Blogs from Iceland, Europe - page 93

Geo: 64.1353, -21.8952Since this was an unexpected day in Reykjavik, we had no plans for the day. The ship did offer some last minute shore excursions, but we didn't sign up. The weather looked pretty bad for the off-road jeep trip, which was the only one that appealed to us at all. The other two trips offered were repeats of what we did yesterday—a trip to the Blue Lagoon and sightseeing in the city.We did take the opportunity to catch up on home and work email while we were in port. The satellite Internet service has been unreliable while the ship is in the open sea. I am glad that Philip does not have a class going right now. He would have a hard time meeting his obligation to check in every day and keep up ... read more

"Ooh it's fresh outside". Funny about that Penny. Had we been exiting the airport terminal in Hotandhumidland, an expression of surprise would have been appropriate with the mercury tipping 10 degrees. On the other hand, even if you knew Jack diddly squat about Iceland before arriving, with a name like that you really should have some fleece locked and loaded. The touchdown in Reykjavik was perfectly synchronised with a glowing sun nudging the Atlantic horizon, right on cue at 11.40pm. The light pink hues of that sunset morphed 2 hours later into a soft, pastel orange as the sun poked its head back above that same horizon. In between, the sky never turned completely black. At 66 degrees north, the days are long come July in Iceland. Those long daylight hours sent our body clocks into ... read more

Geo: 65.6839, -18.1105Last night during our passage from Lerwick to Akureyri, the ship crossed the Arctic Circle. This is the first time that we have been that far north so I stayed up watching the ship's position on the TV screen. We passed the latitude of 66° 33′ 44″ north by just a bit. It was still light outside last night even though it is a month passed the summer solstice. We took a full day excursion today including stops at Godafoss (the Waterfall of the Gods) on the Skjálfandafljót River, the pseudo craters around Skutustada giger, the trails through the lava at Dimmuborgir, and the geothermal area of Namafjall Hverir. All the landscapes are quite interesting to see and not like anything I have seen before. On this trip, we walked on the edge of ... read more

It is rather incredible just how much a group can pack into one cycle of the sun! We left Seattle "this morning" (Wednesday) at about 4pm and flew with the sun which never set. We arrived here in a barren yet lush Iceland. Volcanic rocks blanketing the landscape. The surroundings remind me of many other locales, the hills of Scotland, the sharp volcanic earth of the Big Island of Hawaii and even the short cropped dry grass of Malta. It is a place like no other, yet like many others, a true dichotomy of design. We arrived at 6:30am and easily made our transfer. It was a bumpy approach through the clouds toward the steaming earth, full of geothermal goodness that would play a pivotal role in the remainder of our day. After a half an ... read more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH2mpLarvsg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU8Wvx1lR2E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wxqwonpFkU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL5V-Y0LLoQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnBlLZGcqW4 After our night in the Hi Hostel in Hofn we were back on the road again and set off again for a full-days drive to the North. Weather wise this was the worst day of the trip so I was glad that it wasn’t wasted as would be in the car most of the day. It rained all day and our route through the mountains was enveloped in mist. We were driving from South East Iceland up the East coast to our destination at roughly the northernmost point just 60km from the Arctic circle in Husavik. This part of Iceland is sparsely inhabited and we only passed a few cars outside the main towns. It took over 6 hours to get to our first destination which was Dettifoss which as ... read more

I ain't doing cocaine and I am not living high in the clouds by Marijane. Nonetheless, I am an addict and no matter how many times you are telling me it's all in my head, I still feel powerless. Like a bird, all I dream of is to take off on a sunny day and push my wings until the place looks right and be ready to do it all again when it is time. But if really there is a path to fallow, you can try to catch me and cut my wings. Be aware I won't surrender easily and getting carry back into your gaol ain't an option. I know a game isn't one if your opponents have no chance to succeed. So, I am in Iceland at the moment and it's beautiful. Good ... read more