If Road Scholar hadn’t cancelled our tour of the Scottish Highlands, we would have spent two weeks exploring the region. Bruce and I didn’t want to completely miss out, so we booked a day trip out of Edinburgh. We always prefer a small group experience, so we opted to go with Rabbies, since their tours are for a maximum of 16 people, and they get an excellent rating on Trip Advisor.
(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)
The Highlands, located in the northwest region of Scotland, are renowned for their natural beauty. The area is sparsely populated, mountainous, and green – a lovely place to drive through in between stops on our tour.
Stirling Castle
After passing Stirling Castle, stopping at Loch Lomond (the largest lake in the UK), and seeing Loch Long; we visited the 18th-century town of Inveraray, located on the western shore of Loch Fyne. The main draw was seeing Inveraray Castle, which was built over the course of 40 years, beginning in 1744. Although it was closed the day we were there, we were able to walk around the castle and enjoy the beautiful grounds.
Loch Fyne, at the town of Inveraray
Inveraray Castle
The town of Inveraray
During the tour, we learned a few interesting tidbits and facts about Scotland. Although the population of the country is about 5.4 million, the sheep numbers peak at about 12 million in the summer time. Excellent produce is also grown in the lowlands for export, but they are best known for having “the best strawberries in the world,” according to our guide, Andrew. Top food and drink exports include chocolate, whisky, salmon, and lamb. Interestingly, although they export their lamb, they import lamb from New Zealand. Go figure…
Language in Scotland can be a challenge. Although English is the main language, there are also many dialects of Scots and Scottish Gaelic spoken. (There are 270 words for “snow,” for example!) The dialect of English spoken is referred to as Scottish English; and, I can tell you from personal experience while riding the public bus in Edinburgh, it is impossible to understand. Fortunately, most of the people we talked to spoke easy-to-understand English!
This was my favorite quote of the day from Andrew: “Football (soccer) is a gentleman’s game played by thugs. Rugby is a thug’s game played by gentleman.” (After watching all of the episodes of Welcome to Wrexham to date, I would have to agree!)
Back to our tour, we made another stop to get a view of the abandoned Kilchern Castle and to enjoy the views (and sheep!).
Kilchern Castle
A hotel near the castle
By now, I was bummed I hadn’t yet seen a Highland cow; however, Andrew surprised us at our next stop. Yay! This is one of the oldest breeds of cows in the world, and their shaggy hair gives them a cute look. I didn’t realize this, but a cow’s horns are for body temperature control. Blood circulates through them, and the horns will feel cool at the tips and warm nearest the head.
Our final stop was at Doune Castle, one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Scotland, and is best known for the filming location of the TV show, Outlander. It was also featured in Monty Python’s Holy Grail and The Outlaw King. Built in the late 1300s, it was a key stronghold of Robert Stewart, Duke of Abany.
The tour was long, but we were happy to get to see the Scottish Highlands, even if just for one day.
Next up: Touring the Scottish Parliament & Scenes Around Edinburgh
The Royal Edinburgh Ticket we had purchased for the hop-on-hop-off double-decker bus tour included entrance to the castle, palace, and Royal Brittania Yacht – three of the attractions we wanted to see in Edinburgh. We also wanted to see the Royal Botanic Garden, which happened to be free of charge. It had worked out nicely to divide and conquer; see the castle and palace on one day, and the gardens and yacht – both on the blue bus route — on the following day.
It had rained prior to our stop at the gardens, which was quite welcomed as far as we were concerned. We practically had the gardens to ourselves, having arrived just when they opened; and, rain drops add and interesting element to flower photographs.
(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)
The Royal Botanic Gardenwas founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants. Currently, as an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, it is a scientific center for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Covering 70 acres, it is beautifully designed and a lovely place to take a stroll, have a picnic, do photography, or all of the above! They also host many events including live performances, guided tours, and exhibitions; and, it is an important center for education.
Located nearby was the Water of Leighth Walkway, so we wandered through a section of it before returning to the garden to hop back on the blue bus.
The Royal Brittania Yachtwas our next stop for a self-guided tour of the 412-foot-long vessel. Launched by HM Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, it was decommissioned in 1997 as the last in a long line of Royal Yachts stretching back to 1660.
