CaliforniaGirl09
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2009
Love the report (as usual!) 
Trip Report! ABD Iceland Saga of the Midnight Sun 9/18 COMPLETE!! - Day 7 River Rafting & Farewell
- Thread starter sayhello
- Start date
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
Day 3 – I Only Have Ice for You
Today was one of the few early days we had (“early” being 7:30am. I was grateful that was the earliest meeting time we had!) We brought our luggage down to the lobby a bit earlier than that, since there were no porters, and the Guides wanted time to load our luggage into the motorcoach (with lots of help from some Adventurers!)
As we drove along, heading towards the Southern part of Iceland, we saw a lot of crazy geography, like these geothermal steam spouts just coming out of the ground. A *lot* of Iceland has geothermal water under it, so this isn’t that uncommon.
Our first stop of the day was at Seljalandsfoss, a really cool waterfall with a cave behind it, so you can actually walk behind it. Everybody who goes there pretty much posts a picture from inside the cave, showing “the backside of water”. This was another case of too many people, not enough bathrooms. It was our first stop after breakfast, and there were only a few porta-potties, and TONS of people (not just our group) all waiting in line for them. By the time I got in and out of the potty, I found that the Guides weren’t standing at any of the vantage spots for the typical photo spots anymore, they’d already moved on. I did stop a lot to take my own photos, too, so I really don’t blame anyone for this besides the lack of bathrooms.
It’s a really powerful waterfall, and you *do* get really close to it, so waterproof gear is a must. I’ve had this waterproof jacket for years (I did buy another one, but mostly wore this one) but I also purchased a pair of waterproof pants on sale at Eddie Bauer, and they were worth every penny. Unless you enjoy getting soaked to the skin!
I finally caught up with Drew off to the other side of the waterfall, and he got some photos of me with, if not the backside of water, at least the side of the waterfall.
Drew Victorious!
Eventually, we all made our way back to the parking lot. Drew had let us know that the spring by the side of the parking lot was fresh glacial water and a great spot to refill our water bottles. So a few of us gathered up some bottles and headed down to fill them up. It was pretty cold dipping your hands into the water to get the bottles filled, but the water was delicious and *so* worth it!
After that, we headed out towards Skaftafell. According to the itinerary, we were supposed to head to the Skaftafell Visitors Center Cafeteria for lunch. But instead, we hit the Ice Cave Restaurant. Drew said the Vistitors Center’s Cafeteria was just not good, so they’d decided to change to this place. It was in a pretty huge rest-stop type area outside the city of Vik. We were turned free for a while to shop at the humongous IceWear store there, hit the bathrooms, and have lunch (included) at the Cafeteria-style restaurant. After hitting the bathroom again, I checked out the IceWear store. I had found that the only pants (besides jeans) that were really working for me on this trip were the rain-resistant Columbia pants someone had suggested for me *right* before the trip. They were fabulous. I have to admit, the fleece-lined Eddie Bauer pants I’d bought were a) a bit too warm and b) stretched out so badly after a day of walking around that they were sliding down on me and dragging on the ground! I really didn’t think people would appreciate me wearing the same pair of technical pants for the entire trip, so I figured I’d take the chance and see if I could find any IceWear technical pants that fit me. I found the perfect pair, but then realized I’d left the 10% off coupon the Guides had given us on the bus! Fortunately, one of our folks gave me theirs, and I was able to purchase my nice IceWear pants at a decent price. “Crisis” (OK, not really!) averted!
I then went to the Restaurant for lunch. They had all sorts of things for lunch. After way too much deliberation, I decided on meat soup and a side of sweet potatoes, along with some beer (also on the Mouse!) The portions were HUGE, and the food was tasty.
Finally, it was time to head out to the motorcoach and head on to our next stop, Skaftafellsstofa, or the Skaftafell Visitor Center at Vatnajökull National Park. This is where the majority of our group was to get geared up for the Glacier hike. As we were heading there, Drew described what was coming up, and fairly strongly, a couple of times, stressed that some people had complained to him that the hike *up to* the Glacier had hurt their backs. I don’t think he wanted to tell anyone they shouldn’t do the hike, but he really wanted people to understand that the approach to the Glacier was fairly steep and gravelly, and could cause problems. He and Stebbi described an alternate hike that Stebbi would be leading out to the foot of a different Glacier. It honestly sounded fun to me. And I figured, I’d managed to ride an Icelandic horse the day before without hurting my back; I wasn’t sure it was worth tempting fate 2 days in a row to do the Glacier hike. So I and a few others opted to do the alternate hike.
