(07/31/14) Hveragerdi Hot Pots

Today was originally going to be our day to do a 12 mile round trip hike up to the top of a volcano. But neither of us was feeling quite up to the task so we switched our tour last night at the last minute.Today was set up to be a very fun, relaxing one for both of us. Instead of a twelve mile hike, we only did a seven mile hike in Hveragardi and went back into a canyon where we did some "hot potting". This is when you bathe in the water from a stream or river that is being fed by geothermal hot springs, making the water warmer like a hot tub. The best part though was that we were the only ones on the tour today! We had the guide, Aevar, all to ourselves! This was mostly because Arctic Adventures is a much smaller company and doesn't even own any of the big tour buses that we've been riding.

The entire first half of the hike was up, very little flat and definitely no down. I kept joking to Aevar that I am just a slow hiker, but I do get there eventually.

I am including a picture of some wild thyme that we saw growing all over the place. The sheep like to eat it and the Icelanders use it to flavor their meat. They like to think the sheep are pre-seasoning themselves.

We were even able to look for a traditional geocache on the way. George was keeping an eye on our handheld GPS as we hiked back to the hot pots and finally Aevar asked him what we were doing. George and I quickly explained what geocaching was and our guide got so enthused that he practically ran off through the lava field in the direction we had pointed. We got to within 70 feet and realized we had to cross the river. The guys took off and had the cache in hand relatively quickly. Our guide was taking pictures with his phone for facebook and was totally into it. I think we may have made a convert!

When we got back to the canyon, we checked out some of the geothermal features first, the fumaroles, the mud pots and such. And then we checked out the waterfall. It was a great area. We had grabbed some sandwiches at a bakery in town and packed them in our bags so we had a picnic lunch and then went for a swim. 

Today's water was about 103 degrees. It was pretty warm and there were people everywhere. We only lasted for about half an hour because the water was so warm. Again, we were changing in front of people and this time it was outside, so George and I are getting a lot of practice being naked in front of others. We may come back nudists! Joke!

We got back into town around three, so we made good use of our time and picked up some Tylenol and Tums from the pharmacy and grabbed some snacks from the grocery store. We got dinner at a great vegetarian restaurant, Glo, and then went back to our hotel. We grabbed the car keys so we could get some stuff from the car and then we went and found another geocache down by the waterfront. When we got back to the hotel again, we borrowed a highlighter and mapped out where we are going to be driving when we leave Rekyavik in a few days. We are calling it an early night tonight because we are whupped. 

 

Make sure to check out all the pictures from our trip on the right hand side of this blog under the heading "Our Flickr Photostream".

(07/30/14) Viking Horseback Ride and Blue Lagoon

The Icelandic horse breed has remained virtually unchanged since the Vikings brought them to Iceland in the 9th century. Some of the horses that we saw today were pony-sized, but make no mistake, you will be corrected if you refer to them as a pony. Icelandic horses have very few diseases and Icelandic law forbids the import of other animals, as to protect its stock. If an Icelandic horse is bought by someone out of the country and exported, it can never be returned. They are sure-footed and able to cross rugged terrain with ease. We saw this ourselves today when our horses just went right across a rocky path, through a stream or up a hill. 

Supposedly they are docile and goodnatured animals, ideal for beginners and experienced riders alike. This never seems to work out for me. The workers lined us all up and started asking who had ridden before. I need to look at these people doe-eyed and say "I've never ridden a horse!" I volunteered that I have ridden a lot and George piped up that he had ridden some. And I asked if I could have the white horse that kind of looked like an Appaloosa. I was told no. I got led out to the paddock where I was introduced to my horse, "Blood Smear". I look back into the corral where George is mounting up and he is on my white horse! Great. So we all mount up, and there are about 40 of us in the group and they open the gate from the corral and my horse takes off trotting as fast as he can without running. He wanted to be first. I was told he was very spirited. And spirited he was. He ran my leg straight into the corral pole and tried to scrape me off. And then keeps trotting up the path, shaking my brains out. This point is when all my years of horseback riding kicked in and my body knew what to do. I tucked my butt under itself, put my heels down as far as I could and pulled those reins in. Did it work? Nope. He fought me for the entire first half of the ride. This was no trail ride, this was an action sport. Once I got used to him being a bully, I was okay. George's mare, "Story", was much gentler, but stubborn. We rode through wild Lupine and mossy boulders and lava rocks up into the highlands where we dismounted for a break. After letting the horses take a rest and have a snack, we mounted up and rode back with the slower group. We just didn't want to trot the whole way back. I wanted to drag it out and enjoy myself, take in the amazing scenery. 

