Cycling Life's Highway

 

 

September 9, 2018

After yet another fine buffet breakfast in the hotel, we donned our backpacks for a day of self-guided adventure in Reykjavik. The day was cool, pleasant, and partly cloudy – probably about as good as it gets for sightseeing at this time of year. We walked toward the waterfront and discovered a modernistic-looking city opera building, Harpa, located on the water.

The 8-10 story building had an outer wall made almost entirely of colored glass – mostly a blue hue but some of the panes appeared almost clear and others a pale purple. The multiple reflections of city, sea, and sky combined with the intrinsic color of the glass to yield an interesting view. Unlike many modern office buildings, you could see the interior structure of the building. The inner core was the actual opera house. The lower levels contained various shops and tourist information areas, where we purchased tickets for the city’s hop-on/hop-off sightseeing bus.

At 10:15 a.m. we boarded a red double-decker tour bus. We grabbed a guide map and earphones and climbed the interior spiral staircase to the upper level. Earphone plugs were conveniently located next to the seats, along with volume and language selection dials. The slow pace of the bus allowed us plenty of time to view the city. The traffic was dense and the roads narrow and twisty. It would not be fun to commute by car into the center of Reykjavik, but certainly better than Atlanta or L.A.

After staying on board through an entire circuit, we debarked at the largest cathedral in the country. Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church was located at a high point in the center of the city. The modern stone structure was very dramatic, looking like a spaceship about to take off for the sky. Morning services had just ended and the building was engulfed by tourists. We elected to forego the cost of the elevator ride to the viewing area at the top of the cathedral’s spire. Instead, we enjoyed the marvelous vaulted interior and incredible pipe organ (there’s definitely a trend here with Icelandic churches and pipe organs).

In the area outside the cathedral’s entrance, we spent time watching a photo shoot. It was clearly meant to be a bride and groom doing some kind of fashion spread for a magazine (possibly a Japanese publication since everyone involved in the photo shoot was Japanese). In the same area we saw a statue of Leif Erikson, a Norse voyager and the first European to discover North America in 1000 A.D. The statue was a gift from the United States in 1930 to honor the 1,000th anniversary of the Icelandic Parliament at Pingvellir in 930 AD.

After exploring the waterfront, it was time for lunch. We opted for the Reykjavik Hard Rock Café. It wasn’t traditional Icelandic cuisine, but it served the purpose. The restaurant was across the street from the Prime Minister’s office, a modest two-story building which up until 1816 served as a prison. Iceland clearly didn’t believe in expending piles of money on imposing government structures. Their modesty was refreshing.

We continued our tour through beautiful flower gardens and around a small pond containing many ducks and swans. We explored City Hall where the ground floor was open to the public. Several maps of Reykjavik and Iceland were on display along with information kiosks. We had a great time looking at a huge wooden relief map of Iceland where we retraced our van trip around the island.

Outside City Hall we walked by a statue of a man wielding a briefcase. It was a depiction of the everyday “faceless” city officials on their way to work. However, the statue of the official is literally faceless. A large slab of Icelandic volcanic basalt sits where you would expect to see a torso and head. The unique statue was sculpted by Magnús Tómasson in 1994 and called “The Unknown Bureaucrat.”

We finished up the day at the Old Harbor where we walked around the pier and viewed three Icelandic naval vessels. It had been a great day and a wonderful way to end our Icelandic vacation. Our trip around the perimeter of Iceland on the 800-mile long Ring Road would be something we would treasure for a long time.

Bless,
Kathy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 8, 2018

We awoke early and enjoyed a hearty breakfast. It was an overcast rainy day but we looked forward to exploring the Snaefelles Peninsula in West Iceland. We boarded the Artic Adventures van with fifteen new tourists who would share the day with us. Our first stop was Ytri-Tunga. The beach was home to a large seal colony. In Iceland most of the beaches were covered with black volcanic sand but here the sand was a golden-brown color.

We walked along the misty beach climbing over huge rocks covered with algae. Rodge was able to see and capture pictures of harbour seals basking on rocks in the distance with his telephoto lens. Seals live there year-round, but the months of June and July are a more favorable time to see them.

