Iceland trip winding down....

Hey Everybody!

The best way to avoid packing....post something! The problem is the hostel's wifi is very slow, but I'm gonna try! If not, I'll have plenty of hours sitting in airports in the next day or so....

Today was my last full day in Iceland....I wish I were staying longer! Mostly because I think it's a beautiful & cool place, but also because the weather started improving late this afternoon. One good thing: the rain held off until just after snorkeling in the fissure between the North American & European continents. Since I have only the disposable camera for water shots...the on dry land shots will have to do for now.

The tectonic plates move about 3cm/year & there are mire than a hubdred small earthquakes per day in thie area....very small & not noticed except by scientists.

We entered the water via these stairs in our fins. That is my hiking boot....I took the pic after. Way easier to take the stairs with fins than I thought it might be. The blue fins belong to a group of divers who just entered.

I don't know how cold the water was....our guide wouldn't tell us :-). I will tell you that the dressing time for dry suits was longer than for a simple wet suit. I have never felt more like an astronaut in my entire life! But it worked....water was very comfortable & not a drop of water got on my clothing. The lips get a bit cold after a few minutes, but you get used to that. I think we were in the water about 30-40 minutes. I asked the guide & he said he's been in for as long as 3 hours. I would LOVE to snorkel here again.


This is the actual beginning point....we ended in a lagoon because it has greater visibility than the lake.

This is the best above ground shot I could get to show you the underwater rock formations. It is almost always deeper than it looks....sometimes a couple hundred feet where we were this morning. I expected no life due to the cold water. I saw no fish, but there were two types of algae.

The rain came down harder and harder for the next few hours, so I returned to Reykjavik, returned the rental car, walked around the city for a few hours. These are up just a couple of fun pics for tonight.

This is the backside of the concert hall.

And this is a bt of local art.....

I better get back to packing & to bed. I will be in touch soon. Thanks!

Did someone say waterfall? :-)

Hey Everybody,

It's late and I have to get up early (in about 6hrs) to get to an activity on time, so this will be quick. I promise to get caught up on the Iceland trip soon - a few days!

The short list for today:

1. For the first time since June 26 I saw a traffic light...

2. About KFC: I saw the first one today and it's true....KFC tastes better in Iceland. Excellent chicken!

3. I had ice today....do you have any idea how hard it is to get ice for a drink in Iceland (well, Norway too!)?! you know, if you aren't on a glacier to pick it up yourself!? The girl at KFC told me it was because it was KFC. Thank goodness for KFC; I miss ice!

That's all I remember for the moment....stay tuned. In the meantime, here are some pics from the last day or two.

I believe there was a comment about me never posting lighthouses or waterfalls..... :-)

The beaches in Iceland don't seem to get real busy in the summertime....

Why don't we make ours this cute and cool?! All but 2 that I have seen here are this color.

This crater was formed about 6,500yrs ago. Here's a view from the top & the bottom, including some of the colorful smaller lava rocks.

And waterfalls.... Seljalandsfoss from behind....cuz I don't want you to get bored!

Scogafoss - legend has it a Viking hid gold behind this waterfall. Nobody has found it yet....

Last but not least: this is Gullfoss. It has been said that this one is more powerful than Niagara Falls. It has two levels. Lava forms the edges of the falls. And the canyon was carved by glacial floods.

Ice Day in Iceland!

Hey guys,

It's about 1:30am, so this is gonna be quick, but I promise I will get caught up. Last night (6/30) I slept between the Atlantic Ocean and an outlet glacier. I could see the glacier from my room! I took this around 8am.

It was about a 5mi round trip hike last night around 9pm to see the glacier up close....kind of rainy so I didn't bring my camera - no pics up close.

This morning in more light rain (as I tried to talk myself into & out of the glacier walk!) I took a zodiac cruise in a glacier lagoon....the cool one that feeds icebergs to the sea! They even go under a bridge to get there....I could barely stand leave the place!

Here's a pic of an iceberg that flipped over in the water while we were cruising around. We watched a smaller 'berg flip, but missed this one. We know it flipped because of the waterfalls on the iceberg & the waterline.

