check out his prints on line from home and have him send us one, just as we had done with a volcano print from Hawaii.

Drove to Akureyri, which is the second largest city in Iceland. Saw a church which was designed by the same architect that did the modern one in Reykjavík. This one is tall and narrow, and is meant to look like basalt columns. Inside there was a model ship hanging from the ceiling and stained glass windows from Coventry Cathedral in England. We did some shopping on the Main Street and then headed off to Lake Mývatn. This lake has a road 36 km around it, with gorgeous scenery, particularly on the east side. We saw pseudo craters, mountains, lakes and lava rocks in very interesting formations. The Lonely Planet guide said that this was the Iceland we had probably imagined, and I think it was right. There was also a geothermal area amidst some multicoloured mountains, but because of the industry there it wasn't very scenic.

The whole area around the lake is supposed to be plagued with tiny bugs that are attracted by carbon dioxide, and thus make a nuisance of themselves by swarming around your face. The store sells netting that you can put over your head for protection, but we didn't need it because it was a windy day, and the bugs aren't bad under those conditions.

Lastly we headed up the the B&B in Húsavík, which is on the northern part of the peninsula. This is a busy town, as it's the most popular spot for whale watching tours. It was hard finding a restaurant that wasn't full, but we found a good one. I tried reindeer pate, and it was delicious! Michael had a cheese plate for dessert, as he was interested to try some Icelandic cheeses. It was very good as well, as was his salted cod, which he's had and enjoyed a couple of times on this trip.

July 23/14

Headed north along the peninsula as far as Dalvík to catch a whale watching tour in the afternoon. The scenery was gorgeous and we kept stopping along the road to take photos. Some of the mountains had lots of snow, and others virtually none. The sun was shining today, so we saw lots of reflections of the mountains in the fjords, and when we were up high the views were fabulous!

We had great weather for our whale watching tour. They gave us fur-lined suits with hoods to wear, but for part of the trip it was sunny and we didn't need them. The tour was three hours long including the trip out and back. Early on we saw dolphins, and later a couple of humpback whales. We saw part of their backs but mostly just their tails. On the way back they served us hot chocolate and cinnamon crisps, and then they stopped the boat and fished. They let the passengers do that as well, and quite a few fish were caught in a short period of time. The fish were filleted on the boat, with the scraps given to the swarms of seagulls waiting nearby. The crew cooked the fish when we returned, and everyone had the opportunity to eat fish that was caught about a half hour beforehand. It was good, and didn't smell or taste fishy!

July 22/14

Joined up with the Circle Route (highway 1) today, after driving on both paved and unpaved roads around the fjords. Once we got to the main highway the driving went much faster, and the remoteness of the Westfjords gradually disappeared. The scenery was still nice, but the homes we saw were generally inhabited, in contrast to the ones in the Westfjords. Occasionally there was even a gas station with food and drinks! At one of them I bought a hot dog instead of eating our packed lunch. This is because they are made out of lamb here, and are supposed to be a really big deal in Iceland. I didn't think they tasted any different than ones at home, although in fairness perhaps the vendors that make their own taste better. Getting back to the scenery, I enjoyed the remoteness of the Westfjords, but am now glad to be in areas that are able to offer more services. It's been difficult finding gluten free food in the tiny grocery stores on the Westfjords. And this area (the north) still has mountains and nice views.

We took a side trip off the main highway to see Hvítserkur, a gorgeous rock formation jutting out of the water, which is seen on many postcards here. The setting was gorgeous, but we had to drive one hour each way on dirt road with lots of pot holes. I know that all the rain they've had this year has made the roads worse, but you'd think that when there's a major attraction such as this, and the falls that we missed out on a few days ago because of very poor roads, that they could send a gravel truck down them once in a while!

Once back on the number 1 we headed for our B&B in Sauðárkrókur. It's a larger, more developed town than the ones we've been staying in lately. I was delighted that they let us do some laundry here, as laundromats don't exist in small communities. We were staying in one other place early on where they had a machine in one of the shared bathrooms which they let us use. Speaking of bathrooms, this is the first time we've had our own! The place was overbooked, so we were given a room with a private bathroom for the same price! Such rooms are very expensive here, so this is why we've opted to share on this trip.