Twenty miles down the road we stopped at Arnarstapi, a beautiful coastal village at the foot of Mt. Stapafell. Arnarstapi used to be an important trading post and vibrant fishing village but now is a busy center for tourism. We walked around the small harbor surrounded by basalt columns, ravines and grottoes. The boats in the protected harbor were lodged up against the basalt walls. We didn’t stay too long because of the rain.

On the way to our next stop, we drove along the shore where we were surrounded by the ocean on our left and flat land and tall volcanic mountains on our right. It was a pretty dramatic contrast. When we arrived at our destination, we were at Djupalonssandur Beach. We hiked down a steep pathway to the beach. Along the way we passed through incredible lava formations. The black pebble beach was breathtaking with powerful huge waves crashing against the rocks.

Along the beach, we found pieces of a shipwreck randomly strewn around. The wreckage was from a British fishing ship called the Epine GY7 that was destroyed there on March 13, 1948. Fourteen men lost their lives that day and five lived. The ruins from the ship were kept on the beach as a memorial to the fishermen.

At 1 p.m. we arrived at Snaefellsness National Park. We stopped for a caving tour at Vatnshellir lava tube cave, created in a volcanic eruption some 8,000 years ago. We did not elect to pay extra to go underground (been there, done that already in a previous spelunking adventure that was enough to last the rest of my life) so we stayed in the van and finished off our lunches while relaxing and watching the drizzle outside.

After our spelunkers boarded the van, we continued on to Saxholl crater. The worn-down basaltic cone of lava was composed of red rock and coated in young vegetation. The crater was formed when the volcano erupted four thousand years ago. Saxholl was easy to climb because it had stairs with rusty-orange iron steps going right to the summit. The 109-meter-tall crater was a popular spot to see views of the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding Snaefellsjokull glacier but since it was cloudy, we were only treated to views of the oval shaped crater.

As we rounded out our day we headed to our last destination, Kirkjufell “Church Mountain”, one of the most majestic mountains in Iceland. Kirkjufell takes its name from its resemblance to a church steeple, sharpened at the top with long curved sides. The mountain rises 1,519 feet above sea level and many people recognize it as being “Arrow Head Mountain” on Game of Thrones. Kirkjufell is not a volcano but is a stack of layers of sedimentary and extrusive igneous rocks. During the last Ice Age, it was shaped by erosion. The mountain changes color every season from summer green to winter white.

Close by we visited Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall. From a distance, the waterfall appeared as one mass stream, but as we got closer there were actually three falls all running in the same river. It was fed by the glacial waters of the Snaefellsjokull glacier and dropped fifty-four feet over a rocky hill. We spent time photographing the picturesque mountain and waterfall.

It was time to get underway for our return to Reykjavik. It was a two-hour non-stop traverse of coastal areas and then a cut cross-country (rural of course) to the south. We ended up going through the Hvalfjordur Tunnel, a four-mile road under the Hvalfjordur fjord 541 feet below sea level. When we arrived in Reykjavik, we said good bye to our guide and fellow travelers. It had been another amazing day exploring Iceland.

Bless,

Kathy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 7, 2018

We awoke to a beautiful sunny and warm day but it would be bittersweet. Exploring the Borgarfjordur area of West Iceland would be incredible but it would be our last day with our guide and most of our tour group. Our first stop was at the Grabrok volcano craters. The volcanoes last erupted 3,000 years ago. We climbed up ~300 vertical feet via wooden steps and ash paths to the top of the tallest cone, Grabrok. It had a conical crater in the center – a perfect shape. There were amazing views of a smaller cone, Grabrokarfell, from the rim of Grabrok. We walked all around the rim of Grabrok and viewed its extensive lava field in the distance. Most of the terrain was draped in yellow moss.

Next, we were on our way to an Icelandic horse farm. When we arrived, we were greeted by a very friendly dog who loved having his belly scratched. The owners bred and maintained sixty horses and opened up their facility for visitors. There was a hot spring on the property – hot water was piped to heat the home, horse barns, etc. The horses were wonderful, docile creatures – very friendly. They provided lots of opportunities for selfies. The owner led us on a tour of the property (horse barns, hot spring), told us all about Icelandic horses, introduced us to several of them, and provided guidance and encouragement for up-close photo opportunities.