All of the clocks were stopped at 3:01 pm, the exact time the ship was decommissioned. Bruce and I got chills when he looked at his watch during the bus ride back into town; it read 3:01 pm.
Although we had put a lot of miles on our feet by the afternoon, we still had some energy left in the tank to take the bus back into town for a short visit to the National Museum of Scotland. What a gem! On Trip Advisor, it is ranked #3 of 534 things to do in Edinburgh for good reason; it is fabulous. Not only is admission free; but, the exhibits in this massive museum are top-notch. Had it not been so late in the day (we left at closing time), we would have seen more.
So much to see, but so little time. What a fabulous day, though!
It was bound to happen. After so many trips in a row with great weather, our luck was eventually going to run out. What better place than Scotland? Known for its gloomy skies and rain, we expected it; and, today was the day.
There’s something about seeing a Scottish castle and palace in gloomy weather. It seems so fitting! (Although, it makes for rotten cityscape photography…) Since we didn’t exactly have a choice with our limited days in Edinburgh, we gave ourselves a “make lemonade out of lemons” pep talk, donned our rain gear, and set off to explore.
Royal Edinburgh Ticket and reserved Edinburgh Castle Tour ticket in hand, we boarded the green double-decker tour bus and climbed the stairs up to the top for our guided hop-on-hop-off tour. It was raining lightly, so Bruce opted for the covered seats in front, and I headed to the back, so I could do some photography on the way to the castle. Thank goodness for waterproof pants! I swept the puddle of water off the seat, plopped myself down, and happily snapped off a few shots (that appeared in my last post).
For those of you unfamiliar with Edinburgh, I’ll give you the Cliff Notes version of this capital city. It’s the second largest city in Scotland (after Glasgow) with a population of around 506,000, and the seat of the Scottish Government. Edinburgh has been the country’s capital since the 15th century or so. The city is a center of education, and it’s the second largest financial center in the United Kingdom. There are loads of historical and cultural attractions, so it is the UK’s second most visited tourist destination.
Speaking of historical attractions, Edinburgh Castle topped our list of the places we wanted to visit for Scottish history—at least, visually, and for photography. Construction of the castle began in the 11th century, and it has seen a lot of battles and wars since then! There was the Wars of Scottish Independence, from 1296 – 1357; the Siege to free James III of Scotland, in 1482; and, the Lang Siege, from 1571 – 1573. There were a total of 26 sieges in its 1,100-year history! That poor castle was the most besieged place in Great Britain and one of the most attacked in the world. Do you think England finally got the message? Hands off!
It’s a much happier place now. Historic Environment Scotland is taking good care of this gorgeous gem, and it has become the most visited attraction in the country—especially in August during the annual Edinburgh Festival. That’s when the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes place.
(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)
A small force of men loyal to King Robert the Bruce scaled this rock to retake the castle from the English.
See that funny-shaped building off to the right in the distance (above) and in the center-top (below)? Check out this article about the “Golden Turd,” (aka the “Poop Building,” as well as several other not-so-complimentary names.) W Edinburgh is located in the St. James Quarter of Edinburgh.
This dog cemetery has been used since Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901) as a burial place for regimental mascots and officers’ dogs.
The stained glass windows (below) were photographed inside St. Margaret’s Chapel, located above the dog cemetery. It is the oldest building in Edinburgh Castle. Built in about 1130, it is dedicated to Queen Margaret, who lived in the castle in the late 1000s.
From a sign near this display: “…Maintaining the highland military image was an expensive business. At a time when officers had to kit themselves out at their own expense, the regiments became a magnet for the wealthier and more fashionable officers of the army. Ironically, the extra expense of maintaining a highland soldier’s kit was a burden to those serving in the ranks.”
Edinburgh’s other historical icon is the Palace of Holyroodhouse, located on the other end of the Royal Mile from the castle. (You can also call it Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse; the Scots won’t mind.) Since the 16th century, this has been the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. For those of you who didn’t get the memo, that would be King Charles III; although, he only spends one week at the beginning of summer there each year. The palace doesn’t sit empty the other 51 weeks, though; it gets a lot of paying visitors!
