Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Iceland - last day

We had a terrific drive today back to Reykjavik. Tomorrow we head to the Blue Lagoon until it's time to head to the airport for our return flight home.

Iceland has been magnificent, and we highly encourage anyone considering a trip to go for it. We've loved our time here.

Iceland Last Day (2 of 2)
A pretty typical roadside view

Iceland Last Day (1 of 2)
One of many unnamed waterfalls on our trip

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Flatey Island

Today we took a ferry out to Flatey Island. It's a very small island, with 15-20 houses, a hotel, a restaurant, and a church. It is also home to lots and lots of birds, including Puffins.

After the 90 minute ferry ride, we stretch our legs with a quick walk around the island, then spent some time watching the puffins. We worked our way back to the restaurant and had a very yummy lunch, then over to the church, where we were surprised to find such amazing murals.

Puffins (4 of 4)
Puffin portrait

Puffins (2 of 4)
Front view

Puffins (3 of 4)
Me and my shadow

Puffins (1 of 4)
It's always best to squawk when you have an audience to listen


Flatey Island House (1 of 1)
One of the colorful houses in the town

Church Mural (1 of 3)
1st of 3 Murals in the Flatey Church


Church Mural (2 of 3)
2nd of 3 Murals in the Flatey Church

Church Mural (3 of 3)
3rd of 3 Murals in the Flatey Church - and we hope the guy with the net doesn't catch any Puffins!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Sunny Iceland

It only took a week, but we had our first full day of bright sunshine in Iceland. The good news is that it's the 2nd longest day of the year, so we got to enjoy plenty of it.

We drove from North Iceland to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. We are staying in Stykkishólmur, a very cute (but windy!) town on the sea.

We spent quite a bit of time on dirt roads with our Hyundai 4WD, including some quality time herding sheep. Sadly, there is no photo evidence of the great Norton Icelandic Sheep Roundup.

Iceland Part 5 (5 of 5)
Dirt Road stop #1

Iceland Part 5 (4 of 5)
Dirt Road stop #2

Iceland Part 5 (3 of 5)
Dirt Road stope #3

Iceland Part 5 (2 of 5)
Playground artwork at the local school

Iceland Part 5 (1 of 5)
The harbor in town

Iceland Part 5 (6 of 6)
The old lighthouse looking over the town

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Horses, Whales, Puffins, oh my!

This morning we went out on a 4 hour whale & puffin boat ride - the weather cooperated, but towards the end we were both getting cold. The boat company provides all the passengers with survival suits, which given the climate here in North Island, makes a lot of sense.

Puffins Whales Horses (1 of 7)
One of the curious horses on the property of our rental house

Puffins Whales Horses (7 of 7)
Our boat spent some time watching a juvenile humpback whale

Puffins Whales Horses (5 of 7)
Puffin in flight #1

Puffins Whales Horses (3 of 7)
Puffin in flight #2

Puffins Whales Horses (4 of 7)
Puffin in flight #3

Puffins Whales Horses (2 of 7)
Jennifer in her survival suit

Puffins Whales Horses (6 of 7)
Laurence in his survival suit, ready to shoot!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Iceland Part 3

We are in the North portion of Iceland, where the sunrise is listed as 0:00 and sunset as 0:00!

We've had some socked-in fog for the past 2 days, with on and off showers, but the blue skies have emerged as of 9PM local time, and we should have sunnier weather for the remainder of our trip.

Dettifoss
Dettifoss waterfall

Godafoss 1
Goðafoss waterfall

Godafoss 2
Goðafoss in Black & White

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Iceland Part 2

Continuing our Iceland journey - the Jökulsárlón Iceberg Lagoon is stunning. Icebergs work their way from the glacier, through the lagoon, and out to sea. Depending on the tide, many of the icebergs end up on the beach and get broken up into beautiful small pieces.

We were fortunate enough to spend a couple of days in the area by the glacier lagoon and the Skaftafell National Park, which provided great access for hiking and repeated visits to the ever-changing iceberg action.

Blue Berg
Colorful iceberg on the beach

Iceberg tide
Wave action with icebergs on the beach

Melting Ice on Black Sand Beach
Melting Ice on the Black Sand Beach

Jennifer and Laurence at Glacial Lagoon
Jennifer & Laurence at the iceberg lagoon

Jennifer and Laurence Hike
Jennifer, the victor in the first and only "throw a rock on the small iceberg" contest, graciously poses with competition

Svartifoss Waterfall
Svartifoss Waterfall is in the Skaftafell park, and after about a 45 minute uphill hike you come to this amazing waterfall surrounded by basalt columns

Reflections
The weather cooperated on our drive East towards Höfn for a nice reflection photo

Gravel Road Waterfall
Part of the drive from the South side of the island to the North side involved a gravel road - this was a nice unmarked waterfall on the road

Iceland Part 1

We are having a terrific time in Iceland. The weather has been mostly brisk and windy, with some rain, but nothing our Seattle rain gear hasn't been able to handle. We haven't had internet access (which in all, is a really good thing) - so here's a compilation of the first few days of our trip.


Typical Iceland Road Sign
A typical Iceland Road Sign

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall
Seljalandsfoss Waterfall - famous for being able to walk behind it, but we were getting wet enough as it was

Waterfall Top View
Top end of a waterfall

Another Iceland Waterfall
Another Iceland Waterfall!

Icelandic Horse
Icelandic Horse

Jennifer trying to stay warm
Jennifer staying warm

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Bergen

Our last full day in Norway, and it has been a terrific trip so far. Tomorrow we fly back to Iceland, and work on driving around the country in a counter-clockwise direction.

IMGP0819
Bryggen, the wharf in Bergen, is a UNESCO World Heritage site

P1000448
HUGE King Crab Legs

P1000449
Prawns

P1000446
Some cool looking fish

IMGP0795
"Fresh Fish Every Day!"

P1000437
Photographic evidence of the elusive blog photographer!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Norway Cruise - Day 11

The cruise portion of the trip is winding down. Last night we passed by an interesting phenomenon, Torghatten, which is a rock with a hole in the middle (that looks like a hat)


Norway Day 11 (2 of 2)
The rock from a distance with fishing boat in the foreground



Norway Day 11 (1 of 2)
Close-up of Torghatten

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Norway Cruise - Day 10

Another beautiful day cruising the Norwegian coast & fjords. Last night we went into Trollfjord - which is a 2km long fjord that is very narrow with steep mountains on both sides. The weather wasn't cooperating for a sweeping view of the fjord, so the best photo opportunities were on the waterfalls on the sides.

Today the weather improved again, providing terrific views of the coastal mountains!


Trollfjord Norway Waterfall
Trollfjord waterfall


Norway Day 10 Mountains (1 of 1)
View from the ship

Travel IQ Challenge


brought to you by TravelPod, the Web's Original Travel Blog ( part of the TripAdvisor Media Network )