The Rest of the Adventure!

We're home now. Sorry we didn't have time to finish the blog while still traveling. I will post pics from the last four days here. Enjoy!

 This was taken at our home hosted visit on Friday. Our hosts are the couple in the back row on the right.

On Saturday, we traveled to the fishing village Dalvik for a whale-watching boat ride. We saw humpback whales and dolphins.

Looking at the camera are Kim and DeeDee. We are in the north of Iceland so, yes, it's cold! The excursion staff furnished these stylish outfits, which kept our bodies warm.

When we pulled our buffs up to cover the lower half of our faces, that just left our fingers and toes freezing!

After lunch in a restaurant nearby, we attended a concert by two students from the local music school. They were incredibly good!

Sunday, we flew back to Reykjavik and explored the Golden Circle; a ring of natural highlights. This pic is at the Thingvellir National Park which sits in a major rift between the Eurasian and N. American plates. The world's oldest Parliament was formed in this area.

This is Strokkur geyser in a hot springs area. There are many areas of boiling puddles of water.

This is Gullfoss waterfall which flows into a 100 foot deep crevice.

The gang in front of Gullfoss waterfall.

On Monday, we journeyed to the south coast and stopped at Skogafoss waterfall.

Wayne and Debra didn't trek behind the falls, but Kim and DeeDee did (as you can see here).

Kim took this pic from behind the waterfall!

Wayne took this selfie in front of the waterfall!

We made another stop at Seljalandsfoss waterfall.

And, a quick stop at our guide's favorite beach. These formations look like the formations we saw in Ireland at the Giant's Causeway.

Another view from the beach, which, by the way, is a black sand/rock beach.

Then, in the village of Vik, we loaded the group into this Super Truck for a tour through a black sandy landscape to the edge of Myrdalsjokull Glacier which covers the Katla Volcano.

At the edge of the glacier is this ice cave.  After donning helmets and cleats, we climbed into and through the cave.

This is inside the cave, looking out. The ice is covered in volcano ash, so you don't 'see' much of the ice.

Our guide for the day furnished refreshments!

Here's Kim and DeeDee, and

 Wayne and Debra in our gear.

On Tuesday, we went to the town of Grindavik on the rugged Reykjanes Peninsula for an ATV tour through the lava fields. After the rough ride the day before in the Super Truck, DeeDee and her back decided to skip the ATV.

This is Debra geared up. Y'all know how I love putting 'hats' on my head!

The group taking a break. See if you can pick out who's who!

This is the famous Blue Lagoon with its mineral-rich waters. Wayne and Debra chose not to don swimwear, but to watch the group from the comfort of the bar!

This is Kim waving.

And this is DeeDee waving. You'll notice they have drinks in-hand!

Our last night was celebrated with a farewell dinner at the hotel. Our guide had a cake made with a picture of the entire group. The next day, Wednesday, we returned home to the heat and humidity! Oh, I miss that cool, dry air in Iceland!

Friday in Akureyri

Today, we drove to the Lake Myvatn area. We visited a local who bakes bread over a thermal vent.

This is the finished product. Of course, we tasted the bread, which was good.

We then went to the Pseudocrater field formed by steam explosions when the lava flowed over wet earth.  Pretty much like Yellowstone Park.

This stack of rocks over a steam vent appears to be enhanced by man! It was really loud.

Our guide picks a bird of the day for us to find. This is a Slovenian Greebe (?) found by many of us.

Then we went to Godafoss waterfall, or Waterfall of the Gods.

All the walking we've been doing! The walking sticks are very helpful.

Thursday - Travel to Akureyri

Akureyri is situated on the northern fjords near the Artctic Circle. Most of the day was spent traveling on the bus. We did make a stop at a fish tannery, one of only two in the world.

Before the fish tannery, we made an unscheduled stop at a waterfall. Just beautiful!

This was an assortment of salmon, cod and wolf fish They are dyed various colors.

This tannery also works on various fur animals. This machine trims the fur when requested.

The cellophane is used to put the shiny colors when that's what the client wants.

A scenery shot on the road toward Akureyri.

During a city stroll after arriving in Akureyri, we saw some of the Botanical Gardens.

We saw Marie & Pete's ship in port. They sailed shortly after we arrived so we didn't get to see them.

After the financial crisis of 2008, the people of the city were depressed. City Officials decided to make all the red lights into hearts to try to uplift spirits and put a smile on the citizens faces!

Wednesday - A Day In The Life Of An Islandic Horse Farm

On the way to the Islandic Horse Farm, we stopped at the Eiriksstadir Museum, aka, the Viking, Erik the Red. This is replica of a typical house from his time here.

Our hostess told us about their way of life and showed us replicas of the helmet, battle axe and the iron mesh vest as pictured above.

Kim modeled showing us what a modern day Viking would look like.

At the horse farm, we were treated to a demonstration of the five gaits of the beautiful Islandic Horses.

We had a visit with several of these friendly creatures1

DeeDee took her turn on the saddle...

...Kim took his turn. Notice he's riding all by himself!

Later, the group hiked a ways from the house to plant trees. The Vikings decimated the Island of all its trees. The Icelanders have been slowly replanting forests.