tourism in iceland

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Blue lagoon today. Full post later. This signage NOW.“Please shower if your head, armpits, crotch or feet are on fire. WARNING: the soap is made of fire.”What’s your take???

  • Today we hit southern Iceland for more waterfalls, another museum, the black-sanded beaches, and some glacier tongue. Pictured above is my first Icelandic BFF. This guy, quite simply, ruled. And I think he would have married me to any of his granddaughters if one had been immediately at hand ...Skógafoss.From our hotel in Selfoss, we headed southeast along the coastline until we got to our first waterfall of the day, Skógafoss. The waterfall here pours over the cliffs of what was once the coastline of Iceland, until an eruption from the nearby Katla volcano changed all of that in 1918, extending the coastline up to 5 kilometers further out.Near the falls was the Skógar Folk Museum. Our guide was the gentleman above, Tordur Tómasson. Eighty-six years old, completely full of life and vigor and smart as a whip [he’s an honorary professor at the university in Reykjavík], he yanked us through the museum with crazy alacrity [“You go this way NOW!”]. And as many in our group pointed out, he “took quite a shining” to me. Always pulling me aside, pointing out little details about this and that, asking me over and over “Do you understand???”. Charming. I instantly felt like I’d known the guy forever. He was the old man I want to be RIGHT NOW.Part of the museum tour was some “period” buildings outside, including a small church. There, he sat at the pump organ and ran through a good four or five hymns which we all knew the words to and sang along. After everyone else poured out, we had a little chat, and he picked out some music for me to sight read on the organ. Loved it. That wrapped the tour, and we headed to the last building which contained a walk-through transportation museum and a little café where we were to lunch. Tordur insisted that I sign the guest book, which I did, and later he tracked me down and handed me a postcard with his name and address and a little note.When we left, I couldn’t help but crane my neck looking to see if I could spot him one last time. It really was like I’d found a long forgotten best friend. Dude was good people, good stock. Completely made my day...Some of the period buildings outside the museum(s):Vík Beach.Even further southeast is the town of Vík [picked up a slammin’ green wool sweater there], where we head down to the black sand beach.Glacier Tongue.We then travel northwesterly, where we arrive at the Hit the airport in Akureyri, destined for Reykjavíc. Once arrived, piled back into the bus [driven overnight to Reykjavíc by our faithful driver, Magnus] and headed east to traipse around the the countryside outside the town of Selfoss. Here’s a fairly decent snap of that honking church in Reykjavíc, from a distance.Sheep Sorting.This happens once a year in Iceland, and today it was happening in the Selfoss area [sheep sorting has already occurred in most other areas of Iceland for this year]. Now this is a big deal in these parts. There are millions of sheep in Iceland, and most of the year they are rambling around the highlands on their own, snacking on succulent grasses and getting all woolied up. One day a year, all of the local owners of the sheep band together and herd them all into one location for sorting [then sheering, and/or food processing]. This has become quite a significant tradition for the locals, where *everyone* turns out at the crack of dawn to witness the event. Sorting, drinking, and singing occur for hours on end. Very reminiscent of an autumn fair coming to town, for you Georgia small-town-ers [I calls ‘em like I knows ‘em].Don’t get too attached to that pretty pony [its name is Sally, and it LOVES you]. It just might be eaten by the locals one day ... NEVER FORGET.Great Geysir.Next up is the Haukadalur Valley, home of 30+ geysers, including the [use-to-be] Great Geysir [GG]. GG was the first geyser noted in recorded history [thus the worldwide adoption of the term geyser from the Icelandic Geysir], gushing boiling water into the air at up to 60 meters. In recent years, however, GG has become nigh dormant, with one eruption a day being quite the exception. Only a few meters away is another, smaller geyser named Strokkur, which is very active, erupting reliably every 2-10 minutes [peaking at over 20 meters]. Here’s some Strokkur action [near and far]:Gullfoss [Golden Falls].A bit south of geyserland is Gullfoss, a waterfall to rival the Niagara. Its triple tier tied with a final plunge into the river below [which flows perpendicular to the falls] allows for some astonishing visuals. Drink up.[Sally the pony’s love made that rainbow possible. NEVER FORGET.]No Man’s Land.The southern part of Iceland also has scars from the battle between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. There’s one tract of land, in fact, that is slowly falling victim to this eon-ic struggle. Called “No Man’s Land”, it’s an island within land, per se, trapped between the two plates. And as each plate moves closer to the other [both approaching at a rate of 3/4” per year, for a collective 1.5” PER YEAR], this island is slowly being crushed down into oblivion. We only had time to hit the North American plate today [aka The Freedom Plate], and here are some of the resulting camera clicks:The first photo shows No Man’s Land from atop the plate. The remaining photos show the gap between the plate and No Man’s Land.Oh Those Heavenly Road Signs.Two of my favorites that I haven’t had a chance to actually permanalize with my camera yet. Sure you can easily figure what they mean, but the fun is in what they *shouldn’t* mean [Don’t be afraid to use your nails, boys!].What’s your take???
  • Short and sweet today. We travelled to Húsavík, visited a church and a museum there, travelled back to Akureyri for 30 minutes of shopping and some dinner, and that was that. Here comes the filler...Morning.