The farm had been in her family since 1886. At the end of the tour she served us coffee, hot cocoa, and rye bread (a special family recipe) that she baked for 25 hours in the hot spring. It was all very good. The farm only used about 5% of the hot spring water. The rest simply flowed into the watershed. What a wonderful time…one of my favorites.

A 1:30 p. m., we arrived at a park containing a very unique waterfall called Hraunfossar Waterfall. A short-paved walk from the parking area brought us to a scenic river overlook with the waterfall on the far side of the Hvita River. The waterfall was fed by the Langjokull Glacier. The glacial meltwater traveled to the Hallmundarhraun lava field where it flowed under the rock and then poured out in thousands of rivulets, forming the very wide picturesque falls. I’d never seen nor heard of anything like it. If there are any other such waterfalls on the planet, I’d be surprised.

Further along the path was the smaller but very dramatic waterfall, Barnafoss, comprised of a substantial flow moving down a snake-like channel carved in the surrounding lava. We remained long enough for a quick lunch break at a nearby restaurant for those needing refueling.

Later that afternoon we stopped briefly at Reykholt, the site of a 1,000-year-old settlement. The main attraction was “Snorri’s Pool”, an old stone-faced hot water pool used and written about 1,000 years ago by Snorri Sturluson, who is the very famous author of Icelandic sagas. There was an underground tunnel from the outdoor pool to Snorri’s nearby home. The tunnel was a hundred feet or so long and had a spiral staircase inside. Nearby, we viewed the old foundations of Snorri’s dwelling and other buildings.

Next to the hot pool was a large modern building that was a boarding school our guide attended as a child. He lived there with 120 or so other children from mid-September to Christmas, and then from January to Easter. Boarding was the only option since the weather made commuting impossible. The nearby hot spring was steaming; it supported this small community. There has been a Lutheran church on the site since 1,000 A.D. or so. The small structure was typically plain but inside was a truly beautiful wooden organ. The prominent manufacturer’s nameplate indicated that the organ was built in Washington, New Jersey (probably in the late 19th or early 20th century).

Five minutes down the road, we arrived at Deildartunguhver Hot Springs, Europe’s most powerful hot spring. It was awesome to see it bubbling up along a long stretch enshrouded in steamy mist. The water from this spring is captured and piped many miles to the surrounding towns of Borgarnes and Akranes where it is used for central heating. The hot spring gushes out fifty gallons of boiling water per second and its thermal output is 62 megawatts!

We ended our day in the coastal town of Borgarness, ninety minutes northwest of Reykjavik. At our hotel for the night we said goodbye to our tour guide and all but one of our companions. The rest of them were on a six-day tour and would be dropped off in Reykjavik. We then relaxed in our room, went out to a nearby restaurant and then called it an early night.

Bless,

Kathy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 6, 2018

We were up early and excited about the whale watching tour we were going on. After a great breakfast buffet, we arrived at the whale watching headquarters in Dalvik Harbor. Dalvik is located on the Tröllaskagi Peninsula, in an area that is known for its excellent whale watching conditions. Our boat would be sailing in the Eyjafjordur fjord. The company (Arctic Adventures) operates two re-purposed mid-size fishing boats and a Rubber Inflatable Boat (RIB). We filed into a room full of large hanging racks where we were each issued a bright red full-body exposure suit. After donning them over our existing clothing, we spend a few minutes admiring our new sartorial splendor and snapping photos of each other.

Then it was a short walk to the pier. We walked on board and were underway by 9 a.m. Three of our group had paid extra and got underway at the same time on the RIB. The advantage was individual seats, excellent visibility for every passenger, speedy movement that maximized the probability of finding cetaceans, and time on station. The downside was a rougher ride and greater exposure to wind and wave (water!). Our scheduled three-hour cruise actually lasted four hours because of how long it took to find whales. We saw a group of porpoises zoom by in the other direction shortly after leaving the dock but had to travel far out to beyond the fjord entrance before we encountered a group of humpback whales. At that furthest point we were about seven miles from the Arctic Circle – basically, it was marked by the horizon line to the north.

We saw up to three humpback whales at once and the boat was able to maneuver quite close to them – sometimes within 20-30 feet of one. The whales seemed to pay little attention to the several circling whale watching boats, although they surely knew that the boats were there. They would breath several times over a few minutes then do a final breath and sound with their tail flukes rising gracefully out of the water as they started a deep dive. The group of three thrilled us by sounding one after another.

Earlier, the boat guide had spotted a minke whale in the distance (referred to as a “stinky minke” due to the smell of their exhalations) but we did not try to get close to it because that species typically swims away from the boats. The day was perfect for whale watching; very sunny with ~30% cloud cover, light winds, moderate swells from the north, temperature in the high 40’s/low 50’s. The swells did cause some seasickness on board, but following seas produced a smooth ride returning to port, which helped. What a memorable experience.

We jumped back in the van again and drove a few miles to the town of Olafsfjordur where we entered a single-lane, two-direction tunnel. The seven-mile tunnel emptied out into the small fishing village of Siglufjordur. It was a great place to break for lunch. The village used to be the largest herring fishing port in Iceland. For a while, the town experienced a Gold Rush type expansion but when the herring stocks collapsed due to overfishing the town almost died. Fishing for cod continues and tourism and better road access have saved it. We had lunch in a local bakery–very good. On the mountain that overlooks the town we observed a complex set of horizontal metal structures that appeared somewhat like fences. Using helicopters, they had been installed to help prevent avalanches–a significant danger due to the local topography.

We left Siglufjordur and headed in a southwest direction. We were traveling once again through rolling volcanic hills and peaks. There were lots of small farms. Our guide said that there were no industrial-size farms in Iceland, only single-family farms, many of which had been run by the same families for hundreds of years. Again, sheep were everywhere; we saw more horses and cows than during the last few days. The main crop was clearly hay for animal fodder during the winter months. Reaping and baling was in progress throughout the island. Much of the baled hay was still scattered in the fields like “pellets” left behind by Paul Bunyan’s gigantic sheep and encased in plastic wraps of various colors (white, blue, yellow, red); Some of the huge bales were stacked neatly in piles next to low one-story barns.

At 5 p.m., we stopped at our final destination Glaumbaer, the site of an immaculately preserved 18th century turf farm house and church. There had been a church on the site for hundreds of years; the current structure dated back to 1926. As with most of the other churches seen scattered throughout the countryside, it was relatively small and very plain – a simple rectangular structure with a door at one end, three or four windows along each long side, and a modest steeple topped by a cross – no gargoyles, ornate spires, flying buttresses, or massive stone blocks. Many of these churches were similarly isolated, standing practically alone in the countryside. Lutheran churches predominate (hence the lack of ornamentation); our guide mentioned that there were only two Catholic churches in Iceland, one in each of the two largest cities. Upon entry, the interior of the church proved as plain as the exterior with unadorned wooden walls and benches and a simple altar and pulpit. The highlight was a beautiful wooden pipe organ in the rear of the room.

The farm house was made up of 13 different buildings, all linked together, with each having its own function. The rustic buildings were a charming and potent reminder of rural life in Iceland in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were made of timber, stone, and turf, with the turf laid out in long strips in a herringbone pattern between the stone. The construction included some wood and small windows – pretty primitive. Our guide pointed out that the house would have been that of a relatively wealthy person of the time and originally would not have had any windows since glass was unavailable. Other Icelandic people lived in even more primitive dwellings with little or no wood – rock, turf, mud. The church and house area were partially enclosed by a low, one-foot thick turf wall laid in a chevron pattern.

At 7 p.m., we arrived at our lodging for the night – Hotel Laugarbakki – another large country inn that was located near the small town of Bitfrost, a small university community. The modern-looking building used to be the local school. It proved to be a very nice accommodation. There were thick robes staged in the room for use in getting to/from the hotel’s open-air hot tubs. Around 11 p.m. that evening most of our group met with our guide outside the hotel to try to see the northern lights. It was partly cloudy with some upper level haze, but we could see stars in large patches of sky. The northern lights proved a bit shy, but we did see some for a bit, faintly. Mission accomplished, we called it a night before frostbite set in.

Bless,
Kathy