Last day

 Saturday was our last full day in Iceland, our flight out was Sunday morning. On tap: the Blue Lagoon and getting to know Reykjavik a bit better. Our plan was to drop off the rental van first thing in the morning (no reason to keep it as we were staying at a hotel) then take the rental company's shuttle service to the Blue Lagoon, spend a few hours there, then take a bus back to Reykjavik for some sightseeing and dinner. 

We got the day started pretty early. The tickets we purchased (months ago) for the Blue Lagoon were for a 9 am arrival and it is about 45 minutes away from Reykjavik. We had to sort out the camper van return before that, so we were on the road by 7am. We were all a little sad to say goodbye to our camper. We had a great adventure with her, and won't soon forget it. The Blue Lagoon is less than 15 minutes away from the rental office and they were nice enough to give us a ride there with their airport shuttle. 

Our Hotel - yup, that's 64 degrees North

(fro reference the arctic circle is at 66 degrees)

The blue Lagoon is pretty special.  As I understand it, there is a geothermal power plant a mile or so away (you can see it as you arrive) that draws heated water from the earth to make power. The effluent is shipped  to the Blue Lagoon to provide it with hot water for their pool. So basically it is a big pond full of industrial runoff. Of course it is not that at all. Imagine a powder blue pond, waist deep, surrounded by volcanic rock. The water is a super relaxing 38-39 degrees Celsius (about the temperature of a nice hot bath) and steamy vapors rise form the water's surface. The day we went it was overcast and chilly with a light drizzle adding to the overall surreal atmosphere. Saunas, swim up bars, cascading waterfalls, spa treatments, and a quiet grotto / cave, it was all there, and the cold air allowed you to stand up from time to time to remind your body how nice it was to be warm and relaxed. Remember, we were coming of a ten mile hike the day before, so the our bodies basically melted into the water. There were other amenities, it is a top notch spa and the facilities were great, but we were pretty happy just floating around and relaxing. A facial treatment was included with our visit and we did give it a try. The lagoon's waters are rich in silicates, and the treatment we got was basically a handful of silica mud (which was sold for a small fortune at the gift shop) which we smeared over our faces. Not sure if it did anything for me, but we all had a laugh putting it on and taking it off. If one were cynical, one could look at the Blue Lagoon as a giant tourist trap. Yes, there were loads of tourists, and yes, it was quite pricey and more fancy than I'm used to. However, there is a reason there are so many people that visit, the place reallyfantastic.

 

 

The Blue Lagoon

Treatments

We took a bus back into town, changed at the hotel then headed into town for some sightseeing. First we stopped at Reykjavik's famous Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, a small hot dog stand in the center of town. I guess Bill Clinton had a hot dog there while attending some summit or other and said it was the best hot dog he had ever had. The place has had a lineup ever since. The hot dogs (pylsur) in Iceland are made from lamb instead of beef or pork and are pretty good (we had had some earlier in the week). It was a bit of a wait, but the hot dogs were tasty (they dress them with crispy onions and a very sweet mustard, different but good). 

Waiting for Pylsur (hot dogs)

Next stop, the Northern Lights Museum. This was Madeleine's idea. She was really interested in the northern lights, and given that it's too bright to see them in the summer, this would be as close as we got. I have to say I wasn't expecting much from the museum, but I was pleasantly surprised. There was lots of great information all really well presented. I actually learned a lot. Did you know that the northern lights look much better in photos than with the naked eye? 

 We ended the day with a stroll around town. Reykjavik's central area is relatively small, so we were able to see a lot in the short amount of time we had. We posted Madeleine's postcards (I won't even tell you how much that cost), went to the waterfront to see the ducks, walked up the rainbow street and visited the Hallgrimskirkja church. It would have been nice to have a bit more time to stroll around. Reykjavik is a nice little town that I would have liked to get to know a bit better. Oh well, next time. We treated ourselves to dinner at a restaurant that night. I hadn't really gotten much of a taste of Icelandic cuisine, so I thought I would try something local. The menu had a "Taste of Iceland" option. Perfect, exactly what I was after. Reading on however, problems quickly became evident. The four course meal consisted of smoked puffin, horse tenderloin, minke whale and lightly cured arctic char. Pretty sure Madeleine would never speak to me again if I ate horse (or puffin for that matter) and I'm not sure I would feel all that great about eating whale, so I settled on a plate of just the char. It was fantastic. 

