A Whale of a Day

First, here are some more photos of last night's aurora. The shots I posted last night were not as well-focused, and my photographer is picky.

The colors aren't all visible with the naked eye. David tells me this has something to do with the long exposure on the camera. A bit of research adds the info that the cones in our retina, which see color, require higher light levels than the rods, which see black-and-white, and so our night vision tends to be lacking some color. The camera - especially modern digital SLRs - has a much greater ability to capture light with a long exposure. It was still spectacular to watch in person, and I'm glad we have the photos as well. This is why we came to Iceland in winter.

I kept reminded myself of that when we left the hotel this morning. We had a brilliant aurora last night because it was crystal clear - no clouds. Clear weather in winter is colder weather. The car thermometer told us it was -20 C when we headed out today. We found our way to (yes) another waterfall and had a short hike in from the road. A short, COLD hike. It was worth it.

Godafoss - the waterfall of the gods

We had no other specific plans for the day except to head west toward tonight's lodgings. We stopped in Aukreyri for lunch. Aukreyri is the largest town we've seen since we left Reykjavik - they had stop lights!

Side note: Iceland stop lights and road signs are kinder than those in the US. The stop lights in Aukreyri were changed after the 2008 financial crash to make the world a happier place.

They also have the same kind of speed monitoring signs we have the US, with one difference: if you're under the limit, you get a thumbs-up or a happy face. When you leave the city limits, you see this:

When you arrive in town, you see the same thing without the red line

They also have electronic signs that tell you the weather conditions up ahead. Very handy when driving through unpopulated mountain areas.

So back to Aukreyri. We found a parking spot and figured out what they meant when they said "clocks for parking are available in banks and gas stations." Parking is free and limited to two hours. At the bank, David picked up a cardboard clock, which we set with the time we parked and left on the dashboard.

We had delicious mussels in an Asian-flavored broth for lunch (mmm) and looked out over the harbor while we ate. We noticed the whale-watching boat, and checked their website to learn that yes, there is whale-watching in winter. So we headed over there and bought tickets for a three-hour tour after I retrieved the scopolamine patch from my suitcase. You never know when you might need it.

They can't guarantee whales, of course. We got lucky - again. This gorgeous creature was feeding in the fjord and we watched him? her? for nearly an hour. David took pictures. I just watched in awe.

Humpback whale heading down for a dive.

We could hear the whale breathing.

Rolling around, just for fun.

And a waterfall on shore for good measure.

I took advantage of the insulated overalls they carry on board. That went over my leggings, turtleneck, hiking pants, rain pants, sweater, scarf, and parka. It's a wonder I could move. I also bought hand heaters for my gloves and I was toasty - except for my feet, even though I had wool socks and silk sock liners inside my boots. It was totally worth it.

We defrosted in the car on the way to our lodgings in a cabin on the hillside in Hvammstangi. Here's the view from the living room window.

David suggests that Iceland's tourist slogan should be "views that never suck."

We had yet another delicious meal with (of course) delectable homemade bread. Local lobster (tempura for David, soup for me) and lamb steak (David).

Tomorrow we head back to Reykjavik via (of course) a waterfall and whatever else catches our fancy along the way.

Aurora Borealis

photo credit: David Smith

In Which We Are Reminded That It Is Winter

Notice the snow.

We tried to see waterfalls today. We tried to see two. One was just outside the town where we spent the night. It was billed as a 30 minute walk from the parking lot. We made it about ten minutes - maybe - through the snow before we decided this wasn't a good idea. The trail wasn't cleared, it was steep and icy, and we didn't have crampons.

We decided to try for the next waterfall - about a one-hour detour - and found the roads closed on both sides. We added both of them to our list for "Iceland in the summer." That list also includes a Zodiac tour of the ice lagoon, and a trip to the interior volcanic area which is inaccessible in winter. We're clearly coming back.

Stymied in our waterfall hunt, we continued to the north. Our next stop was Hevrir, a geothermal area. That means the groundwater is heated by the underlying hot rocks and forced up through the surface. That means there is sulfurous smoke and bubbling water - and mud. 

Be glad we don't have Smell-O-Vision

This is what it sounded like.

And this is a mud pot.

We walked around there until we'd had our fill of sulfur, and then drove on to Myrvatn where we found our hotel, checked in, and headed out for lunch. We found a farm-to-table restaurant that brings the table to the farm - we were looking out at their fields as we ate their lamb. That was the best lunch we've had - and they had decaf espresso! 