Following our Iceland tour with Overseas Adventure Travel, the original plan was to fly directly to Edinburgh, Scotland, and spend six days on our own, before hooking up with Road Scholar for a tour of the Scottish Highlands. We received a phone call from Road Scholar in June, however, notifying us our tour was canceled. I won’t get into the reasons why it was canceled, but we were disappointed. Fortunately, we were able to change the our flight, so we could return home after our six days in Edinburgh. Not that we didn’t want to see more of Scotland; it was high season, and hotels were already booked up.
As an alternative to completely missing the Scottish Highlands, we decided to book a day tour for one of our days, and spend the remainder of our time seeing everything we wanted to see in the city. I had done a lot of research on Edinburgh, so I felt like we had a good plan in place.
But first, why Scotland? I had never been there before; it would be my 70th country. More importantly, I had heard nothing but wonderful things about it! Most importantly, when I first started dating Bruce back in 1986, I asked him what country he would most like to see. “Scotland” was his reply. After all, his first name is Bruce, his middle name is Robert, and he was named after Robert the Bruce!
Somehow, over the years, and throughout all our travels, we never quite got to Scotland. Then, when we finally booked a trip that would have included the country, it was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. Now, we were finally going to see Scotland! (We will see more of the country next year on another trip.)
The first thing we wanted to nail down for Edinburgh was accommodations. My go-to website for advice is always Trip Advisor; however, I had a couple of criteria that were important to me this time around. First, I wanted a location near a bus stop. (The public transportation system in Scotland got rave reviews!) We didn’t mind taking a bus into the city center, but wanted to be close enough for the ride to be short. Second, we wanted to stay somewhere unique for a memorable bed-and-breakfast experience rather than at a chain hotel. Third, the price had to be within our budget. The other criteria are always in play: Clean, comfortable, quiet, safe, and rated 4-5 in Trip Advisor reviews.
We found just the place that ticked all the boxes: Hotel Ceilidh-Donia. Ranked #4 of 169 hotels reviewed on Trip Advisor, it met all of our criteria. The biggest surprise was what I hadn’t listed that ended up being the best part of our stay: Susan, Kevin, and their staff. They made our vacation so memorable! (See my review of our experience.)
Our plan for seeing the city and sights was to purchase the Royal Edinburgh Ticket for the hop-on-hop-off double-decker bus. It is run by Lothian, the same company as the public city buses, and the tour had excellent reviews. The ticket included entrance to Edinburgh Castle with a reserved time slot—a very important feature, so you can bypass the lines of people waiting to get in. (Or, in the case of the week we were there, right before the Fringe Festival, if you didn’t have a pre-booked ticket, it was sold out, every single day!) The bus ticket lasts for 48 hours, so you can ride the bus and hop on and off as many times you like within that time period. The ticket with castle admission cost USD $84 per person, but believe me; it was money well spent!
On our first day in Edinburgh, we rode the bus into town, and then took care of business before sightseeing. “Business” included checking out where we would be starting our Royal Edinburgh bus tour in relation to where the city bus dropped us off. There were four different buses (red, orange, green, and blue) with different routes and features; however, we wanted to make sure we took the green bus with a live on-board guide—much better than listening to a recorded narration!
Next, we had booked a Scottish Highland tour for later in the week, so we wanted to locate the bus station on foot, so we would be sure to have a smooth commute on tour day. (More on that tour in a future post…)
Once we had those details ironed out, it was time to hit the Royal Mile, the main thoroughfare of Edinburgh’s Old Town. Edinburgh Castle is on one end, and Palace of Holyroodhouse is on the other end; so, I can see why it is such a popular pedestrian street. Those are two of the most-visited tourist attractions in Edinburgh!
I had read the reviews; the Royal Mile ranks #8 of things to do in Edinburgh. Some rave about it, and others say it’s a tourist trap with too many shops full of “Scottish” souvenirs made in China. They’re both right, and I wouldn’t have left Edinburgh without seeing the Royal Mile. (As it turned out, we ended up walking its entire length several times over the course of our stay in Edinburgh!)