I took this photo from the motorcoach as we were approaching Skaftafell. Stebbi seemed pretty excited, because, apparently, this peak, the highest in Iceland, is almost always shrouded in clouds, and there it was for us to see, peeking through.
Glacier!
Here we are!
Continued in next post.
Today was one of the few early days we had (“early” being 7:30am. I was grateful that was the earliest meeting time we had!) We brought our luggage down to the lobby a bit earlier than that, since there were no porters, and the Guides wanted time to load our luggage into the motorcoach (with lots of help from some Adventurers!)
As we drove along, heading towards the Southern part of Iceland, we saw a lot of crazy geography, like these geothermal steam spouts just coming out of the ground. A *lot* of Iceland has geothermal water under it, so this isn’t that uncommon.
Our first stop of the day was at Seljalandsfoss, a really cool waterfall with a cave behind it, so you can actually walk behind it. Everybody who goes there pretty much posts a picture from inside the cave, showing “the backside of water”. This was another case of too many people, not enough bathrooms. It was our first stop after breakfast, and there were only a few porta-potties, and TONS of people (not just our group) all waiting in line for them. By the time I got in and out of the potty, I found that the Guides weren’t standing at any of the vantage spots for the typical photo spots anymore, they’d already moved on. I did stop a lot to take my own photos, too, so I really don’t blame anyone for this besides the lack of bathrooms.
It’s a really powerful waterfall, and you *do* get really close to it, so waterproof gear is a must. I’ve had this waterproof jacket for years (I did buy another one, but mostly wore this one) but I also purchased a pair of waterproof pants on sale at Eddie Bauer, and they were worth every penny. Unless you enjoy getting soaked to the skin!
I finally caught up with Drew off to the other side of the waterfall, and he got some photos of me with, if not the backside of water, at least the side of the waterfall.
Drew Victorious!
Eventually, we all made our way back to the parking lot. Drew had let us know that the spring by the side of the parking lot was fresh glacial water and a great spot to refill our water bottles. So a few of us gathered up some bottles and headed down to fill them up. It was pretty cold dipping your hands into the water to get the bottles filled, but the water was delicious and *so* worth it!
After that, we headed out towards Skaftafell. According to the itinerary, we were supposed to head to the Skaftafell Visitors Center Cafeteria for lunch. But instead, we hit the Ice Cave Restaurant. Drew said the Vistitors Center’s Cafeteria was just not good, so they’d decided to change to this place. It was in a pretty huge rest-stop type area outside the city of Vik. We were turned free for a while to shop at the humongous IceWear store there, hit the bathrooms, and have lunch (included) at the Cafeteria-style restaurant. After hitting the bathroom again, I checked out the IceWear store. I had found that the only pants (besides jeans) that were really working for me on this trip were the rain-resistant Columbia pants someone had suggested for me *right* before the trip. They were fabulous. I have to admit, the fleece-lined Eddie Bauer pants I’d bought were a) a bit too warm and b) stretched out so badly after a day of walking around that they were sliding down on me and dragging on the ground! I really didn’t think people would appreciate me wearing the same pair of technical pants for the entire trip, so I figured I’d take the chance and see if I could find any IceWear technical pants that fit me. I found the perfect pair, but then realized I’d left the 10% off coupon the Guides had given us on the bus! Fortunately, one of our folks gave me theirs, and I was able to purchase my nice IceWear pants at a decent price. “Crisis” (OK, not really!) averted!
I then went to the Restaurant for lunch. They had all sorts of things for lunch. After way too much deliberation, I decided on meat soup and a side of sweet potatoes, along with some beer (also on the Mouse!) The portions were HUGE, and the food was tasty.