This evening we walked along a black sand beach close to town. It was beautiful with the mountains in the background, and we could see Grímsey Island, which is made out of a huge rock. There were also a few ladies riding horses along the beach. Riding must be popular here, as there was a large group of people riding along the road to Hvítserkur today as well.

July 21/14

Headed away from the Westfjords via the southern route. The northern route is supposed to have "jaw-dropping" views, according to the Lonely Planet guide, but it's a much longer drive, and would have included unpaved sections, as well as the potholed road to the falls that we gave up on a couple of days ago. The southern road also had some unpaved sections as well as some construction, but it was a much shorter route. The scenery was pretty, but not amazing for the most part.

Upon arriving in Holmavík we saw the Museum of Witchcraft and Sorcery. During the 1600's there was a lot of witchcraft practiced in the Westfjords, especially by men, and quite a few were burned at the stake for very little reason. For instance, when one woman was sick, it was thought that her illness was caused by practicing witches, and two people were burned. Then when she fell ill again, it was decided that two others were responsible, and those two were burned. Of course, those who admitted to a connection with the Devil were burned.

Like all the other small communities we've stayed at in the west, Holmavík is situated along the water. Although we drove for several hours, we only saw the occasional house and church, and only a couple of places to get food or drinks. We didn't see any place to get gas, but perhaps there would have been some if we'd turned off the main road.

Although I wouldn't want to live in such small communities, our B&B host from last night told us an interesting story about how the whole town of 180 people gathers together at Christmas to cook putrified skate. Apparently it really smells bad while it is being cooked, but they enjoy eating it when it is done on December 24th, which is when they celebrate Christmas. I have to say I liked the idea of the whole town coming together in that way, as no one is left alone for the holiday.

For dinner we tried Icelandic smoked lamb and puffin, Michael had salt cod, and I had skyr cake, which is like cheesecake in a bowl, but with skyr (yogurt) instead of cream cheese. It had a graham crumb crust in the bottom, and blueberry sauce with a small piece of chocolate cake dipped inside. All of the above Icelandic dishes were very good, although I have to admit I felt bad eating puffin after seeing such cute ones yesterday. However there is no shortage of puffins around here. Whale was also on the menu, but we can't bring ourselves to try that, as most species are endangered.

July 20/14

Drove out along the Látrabjarg peninsula today. We had two destinations in mind - one was to see the bird cliffs (with thousands of puffins and other birds) and the other was to see the red sand beach. The scenery was quite amazing at times, although the sun just appeared as we were nearly back to our B&B. (this was the first sunshine that lasted for any length of time since we left Ontario). The driving was sometimes difficult because of low clouds which severely restricted visibility, and rough road with potholes for part of the distance. Michael did a great job of driving through those stretches!

The bird cliffs were somewhat disappointing because the clouds were very low, so it was hard to see much of the cliffs, never mind the birds. However the few puffins we did see were very close, and Michael got some great shots of them!

The road was rough and a bit scary on the way to the red sand beach. Fortunately we didn't meet people often, but when we did it was scary to have to do that while on the edge of a cliff where the road was barely wide enough to pass. The tide was out when we arrived, so we were able to see both red and yellow sand, as well as small pools of water. With the cliffs in the background it was quite picturesque. We could hear waves in the distance but couldn't see them. There was a place to get some food, as well as a church, but those were the only signs of civilization. We encountered that sort of thing on the way back as well. There would be nothing except mountains and water, and then all of a sudden there would be a small hotel with a restaurant large enough to seat two tour buses full of people! I marvel at how they could get so much food into such a remote area!

Our car was covered from the windows down with red mud from the red dirt roads. Luckily a gas station had a hose, and they didn't even charge you to spray the car. By the way, gas is about twice as expensive here as it is in Calgary!