Sure, there were a lot of tourist shops. I walked past most of them, didn’t purchase anything in any of them, and only spent five minutes browsing in the largest one located near the castle. I am always curious to see what is made in each country I visit, so I popped in, took a look around, and snapped a couple of shots. If you like plaid, Scotland is the place to shop! I’m not a plaid person…
What I loved about the Royal Mile was the architecture (so much history!), the hanging flower baskets, and a large part of the thoroughfare being closed off to traffic. It was a safe and comfortable place to walk.
Besides seeing the Royal Mile, Bruce and I rambled all over the city on our first day! By the time we took the bus back to our hotel, we were happy to return to the quiet and lovely residential neighborhood where our little hotel was nestled.
Just by chance, for dinner, we found a casual and reasonably-priced Thai restaurant located just a ten-minute stroll away. Papaya Thai Street Foodwasn’t yet rated on Trip Advisor, but we were hungry, and Thai is our favorite cuisine. We decided to take a gamble. What a find! It was so good I gave them Trip Advisor’s first review! (I later found them on Google; 20 reviews and a perfect score of 5.) It was the exclamation point on a wonderful first day in Edinburgh!
Below are photos I shot on and near the Royal Mile during a couple of different days walking in the city as well as a few snapped from the top of the double-decker bus.
(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)
Dunbar’s Close Garden. There are several closes off the Royal Mile– alleyways that lead to private property and closed to the public. This little slice of heaven off the busy Royal Mile is gated; however, it is open to the public for free during daylight hours.
View from a cross street of the Royal Mile
New Calton Burial Ground, located near the Palace of Holyroodhouse just off the Royal Mile
This little garden was located adjacent to the Palace of Holyroodhouse
Viewed through the window of a restaurant on the Royal Mile.
This was a not-so-wee bite we picked up at the Zebra Coffee Co. on Bank St., just off the Royal Mile. The window display was too tempting to ignore! These cookies were so tasty, we returned for another one the next day.
If you were to ask somebody what tourist activity comes to mind when they think of Iceland, visiting the Blue Lagoon would probably be on their short list. Trip Advisor has 19,660 reviews posted as of this writing, so it’s a popular place! Some would call it a tourist trap, but our Overseas Adventure Travel tourvisited the lagoon on our last full day in Iceland, and we thoroughly enjoyed it!
Located in Grindavik, not far Keflavik International Airport, the large geothermal lagoon is rich with silica, minerals, salts, and algae, giving it a beautiful milky-blue color. The water is comprised of 70% sea water, 30% fresh water and maintained at a steady 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Included with the basic package is a silica mud mask and a drink at the swim-up bar.
The lagoon is located in the middle of a lava field and near the Svartsengi geothermal power station; so, the heated water from the power station supplies the lagoon.
Somehow, after exiting the locker room showers and entering the large and crowded lagoon, I managed to find Bruce as well as other members of our group. I had brought my waterproof camera into the lagoon with me, so we all decided to begin our spa experience with the mud mask for some fun photos. What a scary looking bunch!
There wasn’t enough time to check out the restaurants, hotel, spa, gift shop, hot-pots, steam rooms, sauna, or even the waterfall that provides a hydraulic massage. Darn, that would have been awesome! Time went by so fast, we had to leave before we knew it. Too bad, because we found the experience to be quite enjoyable and relaxing. As an extra bonus, we left with very soft skin!
On the way back to the bus, we had just enough time to stroll the walking path through the geothermal pools that were located adjacent to the parking lot.
Upon our return to the hotel, we had to say goodbye to Haflidi, our bus drive. We’ll miss you!
We were fortunate our last day in Reykjavik was so beautiful. We spent our free time in the afternoon walking the city, doing more photography at Harpa (which I shared previously) and seeing Circuleight, an interactive installation. Their website describes it as, “Circuleight features designs and real-time interactive visuals inspired by eight elements: lava, basalt, glacier, water, flora, algae, microorganism and volcanic gas.”
The music was an original score by renowned Icelandic composer, singer and songwriter Hogni Egilsson.
The best part of the experience was having the entire room to ourselves for much of our time in there! We ended up staying and watching a repeat of the 20-minute program, shooting video, and taking still photos.
Check out these short videos of me and Bruce, and you can see how the patterns followed us across the room:
What a fun way to wrap up our visit to Reykjavik!
