July 29, 2019

July 29, 2019

One reason we came to Iceland this summer is because of the movie 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'. It is the 60th anniversary of this 1969 classic. The entrance cave was discovered inside the crater of Mt Sneffels just forty miles to our west. This Icelandic Volcano sits famously at the end of the long and skinny Snaefellsnes Peninsula which extends out to the West.

The overnight rain seems to be lifting. We begin driving west along the north coast of the peninsula. We pass the town of Grundarfjordur, which has two cruise ships anchored offshore. It seems Iceland is now a frequent port of call for cruise lines.

Our first stop is Kirkjufell Mountain. It is considered the most photographed mountain in Iceland. Probably because this steep sided basalt rock has a nice waterfall nearby. I pull out my tripod and try to get one of those silky smooth waterfall photos. It is difficult finding a rock high enough to place my midget tripod on to get above the weed line. Plus there is a constant stream of tourists passing through the scene.

The cloud level is starting to rise and we begin to get a good glimpse of Mt Sneffels. As I get out to take a photo, I am immediately attacked by dozens of Arctic Terns. These birds are notoriously territorial defending their nesting sites. They not only dive bombed me but also the car. It is not a fair fight as we see lots of dead Terns along the roadside. I stay longer around the Terns than I should have trying to get a good photo of one swooping at me. It is difficult as they fly extremely quickly.

As we near the end of the peninsula, we enter Snaefellsjokull National Park. The clouds have risen enough that we can now see the glacier atop Mt Sneffels.

Our next stop is the black sand beaches of Djupalonssandur and Dritvik. One beach has the remnants of an iron frigate that shipwrecked here some seventy years ago. There are also several stones fisherman used to lift for amusement. The other beach has strangely eroded basalt formations along the shore. Some of the rocks look like driftwood.

We next peruse some interesting storyboards at the Malarrif Visitor center. The Park Ranger tells us that the Arctic Terns we encountered have the longest migration of any animal. They spend summers in the Arctic and then travel to Antarctic waters in our winter.

Next up is the Londrangar Cliffs to check out other species of sea birds in the park. The sheer cliff wall is filled with noisy smelly Sea Gulls. Aimee and I were hoping for Puffins instead.

We then drove to the town of Arnarstapi on the southern coast of Snaefellsnes. We are hungry so we stop for Fish 'n' Chips made from locally caught Cod. Afterwards we took a walk along the coast back towards the town of Hellnar. In two spots we find the ocean has eroded a hole in the basalt cliffs forming an arch.

It has been a long day, so we skip the last couple stops and drive three hours to Reykjavik completing our Ring Road tour of Iceland. We are just in time for my cocktail hour.

July 28, 2019

July 28, 2019

Our hotel room has a view overlooking a wide river valley in Skagafjord, Iceland. This morning it was gone, hidden by fog, but not for long. By the time we left it was visible again and it looks like we have a beautiful sunny day ahead.

We set out driving west through flat rolling farm fields. All throughout Iceland we have seen farms growing grass, cutting it and rolling into colorfully plastic-wrapped bales of hay.

About an hour later, we left the main road and a few miles down a dirt road suddenly came upon a roaring cataract in a small crack in the landscape called Kolugljufur Canyon. Iceland surely has more waterfalls than any other country its size.

Continuing west the main road becomes dirt and gravel for about ten miles. Just a few years ago we would have encountered much more of this. For better or worse the gold rush of visitors to Iceland has driven a lot of spending on infrastructure. Almost the entire Ring Road is now paved as are many secondary roads. Most of our accommodations have also been new. All this by a country with a population significantly less than the city of Tucson.

Less than an hour later we drive up a nice scenic lake-filled valley along a dirt road. We soon come to Eiriksstadir. Here was the home of two of the most famous Icelanders: Eric the Red and his son Leif Erikson. Only the stone foundation of the original house remains. His Long House has been recreated for tourists. Since wood was scarce, this rectangular dwelling is made of earthen walls and topped with sod. It looks like a giant loaf of bread. The interior has a central fire pit lined with bunk beds for up to twenty people. Our guide regaled us of life here a thousand years ago.

