Iceland 3: Waterfalls and Icelandic Horses

We woke up to a beautiful sight just outside our hotel.



We ended up accomplishing so much yesterday, that today was mild in comparison.  We ended up with a hotel farther east than the tour usually uses, so we were already part of the way toward our destinations.

Our first stop was at the geothermal pools of Deildartunguhver.  This was a similar set of sulfur geysers as we saw in Unzen, but on a much smaller scale.  We did not stay long.

Next were the waterfalls of Hraunfossar and Barnafossar, virtually right next to each other.  The first one that I took a picture of had extremely fast rushing water in greater quantities of water than I am used to.  My picture ended up lasting too long and created an effect that made it look like it was ground fog rather than a waterfall.  The second falls look more natural.



We then took a quick stop in the town of Reykholt.  This very small town was known for housing Snorri Sturluson, a man of great significance to the history of Iceland.  Among many other things, he is known for his writings of epic proportions, that also served to highlight what it was like in the early days of Icelandic settlement.  The two churches looked beautiful in the sunlight.  As today was the first day I've seen mostly without rain, I noticed that the sun is almost always in a state of sunrise/sunset lights, going only up about one third of the way into the sky.



Just a few minutes away was the Sturlureykir Visiting Horse Farm.  In the main house lived two cats that seemed fond of each other.  Two dogs were also on the premises.  The woman gave a presentation involving a video, outlining some of the differences between Icelandic horses and all other horses, proclaiming that the horses here have two different kinds of gait that others do not.  I felt that she came across and pretentious and arrogant.  I sensed that she meant well and was unaware of how she came across.  In any case, I focused on the cats.



I was hoping to watch horses in the fields but instead we were guided into two different barns.  In between the barns we were brought to a geothermal guyser that the property owned.  In the second barn we got to spend some time with the horses, and Miles was allowed to hold one for a photo.  I still would have preferred watching them in a field.



Our guide took us to one last destination, one that was not originally part of the itinerary.  It was to the Glanni Waterfall.  I used the wrong filter on my camera, so another picture that wasn't so great.  On the walk back I saw a beautiful snow covered mountain in the distance.



Once I was back in the car, I overheard the middle of a conversation between Zaho and the other couple on the tour.  It turned out that the night's forecast was supposed to have some clear skies, which would allow for a potential northern lights sighting.  I decided to sign up for one of the group's tour that simply went out to an area without light pollution and had a good cloudless view.  If you don't see any lights, you can go again for free.

The tour started off a bit bumpy as the driver struggled to locate the final passenger, driving in circles for 45 minutes before finding them.  I was sitting right behind him and asked what was going on, but he never went on the speaker to inform anyone else, and after all the delay, he never even apologized or offered an explanation to anyone else.  We drove out of town and camped out there.  Miles was quickly snoring.  It was a full moon which made the night sky quite bright, which isn't great for photography.  No northern lights ended up showing, but I ended up having fun hanging out with some of the people while waiting.  I contacted the company to see if I could try again tomorrow.  All I was able to capture was a picture with the big dipper.

Iceland 2: The Snuffalufugus Peninsula

We woke up bright and early today so I could get myself into shape to have a good day.  We received a text early, confirming that the tour was on.  Yesterday, many tours were canceled because of a big storm.  We walked a few minutes to a popular bus stop, where a whole crowd gathered.  After a few buses and minibuses came and went, a small minivan parked and called out our name.

We were very lucky in that only two other people were on this tour with us, a young couple from Hong Kong.  I asked them if they were pro-independence or welcomed mainland china.  They informed me that they participate in protests, albeit from the back.  They knew a surprising amount of English.

Today was spent traveling to and around the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.  Our tour guide Zaho, said the name out loud, but I didn't ask him to slow it down long enough to fully comprehend it.  I've been calling it the Snuffalufugus Peninsula.  The Peninsula, situated about two hours north of Reykjavik, is supposed to represent a little bit of everything that Iceland has to offer.   I have been looking forward to seeing it more than anything else this trip.


As we entered the Peninsula, I began seeing many commonalities with what I saw in the Scottish Highlands.  Our first stop was to see Kirkjufell mountain and its nearby falls.  It had rained the whole drive up, and continued to drizzle here.  I grabbed my camera rain cover, which I had never used up until this point, and began walking with Miles up the hill, with him carrying my tripod for me.  We had limited time and it wasn't particularly comfortable to walk around in that temperature, so I took some pictures knowing that there would be people in the background anyway.  The area was magnificent.  I wish I had more time to stay.  The nearby town of Grundarfjörður reportedly has many birds during the summer, along with whale watching.



We drove a few minutes farther down the road, before stopping for lunch.  I had bread, red hummus, and wild mushroom soup.  The prices were extraordinary, as is all food in Iceland!  Luckily, the food was very good.  We passed an incredibly beautiful black crater, but it was not on the itinerary so we didn't stop.  Our guide informed us that people hike to the top.  I must return there in the future!



We entered the Snæfellsnes National Park on the west side of the island.  Zaho pointed out that there were no trees here.  The land here was a mixture of volcano overflow and moss growing on top of it.  Making a footprint would cause it to remain permanently.  The area was exquisite.  I noticed that there were no areas to pull over and take pictures, likely in an effort to keep people moving rather than spoil the beauty with litter or by walking where they shouldn't.  We stopped about halfway through the park in a small parking lot, to walk down and see the beach at Beruvíkurbæir.  The rocks were insane, the views of the lava fields were ridiculous, and the crashing waves were higher than any place I've ever seen.  Twice Miles and I had to make a run for it because the water shot across the ground much farther than it previously was.  I remained mercifully dry.



A short drive and we were at the small fishing village of Arnarstapi.  At this point I had begun sitting in the front seat and asking Zaho an endless amount of questions about Iceland and life in Iceland.  Iceland's main economy was based around fishing until the tourist boom began not long ago.  We made two stops here, allowing us to see the fantastic rock archway of Gatklettur which hung over the sea.



As the light grew darker, we doubled back to the entrance to the only lava tunnel on Iceland.  Unlike the one we saw in South Korea, this one is only shown in small groups and has no lighting set up inside.  We were each given flashlights and descended into the cavern on a long spiral staircase.  The guide told us stories about trolls and tried to make a lot of jokes.  One of my favorite parts was toward the end when he had us all shut off our flashlights and we were in complete darkness, punctuated by the water dripping from the ceiling.



We gathered in the bus and made one final quick stop at one of the three black churches in Iceland.  It was lit up beautifully.



Our hotel is very nice and had a very good, albeit very expensive dinner.  We sat at a table next to our guide, with no one else in the entire restaurant.  I continued asking him questions.  For dessert, he recommended skyr, a type of yogurt with fruit on top.  It was very creamy and quite good.  Tomorrow will be the second half of this first tour. 

Iceland 1: Winter is Coming

I've had my eye on Iceland for a while, ever since my friend Jeremy traveled there a few years ago.  In October, I watched an episode of Trapped on Amazon Prime, and the beautiful snowy landscape became trapped in my mind.  I decided to schedule an impromptu trip with Miles, during a week where he had a day off for a teacher work day.

I saved four hundred dollars by booking our flights into and out of Orlando Airport.  This also added the benefit of giving us a direct flight and being able to leave later in the day rather than having to wake up at 3 AM in order to leave locally and then need to do a stopover somewhere.  Either route would have had me landing in Iceland at the same time, at 6 AM.  It seemed like every flight I could find landed at that time.

We parked at the long term economy parking and took the shuttle over to the airport.  The flight was about six hours and forty minutes, departing around 6:00 PM.  Despite me urging him to try, Miles refused to sleep until there was about three hours left on the flight.  I noticed that the airplane crew were advertising for bus transfers to the main city of Reykjavik.  I asked one of them if this was much cheaper than taking a taxi and she informed me that it was many multitudes more to take a taxi, as they are expensive in Iceland.  I opted for their bus transfer, although I knew it was likely slightly more expensive.  It was round trip and so we wouldn't need to wait in lines at the airport or on the way back to buy tickets.

Passport control was a line of two people.  We got our bags and went out into the cold to walk to the bus.  I, of course, had my jacket on.  Miles decided to walk outside without his jacket on and was greeted with a strong gust of wind.  It was 8 AM and the sun wasn't due to rise for another two hours.  I informed him that it was not called Iceland because it is summer year round, and he ducked back inside to suit up.  As soon as we walked onto the bus he began to sleep.  We arrived at our hotel about an hour later and they told us that our room would be ready around 11.  In actuality, it wasn't ready til a bit after 12, but that is still super early for a check in to a hotel, so I was very happy.

We dropped off our bags while we waited and I took Miles to a diner down the street.  He had a stack of six small pancakes while I had coffee.  We walked a short distance to the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre, a unique looking building along the harbor.  The views of the mountains were magnificent from this vantage point.




We followed the water until we reached Aurora Reykjavik, a tiny museum where they have information regarding the Northern Lights.  Someone was there to give a brief talk about what camera settings to see if we are lucky enough to catch the northern lights.  I actually picked up some information here that I had not considered, so I was glad to have gone.  There was also a dark alcove where you could use your camera to test settings with a mock northern lights display.  After I briefly did so, I turned around to see Miles on the nearby bench, head back and snoring. 



At this point we walked back to the hotel.  Along the way, a strong gust came and threw my hat a dozen feet into the air and then 40 feet down the street.  Miles ran after it and saved it before more wind whisked it away, never to be seen again.  Normally I would wear a beanie on top of the hat, but I had not been able to thoroughly go through our luggage yet.  We arrived at the hotel and they told us to come back in an hour.  We walked past a lake along the way to the National Museum of Iceland.  This ended up being a warm place to spend our time, but the exhibits utterly bored me, as I had seen many of it before, including when we saw the Viking Museum in York.  I must stop myself from going to any museum outside of the occasional art museum!



We returned to the hotel and our room was ready.  I took a nap and Miles played games on his tablet.  For dinner, we walked to a very small indoor hot dog stand, and got hot dogs, as Jeremy had recommended.  Miles complained about their ketchup not being good, which is an absurd complaint, but I guess he has to continue to work to maintain his reputation!  The hot dog bun was grilled in a pleasing pattern.

Before returning to our room, I had coffee at the hotel bar.  I paid with cash this time and I received a really neat looking Icelandic coin.



Tomorrow we leave at 9 AM to go on our first tour, which lasts two days and one night.  I normally do not take tours, since I like doing things at my own pace with my medical problems, but there were very strong advisories against driving in Iceland winters without arctic circle driving experiences, so I erred on the safe side.