(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.