Very expensive postcards

Rainbow street

Hallgrimskirkja church

Ducks at the waterfront

Pretty little town

 

The next morning we were up early for our flight home. Nothing too exciting. Wake up, pack, bus to the airport, security customs etc, 5 hour flight, land, 32 hour drive home. A long day. It was good to be home though. What a trip. 

our hotel room

Waiting for the bus to the airport

Homeward bound

 

Michael

Montpelier VT

 

Litli - Hrutur: Expectations and Weather

 Friday was volcano day. I've always wanted to see an active volcano with a real lava flow, and this was our chance. We had met two couples on the trip who had been, and both confirmed that a trip to the volcano while somewhat arduous (5 mile hike there and another 5 miles back) was indeed as incredible as it sounded. I don't know, there is just something elemental about the raw power of liquid rock spewing from the earth. Apparently it makes the sound of breaking glass as it cools. Neat.

Watch out

The day started early. The drive from Reykjavik was about an hour each way, then I figured at least 5 hours of hiking and an hour at the volcano, so maybe about 8 hours to get this done. We splashed out for a hotel for our last two nights in Iceland, so I wanted to leave a little time at the end of the day to check in and maybe see a bit of Reykjavik. We got on the road around 6am. It was pretty cold and overcast, but the forecast called for only a small chance of light rain in the early morning, so we weren't too worried. We got to the parking area around 7am just to find out that the trails weren't open until 8. No big deal, it gave us some time to pack our bag with sandwiches we made the night before and all the rain gear we hoped we wouldn't need and we all had a bit of breakfast and another cup of coffee. 

On Our Way

When 8am came around, we set off on our hike in high spirits. I was a little apprehensive because we had never done a hike so long, but the hike was pretty flat and we're all in relatively good shape, so I felt like it wouldn't be a big deal. It was a beautiful hike. We almost never hike flat trails (usually the things worth seeing require a bit of a climb - especially in New England) so this was a nice change. Also, it was nice to see Iceland up close. We had been driving by land like this for a week now and had enjoyed it's beauty from afar. Close up it was pretty special too. Mosses, grasses and wonderful tiny wild flowers covered the volcanic rocks in a lush blanket. the ocean was on our right, lovely hills on our left and a flat plain stretching out before us with a steaming volcano in the distance. With the wind blowing the morning mist into an eerie fog, it was a pretty incredible walk. 

A Pretty Great Walk

About 45 minutes into the hike it started to rain. just a sprinkle at first. The kind of misty rain you're sure will blow over in a few minutes. The sun even peaked through the clouds a couple of times, taunting us with it's promise of warmth. The rain did not blow over though. The wind picked up and the rain got more and more steady. By the time we were halfway to the volcano, we were soaked to the bone and freezing and the rain showed no sign of abating. No choice but to forge on though, we were not going to miss out on the volcano. I have to say that Madeleine was a champ. Through the cold and wet, she never complained once, she just put one foot in front of the other, until we got to our destination - the Litli - Hrutur volcano. Which of course was dead.

Rain Rain Go Away

Litli - Hrutur Volcano

 

Yup, dead. It had stopped erupting the night before. The lava field that just hours prior had been a molten inferno spewing lava from beneath the earth's surface was now just a steaming wall of jet black rock. We were deflated. Our disappointment was compounded by the fact that we had to hike 5 miles in the rain back to our van. Oh well, what can you do. We took in the cooling lava field which was really quite impressive. (a wall of steaming black rock with a recently active volcano in the background is not something you see everyday) then started our hike back. The rain mercifully let up, and as the morning wore on, we saw more and more hikers heading towards the volcano. Apparently, people have been descending on Iceland from all over to see this volcano. We didn't have the heart to tell them it was dead. 

