Blogs from Ísafjördur, Northwest, Iceland, Europe

Today we have mizzle but it’s not cold. This has been the first night that I have not needed a double thermal top layer and ny Nepalese knitted slippers on in bed! In fact, last night we both felt really warm! We return the way we came as there’s no other way to go. Back towards Isafjordur where we top up the diesel and make use of the free car cleaning station. Our van, which was once white, is decidedly brown from mud splats. As we are the only ones there we park in the middle of two washing stations and take one side each. Job done in half the time! It’s only a quick once over but at least we can open the doors now without getting filthy. From here we head south, to another ... read more

À l’idée de voyager seule et de vouloir tout voir, il faut absolument faire des compromis pour rester heureuse! Le meilleur et le plus simple moyen d’apprécier les beautés classiques est de choisir des tours de groupes organisés à la journée. Celui d’aujourd’hui ne fait pas exception à la règle de la découverte des points touristiques les plus en demande. Je suis donc partie sur la route du Cercle d’Or. Ce rendez-vous avec la Grande Nature ne laisse personne indifférent devant la grandiose explosion naturelle islandaise. En roulant de Reykjavík vers le nord-est, je retrouve ici les paysages austères que j’ai vus en débarquant il y a quelques jours. Mais plus les kilomètres défilent, plus je les apprivoise. Les montagnes nous entourent et la toundra prend des teintes tantôt verdâtres, tantôt grises mais toujours ponctuées de ... read more

This morning it wasn’t quite as hectic getting to the Lido and then onto our tour. We didn’t even bother with an alarm. Today’s tour was just 4 Hours, so it wasn’t going to be a terribly exhausting day either. Sharon mentioned that the tour cost $300, and that seemed a bit high for a half-day tour. In the back of my mind I hear the cautionary words that things are more expensive in Iceland. But still! Our tour group wasn’t the first tour group called as we waited in the Showroom. When they announced the “Kayaking in Isafjordur” tour, participants got a rousing applause for their bravado (all six of them). As we left the ship I noticed the two on our deck getting their bicycles ready for another ride. We got on the bus, ... read more

V Drangnesu mají svého kamenného trola, takze jsme se na nej sli podivat. Mno, uplne impozantni teda uz není, takze popojedeme. Dostal jsem opet vysadu ridit, coz ukazuje Katcinu odvahu. Ono ale jezdit kolem fjordu je k fsteku. Jedete 15 minut jednim smerem, pak udelate otocku o skoro 180 stupnu a jedete 15 minut zpatky, abyste se dostali o cca 2 km jinam nez na zacatku. A to opakujte několikrát. Kdyby to slo alespoň prebrodit, ale na to jsme nemeli pojistku ani ponornou hloubku… Fjordy samotne takove mirne cajk, ale nic moc speciálního necekejte. Ale turista tu muze trefit jackpot (obrazne… fyzicky trefite maximalne ovci nebo jiného turistu, coz není zadna velka vyhra) – semtam se v fjordu skryvaji ryby, velryby a jiné lochnesky. A pak uz jenom staci mit oka na stopkách. Coz je mirne ... read more

From Akureyri’s domestic airport (1 hr 10 min), we dropped off the rental car and Sarah, Sheila, and John flew west onurl=https://www.airiceland.is/Flight/Search?interline=false&fromCityCode=AEY&toCityCode=IFJ&departureDateString=2017-07-08&returnDateString=2017-07-08&adults=5&children=0&infants=0&roundTrip=false&useFlexDates=false&allInclusive=undefined&promocode=&fareTypeCategory=1¤cy=EUR&tour=false&tourCode=&youths=0 Air Iceland at 5:00 pm, arriving in Isafjordur at 7:55 pm, with aerial views of Iceland's indented coastline and glacier-carved interior. Originally settled in the 9th century, Isafjordur became a trading post for foreign merchants in the 16th century and today is the main town in the remote Westfjords in far-northwest Iceland. The sheer isolation of this region has kept it well off the traditional tourist circuit. Sean and Mandy flew back to Reykjavi... read more