During our walk around the city, we reflected on our experiences in Iceland and all the wonderful sights we were so fortunate to see. After so many years of wanting to see this amazing country, I am happy to say it was so much more than I hoped it would be.
Our last day in Iceland was gorgeous!
Our tour concluded with a lovely farewell dinner with the group, and Thorunn reviewing all we had seen throughout our time together.
The following morning, we flew to Edinburgh, Scotland, the subject of my next blog series. Stay tuned!
Coming up next: Excited to See Edinburgh!
Note: If small group travel is of interest to you, I highly recommend Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Although Bruce and I travel together, they do not charge a single supplement for those who travel on their own. Singles also get their own room at hotels. If you book, you can get $100 off your trip by providing my name and customer number (Elaine Krugman, #3018126) as the person who referred you. I will also get $100 off future travel– a win-win!
The day began with a drive out to a town with a very long name: Hellisheidarvirkjun. Don’t ask me how to pronounce it; I’m lucky if I can spell it correctly! Here, we visited a geothermal power plant and saw an exhibition with a much simpler name: ON. (Actually, that’s an acronym for “Orka Natturunar.”).
We learned from our guide that only 15% of power plants in Iceland are owned by private companies; the government owns the rest. The country runs 100% on renewable energy (geothermal and hydropower), making it one of the greenest countries in the world.
It was interesting to learn how geothermal steam is used to produce electricity. Iceland is fortunate to have such an amazing natural resource! But, it was the oil crisis of the 1970’s that motivated them to take advantage of this resource and build geothermal power plants to harness this energy.
To give you an idea of how economical geothermal energy is for the consumer, it costs 0.10 -0.12 (U.S.) per unit. For comparison, fixed rate plans where I live are running about .65 per unit and up.
Homes in Reykjavik do not need water heaters; the water comes hot directly from the plant via insulated pipes that carry the water 15 miles from the plant to their homes.
I was surprised to hear that just 17% of the energy produced in Iceland is taken up for residential use. Industry uses the rest – especially aluminum smelters. They import boxite from Australia to smelt aluminum, and then export the aluminum to Germany. Hmmm…
After hearing a presentation about how geothermal energy is produced, we had free time to see the exhibits.
Our next stop was to tour the Arbaer Open-Air Museum. Here, we learned about the living and working conditions of Icelanders in the past. Notice how these turf houses were very short with low roofs. They were built this way to save money, because wood was very expensive. How unfortunate for those who were tall!
(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)
Next up: Basking in the Beautiful Blue Lagoon
Note: If small group travel is of interest to you, I highly recommend Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Although Bruce and I travel together, they do not charge a single supplement for those who travel on their own. Singles also get their own room at hotels. If you book, you can get $100 off your trip by providing my name and customer number (Elaine Krugman, #3018126) as the person who referred you. I will also get $100 off future travel– a win-win!
One of the things I enjoy most while wandering around a city is discovering murals. I am always delighted to turn a corner and see a work of art gracing an otherwise plain wall. Reflecting over my past travels, a few cities come to mind when remembering the murals I photographed. Green Bay, Wisconsin, in particular, had several beautiful murals within a short walking distance.
What a nice surprise to discover all of the amazing murals of Reykjavik! We got in the habit of looking back while walking, so we wouldn’t miss any murals on the back side of the buildings we passed.
We also came across a couple of signs that gave us a giggle:
(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)
Coming up next: A Geothermal Power Plant and Open-Air Museum
Note: If small group travel is of interest to you, I highly recommend Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Although Bruce and I travel together, they do not charge a single supplement for those who travel on their own. Singles also get their own room at hotels. If you book, you can get $100 off your trip by providing my name and customer number (Elaine Krugman, #3018126) as the person who referred you. I will also get $100 off future travel– a win-win!
After flying from Akureyri, we spent the final three days of our tour in southwestern Iceland, based in the capital city of Reykjavik (pop. 140,000). At 248,000 for the region, it is the most populated area of Iceland.
Known as one of the cleanest, greenest (environmentally friendly), and safest cities in the world, I can tell you from personal experience I can see why it has that reputation. It was a great city to ramble around!