Finally, it was time to head out to the motorcoach and head on to our next stop, Skaftafellsstofa, or the Skaftafell Visitor Center at Vatnajökull National Park. This is where the majority of our group was to get geared up for the Glacier hike. As we were heading there, Drew described what was coming up, and fairly strongly, a couple of times, stressed that some people had complained to him that the hike *up to* the Glacier had hurt their backs. I don’t think he wanted to tell anyone they shouldn’t do the hike, but he really wanted people to understand that the approach to the Glacier was fairly steep and gravelly, and could cause problems. He and Stebbi described an alternate hike that Stebbi would be leading out to the foot of a different Glacier. It honestly sounded fun to me. And I figured, I’d managed to ride an Icelandic horse the day before without hurting my back; I wasn’t sure it was worth tempting fate 2 days in a row to do the Glacier hike. So I and a few others opted to do the alternate hike.
I took this photo from the motorcoach as we were approaching Skaftafell. Stebbi seemed pretty excited, because, apparently, this peak, the highest in Iceland, is almost always shrouded in clouds, and there it was for us to see, peeking through.
Glacier!
Here we are!
Continued in next post.
Last edited:
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
This was where everyone who was doing the Glacier hike got fitted out for crampons. The folks there checked out everyone’s hiking boots, and if they didn’t think they were sufficient for the crampons, they provided the person with “rental” boots.
Once all the Glacier hikers got kitted out, they got back on the motorcoach to drive over to the Glacier they’d be hiking. Those of us doing the alternate hike headed out from the parking lot to another Glacier walking distance from there.
It was a really pleasant walk. The skies were blue, and it was relatively warm, and it was just a really nice area.
This is part of the birch forest near the base of the mountains. The trees are only like 3 feet high (no-one is getting lost in this forest) but since so much of Iceland has been deforested over the years, they are very proud of the forests they are re-establishing.
The path out to the Glacier.
Group Glacier Selfie!
I don’t take many Selfies myself, because I am *so* bad at it, but this one turned out not too bad!
We didn’t walk all the way out to the Glacier, but we got pretty close. It was very cool looking!
We then turned around and headed back to the Visitor’s Center to wait for the Motorcoach to eventually take us to meet the folks coming off of their Glacier hike. But we had at least an hour or so to kill, so Stebbi took us into the Cafeteria to buy us Hot Chocolates.
So here I have to stop for a bit, and talk about something on this trip that I hadn’t really seen since my first ABD: finding out that there was someone on this trip that I really, truly did not like. I’ve found other people annoying at times (heck, I’m *sure* some people have found me annoying, too!) or folks who were a bit full of themselves. But while sitting in that cafeteria waiting for the motorcoach, I discovered that I *really* disliked a woman on this trip. I hope this doesn’t come off as offensive to anyone. This woman, I’ll call her Mary (honestly not her name) made sure we all knew, by constantly mentioning it over and over again, that she was in treatment for cancer of some sort (she never specified). So you would think that would make us all sympathetic towards her. Unfortunately, not. It turned out she was opinionated and rude and downright mean. She seemed to believe that she was considerably “woke”, far more than any of us mere mortals, and made sure we all knew that her opinions were the only correct ones because she knew they were.
What occurred at the Visitor’s center was that the sweet young lady who had not ridden horses the day before because she’d recently injured her back also did not go on the Glacier hike, so she was in the alternate hike group (I’ll call her Sue). Mary had decided not to do either walk, and just hung out in the Cafeteria the whole time. So, anyways, after we got our Hot Chocolate, we all congregated at one of the tables. Sue was talking about some work she was doing, I believe with people with disabilities, and mentioned how much good was coming from the treatments they were getting from some people from a particular foreign country. Mary interrupted her quite abruptly and basically told her she was morally depraved if she accepted any sort of help or anything from those people because *she*, Mary, didn’t agree with their politics. And she kept saying this over and over again, stopping poor Sue from continuing with her story.
A couple of us tried to support Sue, saying that the people who were helping had nothing to do with the politics, but Mary insisted we were all wrong, and continued to berate Sue about this. In an extremely rude fashion. Sue was FAR more tolerant and nice to Mary than I ever would have been. Mary continued to push her opinions and berate Sue, and then tried to engage *me* in the argument. I looked right at Mary and told her I was *NOT* going to have that argument while on vacation! I and some others eventually had to leave the table because it got so uncomfortable and was just so awful.
