Iceland Day 6 - Akureyri (Eyjafjordur)
Tuesday, June 11. The Icelanders are marking today on their calendars because we heard that it set a new high for the temperature on this date. How cool is that! Again, we can’t go anywhere without the locals telling us how lucky we are. I’m just glad they are not on strike or something...to take a “sick” day to enjoy the weather. :) Just a shout out to our very good God who created such a beautiful place and gave us a remarkably beautiful day.
Forcing myself out of bed, I opened the curtains (that make our room very dark) and beside my window below was the pilot boat guiding us into the dock. Akureyri (kinda sounds like you are saying like an “actuary” table without any emphasis on the t) is the longest of the fjords, Eyjafjordur, on the north of Iceland being around 50 kilometers long. It is nicknamed the “Capitol of the North” and is a quite lovely and bustling town. It sits at the end of the fjord surrounded by snow capped mountains. The city was founded by the Viking Helgi Hrolfsson in the 9th century but developed in the 17th century as a Danish trading post. This area has unusually moderate temperatures (for being only 62 miles from the Arctic Circle...which we will be going up into) that contributed to the growth of the area. One fun factoid is that during WWII a church in England brought over a stained glass window so it would not be destroyed in the war. It’s still here. ;)
Breakfast today was up top in an overly crowded dining area. We had to sit at the bar because there were no seats available. We could have sat outside because the weather was sunny and crisp, but the tables and chairs were all wet. But the most important part of this story is I think I possibly had the BEST French toast ever, with fruit and a coconut/banana smoothie, coffee and a smile. Much better than our room service the past few days. I’ll be having breakfast upstairs tomorrow!
Our tour was supposed to leave at 8:45 but we were running a bit late. We took the outer road around the mountain (instead of through the tunnel) so we could see the beautiful landscape on such a beautiful morning. Note: this cruise brought people from Norway to Iceland and we are now doing the reverse going Iceland to Norway. So only about 5 days ago, when the ship was here, the weather was a nasty and windy 32 degrees. On the bus our guide, who was probably about 60 years old, said we wouldn’t be able to pronounce her name and she was right. She told us what to call her, but that was a bit strange too, and I quickly forgot what she said. Today was her first time ever to lead a group. She was visibly shaking and we felt bad for her, but unfortunately she didn’t do a very good job at telling us what we were seeing, instead telling stories about her family name and local tales (which we had already heard about trolls and elves).
Today’s scenery was diverse to an extreme and equally as interesting. The tour was called “Northern Iceland’s Natural Treasures”. Indeed they were. Our first stop was at the Godafoss Falls. Legend has it that it was named by a pagan priest who threw all his statues of his pagan gods into the waterfall after converting to Christianity. It was a very unassuming place and when she said we had arrived I had to look around. Expecting a mountain, Godafoss was more of a ravine/gorge and it was stunning. We only had 30 minutes, and that was not nearly enough time. I could have packed a little sandwich and sat on the ground and just listened to its powerful roar for hours. I have posted too many pictures, but I wasn’t sure what would be the best. And photos do not do the place justice at all. So maybe the number of photos will somehow make it better. But as usual, we took every possible angle, including climbing down on some rocks to get at its misty base and climbed to the top for the highest vantage point. Highest was best and we caught a brief rainbow over it as well. Breathtaking. Amazing. Wonderful. Spectacular. None of these quite do it justice.
From there we drove a short distance to the Myvatn volcanic lake area where we walked (and ran because we took the long way around and could see our bus loading in the distance) around huge craters, at Skutustadir, that were formed when molten lava ran over the cool damp ground and gasses burped up these giant craters. So they were not actual volcanos, just gas eruptions. They are dating the lava fields in this area to have happened 2300 years ago. My short panoramic shots got the gist of it better than a single photo that wouldn’t cover the entire top. It was more impressive in person and I took a photo of the information poster, because it has a satellite view and is cool to see from above. Making it back to the bus, we were NOT the last to get on the bus...we were on time, but an Asian father/daughter combo that pushed us back nearly 20 minutes for lunch. And come to find out she works on the ship! Hmm....
Speaking of lunch, we ate with our Connecticut buddies we met two days ago and the Gosfalls. They are funny and the one gal reminds me of Joyce Elledge. She’s a hoot. Anyway our lunch consisted of a white fish over puréed sweet potatoes and a dill sauce. Oh yes, it started with a lovely vegetable soup. We thought it was really good, but some of the folks on the bus were barking about it. We couldnt understand why!! One older gal behind us was going on and on about how she needed something else “that tasted like something” so I gave her a bag of mini Oreos and that quieted her down. She seemed shocked we packed our own snacks. People are interesting.