Lava Field

The long walk home

Anyway, we got back to the camper and I made some cheesy scrambled eggs to warm everyone up. we changed into dry clothes and set off for Reykjavik and our hotel. We loved our camper, but it would be nice to have a bed to stretch out into and be able to take a shower without walking through a campsite to some dodgy outbuilding. We also got a chance to do a little exploring around Reykjavik's downtown (our hotel was pretty centrally located).

Hello Reykjavik

So what to say about our volcano experience? Weather and expectations. If it wasn't for weather and expectations, it would have been an amazing experience. If you had told me I could have an amazing hike through beautiful countryside with my family, and at the end of it we would see a steaming lava field, literally the newest part of planet earth, I would have been thrilled. However, the misery of being cold and wet, and the disappointment of not seeing an active lava flow tempered our enjoyment. Still, it's an experience I won't soon forget.

 

Worth it? Absolutely.

Michael

Montpelier VT

The Golden Circle

 Every country has it's version of Iceland's Golden circle - A group of must see attractions close enough to a major city that makes visiting them relatively easy. The upside is that seeing the sights is easy, the downside is that they can be crowded. Like really crowded. The parking lots at the sites we visited were jam packed with tourbuses, cars and campervans, and there were so many people, we spent the whole day trying to take pictures without other people in them. The Golden circle consists of Thingvellir National Park, the Geysir geyser (it's the geyser that gave us the word geyser to describe all geysers) and Gulfoss waterfall. Colleen checked on the volcano, and it looked like the area was closed for the day, so Thursday was our Golden Circle day. 

We started off the day with a drive from Bogarnes. Once again, the GPS sent us on a "shortcut" (we really have to get that map). Another bumpy dirt road. Uncomfortable ride yes, but stunning views and we had the road pretty much to ourselves (I suppose the tour busses prefer paved roads). Our first stop was Þingvellir (pronounced Thingvellir). Thingvellir has two things going for it. First, it is historically and culturally important as the location of Iceland's original parliament dating back to 930AD. Iceland was colonized by people from Norway (and their mostly Irish slaves) unhappy in one way or another with their lot there. When they settled, they left kings behind and settled on a democratic assembly to settle disputes and make laws (all 700 years before the United States declared independence from their king). Standing on the very spot where a bunch of midievil vikings hashed out their differences was evocative. The second thing that makes Thingvellir worth visiting is that it is geologically important. Iceland sits atop the mid Atlantic ridge where the European and North American tectonic plates meet, drifting apart at just under one inch per year (which means Iceland is growing). This tectonic activity accounts for Iceland's amazing geology. The rift itself passes right through Thingvellir, giving rise to some pretty neat rock formations. There is a walking path through a rift valley with America on one side and Europe on the other. you are standing literally on the boundary between continents. Pretty cool.

America on the left, Europe on the right

Next stop Geysir. Geysir itself is in a period of dormancy, but the adjacent Strokkur geyser erupts on a pretty regular 5-10 minute cycle. Watching water that has been heated by subterranean lava explode 50  meters into the air is pretty spectacular. The anticipation is fun too. You can get fairly close to the the geyser pool (15 meters), so you can see it go from relatively calm to slight movement to churning to finally erupting. The cycle is not exact, so you never know when the eruption will come. In other words, it is always a surprise. 

Strokkur geyser

 

You Never Know When it Will Erupt

 

Next stop Gulfoss waterfall. We've seen a lot of waterfalls on this trip, and they've all been beautiful. However, they've all been moderate to small in size. Gulfoss was a big one. It has two stages, the first, an 11 meter drop followed by the second 21 meter drop. During the summer, 140 cubic meters per second flow over the waterfall. Getting close to something that raw and powerful is impressive. 

Gulfoss

Final stop Reykjavik.We stayed at the Reykjavik Campsite, basically a big parking lot with a building with showers toilets and cooking facilities a bit of a ways out from the center of town. We didn't make it in to town, but we did take a walk through the neighbourhood the camp was in and ended up getting a nice dinner at a restaurant (I think it was our first restaurant food for the whole trip). We couldn't stay out late though, Friday was a big day - up early for the 10 mile hike to the volcano.