So the one good thing about the large number of people on this trip turned out to be that it was relatively easy to ignore and avoid Mary for the rest of the trip. Which, fortunately, I mostly managed to do. I guess I’ve been lucky to only have something like this occur twice out of ten trips.
Anyways, back to our lovely day!
Eventually, we headed out to the mortorcoach, and drove over to the area where we’d pick up the Glacier hikers. We waited there a *long* time. You could tell Stebbi was getting a bit concerned, as we still had to get to Jökulsárlón for our Glacial Lagoon trip. We waited a good half hour or so, but eventually they all showed up, looking tired but satisfied! Once everyone was onboard, we headed out towards Jökulsárlón.
As we got closer, we approached a bridge, and Drew said “when I say so, look out to your left”. And there it was. Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon. There were just all these icebergs bobbing around in the water. It was crazy and amazing!
We split up into 2 groups because we wouldn’t all fit on one boat. I got on the first boat. It wasn’t just us; there were a few other people who also were on the boat with us. It was a Duck boat. We were given those big orange life vests to wear (like you have on cruise ships). We had to sit down while the boat drove over to the entry point for the Lagoon, and then floated off.
Continued in next post.
Once all the Glacier hikers got kitted out, they got back on the motorcoach to drive over to the Glacier they’d be hiking. Those of us doing the alternate hike headed out from the parking lot to another Glacier walking distance from there.
It was a really pleasant walk. The skies were blue, and it was relatively warm, and it was just a really nice area.
This is part of the birch forest near the base of the mountains. The trees are only like 3 feet high (no-one is getting lost in this forest) but since so much of Iceland has been deforested over the years, they are very proud of the forests they are re-establishing.
The path out to the Glacier.
Group Glacier Selfie!
I don’t take many Selfies myself, because I am *so* bad at it, but this one turned out not too bad!
We didn’t walk all the way out to the Glacier, but we got pretty close. It was very cool looking!
We then turned around and headed back to the Visitor’s Center to wait for the Motorcoach to eventually take us to meet the folks coming off of their Glacier hike. But we had at least an hour or so to kill, so Stebbi took us into the Cafeteria to buy us Hot Chocolates.
So here I have to stop for a bit, and talk about something on this trip that I hadn’t really seen since my first ABD: finding out that there was someone on this trip that I really, truly did not like. I’ve found other people annoying at times (heck, I’m *sure* some people have found me annoying, too!) or folks who were a bit full of themselves. But while sitting in that cafeteria waiting for the motorcoach, I discovered that I *really* disliked a woman on this trip. I hope this doesn’t come off as offensive to anyone. This woman, I’ll call her Mary (honestly not her name) made sure we all knew, by constantly mentioning it over and over again, that she was in treatment for cancer of some sort (she never specified). So you would think that would make us all sympathetic towards her. Unfortunately, not. It turned out she was opinionated and rude and downright mean. She seemed to believe that she was considerably “woke”, far more than any of us mere mortals, and made sure we all knew that her opinions were the only correct ones because she knew they were.
What occurred at the Visitor’s center was that the sweet young lady who had not ridden horses the day before because she’d recently injured her back also did not go on the Glacier hike, so she was in the alternate hike group (I’ll call her Sue). Mary had decided not to do either walk, and just hung out in the Cafeteria the whole time. So, anyways, after we got our Hot Chocolate, we all congregated at one of the tables. Sue was talking about some work she was doing, I believe with people with disabilities, and mentioned how much good was coming from the treatments they were getting from some people from a particular foreign country. Mary interrupted her quite abruptly and basically told her she was morally depraved if she accepted any sort of help or anything from those people because *she*, Mary, didn’t agree with their politics. And she kept saying this over and over again, stopping poor Sue from continuing with her story.
A couple of us tried to support Sue, saying that the people who were helping had nothing to do with the politics, but Mary insisted we were all wrong, and continued to berate Sue about this. In an extremely rude fashion. Sue was FAR more tolerant and nice to Mary than I ever would have been. Mary continued to push her opinions and berate Sue, and then tried to engage *me* in the argument. I looked right at Mary and told her I was *NOT* going to have that argument while on vacation! I and some others eventually had to leave the table because it got so uncomfortable and was just so awful.