Eric was a testy Viking. He kept killing his neighbors and having to flee further west. He eventually moved to Greenland and convinced more than a few Icelanders to join him. His son Leif explored even further afield discovering and founding a colony in North America (Vinland).

When we visited Thingvellir and learned how Icelanders established a legal system shortly after Settlement, I wondered why a group of scattered farmers would have this need. Now after learning many early Icelanders were ornery outcasts living in cramped Long Houses, I now understand why establishing rules was desirable.

From Eric’s Home we went southwest stopping briefly at Grabrok Crater. It was a short hike to and around the rim of this volcanic crater.

We made a brief stop in Bogarnes for an early dinner before continuing on to our hotel room on the Sneffel's Peninsula.

July 27, 2019

July 27, 2019

It rained most of the night in Myvatn, Iceland. But we awoke to a beautiful sunny day, something that is probably a rarity in Iceland. The country sits at the rain-inducing junction of the cold arctic air mass and the warm Gulf Stream. But today we are enjoying the views of Lake Myvatn and the rolling green hills to the west.

Less than an hour west we run straight into horseshoe-shaped Godafoss. This waterfall has multiple curtains of water. We check it out from both sides.

Our next stop is at Iceland’s second city of Akureyri, although it has a population of just 18,000. Even from far off, we can see two cruise ships are in town, including the large Disney Magic. We also accidentally pass the Viking Brewery. Unfortunately it doesn’t offer tours, so we continue on.

The weather is looking great, so we take a detour north around the Troll Peninsula. But as soon as we cross the pass, we run into fog. I am thinking this is Seydisfjordur all over again. I guess fog is just a fact of life for areas next to cold Arctic waters.

Our goal is the cute town of Siglusfjordur at Iceland's northern tip. As we pull in, we are delighted to learn the town is celebrating their heritage today with “Trilludagar” - Fishing Boat Festival. They are serving free food. One stand is preparing Icelandic Hot Dogs and another a sautéed Cod dish. The Cod meal is the culmination of an intensive assembly line filleting the fresh fish and cooking it with onions and peppers. It is delicious!

Siglusfjordur used to be the Herring Capital of Iceland. There is a Herring Era Museum that memorializes that history. It is contained in three buildings. The first one is a boathouse with a dozen boats in harbor that you can crawl over and into.

The second building is the processing plant for rendering and salting herring. The plants employed an assembly line of women to gut the fish. The freshest herring was salted and packed in barrels. The rest of the herring was boiled down and pressed, separating the fish oil leaving fish meal.

Herring fishing was a traditional industry of Northern Europe. When it arrived in Iceland, in the early twentieth century, it transformed this agricultural economy. The revenue spurred Iceland’s independence from Denmark. Unfortunately rapid growth and over fishing depleted the fish stocks, and the industry came to a crashing halt in the late 1960s.

The last building covers the living quarters of the employees. It is mostly wooden bunk beds. The fascinating part is that the rooms look like the workers left this morning leaving everything laying just as it was a half century ago.

As part of the festival, a reenactment is performed in front of the museum. A group of women in period costume are awaken from the dorms and come down to begin their shift of processing herring on an assembly line. Grueling work!

The festival also has music and free boat and fishing rides into the fjord. Unfortunately we are on a schedule and have to keep moving. Just after Siglusfjordur we pass our northern most point, just a few miles short of the Arctic Circle. The rest of the drive around the west side of the peninsula is mostly in fog or in several long one-lane tunnels.

July 26, 2019

July 26, 2019

We woke to rainy weather in Myvatn, Iceland. Our good luck finally ran out.

