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Published: August 1st 2009
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Golf Course
Took this for Paul. It's the golf course in Iceland. They said they had quite a few. We had a great day in Isafjordur Iceland on Fri. Mom and I were up early in the Lido for juice and to watch the scenic cruising of isafjardaandjup and Jokulfirdir. It was a bit cloudy but very pretty. We then headed to mass, breakfast in the Dining Room, and a port talk on Isafjordur and Reykjavik. It was then time to grab a quick lunch in the Lido before heading down for our Fjords and Flowers tour.
We drove quickly thru town (not hard since it was a small town) and then headed towards a tunnel. I know you’re thinking how could a tunnel be so interesting but it actually was. This tunnel is about 6 miles long and links the fjord to two other fjord towns. It’s a one way tunnel so on the way out we had to pull over in the Meeting places to let the cars going the other way thru. It was built in the mid 1990’s and they’re not allowed to build one-way tunnels any longer but our guide said it worked well here since there isn’t a lot of traffic. There was one section of the tunnel where there was a turn off
Book Store
they sell books by weight that headed to the third fjord. They built this tunnel in 3 years in spite of finding out the hard way there was an underground river that they had to block off when they accidentally found it during one blast which pushed all of their equipment out with the water.
Once out of the tunnel the scenery was beautiful with sheep all over the mountains, waterfalls, farms, and the fjord ahead. Our first stop was at a garden that had been started by a priest in 1906. Everyone had said he was crazy to try it but he found one spot that was protected from some of the weather because of the mountains etc. It was a beautiful spot.
We then headed to a small fishing village. There is a bookstore there from the late 1800s which sells books by the kilogram. We just bought postcards which were priced normally. The stop included a small café where we were given 3 pieces of traditional Icelandic cakes and coffee. One cake was many layers of slightly crisply cake and jam, another was almost like a donut, and the third was like a pancake folded and filled with cream. This
town was hit by an avalanche in the late 1990’s which killed over 20 people (a lot in a town of about 200). They now have an wall shaped like an A that will direct the avalanche around the town. There’s also a big happy face carved into the grass to the side of it.
We then headed to the small church in the town where a local woman performed traditional songs on an accordion. We then headed back to the ship thru the tunnel again (this time we didn’t have to stop). It was a very nice tour and our guide was fantastic.
One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that Iceland brings the hot water from the thermal areas into the towns which they then use for their hot water and heating. In Akureyri they even used it to fill their local swimming pool.
We had another great dinner topped off with a Chocolate Soufflé for desert before heading to the show. Scotty Mclean is a Scottish magician/comedian who was dressed in a kilt. There was very little magic but he was very funny especially the last section with his wooden duck that picked the
cards out of the deck of cards.
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Janet
non-member comment
Isafjordur
Sharon you are doing a great job telling us all the interesting places you all have seen. Just getting the spelling down is remarkable. More great pics thanks. Happy Town sounds like a great place. I wouldn't have liked the tunnel, 6 miles is too much. (smile) Well, 13 more days and its Randy time. Yeah. Take care, Janet