Fortified by lunch, we headed out to Dimmuborgir. I'm amazed at the number of different-looking rocks we've seen. It's all the same rock - it's all basalt from volcanic activity - but there's a lot of variation in appearance depending on the type of volcanic activity and the speed at which it occurred (I'm paraphrasing. If you want details, ask David). Dimmuborgir contains the remains of a lot of lava tubes. 

The opening in the top is an old lava tube.

We walked about two miles through the snow. We were rewarded with sights like this.

Not surprisingly, this is called The Church.

 It was even more interesting up close.

Those are drips of lava. Seriously.

I was all for turning back, but David suggested we walk through the space instead.

I was dubious.

It was worth it. This is what we found.

Two generations of lava tubes. When the first one cooled, a crust developed and the next one formed on top.

We then climbed up the other side and walked back to the car. After that, we deserved some relaxation, so we went to the Myrvatn Nature Baths and soaked in the warm (albeit sulfurous) water for a while before heading back to the hotel for a shower, drinks, and dinner. 

The remains of the day.

The day started out cloudy, but you can see from the picture above that it ended clear. Fingers crossed; we're signed up for the hotel's aurora wake-up call. We did see the Northern Lights on Tuesday night - a faint glow just above the horizon, too brief for pictures - and we're greedy enough to want more. No disappointment if that doesn't happen, though. This is still one of the best vacations ever.

To the Lighthouse, With Apologies to Virginia Woolf

The first of the day's lighthouses.

I went with the more dignified of the two possible titles for today's post. The alternate was "We Were Pining for the Fjords." We drove through? around? the eastern fjords of Iceland today. We stopped at several lighthouses, all overlooking black sand beaches. I don't think there's any other kind of beach in Iceland, since the whole country is made of up basalt, which is black. The novelty did not wear off. I grew up with Jones Beach, Rye Beach, and the Jersey Shore. I do not expect beaches to be black.

Black sand dunes.

This was our longest drive so far; we spent more than four hours in the car, breaking up the trip with stops at three lighthouses and a few vista points. The vistas were stunning.

David's suggestion for Iceland's tourist slogan: The scenery doesn't suck.

He's not wrong.

Lighthouses in Iceland don't look like lighthouses in the US. They don't all like alike, either. Here are the other two we saw today. 

I call this one "Bauhaus Meets Lighthouse."

And this is "Brutalist Comes to Iceland."

We stopped for lunch in a small fishing village where we saw groups of kids in costume going around town. Google tells me that in Iceland, Ash Wednesday is "celebrated mainly by children," who dress up in costume and go from house to house singing, and are rewarded with treats. In this town they also go to the restaurants - at least to the one we were visiting. We saw three groups of kids; costumes ranged from little ones in princess and Minecraft get-ups to older kids dressed as devils and Vikings to teenagers dressed as cows, cats, and one memorable inflatable penis. This does not jibe with my understanding of Ash Wednesday.

I had fish and chips; the batter had curry mixed in and was surprisingly flavorful. And, again, the scenery doesn't suck.

From the window of the café.

After lunch we continued to drive around the fjords. We ran into the first precipitation of the trip, which started as rain and rapidly turned to snow. Some of the roads were snow-covered to start with. We were glad to have all-wheel drive and studded snow tires. We saw more wildlife today than we have all trip, mostly birds. We identified several different kinds of ducks. I also saw a reindeer. It's kind of like Yellowstone; I spotted the reindeer because someone else had pulled off to the side of the road and was pointing a camera into the field.

We took a walk around town to stretch our legs after we checked into the hotel, avoided falling one the ice (I had one spectacular slide with a last-minute rescue that rated a 9.5 on average, with a 6 from the Russian judge), visited a couple of local handcraft galleries, and stopped in the grocery store to replenish our store of car snacks. We were intrigued by the menu at the hotel restaurant, so we ate here. I had langoustine (lobster) soup and David had reindeer steak.

The hotel does have decaf coffee, but it's instant. I passed.

Random Iceland note: almost all the bridges are narrow, allowing only one car at a time to cross. We've seen this sign a lot, and you don't have to understand Icelandic to know what it means.

Kol ha'olam kudlo...geshar tzar me'od....

One of the longer bridges had a pull-off halfway across so people wouldn't have to reverse all the way back. Even fairly major roads have these narrow bridges.

On tap for tomorrow: more waterfalls, a natural hot springs, and mud pots.

There's No Decaf Coffee Here, and Other Iceland Observations

I scored a decaf cappuccino in Reykjavik our first morning. Since then nothing but puzzled looks when we ask for decaf. It's herbal tea for both of us.  

Icelanders appear to prize independence in bedding. Each bed has had two separate duvets. The first night they were both horizontal, which was odd. Since then they've been vertical, which makes more sense. No arguments about who steals the sheets. This arrangement has its advantages.

Icelandic horses are lovely. We've seen a lot of them. People pull off to the side of the road to visit the horses. The restaurant where we ate lunch yesterday also has a breeding and training facility.

The sign said "do not feed the horses." The horses had other ideas.

Not-so-quick recap of yesterday: when we checked out of our hotel, the desk clerk recommended a farm with "the best ice cream in Iceland" and a restaurant for lunch "where you can eat in a tomato greenhouse." We skipped the ice cream and headed for more waterfalls. We made an unscheduled stop at Geysir because how could we not? Sure enough, there were geysers and steam vents and other signs of volcanism. 

It was more impressive in the video, but I can't get that to load.

From there we drove to the first waterfall of the day: Gullfoss

I can't possibly do it justice

There are several viewing platforms to get different perspectives. They're all breathtaking. There's apparently more water coming over the falls in the spring when the snow melts. I can't even imagine.

After Gullfoss, we found the tomato restaurant. It was indeed in a greenhouse - delightfully warm and tomato-scented. There was a pot of basil on the table with a scissors so we could cut our own to garnish our meals. Everything has tomatoes, including the beer (which we didn't sample). I had ambrosial tomato soup with a skewer of cheese (and tomatoes) and David had mussels in tomato broth. There was tasty homemade bread to go with lunch, as there has been everywhere so far. Mmm. 

From the tomatoes we headed back out to (you guessed it) another waterfall: Seljalandsfoss. There were four waterfalls at this stop. We walked behind the largest one (good thing we brought waterproof clothing and hiking poles, because we needed both). This view is from the side as we started around the back of the waterfall.

We weren't wet yet!

We spent a while climbing up and down and taking more photos. Then we walked along the meadow in front of the cliff to look at the other waterfalls. There are two smaller waterfalls that are part of the same system, and a sign pointing us to a separate waterfall 300 m further along. Good thing we followed the sign.

Waterfall in a slot canyon

As we walked closer, we could see people edging in to the canyon along the side wall. Our first thought was "that looks pretty dumb." Our second thought was "Hmm. There are lots of people doing that, and they're all coming back intact. That actually looks kind of fun." So in we went.

Looking back at the mouth of the canyon

Inside the canyon. Now we're wet!

 When we arrived, the sun was behind the clouds. By the time we walked back to Seljalandsfoss, the sun was out and low on the horizon, and that means we got rainbows in the mist.

Magical, even without the pot of gold.

From there we drove on to one more waterfall: Skogafoss.

We decided not to climb up for the view from the top.

After Skogafoss we drove on to the Hrifunes guest house, where we ate an amazingly delicious meal (including, of course, yummy homemade bread) and fell into bed.

Today was less walking but even more spectacular scenery. We took a "superJeep" ride up onto a glacier and toured an ice cave.

Standing on the glacier.

Taking photos of the wall of a crevasse.

The mouth of the ice cave from inside.

Our chariot. The tire inflation can be adjusted from the driver's seat.

Our final stop: a view of the wall of the glacier as it meets the sea.

After four hours, we were cold, damp, and thrilled. Our next stop was close enough that the seat heaters didn't even get a chance to warm up: Diamond Beach. 

You can see why they call it Diamond Beach.

Icebergs calve off the glacier into the sea, where they are broken up by the surf and carried back on to the black sand beach like very large seashells.

We thawed out inside the car as we drove along the coast on our way to the hotel and another delicious dinner (and, yes, more wonderful bread). This is lobster country, and my lobster soup was delectable. 

Tomorrow we have no specific plans except driving to our next stop about four hours away. I'm sure we'll find something fun to do.

And So It Begins

It's 8:45 PM on Sunday in Iceland, which means it's 3:45 PM at home, which means we left for the airport 24 hours ago. I've probably slept a total of three hours since then - not consecutively and mostly not in a bed. It was still a great day.