Every day on our Ring Road adventure around Iceland has had a different emphasis. Myvatn showcases geothermal features. Since it is raining we start at the only indoor site, the Krafla Power Plant. Iceland is built by and atop still active volcanoes. That has been made clear to us everyday. The Blue Lagoon was Geothermal waste water. Hot water is piped to most homes in Iceland for heat. Reykjavik even heats the streets to avoid shoveling snow. The air in some locations reeks of sulfur and is often accompanied by smelly drinking water.

A tour of the Geothermal power plant here helps us learn more about this unique energy source. It turns out we picked the right plant to visit. Krafla was the first plant to use geothermal energy to produce electricity back in 1977. The plant has two films and several storyboards to explain the process. Boreholes are drilled in volcanically active areas that also are rich in groundwater. The holes release hot water and steam. Shallow wells produce water just hot enough for heating; deeper wells have water hot enough to produce steam and drive electric turbines. Surprisingly geothermal is not as inexpensive as I would have predicted. Although the fuel is free, the plants are costly to build and maintain. Geothermal produces about 20% of Iceland’s electricity, the rest comes from conventional hydroelectric dams.

From the power plant we explore the surrounding volcanic area. We start at Viti Cone where we can literally drive right to the edge. Inside is a vivid turquoise lake. Unfortunately it is still raining. We next hike out to Leirhnjukur Crater. The rain seems to be abating but the boardwalk is muddy and very slippery. We see a steaming, milky lake and fuming piles of lava.

We next drive back towards Myvatn stopping outside town at Namafjall Hverir geothermal area. It has a steaming brown hillside, a sulfur pot and several hissing steam jets. None of it is very interesting compared to Yellowstone.

I think we are getting lucky. The rain has stopped. We next drive down the east side of Lake Myvatn stopping at several sites. First is Hofoi Promontory, an overlook to view lava columns sticking up from the lake.

We make a brief stop for lunch before visiting the Skutustadir Pseudo-Craters. Apparently these cone shaped mounds were formed not by lava explosions but by steam belching from the magma.

Down the road is Dimmuborgir Lava Formations. This area has an extensive walking path that winds its way through a fantasy land of basalt rock shapes. It was formed when lava flowed over Lake Myvatn. One large formation called the Church has a wide arch-shaped opening.

Our last stop is at the immense Hverfjall Crater. It looks like the cinder cone volcanoes of Northern Arizona. It is a strenuous hike up to the rim. It was worth it to see the crater and the panoramic view.

July 25, 2019

July 25, 2019

Today is a long driving day. Finished with the glaciers of the south coast we circle north to explore the east coast of Iceland. The weather has cleared up and we see blue sky for the first time. The scenery is beautiful. It starts out with steep coastlines of what looks like cinder cone walls. After a while the cliffs become layers of basalt probably built by one eruption atop another. In some places the layers are cut back into the cliff and could stand in for Game of Thrones locations. Our progress is slow because of frequent stops to take photos.

The good weather doesn’t last and the cloud layer begins to descend hiding the cliff tops. The East coast is also fjord land and after zig zagging the first dozen inlets, I am beginning to tire of driving. To stretch our legs we make a quick stop at one town named Djupivogur that has a quirky set of large granite eggs lined up on the harbor.

At the end of the fjord lands we made a detour to visit the seaside town of Seydisfjordur. Besides being a cute village it gained fame from the 2013 film "Life of Walter Mitty". In the movie Ben Stiller skateboards down the mountain into town showcasing the majestic scenery. As we begin our detour, I am excited because the sky has cleared again. We exit and climb a high pass. As soon as we reach the summit, we encounter pea soup fog and it doesn’t dissipate until we reach town. We can’t see the expansive scenery! Plus there is a large cruise ship in town with passengers walking everywhere. To add insult our recommended restaurant doesn’t open until evening. We punt, grab a sandwich from the market and have a picnic above town by the waterfall in the Walter Mitty movie. The best laid plans!