Me and "Blood Smear"

George and "Story"

After our riding adventure, we were transported to the famous Blue Lagoon for some well-earned relaxation. Once there, we had a lot to choose from, such as walking in the Blue Lagoon's spectacular surroundings, bathing in the milky blue-white water, relaxing in a geothermal steam bath or releasing the stress from your shoulders under a Blue Lagoon waterfall. First though, you had to shower and change in to swimsuits. George left his at home (duh) so we purchased one in the gift shop. He is now the proud owner of a royal blue pair of swim trunks with the Blue Lagoon logo on them. What a souvenir. It least it was not a Speedo, small miracles. The showers were mostly open stalls with no doors, so I was showering "El Buffo" with all the other ladies. Fun times. We hung out in the main pool for most of the time we were there. We did get to order drinks, from a sunken bar that you could walk right up to in the water. I ordered a "Krap" -- (I know! Right?) It is a frozen Slurpee-type drink. George had a yogurt smoothie. We also spread grey mud on our faces, necks, backs and shoulders and let it dry to flaky white before rinsing it off. It left your skin feeling silky smooth. We did not take our camera with us because we were afraid we would damage it, so the pictures here are from other websites.

 

Image used from http://bit.ly/1nUE87l

(07/29/14) Thingvellir Lava Tubing and Silfra Fissure Snorkeling

I was very nervous about today. We had planned a morning of lava tube caving and an afternoon of snorkeling. I was nervous about the caving being claustrophobic and the snorkeling being stressful. George was his usual, cool, calm and collected self. 

Our guide met us at our hotel, we picked up all the other passengers and we were on our way back to Thingvellir National Park, where both the caving and snorkeling would take place. 

Arriving at the lava tube, we were given helmets and lights and after a brief safety talk, off we went. Entering the tube, I was very nervous. If the guide would just say "This cave is 400 meters long and we are going to do this in three sections and you will not be squeezing yourself through any small holes," I would be a lot more fine with the whole deal. George calls me "the bravest scaredy-cat he knows". Thanks. I do this stuff not because I love it, but because I don't want to miss out on experiences because I am a weenie. So, in we went. I got a little panicked and the guide came back to me and led me by the hand for a bit. The rocks were all wet because lava is porous and the rain from two days ago was leaking in through the ceiling. In Maryland, when a rock is wet and you step on it, you run the risk of slipping and falling on your butt. So, I was just so unsure of my footing. George kept telling me the rocks were velcro rocks and to just go for it. We got to about the middle of the tube and the guide stops all of us and has us sit down and turn out all the lights. I was not amused with this. Apparently, it helps your eyes adjust to the dark. While we sat for about 20 minutes, he regaled us with tales of trolls and monsters. My favorite story was one from when he was a boy and his dad had taken him out to the lava field and had him crawl into a lava tube. While he was in the tube, his dad told him about a monster that is all white and lives in the tubes. Moral of the story? Don't play in the lava fields. See? Stories have a purpose! George's reassuring hand was on my shoulder the entire time. We got some great pictures of the lava and the guide gave us tips on how to take great pictures in a tube or cave. He was a great guy.

 

After the caving, we travelled to Lake Thingvallavatn in the heart of the park. The lake is best known for a natural rift called Silfra Fissure that forms part of the boundary between the North American and European tectonic plates. Once on site, we headed into the snorkel center (gravel parking lot) to get changed into the provided equipment and clothing and listen to a snorkeling briefing from our guide. Basically there were two elevated picnic tables and the gear was spread out. First, we were given teddy bear suits that would (theoretically) keep us warm. Teddy bear suits go on with almost nothing underneath them. They work as a pair of pajamas works. So, we all stripped down to our underwear out there in the open in front of each other. Fun! Then we were given dry suits that would (theoretically) keep us dry. We had to roll them down and step into the feet and then roll them up over our bodies. Our guides had to help us with the hands and then we could put our own heads through the necks. Guides came around and zipped us across the back and then we had to "burp" our suits. We had to hold the neck open and squat down as much as we could and compress the air out of the suit and then let the neck go and stand back up. When we did this it was as if we had vacuum packed ourselves. It made it pretty hard to move. We then had to walk about a hundred meters (see, look, I am becoming more European by the minute!) to the metal stairs that led down into the fissure. Once at the stairs, our guides helped us get our fins on and down the ladder we went. At the bottom, a guide "burped" our suits one more time using the pressure of the water and we were turned loose to clear out our masks and snorkels and practice rolling over and sitting. The Otter dry suits really made us quite buoyant. The water was 2 degrees Celsius. I am dead serious. My cheeks and mouth were the only things exposed to the water and they got numb pretty darn fast.