So the one good thing about the large number of people on this trip turned out to be that it was relatively easy to ignore and avoid Mary for the rest of the trip. Which, fortunately, I mostly managed to do. I guess I’ve been lucky to only have something like this occur twice out of ten trips.
Anyways, back to our lovely day!
Eventually, we headed out to the mortorcoach, and drove over to the area where we’d pick up the Glacier hikers. We waited there a *long* time. You could tell Stebbi was getting a bit concerned, as we still had to get to Jökulsárlón for our Glacial Lagoon trip. We waited a good half hour or so, but eventually they all showed up, looking tired but satisfied! Once everyone was onboard, we headed out towards Jökulsárlón.
As we got closer, we approached a bridge, and Drew said “when I say so, look out to your left”. And there it was. Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon. There were just all these icebergs bobbing around in the water. It was crazy and amazing!
We split up into 2 groups because we wouldn’t all fit on one boat. I got on the first boat. It wasn’t just us; there were a few other people who also were on the boat with us. It was a Duck boat. We were given those big orange life vests to wear (like you have on cruise ships). We had to sit down while the boat drove over to the entry point for the Lagoon, and then floated off.
Continued in next post.
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
It was honestly surreal. I’d seen pictures, I’d heard about this place, but none of it prepared me for the reality of a HUGE lagoon filled with an amazing variety of icebergs!! They motored us around, past all sorts of different ice formations, of varying sizes and colors. We got fairly close to some of them. The bluer the iceberg is, the “newer” it is, as the blue color fades as the iceberg meets the air.
Me and Drew
The Captain of our boat showed us a piece of an iceberg.
He passed it around for us to hold. That thing was *heavy*. Someone wanted a pic of me holding it over my head, and I totally needed help to get it up there!
We also got a chance to taste the iceberg ice. Um, it was icy!
We were out there for about a half an hour, and it was just an amazing time.
Continued in next post
Me and Drew
The Captain of our boat showed us a piece of an iceberg.
He passed it around for us to hold. That thing was *heavy*. Someone wanted a pic of me holding it over my head, and I totally needed help to get it up there!
We also got a chance to taste the iceberg ice. Um, it was icy!
We were out there for about a half an hour, and it was just an amazing time.
Continued in next post
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
I thought this looked like a polar bear kissing a dolphin!
By the time we got back to shore, the sun was sinking a bit behind the glacier.
After the REALLY long wait for the only 3 working toilets at the place, we finally piled back into the motorcoach. At this point, Drew and Stebbi said they had something special for us. We pretty much just drove across the street from the Lagoon, and parked just above the black sand Diamond Beach. It’s called that because pulverized pieces of iceberg end up on the beach after making their way down the lagoon and through the narrow neck to the beach. They lay on the black sand and sparkle like diamonds. It’s really quite pretty!
Drew took out some sparklers and lit them. He told us two of our number were celebrating Birthdays, and we were there to celebrate. Unfortunately, by the time he handed the sparklers to the Birthday boys, they had burned out, but it was the thought that counts.
Drew then pulled out a bottle of Brennivín, which they call “Black Death” in Iceland. The label is black, and apparently originally had a skull on it in a government attempt to get people to stop drinking it so much. It only made it more popular. It’s a clear aquavit spirit, and was actually really good, with a slight anise flavor to it. We each had a small glass of it, and toasted the Birthday Boys and our wonderful trip so far.
We then headed back up to the motorcoach, and we were off to dinner.
Continued in the next post.
By the time we got back to shore, the sun was sinking a bit behind the glacier.
After the REALLY long wait for the only 3 working toilets at the place, we finally piled back into the motorcoach. At this point, Drew and Stebbi said they had something special for us. We pretty much just drove across the street from the Lagoon, and parked just above the black sand Diamond Beach. It’s called that because pulverized pieces of iceberg end up on the beach after making their way down the lagoon and through the narrow neck to the beach. They lay on the black sand and sparkle like diamonds. It’s really quite pretty!
Drew took out some sparklers and lit them. He told us two of our number were celebrating Birthdays, and we were there to celebrate. Unfortunately, by the time he handed the sparklers to the Birthday boys, they had burned out, but it was the thought that counts.