Leaving the East Coast we turn northwest and cut across the center of Iceland. The scenery is so different. We begin climbing a wide river valley, then top out at a flat prairie. The greenery doesn’t last and soon it looks like the barren lunar landscape. As we approach the Icelandic center, we cross a raging river and take a detour north. Some fifteen miles up we come to where the river roars down two cliff sides in Selfoss and at Dettifoss. We hike a mile across a basalt dry riverbed to reach the falls. Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in Europe. But what makes it most unique is the brown muddy water and its setting inside a basalt channel.

We finish our long driving day in the Myvatn area. We have pizza and Viking beer for dinner.

July 24, 2019

July 24, 2019

Our hotel room in Skaftafell has a view to a glacier looming above us. It gives Aimee the creeps; fortunately most of the night it was hidden behind clouds. We only saw it clearly after we woke this morning.

Our goal today is to explore Vatnajokull National Park. It became a World Heritage Site earlier this month. The Park covers the huge central Ice Cap of Iceland and the many dozen glacier fingers that flow from it. From the Visitor Center we hike west a short but strenuous uphill trail to Svartifoss Waterfall. It is nicknamed the Black Waterfall because it is framed by dark basalt columns. Back at the Visitor Center we watch the park film and warm up.

We next hike east toward the Skaftafell Glacier. Despite wearing all the clothes we packed, we are chilled. Living in Arizona has thinned our blood. I thought I was going to be able to hike all the way and walk atop the glacier, but it turned out to have a rushing river of melt water in front, leaving me just yards short of my goal.

After a quick lunch in Skaftafell we continue our journey east. We pass a dozen glacier fingers flowing down the escarpment. It is a beautiful drive. Our next stop is at Fjallsarlon. This is another finger glacier that has a large lagoon at its toe with lots of mini-ice bergs in the water. We fight a gale force wind to reach the water edge.

Just east is another glacier fed lagoon called Jokulsarlon with even larger bergs that have calved off the glacier face. The new bergs have a beautiful blue tinge.

Jokulsarlon has a short river that connects the glacier lagoon to the sea. We watch as some of these bergs flow down the river. Once out in the sea, the surf pushes many of them up against the black sand beach. The water-washed crystals of ice resemble giant diamonds. The beach is filled with hundreds earning the nickname of Diamond Beach. I have a blast photographing this spectacle. Aimee laughs the entire time watching me try and avoid the incoming surf during the process. I am mostly successful. I get the bright idea of standing on a berg to keep my toes dry. Unfortunately my shoes get flooded when a large rogue wave breaks above my lofty perch.

From Jokulsarlon we drive an hour to our accommodations outside the town of Hofn (pronounced "hup"). This name literally means ‘port’ in Icelandic. Appropriate as it is a picturesque fishing village. For dinner we eat at a trendy harbor-side restaurant and have grilled Langoustines, the Lobster of Iceland.

July 23, 2019

July 23, 2019

From the Golden Circle, we drove south to the coast of Iceland. In the distance we saw a cliff face. As we got closer we could see the Seljalandsfoss Waterfall cascading down its face. We stopped and hiked to it. The cavity behind the falls is big enough to walk inside the water curtain. It looks like something out of a movie.

As we drive east, the entire coastline is mostly high steep cliffs covered in bright green grass. It reminds us of the Isle of Skye in Scotland times a hundred. Plus there are waterfalls plunging off the escarpment frequently.

We stop at a large cascade called Skogafoss. It is one huge water curtain. We also hiked up a long set of stairs to the top. We had to share both waterfalls with lots of tourists. We haven’t lost the Reykjavik day trippers yet.

Our next stop is at the Solheimajokull Glacier that is ‘flowing’ down a canyon carved in the cliff wall. We hike out to the lagoon at its toe. It is filled with dirty ice bergs.

Next we stop at a piece of the cliff wall that has become separated from the main body and is now almost an island. Dyrholaey Promontory is ringed by black sand beaches and sea rocks. On one edge we see a small rock arch that was probably a remnant of a lava tube.

Across the bay we stop at Reynisfjara black sand beach. It is starting to drizzle so we take the opportunity for a quick but delicious soup lunch. Aimee thinks it is Sweet Potato Soup. I insist it has to be Rutabaga Soup because I don't like sweet potatoes.

After lunch we walk onto the black sand beach filled with tourists. On one side is a nice wall of hexagonal basalt columns.

Farther east we lose our cliff edge for a time and pass vast fields of lava rocks. Similar to what we saw around the Blue Lagoon, they are covered in gray moss. I read a storyboard that this lava is from eruptions in the late 18th century that caused global weather disruptions and crop failure. Potentially precipitating the French Revolution.

We have seen, in the distance, lots of steep sided caverns cut into the escarpment. Fjadrargljufur Canyon is one that is reasonably accessible. Two miles down a dirt road and a short hike brings us to the edge of this beautiful chasm.

On the outskirts of a small town we stop to see a tiny quirky geologic site. This is another basalt column formation that happens to be totally buried in dirt leaving only the top visible. The exposed hexagonals resemble a church floor.

Just down the road is a similar oddity called Dwarf Rocks. A basalt cliff that looks like a home of Iceland’s mythical little people.

We lose the cliff edge again and cross a vast plain of glacial alluvial sand. The immensity of it means we have to now be below the vast glacier field of Vatnojokull, the largest in Europe. We end the day at a hotel at the base of this glacier in the town of Skaftafell. This has been a long day of driving and sightseeing. I unwind with a glass of Iceland’s Viking Beer. The scenery today has been outstanding, far better than yesterday’s famous, but disappointing Golden Circle.

July 22, 2019

July 22, 2019

We checked out of our Reykjavik hotel and were picked up by our rental car company. After signing the necessary paperwork, we began our Ring Road driving adventure around Iceland. We started with the Golden Circle, usually a day trip out of Reykjavik, for those wanting to just get a glimpse of Iceland.

The Golden Circle's first stop is thirty minutes inland at Thingvellir National Park. The Park is a two-fer. Iceland sits atop the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Ridge where up welling of lava forces the North American and Eurasian continental plates apart. We start our visit walking down a basalt fissure where the two tectonic plates are splitting apart, America on the left and Europe to the right.

Thingvellir is also a World Heritage site because this gorge wall played a pivotal role in Icelandic history. From the year 930 AD Iceland leaders would hold an assembly (Althing) here two weeks a year to judge disputes and set new rules. This evolved into their modern Parliament making Iceland one of the oldest Democracies.

After seeing Law Rock and the fertile valley where the chieftains would stay during the Althing, we took a short hike to a waterfall. Before leaving we bought a sandwich for the ride.

Our next stop is another half-hour northeast at Geysir. Apparently I knew some of the local language and didn't realize it. Geysir is Icelandic for ‘Gusher’ and accurately describes these thermal fountains. Unfortunately the original one rarely erupts anymore. There are several other geysers nearby. One erupts every five minutes or so. It shoots water but for mere seconds. Still cool, but so lame if you have ever been to Yellowstone. Aimee, always the comedian yells at me, "Old Geezer, stand by the Old Geysir for a photo."

Next on the Golden Circle is Gullfoss, one of the bigger waterfalls in Iceland. Not only is it wide but it has several cascades. Interestingly the first angles one way and the second the opposite direction. We hiked all around it getting shots from every angle.

We drove thirty minutes south to our accommodations and checked in. Since it doesn't get dark till late, we went further south to Kerid and hiked around a little volcanic crater that now has a lake at the bottom. The contrast between the water and crater walls make for a colorful photo.

On the way back to our Guest House, we watched an Icelandic cowboy trying to retrieve a stray horse trotting down the road in front of us. Apparently all the horses here descend from the originals brought by the Vikings. They selected small stocky horses that would fit on their Long Ships.