(borrowed this photo from http://bit.ly/1zwHrEo since we didn't have an underwater camera)

Our guide, Palli

Then we followed the lead of our guide into the famously clear waters and snorkeled between two continents! The visibility at Silfra Fissure is renowned, and you can even see down to the lava fields, some 328 feet (100 meters) below. We went through one area called "The Cathedral" and it was cavernous, but odd to be looking down instead of looking up. When we snorkeled in Baja, Mexico, the visibility was great, in fact, we were told the the visibility during the time of our visit was way better than average. This put that to shame. George snorkeled next to me the entire time and we held hands for some of it. It really was quite an experience. 

(07/28/14) Jokulsarlon

Today was a very long day. We walked ourselves over to the depot from our hotel so that we could be first to get seats on the bus. We were there with tickets printed out the night before and we got seats right in front, thankfully too, because this bus trip was to be a 14 hour tour.

Many of Iceland's biggest glacier rivers run into the Atlantic Ocean on the country's southern shore. So there were a lot of bridges that we crossed. We drove through the vast desert of Skeidarasandur, where sand storms can be so powerful they've been known to strip the paint off a car! There truly was not a lot to look at so I counted sheep that we passed. George turned on his mobile hot spot ad surfed on his phone. Our guide talked to the driver more than he talked to us, so we entertained ourselves.

Just before we reached the lagoon, we passed Iceland's biggest volcano, Oraefajokull, which also has the highest peak of the island, Hvannadalshnjukur, at 6950 feet. 

At the lagoon we jumped off the bus and climbed aboard the boats. But these were not ordinary boats! They are capable of driving short distances as well as sailing on water - amphibious vehicles. In Baltimore they are called Duck Boats and the people on them are given duck whistles. This was way classier- no whistles. Jokulsarlon lagoon started to form in the early 1920s, and is growing bigger every year. What we got to see were blocks of ice that have broken off Europe's biggest glacier, Vatnajokull, and are sailing slowly towards the ocean, which is only a mile away. Some of the icebergs are partially covered with volcanic ash from ancient eruptions, and were sculpted by melting, the wind and the water they are floating in. But it was so foggy at the time of our ride, that we really could not see very far. I got a piece of an iceberg to eat! Our guide Jorge snagged a floating chunk and then chopped it up for people to eat.

After our boat ride, we explored the area, doing an earthcache and taking pictures. I got a little too close to an Arctic Tern and it went after me, running me from the area. Man, I hate birds sometimes. We also walked to the edge of the lagoon and chose a rock. If you have ever been to our home, there are rocks all over the place. On the underside of each one is sharpie marker saying where it came from. We steal rocks. So we picked out a rock that look like it had a smiley face in it. And when we picked it up the smiley came off. It was ash! Since our pictures were not great, we popped into the little shopette and bought some postcards. I always make a big photo book of our trip and I figured that I can scan the postcards and use the images in place of some of my own. As we were leaving the area and crossing back over the bridge, we spotted something in the water. The river that runs from the glacial lagoon out to the sea is only a few hundred meters long, and is Iceland's shortest river. What did we see? I know you are dying of curiosity! It was a seal! George spotted it and I squealed. So thrilled! But it was gone too fast for me to take a photo.

On the way back, we also stopped at Skogarfoss waterfall. This waterfall is unique in Iceland because it is one of the few that you can walk behind. We were able to make a complete loop of the falls. Not without getting a little wet though... Amazingly enough there were two geocaches for us to find! One was an earthcache and the other was a regular. Everyone from our bus piled off and we took off up the trail. They were all probably bewildered when we climbed over the rope barrier and took off across the grass heading for this big boulder. The traditional cache was covered in rocks and moss. We were thrilled to find it.

(07/27/14) Golden Circle Tour

Today started off early with an entire day-long bus tour of the "Golden Circle". Our tour started with a visit to Thingvellir, where the Icelandic parliament Althingi was founded in 930, making it the oldest functioning parliament in the world. It is also the place where the slowly diverging tectonic plates of America and Europe meet. We got to stand right next to the American plate. The European plate was 7 km away on the other side of the valley. The water coming out of this area was so pure that our guide told us we could drink it, so we emptied out our bottles and filled them all up.

The tour continued to the beautiful waterfall of Gullfoss, apparently a highlight of any visit to Iceland. It really was a beautiful waterfall and we had been told that it made Niagara look puny but neither of us seemed to get it. Niagara is just positively enormous and we spent a great deal of time exploring the area, going behind the falls in the tunnels, going on the Maid of the Mist, etc. We hiked Gullfoss up high at the top and then down to the middle where the great spillover happens. We were pleasantly misted by the changing winds, but there was not big wow for either of us. The big wow came from me at lunchtime. I ate lamb. Lamb stew. It was hard to make myself swallow after chewing. I really hate meat. George snarfed his up and said it tasted like beef stew. He does not generally like beef stew because it can be fatty, but this passed the test. 