After lunch we drove a short distance to the Namaskard geothermal mud springs where gurgling mud and stinky steam bubbled and spewed out of the ground. We were strictly warned that if you walked off the path it was very hot and you could easily get burned. We have decided that Iceland has no fear of being sued because some of the mounds that were spurting hot sulfuric gases into the air were totally wide open and you could stick your face right into it. But they stunk so bad you didn’t want to get too close. Maybe they figure if you are dumb enough to get that close of a look you deserved to loose your eyebrows. Amanda Hickman said this place looked like Mars...and she was right! (We had a Matt Damon moment as she was with me at the time via texting) A great observation as nothing can grow here because the ground is too hot and there are so many yucky volcano minerals in the soil that nothing grows. A drastic difference in landscapes today at every turn.
After this we drove to the towering lava castles and grottoes at Dimmuborgir. Legend has it that when God threw Lucifer out of heaven he landed here. It’s easy to get lost in them and it supposedly is an evil place. This is where scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed. Since I haven’t ever watched that show, I didn’t recognize anything, but one lady with us said it would have been winter time when they filmed and would have looked very different. But very black and barren with these huge piles of lava everywhere. I could see this all covered in snow and being a very colorless and treacherous landscape. Our least favorite of all stops today, but still interesting to see.
One funny thing that did happen today was our guide, who taught herself how to speak English, pointed out the most beautiful stream where fisherman where standing and fishing for salmon. She said it is the best stream in the area to piss in. The crowd on the bus laughed some and someone behind her corrected her. She said “What did I say?” So when they told her what she said she then said “Feeesshhh” (heavy on the F and EEEEE) and said “I know the difference between fish and piss”. We all laughed at that. However, the gal behind her then took it upon herself to correct her English a bit more than she should have. She was doing fine.
On the way back, to save time, we took the tunnel instead of the outer road. The guide said it took 5 years to build because they had a lot of “trouble” with it and it had just recently opened. Guy and I were guessing how long it would be. We figured a mile. It was 7 kilometers! That’s a big tunnel. When we exited the tunnel we were back at the ship where we were greeted with champagne (or in our case a fruity drink of orange juice and maybe cranberry juice? It was layered and looked delicious and tasted even better than it looked). We went up top to watch as the boat sailed out of the fjord. Rumor had it that there could possibly be a whale sighting, so I thought I’d blog until the gal with binoculars screamed ‘WHALE’...it never happened. At this point it is about 5:30pm and we decided not to get gussied up for dinner and just eat at the buffet. They had most of the same items and we are probably going to hit the bed early tonight.
I moved into the inside pool area about 5:40. The place was packed because they had the hot tub filled with ice water and they did polar plunges as soon as we entered the Arctic Circle. I went to watch one of our Connecticut buddies do it, but got there too late. He must have been first! Anyway, it was fun and after you jumped into the icy water you got blue cool whip on the tip of your nose. Most people walked around with it on their face for some time, proud of their accomplishment. I feared there might have been some heart attacks...after all this is an older group, but everyone seemed to have faired quite well. See pictures for a lady that was more than happy for me to take her blue-nosed photo.
Dinner was early and we did decide just to eat buffet food. It was quite lovely. I had a “Taste of Iceland” which was a variety of Icelandic favorites. I tried a lamb chop, reindeer steak and some kind of meatball covered in a yummy dill sauce. The rest was standard fare, but delish none-the-less. Dessert was a buffet of its own (buffet on my plate that is) and I’m miserably stuffed. The day at sea is just two days away and I will be walking laps around the top.
Missing my kitty today, but certain Madelyn is taking spendid care of him. Today’s photo (she sends me one each day) was one of him curled up tightly in a ball, snoozing away. Clearly he cried himself to sleep from missing his mama. Well, that’s my story anyway.
One last side note: Today our tour guide told us that Neal Armstrong flew here prior to walking on the moon to practice, as the surface of parts of Iceland are very similar to what they’d be walking in on the moon. I thought that was super interesting. Also a thought about Viking. They don’t try to upsale you all the time like on other cruise lines. No photos they are trying to sell you, no shopping, no nothing. They kinda just leave you alone. On other ships we constantly have to be whipping out our card or giving them our room number. Never here. Ever. That is pretty nice. And one last bit...we got certificates brought to our room signed by the captain showing we had traveled above the Arctic Circle.
