Last day in Iceland

The title sounds ominous, but it was nothing of the kind. The day was actually sunny, and cool. We packed and left the flat we were in, with mixed feelings. This flat was large, and was an historic building in central Reykjavik. It had a modern and good-sized kitchen, large bedrooms and living room, and a modern bathroom. But it was so sparsely furnished as to be cold in character, and there were some things missing, like floor lamps so you could read at night. And the exterior was under renovation, which started with banging and hammering at about eight in the morning.

(Our first B&B, in contrast, was warm, cosy friendly-appearing, and well-equipped in large.)

A few pictures of Reykjavik.











As we headed out of town to the airport area (near Kevlavik, about 45 km out of Reykjavik), we saw this area in daylight for the first time. A friend who had recently been in Iceland said that the trip into town from the airport made him question exactly which planet he had landed on. It looks like the moon: flat, with lava fields of jagged rock, mostly covered with moss. At places it seemed that there was a "pimple" of lava about to explode upwards. At other places, we could see the volcanoes (all dormant) in the distance.

We were not going immediately to the airport, but to the Blue Lagoon, a large pool of mineral waters heated geothermically. This was hyped a lot, and we were prepared to be disappointed. It is popular enough that you have to have a reservation for it to get in.

We were, to say the least, not disappointed. It was magical, the waters about 38-40 degrees, filled with silica, and actually blue in colour. The pool was immense, so that the several hundred people in it did not seem at all to make it crowded. You could get (and the others got) an algae mask and/or a clay/silica mask. You could go to the swim-up bar, go under a waterfall, go into a cave area. And all the time you were outdoors where the air temerature was about 8 degrees.


We stayed for about two hours, came out looking like prunes, but smiling and feeling quite lithe. Truly an experience unlike any other, and one we will remember for a long time.

Then, unfortunately, to the airport, for the fairly short (2-½ hour) flight to London. And to Dan and Katy's flat for a quick supper with them, and to bed.

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Location:Dunton Road,London,United Kingdom

Time in Town

Today was my big day, and I wondered what else might have been planned for me. We had done the wonderful whale watch yesterday (and a good thing: the weather on this birthday was to be cool and damp). So today was a tour of the city, on foot. We also had some shopping to do. So we hit the commercial area. And went into several stores along this street, searching for just the right thing.

This took us up the street to the main cathedral, the Hallgrimskirkja. This is located on the Leifur Ericson (who we know as simply Leif Ericson) plaza, at the centre of town and the highest point around.





The Ericson monument was interesting: placed there by the USA, in the (likely mis-)understanding that Ericson explored the East Coast of America. The statue has the look of what I had seen of the Christopher Columbus monument in Portugal. However, it was impressive, as was the Cathedral.

We were hungry, and came upon the restaurant "Kol", where we decided to stop for a lunch. It was terrific: some of the best risotto we have ever had, as well as some cooked fish (cod for Darlene, salmon for me) that was to die for. All told, a good stop, but it didn't make we hunger for supper out on the town.

So we stayed in, ordered a pizza, and had bubbly and conversation for my birthday dinner. It was just fine.


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Location:Reykjavik, Iceland

A Whale of a Time

Today was my last day as a 60-something. And it was a nice day here, in spite of the weather forecast. So we needed to do something. And Darlene and the kids had decided that "that something" was to be a whale-watching cruise. There are a lot of whales in this area (even though Iceland is one of the two remaining countries in the world that still hunts whales, much to the consternation of the others). We had booked a cruise on the afternoon cruise.

Morning was leisurely. Bacon and Eggs were at hand (the bacon package was festooned with a picture of the American mid-West, interestingly and inappropriately). We were worried about whether Darlene could negotiate the hills between where we are and the harbour, so we drove the kilometre or two there.

We saw many white-beaked dolphins and minke whales (one at least, probably two). I will put in some photos of the occasion, not of the whales (Dan got better ones, and will share them with me at some point.)












The weather remained good for the trip. We had a bit of spitting rain, then clear the rest of the time. It was cool, the wind was moderate, and the rolling sea was, well, rolling. Katy and Dan both took Gravol, but Darlene and I were okay. And they dressed us in bright orange insulated overalls to be on the deck watching; that probably shocked my system into not being ill.

Than home to a meal of lamb again: it is very good here. No wine, since it is Sunday and this is an Evangelical Lutheran country which does not allow wine sales on the Sabbath.

But a lovely day to have as I enter my 70's.

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Location:Miðstræti,Reykjavík,Iceland

Capital Blues

This day was the transition to the city. After a lazy breakfast and a short packing, we were on our way to the big city. "Big", you understand, is a relative term. Reykjavik has almost half the population of Iceland, but is still two-thirds smaller than Hamilton.

On the way from Hveragar∂i to Reykjavik, we passed through lava fields which were spectacular in their scope and stark beauty.



We decided to stop at the geothermal plant for their tour. It is amazing to me how the Icelanders have used this source of "free" energy. They live over molten lava (not right over, but it is closer to the surface than in most places). And they are in the area where the two major tectonic plates touch and are in fact separating. This has the downside of giving them more than the usual number of earthquakes (this part of the island has had four significant ones since 2000), but also gives them abundant heat energy.

At the plant, the drill a hole between 1-3 kilometres into the earth, where the water they find is about 300 degrees Celsius. This is brought up, the steam that come off it is used to power turbines, and the hot water remaining is used to heat the homes. The hot water is transported through insulated pipes the 27 kilometres to Reykjavik, losing only 2 degrees Celsius on the way. The system is so cheap and efficient that the city now heats 99.9% of its homes this way. And the electricity is also relatively cheap as well.





A pretty impressive feat, all told. The Icelanders now have the best geothermal technology in the world, and can export this to other countries.

And from here to the big City. We are staying in a B&B which is quite large, and somewhat under renovation. They are working on the outside of the three-story place. But it is near the downtown, and we soon found a lovely commercial area about five blocks from where we are staying, We had a lunch at a cafe française, then went back to our room.

While Darlene read and Dan and Katy slept for a bit, I went out an explored the older part of town. I had a lovely walk, almost got lost, found the main cathedral


And then found my way home. The city is certainly more lively than where we had been. More noise, more bustle, more lights.

As I write this, it is getting dark. Darlene and I have decided to stay at home while "the kids" go out for a night out. The city reminds me of the feeling I had in Bergen, three years ago. Houses are similar in architecture, colours are bright.





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Location:Miðstræti,Reykjavík,Iceland