July 21, 2019

July 21, 2019

Our flight arrived in Iceland very early.  The airport is on the Keflavik Peninsula and not surprisingly it was built by the US during WWII. It is cold as we deplane on to the tarmac. I don’t think we are ready for it being this cool. To help us adjust we have our driver take us to the nearby thermal baths known as the Blue Lagoon.

Set in the middle of a moss-covered lava field, the baths are the runoff from a Geothermal Plant that taps into the Vulcanism that underlays Iceland. We shower, change into bathing suits, and enter the warm water.  The steam and the mineral-rich blue tinged water surrounded by lava rocks gives it an aura that makes the Blue Lagoon a top tourist draw. Iceland milks it by charging outrageous prices. Fortunately we have it almost all to ourselves.

The water is very relaxing. Aimee gets a silica mud mask to keep her youthful appearance. We add to the experience with both of us getting a glass of hard cider. Deciding we are prunes, we leave after about an hour. On the way to the locker room, we spot a relaxation area and try to catch a cat nap.

Showered, we meet our driver in the parking lot. We are leaving just in time. The tourist crowd has arrived. We head to the capital city of Reykjavik but we are still too early to check-in.

We dropped our luggage and walked along the harbor front past a statue of Ingolfur Arnarson, the first settler from Scandinavia. Our next stop is the new Harpa Opera House. It is an interesting construction of modern glass blocks. Our last shore stop is a modern stainless steel artistic rendition of a Viking ship called Sun Voyager. We walked back to our hotel inland passing the City Hall and Parliament buildings.

We took a short nap after checking into our hotel. We need the recharge. For dinner Aimee and I both have Lobster Bisque at a dive restaurant by the hotel. It is delicious and came with lots of chunks of Icelandic Lobster (Langoustine). Afterwards I followed Aimee while she window-shopped. Since Iceland has more sheep than people, wool yarn and sweaters are everywhere. We climbed one street that ended at the ultra-modern Hallgrimskirkja, the largest church in Iceland. Its design is inspired by the basalt columns abundant in Iceland. In front is a statue of Leif Ericson, a gift from the US. Legends says Leif was the first to discover America (Vinland).

July 20, 2019

July 20, 2019

Our hotel in Boston is next-door to the Boston Commons. In this urban green space, they have a Shakespeare in the Park performance. Last night we rented two lawn chairs and watched Cymbeline, a play I had never heard of. I am glad I read a synopsis of the very complicated plot beforehand. With the Middle English dialogue, I can only understand about half of what is spoken. Overall it was enjoyable and the acting excellent.

This morning, we checked out of our hotel and stored our luggage with the front desk. That gives us the freedom to explore today. We took the Boston subway to Harvard Yard. We were going to take a campus tour but they were sold out for the day. Probably student tour guides cancelled with the heat wave Boston is having today. We proceed on to the Peabody Museums.

We start with the Archaeological and Ethnology Museum. Although it had a lot of artifacts, it was not earth shattering. It had one interesting exhibit about warfare with lots of examples of armor and primitive weapons used by people from around the world.

The Natural History Museum was much more extensive. A large portion of the exhibits were specimens used for study. It included a large variety of stuffed animals from around the world. I admit I am shocked sometimes at the size of some of the larger animals. I wouldn’t want to meet either a jaguar or tiger in the wild.

They also had some gargantuan aquatic skeletons that were impressive. Both a baleen whale and a toothed whale for comparison, and also a terrifying Plesiosaur sea monster. Jurassic Seas must have been a tough place to swim.

One famous exhibit is the glass flowers. Preserving flowers for study is very difficult. Almost 200 years ago, a rich benefactor hired skilled European glass artisans to recreate specimens in glass for the botany department. They are truly astounding and it is hard to believe they really aren’t real. Apparently the craftsmen started out making glass eyes before Harvard hired them.

The museums were a good break from the record heat that Boston is having. We returned to the hotel to retrieve our luggage and then on to the airport. We are looking forward to the cooler weather of Iceland. We hang out at an airport wine bar and then catch an overnight flight.