But I had to leave....I had a glacier walk at 2pm. And I failed to convince myself that I shouldn't do it....just a bit nervous about the crampons, the ice axe, and the crevasses! I didn't bring my camera on this hike due to two factors: 1) rainy weather and 2) if I fell into a crevasse, somebody might as well inherit a working camera :-)! However, I brought a disposable camera, so I will know in a couple weeks if I got any pics, I hope so!

About the glacier walk....it was very cool! Well, most of the time.....

We got an extra hour on the glacier just because of the distance the guide took us. The crampons felt weird for a few minutes, but quickly felt comfortable and secure. This means I was feeling pretty good cruising along on the glacier. That would be the last time I felt that way for a good 45min I'd guess! On a narrow portion of our hike I must have tripped myself or mistepped and so slid down the ice on my knees. I will check for bruises shortly....pretty sure I've got 'em!

I got up and moved on with a slightly wounded ego, but no real harm done. It was about 3 min after that fall, however, that we had to make a bit of a jump up from one hump to another. I was a bit shaken from the fall....crevasse on each side of me -- but only one was deep. I hesitated, but made the jump. On the return, I waited for the guide to walk back to help me jump down. I just couldn't do it again....the fall would have been not good!

So, it was very cool because I hiked all over a glacier today. It was easy for a long time, which made me think it wasn't a big deal after all - you know, not that dangerous. That's when it got interesting with narrow foot paths & ice steps hacked out with the axe. It was a very good lesson in the serious nature of glacier activities. It also proved that climbing up is MUCH easier than climbing back down.

Mostly, it was just cool to see the secret parts of the glacier - the internal waterfalls in melting ice, the blue ice under volcanic ash, the glacier cones, and the beauty of the waves (or layers) of snow and ice.

Ok....it's now 2am. I have to shower and get to bed. And check on my bruised knees :-) or pride or.....Here's one last pic. This is Hwy 1 - The Ring Road - the main road around the island. Endless lava fields on both sides.....

More soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Rainy Day in Iceland (6-28-12)

Hey Everybody!

Iceland gets harder and harder to comprehend. But the parts I understand I like....and the parts I don't yet understand are pretty cool too. One thing I like is that in some respects Iceland allows much more freedom of movement. Want to go to a geothermal power plant to look around or touch the insulated pipes? No problem; they aren't behind fences. Or maybe you want to play on some rocks and take a pic of the Gooafoss (waterfall of the gods) from the edge. No problem; there are no fences.

About this waterfall....the lava rocks are about 8,000 years old & this river (Skjalfandafljot) is the 4th largest in the country. It is said that when Iceland formally accepted Christianity in the year 1,000 the chieftain gathered all the statues of the pagan gods and threw them into the waterfall. I would love to see this place on a sunny day....might have to swing by again in the morning.

Tell me this little house at the base of the mountain doesn't put things in perspective...

And....there was so much lava today, but the rain interfered with some exploration. Hope to have better luck tomorrow. It reminded me of sink holes - only in reverse. In truth, there are much more dramatic examples, but I can't always stop to get them from the highway. Sometimes I do it anyway... because it's Iceland. There's not a lot of traffic & there's that whole freedom thing!

The name of this flower is purple nootka (or Alaska Alpine). And it really is everywhere. Turns out that it is an invasive species introduced to create soil. Ideally, if someone could make a hybrid (I guess) that would still make soil, but sheep would eat, then the spreading would be better controlled. I drove through a large restoration area today after taking this pic & it had lots of these flowers too.

These two photos were taken in Husavik, a small fishing village in the northern area.

Twice since arriving ( and once in the Arctic during a conversation about Iceland) I heard this joke:

Q: What should you do if you get lost in a forest in Iceland?

A: Stand up!

Here's that forest.....makes it easier to understand why ALL wood is salvaged or imported.

It's not a great pic, but it's the closest shot I've had of the water shooting out of the earth....

That's all for tonight. It's not even 11pm yet....I can't believe it; I might just go to bed right now!

