Peter And Evie - Travel blog

Sunday, September 10, 2023

August 7, 2023 - Return to Reykjavik, hang out in town, board return flight home.

August 7, 2023

We arrived in Reykjavik at 8:00am, and our shuttle to the airport wasn't until 1:30pm, so we had free time to explore more of the town. We wandered around the harbor again and visited the Harpa concert hall. We went to the impressive Lutheran church, which had a statue of Lief Eriksonn, given by the US to Iceland to celebrate 1000 years of their Parliament. The inside of the church was very impressive, as was the huge organ. We walked down the "rainbow" street, had lunch outdoors, and took the shuttle to the airport.

The Reykjavik airport was the worst organized airport I have ever been in. There were no actual departure gates with their own seating. Everyone sat in the middle of the aisle, and then lined up on the side of the aisles to get to the door leading the the actual gate. So it was EXTREMELY crowded. While waiting in the airport for our flight, Peter just happened to notice a man standing in line to board a plane. It turns out it was one of our fellow Road Scholar folks from our Nova Scotia trip! He was just in Reykjavik as a layover, on his trip from Ireland to his home. What a coincidence!

Our flight left at 5:30pm, Iceland time, and arrived in Boston at 6:30pm Eastern time, though it was 10:30pm by Iceland time. By the time we took the Logan express to our car in Framingham, then drove home, it was rather late for us.

BUT, WHAT A GREAT, ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME TRIP ! !

Day 12 photos:

Harpa concert hall, Reykjavik

Reykjavik harbor

Reykjavik-celebrating the spirit of the Vikings coming to settle in Iceland

Lutheran Church, Reykjavik

Lief Eriksonn statue, Reykjavik

Inside the Lutheran Church, Reykjavik

Organ in the Lutheran Church

"Rainbow" street, Reykjavik

August 6, 2023 - Heimaey Island, one of the Westman Islands in the South West of Iceland

August 6, 2023

Our last day on the ship. We sailed along the southern coast of Iceland. We passed Surtsey Island, that was form by a volcanic eruption in 1963 and is now studied by scientists. We then arrived at Heimaey Island, one of the Westman Islands, in South Western Iceland.

Vestmannaeyjaer is the town on Heimey Island. In 1973 there was a volcanic eruption in the town that lasted for 6 months. It covered 1/3 of the town and increased the size of the island by 20%. Lava and ash completely covered the houses and buildings. The ash filled up all of the streets. The population was completely evacuated timely, but ultimately went from 5,000 to 1,500. We visited the Volcano Museum which had photos of the eruption, and still has some of the buried houses.

We then took a bus tour of the island. Very picturesque. Interesting to see newly formed lava mountains, that weren't there 50 years ago. This weekend was the town's annual festival, which draws more than 20,000 people for fun, music and drinking. So there were a lot of people in the town, including our cruise ship of 165 and a huge cruise ship also docked there.

As this was the last night aboard ship, we met with our Road Scholar guide for information about our last day in Reykjavik tomorrow. The ships crew were very nice and helpful. The tours well planned, generally. And the weather was GREAT, no rain at all during our tour. My biggest issue was that the ship portion of this trip was actually run by ProCruises and not by Road Scholar. So they have a bit of a different approach, and I find I care for the Road Scholar approach a bit more. Smaller groups, better organized, more connection to the group leader, and a bit more educational focus with local professionals. But Iceland is so dramatic and beautiful, that the trip was amazing.

Day 11 photos:

Surtsey Island, formed by volcanic eruption in 1963

Vestmannaeyjaer Volcano Museum-volcanic eruption in 1973

Vestmannaeyjaer Volcano museum-volcanic eruption in 1973

Heimaey Island countryside

Heimaey Island, overlooking town from the newly formed lava mountain

Heimaey Island harbor

Heimaey Island-exiting the very narrow harbor.

August 5, 2023 - Djupivogur and Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, Eastern Iceland

August 5, 2023

The ship anchored in the harbor by the town of Djupivogur, on a Fjord in Eastern Iceland. Again, this was one of the few places that had a harbor that could accommodate our ship. We took our Zodiac shuttle into town, and then boarded our tour bus for the 2 & 1/2 hr ride to the Jokulsarlon Glacier and Lagoon. Huge blocks of ice constantly break off the Breidamerkurjokull glacier, and these large icebergs float on the lagoon. The lagoon itself is not very wide, but it is up to 750 feet deep, which makes it the deepest lake in Iceland. We took a duck boat ride around the lagoon, passing by the many icebergs--some that were clear blue, others with basalt black stripes.