We stopped in Reykjavik on the way to Paris a few years ago, and the airport was just as I remembered it - reminiscent of an IKEA store. Clean lines, lots of wood, and chocolate for sale. We retrieved our luggage (eventually) and got a rental car (eventually) and headed into the city for breakfast.

Reykjavik is about 45 minutes from the airport. Our glimpse of the city was breathtaking: mountains and ocean, modern architecture and simple old structures, glossy office buildings and small churches. We found a cozy café for breakfast and then headed for Þingvellir, about 45 minutes away from Reykjavik.

The Anglicized name of the national park is Thingvellir. The park contains a large lake created by the mid-Atlantic rift zone, where the Eurasia and North American tectonic plates are separating from each other. Iceland exists because of the volcanoes created by the rift zone. The Althing, Iceland's Parliament, was founded here as a meeting of chieftains in 930 CE, making it the oldest existing governmental body in the world.

This was a great place to start our trip. The visitor's center has a high-tech display that explains the history of the country and the geology of the region, all of which was new to me. David knows the geology, of course, but he enjoyed the exhibits anyway. We ate lunch in the visitor's center and I had my first experience of Icelandic yogurt. Yum. After lunch, we spent the afternoon hiking around the park.

In his natural habitat

Panorama of the area near the Visitor's Center

Rift valley with mountains in the distance

You will see a lot of waterfalls this week.

We finally tore ourselves away and drove another 40 minutes to our hotel. We're staying in a different place every night and the others will have a hard time living up to the Ion Adventure Hotel. The Ion sits on the flank of the rift zone, right next to a geothermal plant that takes advantage of the hot springs. It's a small hotel - only two floors of rooms - and again everything is clean and fresh with lots of wood and stone and Scandinavian design. We checked in and took our complementary glasses of sparkling wine down to our room. Given the effects of the wine, the travel, and the lack of sleep, the next order of business was a nap. The king bed is made up with two twin-sized down comforters laid crosswise over a bottom sheet with one additional blanket. Interesting. Also comfortable.

We roused ourselves and went downstairs to the hot tub (also taking advantage of the local hot springs) and had a nice soak. We started our evening in the bar for cocktails, which we sipped while we gazed at the mountains through the walls of glass. We took the drinks with us to the restaurant for dinner, also within view of the mountains. We shared an appetizer plate that included smoked trout mousse, chicken liver paté, olives, and flatbread with a red pepper dip. Yum. David had arctic char for dinner that was perfectly cooked, and I had an appetizer-sized portion of glazed pork belly. Also yum. We lingered over herbal tea. It was a the perfect end to our first day.

I am tired - the very good kind of tired that comes from a lot of physical exertion and great contentment. It's time for bed. Tomorrow: more hiking! More waterfalls! More food! If you don't like waterfalls, you may not want to read the rest of my entries.

Is This Thing On?

David just finished shoveling the driveway and front yard. We have a few more things to pack and he needs to fill the bird feeders so the birds don't starve while we're gone, and in a few hours we'll leave for Newark Airport and our flight to Reykjavik, which I may finally learn how to spell.

I thought I'd reactivate this blog and write about our trip, mostly for myself. After my mother died, I found the travel diaries my parents kept on their "big trips" and I've been reading through them. It's fascinating and delightful to hear their voices from the words on the page. I don't know if Emma will ever read this, and it's not as romantic as handwritten entries in a leather-bound book - but on the other hand, it's legible.

We are not traveling light! We plan to spend much of our time hiking, and if we're lucky the weather will only be cold and wet, but it might be snowy. So we have layers upon layers of warm clothes, waterproof clothes, and windproof clothes, courtesy of several trips to REI, as well as hiking boots, collapsible hiking poles, and some extra camera equipment. David did the research for the trip (and all the planning!) and discovered that you need a wide-angle lens to get good photos of the Northern Lights. We are REALLY hoping to see the aurora and of course must have photos, so he rented a wide-angle lens and packed the SLR. Plus, of course, two cellphones, two computers, one Apple Watch, several sets of earbuds, one Kindle, various charger cords and blocks, and an adapter power strip plus several additional adapters just in case. Not in the bags: makeup, hairdryer, clothes dressier than jeans, and shoes other than sneakers and hiking shoes.

Also not with us: Emma. I think her exact words were "Why would I want to go to Iceland?" She'll get her own vacation with her friends on spring break, and we'll see if we can tempt her with a family vacation next year somewhere more - interesting (read: somewhere warmer, preferably with beaches and boys who surf).

Watch this space!