Following our arrival, we visited Perlan, a new and modern interactive museum that features Iceland’s unique natural wonders. One of the fabulous movies we saw featured amazing video footage of the 2021 eruption of Geldingadalir Volcano, which was the first volcanic eruption in the region in 800 years. Another movie, “Arora,” was Perlan planetarium’s 360-degree film of the northern lights.
We weren’t prepared for one of the other featured exhibits, but it sure was fun! It was an ice cave, constructed of 350+ tons of ice! It took four years to build, and it’s 328 feet (100 meters) long. The temperature was 5 degrees inside, and I was wearing just my down vest, figuring I could leave my other gear on the bus while we were indoors. (Thorunn had never been there, so she didn’t know we could walk through an ice cave!) Oh well; we made a run for it! It was so cold that we spent the first trip through dodging people just to get out the other side. Once we warmed back up, we made another trip through, and we were lucky to have the entire tunnel practically to ourselves. We paused for some quick photos, including one on a beautiful chair they had carved from ice. (Thankfully, they lined it with a sheepskin rug!)
(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)
The top floor of Perlan (which translates to “Pearl”) was a glass domed restaurant, bar, gift shop, and patio. We were able to walk completely around for a view of the city, harbor, and beyond – a good introduction to what we would be seeing next.
The center area revolves 360 degrees.
Haflidi drove us downtown to the harbor for our group lunch, which was one of our best meals of the trip; perfectly prepared local wolffish. This was followed by Thorunn’s walking tour of the city – a city she knows very well, since it is her home!
The first stop was just next door to where we had lunch: Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre, a spectacular modern glass building on the harbor front. Designed by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and Henning Larsen Architects, the glass façade was inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland. Construction had started in 2007; however, it was put on hold during Iceland’s financial crisis in 2008. It was only half-built, so the government decided to fully fund the remaining construction costs. The concert hall was completed, and it opened in 2011. In 2013, Harpa won the European Union’s Mies van der Rohe award for contemporary architecture.
We returned the following day and took these exterior shots.
One step inside, and my head was on a swivel, marveling at the architecture and plotting my next photo angle. It was so inspiring! We ended up returning the next day, when it was sunny, to shoot more photos. These are my favorites from the two visits:
In the lobby, there was a huge screen advertising performances. These animated flowers were included in the loop and were really pretty!
Our walking tour continued to the parliament building and other city highlights. From what I gathered during our walk, Reykjavik is a very cosmopolitan, hip, and artistic city; and I looked forward to seeing more.
Following are photos I shot during our walking tour as well as during our free late afternoons the next two days. I left out the murals though; they are the subject of my next post!
Our hotel was on the harbor front — a perfect location for taking in a lovely morning walk before our day of touring!
While rambling around Reykjavik, I noticed how colorfully painted the buildings were as well as the abundance of murals you will see in the next post. My theory is this was intentionally done to help brighten up the city during the winters of long nights and only five hours of sunlight per day.
Rainbow Street was being repainted while we were there, so we saw it become brighter each day! Green was next up for a paint job!
Ahhh, a fresh coat of green paint. Looking good! Violet is the last one to go.
Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church
Monument of the Unknown Bureaucrat: Iceland’s tribute to its thankless civil servants.
Reykjavik’s famous hot dog stand was visited by Bill Clinton. Their hot dogs weren’t so hot, though……Although, this pooch thought so! Her owner gave her his dogs, and he ate the rest. It’s a dog eat dog world!
This dapper wooden chap greeted us in the hotel lobby…
… And, this guy decided to pass on the private men’s room!
Next up: Memorable Murals of Reykjavik
Note: If small group travel is of interest to you, I highly recommend Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Although Bruce and I travel together, they do not charge a single supplement for those who travel on their own. Singles also get their own room at hotels. If you book, you can get $100 off your trip by providing my name and customer number (Elaine Krugman, #3018126) as the person who referred you. I will also get $100 off future travel– a win-win!
This was the “activity note” in our itinerary for July 25th: “Whale watching is weather dependent and relies upon the cooperation of migratory patterns, which can be difficult to accurately predict…If necessary, an alternate activity will be provided.” As a result, I fully expected NOT to be able to go whale watching. Better to not expect it and be pleasantly surprised than be disappointed if it doesn’t happen. That’s my attitude, at least…
We woke up, looked out the window, and saw a beautiful day awaiting us. Great! But, would the seas be rough? I had visions of Bruce and I being completely miserable, if the motion sickness meds I brought along didn’t do the trick. Been there, done that; not fun. If the seas looked rough, we were planning on backing out.