Goodnight from North Iceland.
Forcing myself out of bed, I opened the curtains (that make our room very dark) and beside my window below was the pilot boat guiding us into the dock. Akureyri (kinda sounds like you are saying like an “actuary” table without any emphasis on the t) is the longest of the fjords, Eyjafjordur, on the north of Iceland being around 50 kilometers long. It is nicknamed the “Capitol of the North” and is a quite lovely and bustling town. It sits at the end of the fjord surrounded by snow capped mountains. The city was founded by the Viking Helgi Hrolfsson in the 9th century but developed in the 17th century as a Danish trading post. This area has unusually moderate temperatures (for being only 62 miles from the Arctic Circle...which we will be going up into) that contributed to the growth of the area. One fun factoid is that during WWII a church in England brought over a stained glass window so it would not be destroyed in the war. It’s still here. ;)
Breakfast today was up top in an overly crowded dining area. We had to sit at the bar because there were no seats available. We could have sat outside because the weather was sunny and crisp, but the tables and chairs were all wet. But the most important part of this story is I think I possibly had the BEST French toast ever, with fruit and a coconut/banana smoothie, coffee and a smile. Much better than our room service the past few days. I’ll be having breakfast upstairs tomorrow!
Our tour was supposed to leave at 8:45 but we were running a bit late. We took the outer road around the mountain (instead of through the tunnel) so we could see the beautiful landscape on such a beautiful morning. Note: this cruise brought people from Norway to Iceland and we are now doing the reverse going Iceland to Norway. So only about 5 days ago, when the ship was here, the weather was a nasty and windy 32 degrees. On the bus our guide, who was probably about 60 years old, said we wouldn’t be able to pronounce her name and she was right. She told us what to call her, but that was a bit strange too, and I quickly forgot what she said. Today was her first time ever to lead a group. She was visibly shaking and we felt bad for her, but unfortunately she didn’t do a very good job at telling us what we were seeing, instead telling stories about her family name and local tales (which we had already heard about trolls and elves).
Today’s scenery was diverse to an extreme and equally as interesting. The tour was called “Northern Iceland’s Natural Treasures”. Indeed they were. Our first stop was at the Godafoss Falls. Legend has it that it was named by a pagan priest who threw all his statues of his pagan gods into the waterfall after converting to Christianity. It was a very unassuming place and when she said we had arrived I had to look around. Expecting a mountain, Godafoss was more of a ravine/gorge and it was stunning. We only had 30 minutes, and that was not nearly enough time. I could have packed a little sandwich and sat on the ground and just listened to its powerful roar for hours. I have posted too many pictures, but I wasn’t sure what would be the best. And photos do not do the place justice at all. So maybe the number of photos will somehow make it better. But as usual, we took every possible angle, including climbing down on some rocks to get at its misty base and climbed to the top for the highest vantage point. Highest was best and we caught a brief rainbow over it as well. Breathtaking. Amazing. Wonderful. Spectacular. None of these quite do it justice.
From there we drove a short distance to the Myvatn volcanic lake area where we walked (and ran because we took the long way around and could see our bus loading in the distance) around huge craters, at Skutustadir, that were formed when molten lava ran over the cool damp ground and gasses burped up these giant craters. So they were not actual volcanos, just gas eruptions. They are dating the lava fields in this area to have happened 2300 years ago. My short panoramic shots got the gist of it better than a single photo that wouldn’t cover the entire top. It was more impressive in person and I took a photo of the information poster, because it has a satellite view and is cool to see from above. Making it back to the bus, we were NOT the last to get on the bus...we were on time, but an Asian father/daughter combo that pushed us back nearly 20 minutes for lunch. And come to find out she works on the ship! Hmm....
Speaking of lunch, we ate with our Connecticut buddies we met two days ago and the Gosfalls. They are funny and the one gal reminds me of Joyce Elledge. She’s a hoot. Anyway our lunch consisted of a white fish over puréed sweet potatoes and a dill sauce. Oh yes, it started with a lovely vegetable soup. We thought it was really good, but some of the folks on the bus were barking about it. We couldnt understand why!! One older gal behind us was going on and on about how she needed something else “that tasted like something” so I gave her a bag of mini Oreos and that quieted her down. She seemed shocked we packed our own snacks. People are interesting.
