White-beaked dolphins cavorted alongside the National Geographic Explorer in the morning, July 14.
After lunch was a "Sound of Music" beautiful hike at Seydisfjordur (pronounced Sadie's Fjord). The day was sunny and breezy, and the guide Unur shared little doughnuts and dried cod jerky with us. But our leaders shared Rabarbar liqueur, definitely a favorite!
The next day was Day 8, with a promised view of a glacier and iceberg lake. We saw zillions of white swans on the black beaches on the ride to the trail. We hiked up to a view point of a tongue of the biggest glacier in Europe, Vatnajökull. Guillermo thought we wouldn't see it because it was so foggy. But then - the big reveal! We celebrated with birch liqueur and dark chocolate. Way to spoil us, Stephanie and Guillermo!
Lunch was langoustine, absolutely delicious, at Höfn. This town has been revived by tourism. The owner of the restaurant gave us a guided tour.
Our driver today was Chris, who loves telling sagas, and sounds like Thor in the Marvel movies. He and I compared Icelandic and Norwegian versions of the same saga, about Harald Fair-Hair. Was he a really ambitious warrior king (Icelandic) or did he unite Norway to earn the hand of a really ambitious true love (Norwegian)? We both love Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology.
Day 9 was all about a true-life saga. Heimaey, fishing town, was almost destroyed by Eldfell, a fissure that began spewing lava at 2 am on January 23rd, 1973. There had been a storm the previous day, so all the fishing ships were in port. They managed to evacuate everyone to the mainland. Who knew that it would keep erupting for six months? What would they do if the lava closed their harbor? It was getting close, so some folks volunteered to pump sea water on the advancing flow. They were called the Suicide Squad. Only one person died, though, from the poisonous fumes. And the harbor was saved! We were all out on deck to watch the ship fit through that tiny little opening. There was a sheep right on the edge of the cliff. We hollered to him not to jump! Life is worth living!
Article with great photos of the Eldfell Eruption of 1973
After lunch, the ship embarked on an Orca whale-watching expedition, and we saw more at one time than the captain had ever seen. May have been 50 Orcas. Gannets were flocking, whales were breaching, and black islands provided a fantastic backdrop. This is the day of pictures that I lost when my SD card bent in the reader that night.
We circled Surtsey, the world's youngest island, formed starting in 1964. Has Hawaii built a new island in the current eruption? Or has it already washed away?
We had a lovely Backroads farewell cocktail party, a Lindblad farewell cocktail party, and then our Backroads dinner upstairs in the Chart Room. Mark and Marla were celebrating their 18th anniversary. The waiters tied them together at the wrists, brought a dessert cake, dairy-free for Marla, and sang to them. Then Guillermo sang and played guitar for us. Wonderful!
Day 10: Goodbye to Cris at 6:30 in the morning so she could get a flight home. The rest of us had a sunny day together, hiking down a mountainside to a heated river where we could soak. Then we continued downhill, passing all of Reykjavik hiking or horseback riding up to the soaking place. The sun really brought them out.
Lunch was at a Skyr place. Skyr is Icelandic yogurt, which is made like cheese. It is getting really popular here in Bergen these days.
Mark, Marla and I were dropped at the airport from there. At that point, I realized that I had another night to go, in Oslo. I needed one more pair of underpants! Last souvenir of Iceland is a pair from Victoria's Secret. Great end to a great trip!
After lunch was a "Sound of Music" beautiful hike at Seydisfjordur (pronounced Sadie's Fjord). The day was sunny and breezy, and the guide Unur shared little doughnuts and dried cod jerky with us. But our leaders shared Rabarbar liqueur, definitely a favorite!
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| Unur shows us the twisted ceiling beams from a terrific avalanche onto a herring factory |
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The next day was Day 8, with a promised view of a glacier and iceberg lake. We saw zillions of white swans on the black beaches on the ride to the trail. We hiked up to a view point of a tongue of the biggest glacier in Europe, Vatnajökull. Guillermo thought we wouldn't see it because it was so foggy. But then - the big reveal! We celebrated with birch liqueur and dark chocolate. Way to spoil us, Stephanie and Guillermo!
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| Guillermo and Stephanie |
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| Clouds lifted for us to see the glacier meet the sea |
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| It's receding really fast |
Lunch was langoustine, absolutely delicious, at Höfn. This town has been revived by tourism. The owner of the restaurant gave us a guided tour.
 |
| Ate it too fast for a 'before' picture! |
Our driver today was Chris, who loves telling sagas, and sounds like Thor in the Marvel movies. He and I compared Icelandic and Norwegian versions of the same saga, about Harald Fair-Hair. Was he a really ambitious warrior king (Icelandic) or did he unite Norway to earn the hand of a really ambitious true love (Norwegian)? We both love Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology.
Day 9 was all about a true-life saga. Heimaey, fishing town, was almost destroyed by Eldfell, a fissure that began spewing lava at 2 am on January 23rd, 1973. There had been a storm the previous day, so all the fishing ships were in port. They managed to evacuate everyone to the mainland. Who knew that it would keep erupting for six months? What would they do if the lava closed their harbor? It was getting close, so some folks volunteered to pump sea water on the advancing flow. They were called the Suicide Squad. Only one person died, though, from the poisonous fumes. And the harbor was saved! We were all out on deck to watch the ship fit through that tiny little opening. There was a sheep right on the edge of the cliff. We hollered to him not to jump! Life is worth living!
Article with great photos of the Eldfell Eruption of 1973
After lunch, the ship embarked on an Orca whale-watching expedition, and we saw more at one time than the captain had ever seen. May have been 50 Orcas. Gannets were flocking, whales were breaching, and black islands provided a fantastic backdrop. This is the day of pictures that I lost when my SD card bent in the reader that night.
We circled Surtsey, the world's youngest island, formed starting in 1964. Has Hawaii built a new island in the current eruption? Or has it already washed away?
We had a lovely Backroads farewell cocktail party, a Lindblad farewell cocktail party, and then our Backroads dinner upstairs in the Chart Room. Mark and Marla were celebrating their 18th anniversary. The waiters tied them together at the wrists, brought a dessert cake, dairy-free for Marla, and sang to them. Then Guillermo sang and played guitar for us. Wonderful!
Day 10: Goodbye to Cris at 6:30 in the morning so she could get a flight home. The rest of us had a sunny day together, hiking down a mountainside to a heated river where we could soak. Then we continued downhill, passing all of Reykjavik hiking or horseback riding up to the soaking place. The sun really brought them out.
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“A towel, [The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have." - Douglas Adams |
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| Mud pot |
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| Our own hidden waterfall |
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| This is the way to end a hike! |
Lunch was at a Skyr place. Skyr is Icelandic yogurt, which is made like cheese. It is getting really popular here in Bergen these days.
Mark, Marla and I were dropped at the airport from there. At that point, I realized that I had another night to go, in Oslo. I needed one more pair of underpants! Last souvenir of Iceland is a pair from Victoria's Secret. Great end to a great trip!
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