Ring Road Day 3-Hornafjorouur to Egilsstooum...

This morning was the same routine as the past couple of days, breakfast at 8:00 AM, on the road by about 9:00 AM. Today we are headed up a gravel road behind our hotel. We heard the staff mention a glacier but we aren't sure how far it is. The view of our guesthouse from the first ridge is incredible. We can see the entire farm, Highway 1 and in the distance, the ocean.

We made a number of stops along the gravel road. Over each ridge, we found another amazing view...glacier lakes, lava fields and several waterfalls. The road was curvy, dusty with steep drops off the side.

Finally Skalafellksjokull glacier. Skalafellksjokll connects to the much larger Vatnajokull ice cap.

Our glacier exploration took all morning. We hiked a bit on the gravel patches and spent a lot of time just starring at the massive amount of ice and snow. Our drive back to Highway 1 went quickly, the roller coaster road no longer intimidated us.

Next stop was the village of Hofn (pronounced more like Hop). Hofn sits on the coast of the Hornafjordour fjord, has 1,633 residents and is one of the larger towns we have been through since Reyjkavik. We stopped at Kaffi Hornid (Cafe = Kaffi), the first restaurant we saw. As it turns out, this kaffi was well rated in Frommers.

The weather was cool (mid-50's), windy and overcast. We immediately fell into large bowls of lobster soup topped with fresh cream and large chunks of local lobster. We will not soon forget this meal!

After lingering over our soup and fresh bread, we drove through Hofn and then back to Highway 1 for an afternoon of exploring fjords.

After a few days of lava fields and glaciers, the fjords were incredible.

We briefly stopped in the village of Djupivogur, which is situated at the mouth of Berufjorour fjord, on the south coast. The town has 361 inhabitants and dates back to the 16th century. The town has it's roots trading but it's biggest industry is now fishing and fish processing.

More pictures of the fjords...

Andey Island

Vattarnes Lighthouse

Our day ended in East Iceland at Egilsstadir Guest House. Originally a family farm, the house became a guest house in 1889. It is located on the shores of Lake Logurinn where the sister of the Loch Ness monster is rumored to live.

The back of the guest house, which is actually the entrance. The front faces the lake.

The front of the guest house. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant, another great meal of Arctic Char.

Ring Road Day 2-Vik to Hornafjorouur area...

Day 2 and we were on the road by 9:00 AM. Breakfast is served late around these parts (8:00-10:00) or are the locals just more relaxed than a group of uptight Americans on holiday? The sky was overcast and the temperature hovering in the low 60's but the relentless wind kept the "feels like" temp in the 50's. We were told we missed the sun and heat last week. Most Icelanders are glad to see clouds and the chance of rain as their lush green fields were beginning to turn brown.

Our first stop was in Vik, a town of approximately 300 inhabitants and an official trading post since 1887. We note limited eating establishments and are happy we stayed at the farmhouse for dinner.

Vik is on the coast, "about 40 minutes from last night's lodging and on the other side of the Dyrholaey cliffs. This is the view "from the other side," along the coast of Vik.

Back on the highway, lava fields stretched for miles, the ancient Eldraun Lava to be exact, from an eruption in 1783-84.

An interesting, gray moss covered the lava. The whole scene looked like one might imagine the surface of the moon.

Lava rocks along a dry glacial river bed.

Systrastapi (The sisters crag) was up next. Are you keeping up with me on the names?! A convent was located in this area from 1186 until the Reformation in the 16th century.

Systrafoss (The sisters falls) is located among the lush fields and rocky cliffs of Systrastapi. There are many shapes and sizes of waterfalls in Iceland but no uninteresting waterfalls!

We spent a bit of time hiking around Dverghamrar (Dwarf crags). The unusual, hexagonal columns are found when lava has flowed into water and abruptly cooled. We really haven't climbed so high in the photo below although it looks like I am hanging on to John for dear life!