July 19/14

Took the ferry from Stykkishólmur to Brjanslækur on the Westfjords, a 2 1/2 hour ride. There's only about 7,000 people in total here, and they are split up into tiny communities of just a few hundred people each. Bíldudalur where we are staying, has only 180 people. It's buildings have been kept up well, and our B&B seems new and is more spacious than what we're used to having. Patreksfjörður, the largest community, looked run down by comparison. The drive to our place was on good road, which did switchbacks up and down the mountains. The towns seem to be all located on the water, and the scenery was stunning. Much of the roads seemed deserted, and it was unusual to meet or to be passed by anyone. Food options for a celiac were also limited. All Michael could get to eat in the largest town in midday was a salad, although there would have been more options for dinner. We chose to have the earlier meal in a restaurant this time, since we were at the largest town then, and feared there would be nothing but fast food in the place where we were staying. As it turned out, we would have been better off waiting.

Since we were early checking in, we decided to drive to see the Falls at Dynjandi, which are wide and spectacular. We saw some amazing views for about 40 minutes, but turned around because the roads were dirt and full of potholes. Unfortunately I think that's what they'll be like for the next two days.

July 18/14

Spent the day driving around the Snæfellsnes peninsula. The scenery was great, especially on the north coast. The terrain was wild with lots of mountains, lava cones, moss-covered lava and large lava stacks jutting out of the water. We walked out on a black sand beach which was largely stones, and the surrounding ruggedness was gorgeous. We put our hands in the North Atlantic, and it was not surprisingly quite cold. On the beach were 5 'lifting stones' which aspiring fishermen had to prove they could lift in order to be considered seaworthy. The area is littered with pieces of rusted metal from an English ship that was wrecked here in 1948.

We drove passed Snæfellsjökull National Park containing a huge volcano, of which we could only see the bottom half because of low clouds. However, last year we flew over it when returning home from England. Not only is it large enough to see from the plane, but it was snow covered, and likely still is. Jules Verne used this glacier as the setting for his famous 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth.'

July 17/15

Left Reykjavík today and headed northwest to Borgarnes to see the Settlement Centre. It told the story of how Iceland was settled back as far as the first inhabitants. It was touted as being a 'must see' by the Lonely Planet guide. Although it was quite pricey, we generally trust the guide's recommendation. However, this time we were quite disappointed.

Next we drove to our B&B location in Stykkishólmur, taking scenic photos along the way. Despite the clouds and on and off rain the drive was quite nice. The mountains were fairly rugged - a bit like Ireland. Sometimes we saw moss-covered lava and small lakes. We also saw Icelandic horses - smaller than ours with longer manes - much like tall ponies. Before arriving we drove through a 6 km long tunnel under the water.

Before dinner we saw a futuristic looking church, rather out of place with the other buildings in town. It's a very unusual shape, with a bell tower that looks like a ship's vent. The interior is quite plain, but has hundreds of suspended lights and a painting of Mother and Child floating in the night sky. We also climbed the steps up to a lighthouse which cleverly was built on the top of a cliff, thus being quite short. There were good views of the fjord from there.

Had dinner at a good seaside restaurant that specializes in blue mussels. I tried them for the first time (they were in my fish soup) and thought they were okay, but really enjoyed the soup. Michael quite liked the catch of the day, which was catfish.

July 16/14

Drove the Golden Circle today, which is SE of Reykjavík. The first stop was Þingvellir, a natural park that was made a Unesco World Heritage site in 2004. The Vikings established the world's first democratic parliament here in AD 930. The area has a very large fissure-ridden valley, caused by the separation of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.

Geysir was the next stop (after lattes to warm us up)! This was the original hot water spout after which all the other geysers in the world are named. Every 5 - 10 minutes the water rises 15 - 30 meters, then disappears into what seems to be an enormous hole. The crowd waiting patiently around it with cameras posed would gasp with delight whenever this occurred.

After that was Gullfoss, Iceland's most famous waterfall. It drops 32m and has a double cascade. On sunny days it creates rainbows, and we managed to get one in the photo, as the sun peeked out for a few minutes.