Oh yeah....please tell Capt. Heidi that it took forever, but I finally found the man to go with the reindeer! This is not a joke; he is on Hwy 1.

Iceland Photos - Intro

Just outside of town....is where the fish plant dries its fish remains in order to grind it to a marketable powder. Apparently much of it is sold to Africa. This was my first stop today...in case you're wondering why....

This lake used to be much deeper, but an earthquake stole the water, making it possible for me to stand in this spot for a pic.

Do you see the troll? It is said that trolls turn to stone if they see the sun.

Seltun is part of oneeom the four active volcanic systems along the Reykjanes peninsula (near Reykjavik).

Lava field & craters go all the way to the coastline. Icelanders joke that Hawaii got the better deal b/c they have the warm weather with their volcanoes.

The first black sand beach that I saw...people are no longer allowed on this beach because it's unsafe (erosion, tides).

The color of the geothermal water due to the sulfur and/ or other natural chemicals in it. Caution: will turn your hair into something that feels like hay, so condition it during & after entering these waters!

Icelandic Horses on a lava field

Part of the largest hot spring in Europe

Gotta watch the road for these:

I promised to show typos flowers that can't survive in soil....here they are! These flowers create soil in lava fields, but once there is healthy soil the flowers die - to make room for other plants.

An old church...the roof & sides are sod/grass

More soon.....

Iceland - Intro

Hey Everybody,

6/26

It is 9:40pm & I just checked into my room at an old farmhouse. I could have been here sooner and had a hot meal (it would have been my first and only meal today), but I must confess - reluctantly! - that there was a definite learning curve in the driving department. I could blame signs I can't read or a map that sometimes doesn't quite compute....but mostly I think I just needed the afternoon to get oriented. And I had plenty of time for that since I was back & forth on the same two roads a few times bouncing between places I wanted to see, but couldn't plot out because some roads I'm not allowed to take the car on, but I don't always know whether a road is paved through before I'm on my way. And some places are not in the rental car's GPS system best I can tell. I think it would be easier to rent an SUV so that more roads are accessible.... next time!

And yes! I did ask for help once. It didn't help....it took me the LONG way, or maybe (MAYBE) I didn't follow the directions exactly...

To add some drama to the whole driving thing....would you believe that the rental car I got is brand new?! Only 9km & I am its first driver.... Believe me when I say I have worried about gravel roads most the day because any damage to that car is on me. It's a great little car...good radio...and, luckily, good gas mileage! (Amy, tell Wim it's blue! I didn't plan it...but it matches my blue watch pretty well :-).

PS don't worry...I found Paprika crackers in a store, so I did eat something today.

6/27

I have slept, had breakfast and studied my map....am feeling much more oriented this morning. It rained overnight and seems to be clearing a bit now. The old farmhouse was quite comfortable. So, feeling refreshed and confident I took to the gravel roads for my first two stops.

No, that's a lie! My first stop was the gas station where I was unable to figure out how to use my card to get gas. You can buy it 24/7, but nobody was around to ask for help. So, I set out on my gravel road adventure anyway....got to the first one & decided I really should get gas. Turns out that's not easy to do....when you are on the edge of nowhere! I returned to the same gas station with less than 1/8 of a tank (but I didn't run out!), got help and returned to my adventure. And now I know how to use the automated machines; phew!

The rest of the day (until room check-in) was without drama. When I got to my room for the night I couldn't open the door. It's one of those doors that can be buzzed from inside & unlocks. I couldn't open it; the owner didn't understand....so I was stuck on the porch for nearly 20 minutes in increasingly cold weather (b/c I am in the north part of Iceland). But she and her husband are very nice and all is well now.

You probably want some photos, but it is NOT easy to photograph this place. Here are some Iceland facts instead...pics in post after this.

- pop. 320,000. Most people live in Reykjavik. This means that much of the time I share the road with sheep, the occasional diesel, and some cars here & there.

- there are 150,000 Icelandic Horses in Iceland....the Northern area has more horses than people. Many just look like a horse, but some of them are stunningly beautiful.