Nupsstour was one of my favorite stops on the trip. The chapel is from 1850 and the farmhouse, 1900. According to the history of this farm, travel across the sands and rivers was extremely difficult before bridges were installed. Horseback was the only feasible mode of travel. The most skilled and experienced travellers in the area were respectfully known as "water men" and the horses known as "water horses". This was the home of the last well known water man, Hannes Jonsson (1880-1968). He carried the post (mail) between Sioa and Hornafjorour. The buildings in the below picture were used for storage. Three peaked roofs is a common theme in old and new Icelandic architecture.

This is the chapel on the property. Many farms in Iceland, new and old, have small, private chapels. Hannes Jonsson is buried behind the chapel with several family members. Behind the chapel, you can get a glimpse of the mountain Lomagnupur, which once rose from the sea and now rises from the sands. The a large section of the cliff collapsed in 1789.

Off and on before the trip, we discussed getting married in Iceland. In retrospect, we wish we had. We decided this chapel would have made a memorable wedding site so we held a "mock" wedding. Below is our "wedding" photo from the chapel with Will acting as the minister. Not sure I will wear my hiking rain jacket for the real occasion.

A view of the magnicient Skeioararjokull glacier comes into view behind Nupsvotn, a wide and multi-streamed glacial river. It is obvious that this river rises considerably during glacier and snow melt. In the photo below, a narrow blue line indicates where the river is flowing on this day in mid-July.

The photo below is of a bridge built in 1996 over converging glacial rivers. In 1974, a bridge was built in this area, one of several bridges that finally completed the ring road. Considerable volcanic activity in the Vatnajokull glacier destroyed this bridge and damaged several others in the area. The second photo shows metal from the original bridge, it was washed downstream. The metal was left as a sculpture and a picnic table added to make it a "roadside" site.

We stopped and hiked to the glacier in Skaftafell National Park. Unfortunately, we did not have time to hike on the many trails and enjoy the lush scenery in the park. This was the first up close glacier experienced we had in Iceland. If we had more time, we could have hired a guide for a 2.5 hour hike on the ice. You can see a small figure in red walking below.

Our last major stop for the day was Jokulsarlon Lake. The lake is located at the foot of a glacier and is best know for it's floating icebergs. The icebergs bump around the lake until they are reduced in size. The burgs then make their way to the short, 1500 meter river, which flows into the sea. A bridge was built over the river in 1967 but the bridge is in danger due to encroachment from the sea.

Finally we arrived at our night's lodging, Smurlabjorg. This is the largest farmhouse we will stay in, holding 90 persons. It was filled mostly with a tour group. Though the accommodations are fine, there were too many people and we would suggest any small group bypass this farmhouse for other lodging. The first pic below is the lodge, the second is us looking out our bedroom windows.

Ring Road Day 1-Reykjavik to Vik...

It's all about the journey and for the next 7 days we will be on a journey to discover Iceland. Roughly the size of Kentucky, Iceland is located in the Atlantic, just below the Arctic Circle. It is a country of 304,000 citizens of which 190,000 live in Reykjavik. The country is known for it's spectacular waterfalls, lava fields, glaciers, geysers, Icelandic horses, lamb, and beautiful people.

Day 1 began with an incredible European breakfast buffet although in a nod to the US, greasy sausage, bacon and eggs were available. Will had picked the car up by the time we checked out but we returned to the rental agency to add John as a driver. By 10:30 AM, we were driving through Reykjavik in search of Highway 1.

Our route will be a counter clockwise around the island, mostly on Highway 1, otherwise known as the ring road. Unlike most trips, we had done too little research on sights due to too many demands on the home front. I had a short must see list and Will had his Frommer's Iceland (I found my Lonely Plant Guide totally worthless). For the first few hours our faces were pressed against the car windows as we watched lava fields interspersed with lush green fields roll buy. At times we could see the Atlantic, often we were looking at tributary rivers and streams. Frequently we stopped to take photos.

Our first major stop was Seljalandsfoss, one of the higher waterfalls in Iceland. Even though it was not on our radar, it is quite visible from the road and we couldn't pass up exploring the first waterfall we saw. Icelanders consider this a lower volume waterfall, though we thought it impressive.

Not far from Seljalandsfoss, we stopped explore this roadside shed. The shed is more historic than useful these days, but was built for milk can pick up and served as a shelter to protect farmers and travelers as they waited on the bus from Vik to Reykjavik. Iceland once had a network of over 200 similar sheds, only 90 remain today.