Our last stop on the route was Kerið. This is a green lake in the middle of a crater, which was formed by a 6500 year old explosion. Apparently Björk performed a concert from a floating raft in the middle of the lake. When you first approach it, the site takes your breath away!

Our weather has been cool (temperature range 9 - 13 degrees) with intermittent rain, but I hear we've been lucky. This year Iceland has had the most rain reported since the 1880's!

We've been staying the past few nights at a good B&B that is located in a great spot because it's allowed us to walk everywhere we wanted to go. Although they don't provide breakfast, we've had full use of the kitchen, much like a hostel, and that has saved us some money. We thought that England was expensive, but Iceland is more so. The other guests are friendly, but for the most part they have been the super hiker types that have gone on multi-day hikes in the rain, and one even ran a marathon in difficult terrain. Needless to say, we felt a bit out of place in the company of such folks.

July 15/14

Today was spent walking around the city. We saw Hallgrimskirkja church, which is very plain inside, but has immense concrete columns on the outside, starting from short ones on the ends, increasing in size until the very tallest in the centre. We took the elevator to the top and had a great view of the city. Most of the buildings are short - about three stories. Only a few, probably apartments, are tall. Many houses are multicoloured, or white with coloured roofs.

Next we toured the Iceland Phallological (penis) museum, the only one in the world. It had many specimens, many of them such as the whale's, were very large. It was amusing to see things made in the shape of penises, including jewelry, utensils, salt and pepper shakers, and even a tie made from foreskin! It had silver castings of each member of the Icelandic handball team, and one human sample from the museum's previous owner who recently passed away.

We did a lot of shopping, finding some gifts for the family, as well as a warm fleece sweater for me, which I was happy to have when we walked down to the harbour. We saw Harpa, a new concert hall with convex and concave panels that sparkle at night.

Had a wonderful East Indian dinner. The waiter (perhaps the owner?) seemed to enjoy chatting with the customers. When he saw that one lady was eating slowly, he asked her if she wasn't enjoying her meal, and offered to make her something else if she didn't. He told her that it was more important that she enjoy her meal than he lose money by preparing her another dish!

July 14/14

Arrived in Iceland yesterday after essentially no sleep on the plane. It left almost 1 1/2 hours late due to mechanical problems - not very reassuring! The space seemed more cramped than usual, the seats wouldn't recline and we couldn't seem to get comfortable. We had visited with family and friends, and attended our nephew's wedding in Mississauga just prior to our flight, and so had to fly Icelandair from Toronto. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but we did miss being on West Jet!

After getting the rental car we drove out to the lighthouses at Garður on the NW coast of the Reykjanes Peninsula. The area has lots of lava rock and small run-down communities. Even the Lonely Planet guide says that this first view of Iceland would make us wonder why we chose it as a destination. However things got more interesting after we left the area around the Keflavík airport and drove to the 100 Crater Park. This park has 13th century lava fields, striking cliffs and rocks jutting out of the water. Close by is Valahnúkur, a geothermal area where the ground surface is pretty colours and lots of steam rose from the earth. The lava rock and steam vents brought back memories of Hawaii. We crossed the bridge between two continents - North America and Europe. This is where the two tectonic plates are separating.

From there we saw the Viking Museum at Njarðvík which houses a 23m long exact replica of a ship from the Viking age. In 2000 a crew sailed the ship from Iceland to New York to commemorate the 1000 anniversary of Leif Erikson's journey to America.

After a sleep in the car we drove along the southern part of the peninsula and up to Reykjavík, the capital city and the largest on the island. We got some groceries for breakfast and lunch, and Michael tried horse meat at the restaurant, which was very good. There was also puffin and shark on the menu! We walked around town for a bit, and I tried on some Icelandic wool sweaters, which are seen everywhere here. I think I'm going to regret not bringing a heavier coat! We retired early, as we were both very tired. We brought sleep masks, as it doesn't get dark at this time of year. Somehow mine ended up on the floor when I awoke, however.