Iceland Week 2

Iceland Week 2

Tuesday, June 25: After Paul’s class this morning, the three of us decided to go for a hike.  We first stopped at an Ice Wear store so Paul could buy a new coat. We then went for a hike/walk along some of the same trails where we ran the midnight run.  Along the way we saw bunnies and some waterfalls.

For dinner, we went to Helga and Gumi’s house. Helga is our travel agent that arranges all of our trips. The others guests at dinner were  Arsaell, our tour guide, his wife Katla, and a couple from Florida that are friends of Helga and Gumi. She made a great soup.  

Paul, Becky, Matt, Helga, Gumi

Another look at Fisherman's Village, our "home" in Reykjavik

Wednesday, June 26:   Since it was starting to rain, we decided to go to the National Museum.  There were lots of interesting displays that started with the settlement era in 870 all the way to the present.  Afterward we met up with Paul and got hot dogs for lunch.

Statue of Thor, ca. 900's

Downtown Reykjavik

Alpingi (Parliament building)

Buying more hot dogs

Sun Voyager Statue

We then took a bus out to some lava fields and went for a hike.  It rained almost the whole time we were out there. The lava rock alternated between black and red. Once we got back to our hotel, we got our suitcases packed up for our trip in the morning.

Lava Field

Thursday, June 27: This morning everyone loaded their bags on the bus and prepared for our nine-day journey around the country.  After Reykjavik we went through a tunnel that went underneath a fjord. Our first stop was at a waterfall called Hraunfossar, which translates to “lava field waterfall”.  The water percolates through the lava field and comes out at the edge of the field.  

Tunnel going under fjord

Hraunfossar waterfall

There are a ton of these big-wheeled beasts all around the country

Our next stop was Deildartunguhver, which is the largest hot spring in Europe.  The water is pumped out in a large pipe and is used to heat the town of Akranes.  

Deildartunguhver hot spring

After driving a bit farther north, we stopped at Glaumbaer, which contains an old traditional turf farmhouse that serves as a living museum.  It was amazing how well insulated (and quiet) the turf houses are inside. We looked through each of the rooms and saw how life was on a farm.  The house was used by the farmer and his family, along with all of the workers.

Turf houses

We continued farther north and traveled through a one-lane tunnel to the small fishing village of Siglufjordur.  We stopped for a little break and took some pictures.

One-lane tunnel (with pullouts)

Siglufjordur

We then continued on through a couple of new tunnels that opened a few years ago that connect Siglufjordur to another small village called Olafsfjordur.  The tunnels are over 11km long and cut down the drive time between the two villages from hours to just a few minutes. From there we made our way through one more tunnel to Dalvik, a small town on the side of the fjord.  For dinner we ate at a small cafe named Gisli, Eirikur, Helgi. These three are known as the Bakka brothers, who are kind of like the Three Stooges of Iceland. We had a tasty fish soup and homemade bread for dinner. From there we separated and had the girls stay at the local hostel and Becky, Paul and I went with the boys and stayed at a small ski lodge on the edge of town.  

Gisli, Eirikur, Helgi Cafe

Fish Soup

The Bakka Brothers, plus the Puffin

The ski lodge in Dalvik where we stayed

Friday, June 28: After breakfast this morning we took a ferry out to Grimsey Island. Fortunately the three-hour trip out there wasn’t rough. 

Boat ride out to Grimsey Island

Grimsey is famous for the enormous amount of birds that come there to breed in the summer months and as the only part of Iceland that lies within the Arctic Circle.  Once we came ashore, we started hiking around the island, which is treeless and covered in grass and flowers. Along several of the cliffs we stopped and took pictures of the puffins, which nest on the sides of the cliffs.  We were able to get very close to them to take pictures. They are almost comical to watch, especially when they takeoff and land.

On Grimsey Island

Cliff full of puffins

Puffins

We continued walking to the end of the island, where a large concrete sphere marks the Arctic Circle.  After a few pictures, we were off again taking pictures of puffins and hiking around the rest of the island.