After lunch we drove a short distance to the Namaskard geothermal mud springs where gurgling mud and stinky steam bubbled and spewed out of the ground. We were strictly warned that if you walked off the path it was very hot and you could easily get burned. We have decided that Iceland has no fear of being sued because some of the mounds that were spurting hot sulfuric gases into the air were totally wide open and you could stick your face right into it. But they stunk so bad you didn’t want to get too close. Maybe they figure if you are dumb enough to get that close of a look you deserved to loose your eyebrows. Amanda Hickman said this place looked like Mars...and she was right! (We had a Matt Damon moment as she was with me at the time via texting) A great observation as nothing can grow here because the ground is too hot and there are so many yucky volcano minerals in the soil that nothing grows. A drastic difference in landscapes today at every turn.
After this we drove to the towering lava castles and grottoes at Dimmuborgir. Legend has it that when God threw Lucifer out of heaven he landed here. It’s easy to get lost in them and it supposedly is an evil place. This is where scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed. Since I haven’t ever watched that show, I didn’t recognize anything, but one lady with us said it would have been winter time when they filmed and would have looked very different. But very black and barren with these huge piles of lava everywhere. I could see this all covered in snow and being a very colorless and treacherous landscape. Our least favorite of all stops today, but still interesting to see.
One funny thing that did happen today was our guide, who taught herself how to speak English, pointed out the most beautiful stream where fisherman where standing and fishing for salmon. She said it is the best stream in the area to piss in. The crowd on the bus laughed some and someone behind her corrected her. She said “What did I say?” So when they told her what she said she then said “Feeesshhh” (heavy on the F and EEEEE) and said “I know the difference between fish and piss”. We all laughed at that. However, the gal behind her then took it upon herself to correct her English a bit more than she should have. She was doing fine.
On the way back, to save time, we took the tunnel instead of the outer road. The guide said it took 5 years to build because they had a lot of “trouble” with it and it had just recently opened. Guy and I were guessing how long it would be. We figured a mile. It was 7 kilometers! That’s a big tunnel. When we exited the tunnel we were back at the ship where we were greeted with champagne (or in our case a fruity drink of orange juice and maybe cranberry juice? It was layered and looked delicious and tasted even better than it looked). We went up top to watch as the boat sailed out of the fjord. Rumor had it that there could possibly be a whale sighting, so I thought I’d blog until the gal with binoculars screamed ‘WHALE’...it never happened. At this point it is about 5:30pm and we decided not to get gussied up for dinner and just eat at the buffet. They had most of the same items and we are probably going to hit the bed early tonight.
I moved into the inside pool area about 5:40. The place was packed because they had the hot tub filled with ice water and they did polar plunges as soon as we entered the Arctic Circle. I went to watch one of our Connecticut buddies do it, but got there too late. He must have been first! Anyway, it was fun and after you jumped into the icy water you got blue cool whip on the tip of your nose. Most people walked around with it on their face for some time, proud of their accomplishment. I feared there might have been some heart attacks...after all this is an older group, but everyone seemed to have faired quite well. See pictures for a lady that was more than happy for me to take her blue-nosed photo.
Dinner was early and we did decide just to eat buffet food. It was quite lovely. I had a “Taste of Iceland” which was a variety of Icelandic favorites. I tried a lamb chop, reindeer steak and some kind of meatball covered in a yummy dill sauce. The rest was standard fare, but delish none-the-less. Dessert was a buffet of its own (buffet on my plate that is) and I’m miserably stuffed. The day at sea is just two days away and I will be walking laps around the top.
Missing my kitty today, but certain Madelyn is taking spendid care of him. Today’s photo (she sends me one each day) was one of him curled up tightly in a ball, snoozing away. Clearly he cried himself to sleep from missing his mama. Well, that’s my story anyway.
One last side note: Today our tour guide told us that Neal Armstrong flew here prior to walking on the moon to practice, as the surface of parts of Iceland are very similar to what they’d be walking in on the moon. I thought that was super interesting. Also a thought about Viking. They don’t try to upsale you all the time like on other cruise lines. No photos they are trying to sell you, no shopping, no nothing. They kinda just leave you alone. On other ships we constantly have to be whipping out our card or giving them our room number. Never here. Ever. That is pretty nice. And one last bit...we got certificates brought to our room signed by the captain showing we had traveled above the Arctic Circle.
Goodnight from North Iceland.
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