Drew then pulled out a bottle of Brennivín, which they call “Black Death” in Iceland. The label is black, and apparently originally had a skull on it in a government attempt to get people to stop drinking it so much. It only made it more popular. It’s a clear aquavit spirit, and was actually really good, with a slight anise flavor to it. We each had a small glass of it, and toasted the Birthday Boys and our wonderful trip so far.
We then headed back up to the motorcoach, and we were off to dinner.
Continued in the next post.
Last edited:
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
Along the way back towards Vik, we passed some very cool views of glaciers.
There was a story about a boy & girl troll who turned to stone while kissing that went with this picture.
Finally, around 8pm, we made it to the very cool-looking Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon, where we were to have our dinner.
It was an interesting-looking place, but the chairs they had were so low, you almost had to fall into them. I kind of dreaded having to get out of them later.
It took a REALLY long time to get served here, but the food was good.
The cool chandelier that hung behind where we ate.
Hidden Mickey!
It was close to 9:30pm by the time we left. Since the restaurant was in a hotel, there were actually plenty of bathrooms for us to use before heading out for the 2-hour drive back to the Icelandair Hotel Vik, where we would be spending the night before heading out the next morning.
Continued in next post.
There was a story about a boy & girl troll who turned to stone while kissing that went with this picture.
Finally, around 8pm, we made it to the very cool-looking Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon, where we were to have our dinner.
It was an interesting-looking place, but the chairs they had were so low, you almost had to fall into them. I kind of dreaded having to get out of them later.
It took a REALLY long time to get served here, but the food was good.
The cool chandelier that hung behind where we ate.
Hidden Mickey!
It was close to 9:30pm by the time we left. Since the restaurant was in a hotel, there were actually plenty of bathrooms for us to use before heading out for the 2-hour drive back to the Icelandair Hotel Vik, where we would be spending the night before heading out the next morning.
Continued in next post.
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
It was kind of too bad we were there so briefly, as it was actually the nicest room of the trip, although it was *very* warm in this room. Fortunately, @kristilew had made a suggestion that maybe I could take the duvet out of the cover (as there were no sheets, just the duvet) and sleep with just the duvet cover. I did this, and it actually worked perfectly.
The only thing I didn’t like about this room was the miniscule bedside tables. They were the small logs you see on either side of the bed, but they both had large lamps on them, which took up most of the top and really left very little space for things like an alarm clock and such.
But it *did* have a really nice bathroom, with a real shower!
And so off to bed it was, as it was quite late, and we had to get going the next morning to head back to Reykjavik for our flight North to Akureyri!
Coming up next: Day 4: Whale of a Time
The only thing I didn’t like about this room was the miniscule bedside tables. They were the small logs you see on either side of the bed, but they both had large lamps on them, which took up most of the top and really left very little space for things like an alarm clock and such.
But it *did* have a really nice bathroom, with a real shower!
And so off to bed it was, as it was quite late, and we had to get going the next morning to head back to Reykjavik for our flight North to Akureyri!
Coming up next: Day 4: Whale of a Time
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DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
Cousin Orville
Inventor of Air Cooling
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2000
Beautiful photos. I really enjoyed the few days we spend in Iceland on our cruise and wouldn't mind returning. Looking forward to seeing what you thought of Akureyri.
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
Thanks!
It's my pleasure to share!This was "Mary's" first ABD (she was with her brother who was on his 3rd ABD. He was kind of odd, but innocuous). Scary to think there's more than one person like that out there, taking ABDs!
Thanks!
I felt the same after my short stop-over. It definitely deserves a longer look! I won't spoil anything, *but* Stebbi did tell us that everything is 3 times better in the North! Sayhello
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
So glad you're enjoying my report! I guess you'll just have to go back, like I did!
Thanks! Even though it has some difficulties, this *is* an excellent itinerary!Awesome photos! I have tried to talk myself out of this ABD but you are selling it so well.
Sorry to hear you had a downer on the trip but thought you handled the situation well. I probably would have engaged and regretted it
I've learned the hard way not to engage folks like that. Although if she'd been that nasty to me, I might have engaged her, too!