Next stop, Rutshellir, a cave built into the side of a mountain and thought to be the first man-made dwelling in Iceland. Recent research indicates that an ancient forge was located here.

The incredible sights just kept coming! By late afternoon, we arrived in the town of Skogar and sight of Skogarfoss. Skogarfoss is another one of Iceland's highest (60 meter) waterfalls and we were totally wowed. Local legend has a treasure buried behind the falls but we chose not to look for it. The wind was blowing spray over a wide area and people returning from behind the falls were wet.

While exploring the falls, we came to the realization that Iceland does not try to separate tourists from the things they want to see. While a few signs post warnings, there are no ropes, walls or off limit zones. A person can exercise as much restraint or carelessness as they desire. We guess that in Iceland, a person is responsible for their own actions and lawyers and lawsuits do not play a large part of society.

If you look at the falls, you can see a double rainbow. At one point we saw a bit of a third rainbow. In the pic below, we are standing at the end of the rainbow thinking that exploring Iceland is the pot of gold.

To the right of the falls, a trail leads to the top. From the top, the trail continues on to a series of smaller but impressive falls and is part of a 5-6 day hut to hut hiking trail. We considered doing this hike in our early days of Iceland dreaming but based time, we had to make some choices and this fell off the list. But if we go back...

Our first night's lodging was located near Skogar in the Vik area. Our car and lodging were booked through Icelandic Farms Holidays with a request for ensuite facilities but we were open to the type of lodging. It was with some hesitation and surprise that we found a roadside sign pointing to a small, single story building with our lodging name, Drangshlio. We drove up the gravel drive and walked in the only door we could find.

A very pleasant young guy greeted us and checked us in. He spoke flawless English with an American accent. Later discussions would indicate that Drangshlio is his family farm and he was home on a 10 day holiday helping his parents out. His day job...a real estate attorney for the government, he lives in Reykjavik. The family home is the small building behind the lodging building (photo below).

It was dinner time, we still had some local sightseeing to do and we were very hungry. Our food options were eating at the farm or driving some 40 minute to find a town with a restaurant that may or may not be open. We decided to eat at the farmhouse.

We very quickly learned that eating in Iceland was going to be our major expense. We had 3-4 options on the menu and all cost between 4800 and 5000 kronur or $38-40 US per person. Three of us ordered Arctic Char and Will, a vegetarian, did the best he could with the limited offering of vegetables. Iceland is definitely not about the vegetable. The food was incredible! We dined on locally caught fish, an arugula salad with light vinagrette, grown in nearby greenhouses and locally grown potatoes. Everything was prepared to perfection.

Next we checked out our rooms. John and I were on the sun side of the building, Will and Kim on the shade side. The rooms were small and sparse but completely adequate for our needs. The only problem for us was the sun, it didn't really go down and the bright red curtains did an inadequate job of blocking it out.

We still had 3 hours of good sunlight after dinner so we decided to explore the Dyrholaey headland area located northeast of our B and B. After a bit of driving, we found a gravel road marked with a small sign designating road 22. Luckily the B and B host had given us the heads up on the road numbers or we would not have found it.

The gravel road took several twists and turns and finally dumped us in a parking lot with a view of the ocean and extraordinary rock cliffs. We took a short path to the beach, which is mostly smooth pebbles and fine rock. Caves and diagonal pillar rocks line the cliffs along the waterfront. Rock stacks, shaped by wind and water, are visible just out to sea.

After spending some time walking the beach, we drove to the Dyrholaey cliff, where we had spotted a lighthouse and rock arch. The Dyrholaey cliff is about 120 meters high. A lighthouse sits on top and an arch-shaped opening protruds into the sea. The arch is large enough for boats and small planes to pass through. The lighthouse was built in 1927 was the first landing lighthouse to be built in the country. The entire area is a nature sanctuary.

We returned to the B and B about 10:30 PM, tired after a long but exciting day. Unfortunately it was only 6:30 PM on our body clocks so sleep would be difficult.

Finally, Iceland...

