Iceland is known for its stunning natural landscapes, including volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, glaciers, and waterfalls. It has a diverse geography with a combination of mountains, plateaus, and coastal areas.
Last July we were lucky enough to cruise to Reykjavik which is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is also the cultural, economic, and political center of the country. We walked around for awhile downtown, then found the bus to take us to the Blue Lagoon. We loved it and although it’s a tourist thing to do how could we go to Iceland and not experience this. It was such a fun experience, the air was quite cold but the water hot and once you got in the huge spa it was great and it warms you up immediately. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa located in a lava field near Grindavík and in front of Mount Þorbjörn on Reykjanes Peninsula, in a location for geothermal power, and is supplied by water used in the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power station which we could see and smell while we watch the steam coming up from the spa.
There is a swim up bar where people gathered and we met some very interesting people. We met an older couple who weren’t prepared for the high prices in Reykjavik and still had five days to go on their trip. They found the restaurants very high end as well as all the stores so we suggested some out of town experiences to really see Iceland and not just the big city, but they weren’t up to any more travel and were just anxious to get home to the USA. We then spoke to a young couple who were backpacking around the Country for a couple of weeks. They loved to hike and enjoy the great outdoors and had done their own research but were still surprised at how far apart all the places they wanted to visit were and how isolated. When we told them we were on a cruise and were able to visit four ports in a week, they agreed that might have been a better way to travel Iceland, but they also were afraid they would miss out on some of the long hikes they aspired to do to see the beauty of Iceland and also they enjoyed camping out at night under the stars.
Then it was on to Seydasfjordur, a town located in the eastern part of Iceland. It is situated in the fjord of the same name, Seyðisfjörður. The town has a population of around 700 people and is known for its picturesque setting surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. It is a popular tourist destination due to its natural beauty and charm and again lots of hiking, lots of waterfalls.
On to the port of Grundarfjordur, where we took a bus tour to the Látrabjarg cliffs in the Westfjords and saw even more waterfalls (Iceland has even more than Norway) and today we saw more beautiful waterfalls at every turn. We also saw the Elves or as they call them here “the hidden people”. We passed the Queen Elf’s rock but she didn’t want to come out and play said the tour guide. The weather goes from sunny to fog and rain in no time as we found out on a very high mountain twisty road and the driver couldn’t see a foot in front of the bus! It was pretty scary for us but he seemed pretty used to it and wasn’t concerned.
The highlight of this tour for all of us were the Puffins, a well known bird species found in Iceland. They are often referred to as “clowns of the sea” due to their colorful beaks and comical appearance. There was buses of tourists taking pictures of them playing and they weren’t scared of us at all. Iceland is home to one of the largest puffin colonies in the world. Puffins nest in colonies on coastal cliffs, islands, and steep grassy slopes, and we climbed up to see them, there were hundreds just playing or relaxing and we were advised to take pictures but not to make loud noises or disturb them.
The tour guide told us Puffins are protected in Iceland but the population has been declining in recent years due to various factors such as climate change, overfishing affecting their food sources, and ocean current changes
We then visited the stunning port of Akureyri where the temps were in the 60s an almost record high for them so we had another great warm day for a visit. Although we were about 60 miles from the Artic Circle we visited a botanical garden which was very pretty and quite big with gorgeous flowers and plants. Next up was a whale watching cruise, I think we saw some whales at least people yelled there is a whale but as soon as you look it was long gone back under the water. We were quite cold on the boat and he just kept going further and further out as the sun was going down and we just kept getting colder and colder and we weren’t dressed for this weather. We were all ready for some food and a hot chocolate to warm up. It was a nice but very long excursion and we still had a bus ride to return to the ship which wasn’t close.
We also went to Gullfoss waterfall, because of the waterfall’s two stages, Gullfoss simply means “golden waterfall” and there are two legends connected to the name. One says that on old viking dumped his treasure into the waterfall so that no one could enjoy it after his day. The other says that the name originates in the rainbows that form in the spray above the waterfall on sunny days. It is stunning and they call it the Niagara Falls of Iceland. Gullfoss is extremely powerful and breathtaking and it was nice to see without a long hike, it was a very short walk from the parking lot where the tour bus drops you off. The Goðafoss waterfall is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland. The water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters. The ring road goes past the waterfall, with parking available on both sides of the river and paved walking paths to viewing it from all angles.
The Christmas House was a favorite stop. We love Christmas and this store was amazing with Christmas music playing, over 4,000 ornaments and fabulous decorations. It has two floors packed with Christmas. There was an extensive range of goods are decorations, food, music, artworks, books, toys, homeware and ornaments. Even in July it felt like Christmas, cold weather, Christmas songs playing, and sitting on Santa’s lap asking for what you want, it doesn’t get any better than that. Many of the products are international, representing how cultures around the world celebrate Christmas. Most, however, are Icelandic, with many authentic local handicrafts for sale. The perfect place to think about having a Merry Christmas and you can top off your experience by posting a letter home from Santa’s mailbox.
Icelandic Christmas traditions are amongst the world’s most interesting and unusual. Rather than one jolly Santa, Iceland has thirteen, and all are trolls whose antics range from mischievous to malevolent. Their mother, Gryla, is a child-eating giantess whose gigantic pet, the Christmas Cat, hunts for children this season.