At the Arctic Circle

Looking for puffins

After we rounded the eastern part of the island, Becky and I found an easy spot in which we could dip our feet into the Arctic Ocean (just have the Southern Ocean left).  On our last stretch back to the boat Paul warned us about the Arctic terns (called Kria) that dive bomb people as they walk by their nesting areas. We specifically brough hiking poles to fend off the kria. There were a couple of them that would not give up the fight and continually kept trying to dive bomb our poles.  It was windy and choppy on the boat ride back, so Becky and I ended up falling asleep inside the boat for most of the ride. Once we arrived back in Dalvik, we had some excellent Lasagna for dinner.  

Grimsey Island with Iceland in the background

Getting our feet wet in the Arctic Ocean

Paul and Matt using their hiking poles to fend off the kria

Saturday, June 29: While Paul taught class this morning, Becky and I went to the grocery store, read, and caught up on our journals.  The weather was colder today, hovering in the 40’s. Once class was over we boarded the bus and headed over to Akureyri,  where we spent some time looking around town and got another hot dog for lunch. Akureyri is the second largest city in Iceland, even though it only has a population of around 18,000.

Church in Akureyri

Akureyri

Our next stop was at Godafoss, which translates to “God Falls”.  The waterfall earned its name when one of the early leaders of Iceland decided that Iceland would be Christian. On his way home he stopped at the falls and threw in all his pagan idols.

Godafoss

After the falls we made our way to Kopasker, where we would stay the next two nights.  The population of Kopasker is around 100, so once all of us rolled into town we significantly enlarged the local population The weather is definitely cooler, especially when the wind picks up. For dinner we ate at the local gas station/supermarket/liquor store/cafe. We had some tasty fish balls for dinner (similar to fried meat balls).  

Fish balls for dinner!

Sunday, June 30: This morning we boarded the bus and headed south.  Our first stop was at Asbyrgi. We hiked into a horseshoe canyon that was created by ancient glacial floods (or by the norse god Odinn’s horse’s hoof print). 

Asbyrgi

From there we continued south to the Myvatn area.  The whole area around Myvatn sits atop the Mid-Atlantic rift, which is slowly tearing Iceland in half.  Needless to say, the ground around Myvatn is very hot underneath the surface and there has been multiple volcanic events in the area for years.  We stopped and hiked around the Dimmuborgir area, which contains odd-shaped lava formations, which some believe were trolls that came out in daylight.  

Myvatn area

Dimmuborgir lava formations

After lunch we went over to Grjotagja, which is a small hot spring that sits inside a fissure.  The water is too hot to get into and it is on private property, so swimming is not allowed. 

Grjotagja pool

From there we drove over to the Myvatn Nature Baths.  These baths are similar to the famous Blue Lagoon that is close to Reykjavik, but not as crowded and not nearly as expensive.  The water comes from the local hydrothermal plant and contains lots of minerals, which gives the water the bright turquoise color.  The baths are very large and the place never felt too crowded.

Myvatn Nature baths

Our last stop was at Hverir, a geothermal area that looks like another planet.  There are mudpots, steam vents, and other features all over the place. It is similar to Yellowstone in some aspects, but some of the features are unique.  From there we headed back north to Kopasker. We ate at the cafe again and had some fresh lamb for dinner.

Hverir geothermal area

Steam vent

Monday, July 1: After the students finished their mid-term examines we packed up our bags and headed off to our next destination.  Our first stop was the mighty waterfall Dettifoss. Dettifoss is the largest waterfall by volume in Europe. It was amazing to see the sheer amount of water going over the edge.  The mist from the falls completely drenched us! We then walked upriver to another waterfall, Selfoss. This one contained many smaller falls in between the basalt cliffs. 

Walking out to Dettifoss

Dettifoss

Selfoss

Once we were back on board the bus it started to snow on and off.  We drove south, then caught the main highway, highway 1, and headed east.  We drove through some stark volcanic country before we dropped down to the town of Egilsstadir for the night.  At the hostel we stayed at they served us some great pizza for dinner.