Sayhello
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
Thanks!
Well, seeing them in Iceland is a breeze compared to what you went through to see yours in Patagonia! Sayhello
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
Thanks!
Iceland *is* an amazing place. You just really need to know what you're getting yourself into when you go there, more than most places I've been.Sayhello
sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
Day 4 – Whale of a Time
The next morning, we had a relatively early call, so that we could get all our luggage down to the lobby for loading into the bus, and head out for the 2-hour drive from Vik back to Reykjavik to catch our flight North to Akureyri. A couple of us were questioning why we didn’t just spend the night at the Fosshotel rather than continuing the long drive the night before, but when Drew mentioned that would mean we’d have had to have gotten up at least 2 hours earlier that morning to make the flight, we got it. Drew said they think the itinerary should be changed to spend the night in the south and spend another day there, spreading out the activities down there. We’ll see if ABD makes any changes to the itinerary.
This is the view from my hotel room, which of course I couldn’t see when we arrived the night before. I *would* really have loved to have spent a bit more time in Vik.
It was an uneventful drive back along the road to Reykjavik. We eventually arrived at the small domestic airport in town. Check-in was pretty casual. As far as I can tell, they just weighed all the suitcases together as a group, and no-one had any issues with weight. And it’s a testament to how casual things were (and how half-asleep I still was) that it wasn’t until I was walking up to the plane on the tarmac that I realized I still had my rolling carry-on with me that was no way in heck going to fit in the overhead on this plane. I had to get out of line and go up to Drew and say “Um, I think I messed up, but I should have checked this!” It was no problem, they took it and gate checked it (although I’m not sure if that’s the right term, since we’d already passed the gate!) I just thought it was funny that no-one noticed or said anything!
We weren’t the only people on the plane, but we did take up a good chunk of it!
Once we arrived in Akureyri, we claimed our luggage, and Drew and Stebbi lugged it out to our motorcoach. And then we were off! We could already tell that the weather was much nicer in the North (in fact, according to Stebbi, everything is three times better in the North!)
After a not-too-long drive through the town and out towards the fjord, we found ourselves at the Ekta Fiskur fish factory. Drew had told us that our host there looked like Pierce Brosnan. He actually did!
Things started out with a couple of competitions between Drew and Stebbi, with our host “officiating”. Poor Drew and Stebbi! What they go through for our entertainment! There was an odd rubber-band competition, a boot-tossing contest, and they both ended up doing a Baywatch-type re-creation, only the water had to be *freezing*!! Oi!
Continued in next post.
The next morning, we had a relatively early call, so that we could get all our luggage down to the lobby for loading into the bus, and head out for the 2-hour drive from Vik back to Reykjavik to catch our flight North to Akureyri. A couple of us were questioning why we didn’t just spend the night at the Fosshotel rather than continuing the long drive the night before, but when Drew mentioned that would mean we’d have had to have gotten up at least 2 hours earlier that morning to make the flight, we got it. Drew said they think the itinerary should be changed to spend the night in the south and spend another day there, spreading out the activities down there. We’ll see if ABD makes any changes to the itinerary.
This is the view from my hotel room, which of course I couldn’t see when we arrived the night before. I *would* really have loved to have spent a bit more time in Vik.
It was an uneventful drive back along the road to Reykjavik. We eventually arrived at the small domestic airport in town. Check-in was pretty casual. As far as I can tell, they just weighed all the suitcases together as a group, and no-one had any issues with weight. And it’s a testament to how casual things were (and how half-asleep I still was) that it wasn’t until I was walking up to the plane on the tarmac that I realized I still had my rolling carry-on with me that was no way in heck going to fit in the overhead on this plane. I had to get out of line and go up to Drew and say “Um, I think I messed up, but I should have checked this!” It was no problem, they took it and gate checked it (although I’m not sure if that’s the right term, since we’d already passed the gate!) I just thought it was funny that no-one noticed or said anything!
We weren’t the only people on the plane, but we did take up a good chunk of it!
Once we arrived in Akureyri, we claimed our luggage, and Drew and Stebbi lugged it out to our motorcoach. And then we were off! We could already tell that the weather was much nicer in the North (in fact, according to Stebbi, everything is three times better in the North!)