As we hoofed it down the pier to the boat to get a good (mid-ship = less motion) seat, I gazed out to the water and saw… NOTHING. Nothing, as in no white caps and no swells. AWESOME! We enthusiastically climbed aboard and were on our way.
Thankfully, we were provided waterproof (and buoyant, in case of a man-overboard nightmare) suit that covered us head to toes, including a hood. Between my long sleeve shirt, down vest, down jacket, rain jacket (with hood), ski gloves, COVID mask (to keep my nose warm) and hooded suit; I was well-prepared to battle the cold. I had also brought along a pair of HotHands, a product recommended by my sister and the Raynaud’s Associationnewsletter, an excellent resource for Raynaud’s sufferers like me.
It was cold out there, but the Hot Hands worked great! I slipped one into each glove, and my hands actually got too hot! I decided to stick them in my pockets instead, keeping my hands there in between shooting photos.
This is how I kept my nose warm, when my hands needed a break from the heat:
(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)
(Note to self for next winter: Take the advice of Raynaud’s Association Chairman, Lynn, and place a HotHand in between two masks rather than right on my nose.)
(Correction: In a message from the HotHands “Consumer Relations Specialist, he stated, “Even over a layer, these warmers are not intended to be used on other body parts other than the hands. That could still result in a burn.”)
The waters off of Dalvik (near Akureyri in North Iceland) were peaceful, and the views spectacular. We even saw some puffins out on the water, but it was whales we were hoping to see.
As theArctic Sea Tourscaptain and his first mate searched the waters for whales, Haflidi, our bus driver, assisted. As a former commercial fisherman, he has had a lot of experience on the waters and had an eagle eye for the whales.
Humpback whales and Minke whales were specifically what we were hoping to see, and they made their presence known – right next to the boat! Here is one that came within ten feet of the port side as we idled. No need to zoom in for this shot! As a matter of fact, Humpbacks range in size from 46-56 feet long, so it looked huge next to our boat!
Two of the whales we saw just floated next to the boat and rested as we idled and watched. They seemed to be as curious about us as we were about them. Either that, or they were so used to whale watching boats that they just ignore them.
So graceful, so beautiful!
The scenery served as a gorgeous backdrop, and I took in the beauty as I enjoyed our snacks of hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls that were offered to all on board.
Thorunn, our wonderful tour leader
Our awesome bus driver, Haflidi, with Bruce and Drew
On our way back to town, we passed by the tiniest church in Iceland.
When we returned to Akureyri, I made a beeline to the pool across the street from our hotel. This was the day I wrote about in my first Iceland post; my most memorable swim in Iceland.
The view from the pool across the bird pond, park, and harbor
Invigorated and refreshed, I dumped my swim gear off at the room, joined Bruce, and headed back out for a two-mile roundtrip walk to the grocery store for dinner. Along the way, I snapped this photo just to show you what a modern Icelandic apartment building looks like:
Here are some typical Icelandic foods:
Icelandic skyr is even better than Greek yogurt!
Pickled and frozen fish
Notice the “Kropp” on the top shelf and “Bland” on the bottom shelf. It got a chuckle out of me!
See those bags and boxes of chocolate-covered treats? Our tour leader, Thorunn, often surprised us on the bus or at the end of a group lunch by offering these to us to sample. At the end of lunch one day, a bowl of Hraun magically appeared on our table, just as I was thinking to myself, “I sure would like some chocolate right about now…”
It was fun tasting the various Icelandic treats. The only one that didn’t appeal to me was the chocolate covered black licorice ball. Not a fan of black licorice! It is very popular in Iceland, though, and quite abundant on the candy aisle. I learned the Icelandic word for licorice, so I could avoid it at all costs as I did my chocolate shopping: “Lakkris.” If you love black licorice like a couple on our tour did, you would LOVE the candy aisle in an Icelandic grocery store! Cheers, Brenda and Peter!