The lagoon empties into a short river that flows into the ocean. At low tide, the river rushes into the sea, but at high tide, the sea flows into the river and then into the lagoon. We walked along the beach that the river flows into. It is called Diamond Beach, with black basalt sand, and has little icebergs rushing down the river into the sea. It also has many "beached" icebergs.

I felt much better today, but by evening, back at the ship, I was ready to relax. So after dinner, at the evening entertainment that STARTED at 9:30pm, I declined. Again, Peter went to see the "Crew Talent Show", which he seemed to enjoy.

Day 10 photos:

On the way to see the glacier on the East Coast of Iceland

One of the largest glaciers in Iceland

Jokulsarlon Glacier & Lagoon

Duck boat tour of the Lagoon

Jokulsarlon Glacier & Lagoon

Diamond beach

Jokulsarlon Glacier & Lagoon

Along the coast of Eastern Iceland

August 4, 2023 - Seydisfjordur, Eastern Iceland, Bust tour inland to Stodvarfjordur.

August 4, 2023

We didn't arrive into the Eastern Iceland port town of Seydisfjordur until mid-day, so we heard a lecture on the Norse Religion & Mythology. Narrow fjords, jagged mountain peaks, remote farms and small fishing villages are some of East Iceland's characteristics. East Iceland has LOTS of incredible fjords, but only a few have ports big enough for our ship to dock. So our bus tour journeyed further south along the coast, but you had to travel around each fjord, so it took a while.

Each Fjord starts at the mountain and empties into the ocean. They are formed by glaciers, so they all have steep mountain slopes. Each one has a small fishing village. One Fjord had a 4 km tunnel to get over to the next area.

We stopped at the town of Stodyarfjordur. We heard a presentation on growing sheep to make wool and making knitted/crocheted Icelandic sweaters and other items. Icelandic sheep have really long hair/fur. They roam free all summer, and are then rounded up in the winter & sheared. Over 3 million sheep are in Iceland, with 350,000 people.

Then we went to Petra's Stone Collection. What an amazing collection of stones this woman, named Petra, collected from around Eastern Iceland. Just the variety and sheer number of stones was mind-blowing. When it overflowed her house, she created a beautiful garden to showcase her collection. Claire would have loved it!

By the time we got back to the ship, my stomach was feeling out of sorts, apparently with the narovirus that was going around other members of the Road Scholar group. So I had a small dinner and went to bed. Peter went to join in on the evening's entertainment, a Pub Quiz. He had fun.

Day 9 photos:

Eastern Iceland Fjord and small fishing village

Typical Fjord, Eastern Iceland

Petra's Stone Collection, Stodvarfjordur

All of the roads are surrounded on both sides with sloping, jagged mountains.

Many of the mountain sides are carpeted in green, mossy stuff.

One of the many waterfalls along the Fjord road in Eastern Iceland

Overview outside of Seydisfjordur in Eastern Iceland

Gulufoss waterfalls, just along the road in Eastern Iceland

Saturday, September 9, 2023

August 3, 2023 - Diamond Circle in North Iceland: Namafjall Hverir hot springs, Lake Myvatn geothermal baths, Grjotagia caves, Dimmuborgir Lava formations, Godafoss Waterfalls

August 3, 2023

This was a day-long bus tour of part of the Diamond Circle in Northern Iceland. Very early breakfast, on the bus by 8:00am. Our first stop was at Namafjall hot springs in Hverir. These are geothermal bubbling hot spring ponds. The colors are amazing blues and copper colors, with steam bubbling out of each little pond, with signs saying you really don't want to walk too close to them or get their mud on your shoes. It was an amazing site.

The next place was Lake Myvatn and the Jardbodin nature baths. I don't have photos of them, as I couldn't bring my camera into the baths. The water was very blue and a bit slimey, but hot and very lovely. The views of the lake and the surrounding mountains were absolutely beautiful.

We stopped at Grjogia for a quick view of some caves in the mountain. Looking down into the cave, you could see the hot lagoon at the bottom. These caves used to be used as a bathing site, but the danger of falling rocks prohibits that now.

The next stop was at the Dimmuborgir Lava formation hiking trails. We walked around the many lava pillars and formations. In each one you could see a face or an object. HOWEVER, there were so many midgets (black flies) that I needed to put on my bees net over my hat just to tolerate the walk. Thank goodness I had it with me.

Our last stop was at another incredible waterfalls -- Godafoss. This waterfalls has the most water in this part of Iceland. They are horseshoe-shaped, flowing into a long, fast flowing river. Again, the long walk over to the falls was completely lined with people. But the falls were breathtaking.

Back on the ship, we had a lecture on the history of Iceland, and an Artic Circle ceremony as we crossed the Artic Circle at 9:15pm. Sunset was at 10:35pm.

Day 8 photos: