Blogs from Akureyri, North, Iceland, Europe

FRI, 30 SEP 2022 – Day 5: Lake Myvatn/Akureyri - Set off for magnificent Dettifoss, Europe's mightiest waterfall at 100-metres wide and with a 45-metre drop into the craggy shores of Jokulsargljufur canyon below. It’s so powerful that it’s vibrations can be felt underfoot. Continue to volcanic Lake Myvatn. Next is Namaskard, where steam rises from the sulphuric terrain and it’s hard to believe you’re on Earth and not Mars. Take a walk around the lava stacks and caves of Dimmuborgir and then observe the massive pseudo craters of Skutustadir. Continue to the crescent shaped Godafoss waterfall, where legend says a lawmaker priest threw the idols of the Norse gods when Christianity became Iceland’s official religion in AD1000. Travel on to Akureyri and settle into your accommodation for the evening. Total driving distance - approximately 250 ... read more

Last night we traveled through numerous mountain tunnels to gt to our hotel in Akureyri. This sophisticated and thriving city is called the "Second City" and is much warmer and drier than Reykjavik. We have definitely lucked out in the weather department on this trip. The first known settler was "Helgi the lean" who arrived here around year 890. We dined with others from our group, including Renee's new friend, Zack and his father John, at the Rub 23 and enjoyed some great sushi. We are getting use to having virtual daylight around the clock. Sunset has been around 11:30 pm and rising 2:30 am, but it really doesn't get dark with dusk and dawn. Today's main event is a whale watching tour in Dalvik in the longest fjord in Iceland, Eyjafjordur Fjord. We had to ... read more

Last night was windy as hell but morning has broken to sunny skies and flat calm sea…well so far anyway! We have a very light breakfast of a couple of flat breads and tea/coffee. I want to set off early as I’m not sure of the exact loading time. I do know that it’s a very strict 9am ropes off! We decide to leave the van on the campsite as it’s only a 10 minute walk to the harbour. Probably more secure than a car park where everyone has gone off on a several hour boat trip! We arrive at 8.20am. Plenty of time the gang plank has not been opened yet and there’s a small group of folk waiting on the quayside. It’s 8.30am and we are on! Our names are ticked off on the ... read more

Today was earmarked to take the ferry across to Grimsey Island. It has stopped raining but the wind is still pretty wild. It’s a real nuisance to have to delay the trip as there is no ferry tomorrow but we have been on enough dive boats to know that if the bay is rough, the open sea is going to be horrendous. Apparently the ferry always leaves whatever the weather. It’s three hours there and three hours back. We decide to delay! So what to do now? We decide to follow the scenic route around the coast and see what happens. The scenery is very nice and we can see the ferry making its way through the inlet - it’s almost at the point of open sea, but not quite. It does look like it’s quite ... read more

Akureyri is the fifth largest city in Iceland and the largest outside the southwest capital region. It has regular domestic air service from Reykjavik and is considered teh capital of North Iceland. Hotel Kea was located right in the center of downtown. Diner was our first formal taste of Icelandic lamb. After dinner, Susan and I took a walk along the main street. Above the hotel was the Akureyrikirkja, the Lutheran church. Built in 1940, it is in the Functionalism style popular in Iceland at that time. Across the street was the Eymundsson bookstore. Icelanders love to read. (Our guide was well versed in Icelandic poetry and the sagas.) The bookstore had a large stock of titles in Icelandic, including children's books, may of which were translations of popular English-language children's books. There was a large ... read more