Coming up next: Rambling Around Reykjavik
Note: If small group travel is of interest to you, I highly recommend Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Although Bruce and I travel together, they do not charge a single supplement for those who travel on their own. Singles also get their own room at hotels. If you book, you can get $100 off your trip by providing my name and customer number (Elaine Krugman, #3018126) as the person who referred you. I will also get $100 off future travel– a win-win!
If I could have swapped one of our sunny days in Selfoss for this day instead, it would have been perfect. Godafoss Waterfall would have been beautiful on a sunny day, but it was raining; not the best conditions for photography. Still, what an amazing sight! We hiked the path up one side, and then doubled back, crossed the bridge, and hiked up the other side. The volume of rushing water was so powerful that the sound was mesmerizing. I shot a short video, just so I could hear the sound of that water again when I returned home.
(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)
At one point during the days’ travels, we passed through a five-mile-long tunnel through a geothermal area. The temperature was 51degrees outside of the tunnel, but 66 degrees inside the tunnel!
Our next stop was interesting. We observed the process of harnessing geothermal energy to bake Hverabraud (Icelandic rye bread) in the ground. The best part (of course!) was getting to taste it. Quite dense, the bread was piping hot, sweet and tasted great with butter.
Historically, the bread was baked in a wooden vessel, but now, buckets with lids are used. Sites for baking bread can be found around hot springs close to villages in the Icelandic countryside. Each family has their own hole in the ground in which they bake their bread.
Namafjall, the next place we visited, fascinated me. Watching the bubbling hot mud pools in this geothermal area and seeing the variations in the earth made it feel like we were on another planet. Three thousand feet below the surface, the temperature is about 400 degrees! Due to the hydrogen sulfide in the steam, it smelled like eggs – not the most pleasant odor; but, it was worth enduring to see this fascinating area.
We continued on to Dimmuborgir, and I experienced the same feeling I had at the mud pools and several other places we had visited in Iceland: I was on another planet! But, isn’t that what travel is all about? I love experiencing the unfamiliar!
Dimmuborgir is full of whimsical “black castle” lava formations created when the crater row erupted around 2,300 years ago. Our group had fun spotting faces in the lava. Can you see the curvy lips and full cheeks in this one? (Hint: They appear just above the grassy area.)
Our final other-worldly visit was to Skutustadir. Click on the link to see an awesome aerial shot taken on a sunny day. These pseudo craters are in the Lake Myvatn area near the Krafla volcano system. During eruptions, lava ran across the area, which at the time was swampy wetlands. The heat caused steam eruptions, which resulted in their crater-like shape.
Bruce and I enjoyed hiking around the area and taking in the views from the tops of the craters.
We also enjoyed stopping here after our hike for some homemade Icelandic ice cream…
…and visiting their pets.
In the evening, our group was split in half for home-hosted dinners at two homes. Our group was hosted by Esther, Gunnar, and their two adorable daughters, Berglind (9) and Elizabeth (4). They were such a sweet family, and they lived in a lovely apartment.
Throughout the evening, their TV was tuned into the video cam of the erupting volcano – such an amazing sight that had us enthralled in between conversation and petting their cute dogs.
Esther is studying computer science to become a programmer, and Gunnar is a commercial fisherman. He caught a huge cod for our delicious dinner that was prepared by Esther. Berglind kept busy as our server and did a great job! Bruce gave Esther and Berglind each a pair of his fused glass stud earrings as a gift, and I gave Gunnar some of my photo cards to share with Elizabeth.
It was such a fun evening, and a highlight of the trip (as always!). Looking back, my favorite travel memories have been of the home-hosted visits I have done with Overseas Adventure Travel, and previously, Vantage Travel, when we traveled with them (before their bankruptcy).
Esther, Gunnar, Berglind, and Elizabeth: Thank you for such a special evening I will always remember!
Next up: Watching Wonderful Whales!
Note: If small group travel is of interest to you, I highly recommend Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Although Bruce and I travel together, they do not charge a single supplement for those who travel on their own. Singles also get their own room at hotels. If you book, you can get $100 off your trip by providing my name and customer number (Elaine Krugman, #3018126) as the person who referred you. I will also get $100 off future travel– a win-win!
Elaine-iaK's Travels: A Traveler's Tales of People, Places, Photos, Pools... and CHOCOLATE! 