Reykjavik "campsite"
 

Michael

Montpelier VT

The Puffins that Weren't

Wednesday was supposed to be all about the puffins. The Westfjords are out of the way, even for Iceland, and the Latrabjarg cliffs are out of the way for the Westfjords. One visits the cliffs for the puffins, who apparently congregate there in great numbers in late July / early August. It is supposed to be an incredible experience, and is listed as one of the top things to do in Iceland if you can put up with getting there. Make no mistake, getting there is no small task. We had to drive hours over difficult roads, basically giving up a whole day to the endeavor. Visiting Latrabjarg was my idea, and I had to convince Colleen to add it to our itinerary. She had misgivings about the long drive, but eventually agreed, which was very generous of her. She was even more generous in not letting me have it when we didn't see a single puffin. 

The brochure for Latrabjarg...

off the beaten path

We got up early, put on some warm clothes (it was very cold and windy) and headed for the cliffs. One nice thing about living out of a van is that you never have to pack up before you go, just get in the driver's seat and drive, so we got an early start. The drive to the cliffs was another beautiful but difficult one (bumpy dirt roads, mountain passes etc.). The parking lot for the cliff walk is adjacent to the most forlorn and shabby lighthouse I have ever seen. You could not imagine a lonelier place, this was truly the end of the road. I grabbed my camera and we set off on our walk in anticipation of a once in a lifetime wildlife experience. It took about 20 minutes to admit to ourselves that there weren't going to be any puffins. Oh it was a stunningly beautiful place, there were other birds roosting on the cliffs (mostly gulls), and the sheer height of the cliffs was terrifyingly thrilling, but no puffins. Madeleine and Colleen were generous about the disappointment, but I felt awful about dragging them all the way out there for nothing. The Westfjords were absolutely stunning and I'm glad we had a chance to see them for ourselves, so it wasn't a total loss. Still, it would have been nice to see those puffins...

 

Don't Fall off the Cliff (and no dogs)

 

Looking for Puffins

Still Looking for Puffins

 

Not a Puffin

 

Beautiful
 

No use dwelling on something you cant change, so we brushed it off and adjusted our plan. The next stop on our Itinerary was going to be a day in the Snaefelsnes peninsula. there is a national park there with more geological wonders to explore. However, the next peninsula over, Reykjanes, had an active volcano.. The Litli-Hrutur volcano began erupting on the 10th of July. We had already made our itinerary by then, so it wasn't really on our list. However, being in a country with an active volcano and not going to see it seems the height of folly, so we decided to cut out Snaefelsnes and replace it with Litli-Hrutur. The plan was to drive to a campsite outside of Reykjavik and spend the night there. If the conditions were good (the authorities sometimes shut the area down based on which way the wind blows the dangerous gases from the volcano) we would hike to the Volcano, if not we would get back to our itinerary. We chose the town of Bogarnes for our campsite. 

 

Beach with a Boat (I Never did get the Story on That)

Bogarnes is a nice little town. It had a grocery store, the campground was nice enough, and there was a neat museum we visited where we learned about Iceland's fascinating early settlement history (did you know Iceland is the world's youngest country - humans have only lives there for 500 years). However, the best part of the town was its pool. All of the towns in Iceland have heated public pools with hot baths, saunas and other amenities. Bogarnes' pool was awesome, it even had water slides. We had a soak in the hot tub, a swim in the pool, and Madeleine had a go at the waterslides. Colleen and Madeleine even had a dunk in the ice bath (I chickened out). What an incredible place. Everyone was super friendly and welcoming and the facilities were great. Madeleine was unimpressed with European sensibilities with respect to open shower areas ("dad, I've never seen so many naked ladies in my life"), but aside from that, it was a great experience. 

The Pools at Bogarnes

 an icy dip

The day had one more treat for us. Back at the campsite that night, Madeleine made a friend. She spotted a girl doing cartwheels, gave her a wave and next thing I knew they were chatting like best friends. I think they were just happy to get away from their parents. The girl was German, but her English was great. It was really nice to watch them play together. They exchanged information and have been chatting online for days now. Pretty cool.

 

 

Lots of driving

So the day started off with disappointment and ended in, if not triumph, then at least a good measure of success. Beautiful drive, new experiences and a new friend. Still, it would have been nice to see those puffins...