What a difference a day makes! Left Charlotte around 8:30 AM and arrived at JFK in plenty of time for our 2:05 PM flight to Reykjavik. The weather was good and the flight mostly smooth. We were excited to finally be on the way.

With time to kill at JKF, we got in a good walk and a couple of hours of people watching. By 1:35 PM, we had boarded our flight. Our boarding passes indicated seats 9D and 9F. Clearly the airline had moved us from the cattle car to "economy comfort." Before the flight took off, we had been moved again...to first class.

Another smooth flight in progress. I was able to catch the photo below (sunset on the Atlantic) before cloud cover obscured our sight. Unfortunately, we missed seeing Greenland completely.

Around 11:30 PM, (7:30 PM Knoxville time),with the plane in full decent mode, the coastline of Iceland came into sight. We were glued to the window as the sky, clouds, sunset, mountains (just to the right of the sun), coast and water came together for a most incredible view.

We arrived at Keflavik International Airport on time. As we stepped off the plane, all passengers were directed through another security check. Iceland believes that US security standards are not rigid enough. We cleared through a system not unlike the ones in the US and moved quickly through immigration and customs.

A car service was waiting for us at passenger pick-up and we began a 45 minute drive to Reykjavik. Along the way, our driver noted points of interest and gave us a little history about Iceland. After an early start and a 5 hour flight, our hotel the Hilton Nordica, was the best point of interest.

From our hotel window, we could see the silhouette of Reykjavik against the coast. In the morning we would meet up with Will and Kim, pick up the rental car and begin our drive around the Ring Road. It has been 7 years since we first discussed Iceland and now, here we stand. Finally...Iceland.

The best laid plans...

It's day 1 of our Iceland adventure and we are in er...Charlotte, NC!? The weather just didn't cooperate today. Flash thunderstorms and high winds rolled through Charlotte just as our flight was scheduled to leave Knoxville. We were grounded for in Knoxville for 30 minutes before lift off and sat on the tarmac in Charlotte for another 10 minutes. To our dismay, these delays ate up 40 of the 45 minutes we had between flights. Luckily we were seated near the front and sprinted to the door as soon as it opened.

We hit Charlotte Concourse E running and flew to Concourse B-Gate 8 for our Boston departure. Will and Kim were ahead of us (faster runners) and grabbed the last 2 stand-by seats before the door closed. Yep, US Airways gave away the seats for all the weather delayed passengers to all the people who had been delayed on previous flights, there were probably 15 of us.

Angry and frustrated, we climbed in the airline service line and waited our turn to re-book our reservations. Getting upset with the ground crew was pointless so we bit our tongues as we considered our possible flights. As it turns out, getting to Iceland is not easy. After some options through Boston arriving at 6:30 AM Saturday morning or flying through Frankfurt (yes, Germany) and on to Reykjavik Friday night (20 + some hours of flying and several airports), we settled on JFK to Reykjavik with a Friday, 11:40 PM arrival. We will miss a day of sight-seeing in Reykjavik but will get some sleep before beginning our tour around the island begins on Saturday morning.

Iceland Trip, day 1 Knoxville to Charlotte. This is not a very exciting picture. Hope to have an ocean and island in our sights tomorrow!

Happy Father's Day Daddy...

You are absolutely the best!

We had a nice family gathering for Father's Day. Maybe not the place we would have chosen to celebrate a few years ago but lunch at the nursing home was not too bad and Mother enjoyed having us around!

Leslie and Daddy updating programs on their iPhones

Daddy reading a newspaper article on the iPhone while Carol looks on

On the menu, salad, baked "fried" chicken, corn souffle and blackberry cobbler

Flashing light and a loud thunder woke me around 5:30 this morning. I briefly considered crawling out of bed to take some photos but I was simply too tired so I lay in bed waiting for the storm to pass. The light show continued for an alarming period of time and I finally buried my head under the covers and fell back to sleep.

What's with the weather these days? Depending on your leanings, it could be global warming, divine punishment or some 100 year pattern but here in the south we are sweltering under high temps, miserable humidity and unrelenting thunder storms. As I drove out of the neighborhood this morning, I noticed the scene below, a causality of that 5:30 AM storm.

Rain gauge in our front yard (rain level from this morning)