We then stopped at a geothermal area, the spouting hot springs of Geysir and Strokkur. It was smaller than most Frederick County middle schools and since we have been to Yellowstone, we looked at everything, but again, we were not as amazed as we should have been. Yellowstone ruined us. I did get some nice pictures, but we also could not read the signage since it was in Icelandic. 

We visited Skalholt church, the ancient seat of the Icelandic bishops. There was a replica of the ancient churches next to the modern church. Apparently this church gets destroyed every few hundred years when the local volcano blows. George took one look at the church and pronounced it a hobbit house. 

The tour ended with a visit to the Nesjavellir power plant, a geothermal area in the picturesque landscape of Lake Thingvallavatn. This place really makes "green" renewable energy, as more than half of Reykjavik's population gets its energy from the Nesjavellir geothermal plant.

The tour guide had a very thick English accent, but we could follow along for the most part. We were the last ones picked up from the hotel this morning so of course we were the last ones to get to the transfer bus for our tour, leaving us the last two seats on the bus in the very, very back. I prayed I would not get carsick. And get this - the blower vents were not working. We sweated our brains out all day. We were glad every time we got to get off the bus to go explore something because it was immeasurably cooler. Fun, busy day! George's favorite was Gullfoss and mine was the geothermal area.

(07/26/14) Olgerdin Brewery Tour

Neither of us have ever been on a tour of a winery or a brewery before so this was a first. The guide was totally wacky and fun. We started our evening in the factory's bar hearing an hour long talk about the history of drinking in Iceland. We learned about the laws, the dates and the people involved. And the entire time, everyone was drinking. It was basically an all-you-can drink bar. 

After the talk, we got to go see the microbrewery and the main brewing area. 

In the factory George got to taste beer that had just come out of the fermentation tanks. Fresh beer! And it tasted way different than any beer we tried earlier from their tap. 

Then we went back to the bar to talk some more and then our guide started filling the glasses full of a pilsner beer and then started lacing them with rum and vodka (basically, a "car bomb"). Once everyone had finished those, we all were given shots of Brennivin -- unsweetened schnapps that are considered to be Iceland's signature distilled beverage (according to Wikipedia). I didn't want mine, so George had two. George was a little drunk by this point and it really doesn't take much any more. We had a nice time but the morning was surely a little rough.

 

(07/26/14) Puffin Tour of Aukrey Island

We got up later this morning because our Puffin Cruise to Aukrey Island did not leave until 10 AM. This was nice because it gave us a chance to get ourselves on local time a little bit more. I hate to think how long it is going to take me to get off of local time when we come back to the states! The Puffin Cruise did not go very close to the island because it is apparently not allowed to disturb the nesting birds. We did see Arctic Terns, Eider Ducks and a few Gannets (a Gannet is related to the Albatross with a 2 meter wingspan) along with a few hundred puffins. As we got close to the island, we looked over the edge of the boat and could not stop remarking how clear the water was. Turbidity was amazing! I could see at least 15 feet down. 

Arctic Terns

Eider Duck

Puffins

After our bird watching, we found a coffee hut, visited the Mariner's Memorial, went to a Flea Market where I found Antiks for dad and wandered some tourist shops. I found a used book store that sold Captain Underpants in Icelandic!

We grabbed a midafternoon snack from one of Iceland's famed and much talked about hot dog stands. They were covered in mustard and some kind of mayonasie sauce with little crispy onions at the bottom. I thought I would hate it, but it was heaven. 

We then went around the corner and found a grocery. Their aisle of personal care products was 5 feet long, 5 feet tall and 1 foot deep. There were like four choices for shampoo... Amazing that in America we have entire stores (CVS, Walgreens, etc.) are entirely devoted to this stuff. We needed toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, all of which had been confiscated by security.

Leaving there, we continued walking back to our hotel and stopped at Harpa, the Icelandic Opera House and Cultural Arts center. We purchased tickets for an exhibition about reindeer. What a great exhibit. We got to touch their hides and pick up their hooves. The multimedia was amazing; touchscreens everywhere. And interspersed among it all were reindeer decorated by Icelandic artists, much the way Frederick invited artists to decorate giant Keys in years past. Iceland's reindeer live in East Iceland, which we will be going to later next week. Who knows if we will get to do a tour or if there even are any available; right now we have nothing set up. Crossing my fingers!

We still have the brewery tour to go and do this evening, but it was a busy morning.