Michael

Montpelier VT

Rolling with it

Tuesday was going to be our longest driving day of the trip. A 700 km (435 mi) 8 hour drive from Reykjalid (Myvatn) to Melanes in the Westfjords. With a few sightseeing stops along the way, we were figuring on at least 10 or 11 hours on the road. When we planned the trip, we knew this would be a challenging day, but we had a long list of things we wanted to do and see in our 10 days in Iceland, and this was pretty much the only way we could get it all in. So we did it. Of course it did not go as expected.

I'm usually an early riser. Even with the time change, that has held true here in Iceland, I'm usually up at least an hour or two before Madeleine and Colleen. No big deal, I either write or just read a bit. Our van is essentially an apartment on wheels though, so we thought we would use this to our advantage and leave for our drive as soon as I got up. This way we could get some miles behind us before the girls woke up. So with the girls sound asleep, I set off for the Westfjords around 5 am. The sun is up at 4 am, so I didn't miss any scenery, and literally every inch of Iceland is beautiful, so I was having a great time. Hot coffee, the road to myself, beautiful views... couldn't ask for more. I was enjoying it so much, I wasn't paying attention to the time or to my route. 

 

 

Waterfall (Godasfoss) on the way out of town

 As I mentioned in a previous post, the GPS directions we have been using have taken us on some interesting roads, so much so that we felt we should get a road map to check on the routes the GPS came up with. Of course we never got the map, and of course the GPS sent me up another dodgy white knuckle mountain pass. How the girls slept through that part of the ride, I have no idea, but sleep they did. I didn't want to wake them, so I just kept driving. And driving. And driving. By the time they finally woke up and we stopped to have a bite to eat it was mid morning. We set about figuring out which of the attractions Northern Iceland had to offer that we would visit. That's when we realized just how efficient our plan to leave early had been. We had driven clear across northern Iceland and in order to see any of the sights on our list, we would have to backtrack. We still had a ways to go, so backtracking wasn't really and option. Grr. Stuff like this happens on the road, and you just have to roll with it. Colleen excels at that. Within 10 minutes, she had a plan. We would stop at a little historic church for lunch, then drive to the town of Hvammstangi to get some groceries, stop at a fishing village called Drangsnes for a dip in a hot bath, then on to our final destination at the campsite in Melanes. 

Þingeyrakirkja Church

 The church was pretty, and Hvammstangi was a beautiful and picturesque fishing village, but the highlight was the hot bath at Drangsnes. Drangsnes is another incredibly picturesque fishing village (Iceland has no shortage of those), worth a visit on it's own, but we went for the hot baths. Being so geologically active, Iceland has an abundance of geothermal hot springs. Where they occur, local towns harness the hot springs for power, hot water, and best of all public baths. Drangsnes' baths are special in that they are set into the rocky shores of the bay (as a matter of fact, they are so close to the ocean, there are another set of baths further up the hill for when the waves are too high). We parked on the street next to the baths. There was a small building across the street where you could change and shower (Icelanders are strict about showering before entering baths - there are signs at all baths warning tourists to shower and wash before entering). Walking back across the street was a bit unpleasant because it was a bit cold and windy and we were wet from the shower, but all is forgotten when you get in the bath. After all that driving, a soak in 40 degree water (104 Fahrenheit) not 10 feet from the north Atlantic ocean looking out over mountains, fields a village and a beautiful blue sky. It was an awesome experience.

 

 

a chilly walk across the street

 

 Drangsnes Hot Baths

Thus refreshed, we set out for our final destination. The Westfjords are one of the more remote areas in Iceland, and as such, the roads can be a little rougher than in the rest of the country. It is also a mountainous region with most of the settlements along the coast. The ride was stunning if somewhat bumpy and windy. The GPS got us turned around again (we really need to get that map), but we finally made it to our campsite around 6pm. What a campsite. It may be the most beautiful campsite I've ever stayed at. Imagine a grassy field adjacent to a horse farm that backs up to an enormous white sand beach. Cold winds blowing from towering cliffs pushing low hanging clouds out to the Atlantic over a beach the size of a small town. Absolutely stunning. 

Melanes Campsite

 

Wednesday is all about the puffins. At least it was supposed to be...

Michael

Montpelier VT