After a not-too-long drive through the town and out towards the fjord, we found ourselves at the Ekta Fiskur fish factory. Drew had told us that our host there looked like Pierce Brosnan. He actually did!
Things started out with a couple of competitions between Drew and Stebbi, with our host “officiating”. Poor Drew and Stebbi! What they go through for our entertainment! There was an odd rubber-band competition, a boot-tossing contest, and they both ended up doing a Baywatch-type re-creation, only the water had to be *freezing*!! Oi!
Continued in next post.
Last edited:
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Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
After that, we were given some “home-made” booze to toast with.
It wasn’t too bad, but I really wouldn’t want more than a shot of it!
Then we headed inside for a fish gutting demonstration.
It was interesting, but a bit on the gross side, especially when our host put one of the eyes between his teeth and pushed it up into @abbyjt 's and my face, pretending he wanted us to eat it. No way!! I suppose this goes over great with kids, but I found it weird and pretty disgusting.
We then tried Rotten shark. We were given the explanation about why the shark was eaten rotten (it was the only way to get the toxic urea out of the fish). Iceland is definitely a culture that doesn’t let anything go to waste. It wasn’t as horrid as it was built up to be, but we were only given a tiny morsel of it. I imagine if you got a good-sized chunk of it, it’d be pretty nasty.
We got certificates showing that we’d joined the “Rotten Shark Club of Hauganes”.
After that, we headed over to the restaurant that our host ran for lunch.
It was a rather unmemorable buffet. I got something in place of what I believe was lasagna, which I couldn’t eat, but I really can’t even remember what it was.
The weather at this point was a bit bi-polar again. Things would alternate between sunny and beautiful and cloudy and a bit drizzly.
This was the view from the patio of the restaurant.
After lunch, we suited up in protective jumpsuits that I imagine were for buoyancy as well as to help with the cold on deck of the Whale watching boat, which was our next destination on the Eyjafjörður fjord.
I’m not sure these really qualified as catsuits, but Drew & Stebbi took photos of us in “Charlie’s Angels” poses.
Again, it was sunny for part of the whale watch, and drizzly and rainy for part of it, but the jumpsuits did a good job of keeping us mostly dry. It was a challenge keeping my camera dry!
This other whale-watching boat had a close encounter with a whale!
Ooo! There’s a bit of a whale, *way* out there!
Continued in the next post.
It wasn’t too bad, but I really wouldn’t want more than a shot of it!
Then we headed inside for a fish gutting demonstration.
It was interesting, but a bit on the gross side, especially when our host put one of the eyes between his teeth and pushed it up into @abbyjt 's and my face, pretending he wanted us to eat it. No way!! I suppose this goes over great with kids, but I found it weird and pretty disgusting.
We then tried Rotten shark. We were given the explanation about why the shark was eaten rotten (it was the only way to get the toxic urea out of the fish). Iceland is definitely a culture that doesn’t let anything go to waste. It wasn’t as horrid as it was built up to be, but we were only given a tiny morsel of it. I imagine if you got a good-sized chunk of it, it’d be pretty nasty.
We got certificates showing that we’d joined the “Rotten Shark Club of Hauganes”.
After that, we headed over to the restaurant that our host ran for lunch.
It was a rather unmemorable buffet. I got something in place of what I believe was lasagna, which I couldn’t eat, but I really can’t even remember what it was.
The weather at this point was a bit bi-polar again. Things would alternate between sunny and beautiful and cloudy and a bit drizzly.
This was the view from the patio of the restaurant.
After lunch, we suited up in protective jumpsuits that I imagine were for buoyancy as well as to help with the cold on deck of the Whale watching boat, which was our next destination on the Eyjafjörður fjord.
I’m not sure these really qualified as catsuits, but Drew & Stebbi took photos of us in “Charlie’s Angels” poses.
Again, it was sunny for part of the whale watch, and drizzly and rainy for part of it, but the jumpsuits did a good job of keeping us mostly dry. It was a challenge keeping my camera dry!
This other whale-watching boat had a close encounter with a whale!
Ooo! There’s a bit of a whale, *way* out there!
Continued in the next post.
Last edited:
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Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