- Icelandic people did not have a word for "brain fart" in their native tongue, but it turns out someone picked it up on a US trip & shared it. They love the phrase! So glad we could contribute in a meaningful way....

- Kentucky Fried Chicken is said to be better here than anywhere else (accordingly to Icelanders) because they use their own Iceland chickens. I haven't tried it yet, but think I should test this theory! Only I'm not even close to a KFC.

- McDonald's and Burger King both pulled out....Icelandic law prohibited them from importing meat.

-As Iceland's climate has grown more mild in the last few years there has been at least one unexpected consequence: bees. They never had then until the last 3-4yrs.

Back to regular travel reporting soon (and hopefully less about getting lost, almost running out if gas, etc.).

Oslo-Bergen R/T in 24hrs (6-22-12)

Hey Everybody,

I can honestly say that the 24hrs of this day's adventure into the unknown has been the most challenging since trying to get out of Florida by traveling up the east coast in the spring.

Left Oslo at 6:31am on 6/22; Returned to Oslo at 6:19am on 6/23.

The formal name for this trip is "Norway in a Nutshell" and it's a popular way for people to see some beautiful out of reach places. It has been said that the Bergen Railway is one of the most beautiful train rides in the world....that's why I tackled it. It doesn't have to be done so fast. I could have stayed in Bergen.

The Oslo train takes you to the mountain rail station in Myrdal, which was tough to build because of the steep slopes and sharp bends. Then the Flam Railway was built - it took us inside to the corner of Aurlandsfjord - a branch of the world's longest fjord. There are about 20 tunnels along the way - 18 of them were excavated by hand! This is a pretty cool ride through steep mountains and river valleys. This trip is probably the best way to get a sense of Norway's mountains, unless you opt for some of the wild hiking and biking paths in this area! I didn't have any time to explore them, but could see them from train station platforms & would definitely like to.

As soon as the train arrived in the Flam Valley we jumped on a boat for a 2hr fjord cruise. The cruise was immediately followed by a bus to Voss.... an amazingly good bus driver took the bus flawlessly down a steep old & scenic mountain road with switchbacks that could put Beartooth Hwy (in MT) to shame a few times.

In Voss we caught the train to Bergen, where I spent just under 4 hours before boarding an 11pm train back to Oslo. Thank goodness for all the daylight!

Quite beautiful, but very long day, especially the overnight train ride. I would recommend a sleeper car if you decide to do the 24hr trip. I didn't have one, but it would have helped! It was about 10pm on 6/23 before I felt recovered.

Tired yet? Here's why it's worth the trouble:

Kjosfossen Waterfall from the Flam Railway. If you squint you might see the dancing blonde. The train stops here for a few minutes on a very wet, narrow platform for photos & suddenly there is Norwegian folk music and a dancing woman on the hillside.

The Flam Valley at the end of the Flam Rail.

This is the view from the boat. How cool would it be to have this house?! How they ever got the building materials up there is a mystery to me. But I know how they kept the tax man away. A long time ago there were ladders that people used because the mountain was so steep. The house served as a great lookout point. People pulled up all the ladders & the tax man couldn't collect!

Entering the narrowest part of the fjord as we head for Gudvagon to catch the bus to Voss.

This is the biggest troll I saw the entire time I was in Norway! Thought you'd like to know :-)

Bergen is known for these wooden buildings....They were the first buildings in Bergen and located at Bryggen. It's just a minute to walk from the Fish Market to these old, leaning buildings. Bergen really seems like a WAY cooler place to wander & hang out than Oslo. I just didn't know it soon enough! This particular area in Bergen is kind of like walking back into Norway's Middle Ages.

And so you know it's modern too...a 7/11 store & Louisiana Creole Cafe.

I will skip the last few Oslo pics for now, except for this one because if you braved this post, then you deserve a laugh! I was walking down Karl Johan's Gate - the center of town road that leads right to the palace - when something caught my attention - perhaps because it's right across the street from the cathedral. Or maybe it's the guarantee on the front door. If you ever need to run away to an open minded country....Norway might work :-)

You guys are awesome....we have survived Norway! Will begin Iceland soon....