Day 159: My happy place

How much to reveal in the blog is the question always on my mind.  Telling stories, sharing the wonders I encounter, teaching a bit.  Is it enough?

My mind is fuzzy from jet lag and we did too much today to catch up on house and yard work.  It's worth it, though, to experience new places and unique cultures and explore their natural wonders.  I've been fortunate to visit twenty-nine countries and a lot of states.  Each journey has offered something different and magical.   Traveling, meeting new people, having adventures is deeply satisfying, yet I am always happy to come home.  

The tour of the south coast of Iceland on Sunday ranks right up there next to the day I held a young panda in China in 2002.  Climbing to the top of a waterfall, scrambling along a path behind another waterfall, splashing in a hot spring, clambering over a glacier, watching waves crash on a beach of black sand.  All of that in one day!  

Yet today was fulfilling as well.  Two of our kids woke up in our house today.  That only happens a few times a year now.  My gardens are bursting with color:  golden yellow stella d'oro day lilies,  rich red snapdragons, lush pink begonias, graceful astilbe and deep purple clematis.  I happily swam in 66 degree water in our backyard and discussed a delightful book with good friends.    

All of my photos are downloaded and I've started the editing, but it will take a while.  There are mistakes in the blog that I must correct too.  Perhaps tomorrow. 

Day 158: Time Traveler

This morning I woke up in Reykjavik and tonight I mowed our lawn.  It's so surreal.  Tomorrow I will reflect more on the journey and our experiences in Iceland, but now, I must sleep.

Day 157: Harpa

It was a lazy day in Reykjavik. After sleeping in, we found a cozy little shop for a yummy breakfast instead of choking down more oatmeal. The four of us drifted through the city center shopping, visiting and laughing. We won't see our niece Lisa again for many months so this time together has been wonderful.

 We stopped by the city's premier music center, Harpa, which is located right next to the harbor. It's an ultramodern design with reflective windows in odd angled frames creating the illusion that the structure is tipping into the sea. It's gift shop held unique items by the most popular young designers in Iceland. Kiel and Colin would have loved it.

While wandering along the main street, we noticed a hidden enclave behind the stores where artists had created an outdoor gallery using walls as their canvasses.  Much of the work reflected their perspectives on modern life, often raving against the excesses of power, wealth and corporate influence.

 Tomorrow we depart for home very early and by evening, we will see Colin and April. Hooray! This has been one of the best trips ever. We loved exploring the natural wonders of Iceland and the small,friendly city of Reykjavik. Best of all was the time we spent with Evan, Matt, Lisa, and Mary.

Day 156: The Golden Circle

We knew it would be impossible to match yesterday's experiences since it was just Mary, Steve and me with our own personal guide and the glories of the south shore to explore. Today we traveled with the same guide and vehicle, but there were 15 of us crammed into the van. The sites were spectacular, but heavily traveled by giant tour buses that disgorged scores of visitors onto the land.

Like yesterday, we stopped at a horse farm and rolled out of the van to pet and feed the horses.  Mary held out a handful of grass and one horse eagerly munched on it.  She patted its muzzle, then turned away to let someone else have a turn.  But the horse was not done!  He nipped her on the upper arm and left  huge bruise.

Next stop was at a volcanic crater that held a beautiful blue green pool at the bottom.  

 Rolling along route 35, the highway gave no indication of what was to come. No hotels, no casinos, no neon signs, just a modest restaurant. We pulled off into a busy parking lot with twenty super sized buses and tumbled into a cafeteria style restaurant serving hundreds of people. Our guide Jon had recommended the soup and bread option as fast and tasty. He was right. Outside again, we followed the crowds down a wooden walkway and were stunned to find waterfalls comparable to Niagara Falls! Not as tall or wide, the Gullfoss falls fell in three tiers sending a warm mist through the air. The water is filled with grit,ash and mud as it flows from the melting glaciers that we could see in the distance. Over the millennium, the volume has shrunk so that bedrock is now exposed that was once carved by rushing water. Only a nylon cord kept the crowd from the precipice and several foolish young men crossed the cord to take photos just inches from the edge. Several others scrambled up the rock face next to the falls.

 Geysers were the next attraction and they were heralded again by a slew of buses in front of huge restaurant and gift shop. We waited only a few minutes for a dazzling eruption that went 40 feet in the air. The time between eruptions varied from three to eight minutes and the height varied from 30 to 60 feet. The water is 100 degrees Celsius. It bubbles and heaves in the reservoir and then crowns just before it erupts. In the same area, several smaller hot springs in shades of intense blue steamed a sulfurous aroma.

 In the Pingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, we walked in the rift valley which is the junction between the American and Eurasian tectonic plates. Fascinating! Over the past 10,000 years , the earth's crust has been subsiding and diverging here. It's here also that the early settlers of Iceland set up their first general assembly in 930 AD.

 We decided on a traditional Icelandic meal for dinner. Lisa had rye bread with herring and mashed fish. Mary tried the mashed fish au gratin. Steve chose smoked trout on flat bread and I had the vegetarian platter. Dessert was rye bread ice cream for Lisa and Mary! Tomorrow, we relax, shop and visit attractions around the city before we head home.

Day 155: the south shore of Iceland

I am so tired, but very happy because our day on the south shore was filled with incredible natural wonders. Some might consider Iceland to have a stark landscape because so much is covered by ancient lava flows, jagged peaks and ash covered gravelly streams. Today we made nine stops,each unique and breathtaking. Just outside the city, wild blue lupines covered the scrub lands and as we moved farther south, they grew in great swaths like carpets rolling over the swells of land and up along the mountain sides. Cascading waterfalls sheered down mountainous formations, cutting deep into the rock faces. At the base, the land leveled off and farms sprung up in the flatlands with hundreds of sheep speckling the landscape with black and white dots. Many young lambs ran by their mothers' sides.

In other places, the land rolled gnarly and twisted, barren except for mosses and scrub grasses beginning to take hold. At Reynisfjara black sand beach, the collision of geological forces spread out before us. Black sand, pebbles smooth as glass, basalt steps, caves carved into the basalt by crashing waves, walls of sandstone crushed against igneous rock, gulls and puffins nesting in crevices, freestanding spires in the sea resembling trolls. We could have spent the day there.



 Two waterfalls captivated us. At Seljalandsfoss,we scrambled along slippery rocks behind the crashing water and shrieked at the power and beauty of it all. Rainbows encircled us at Skogarfoss and we climbed hundreds of feet up to the top of the falls to peer over its lip and out across the grassy flats and sheep enclosures to the sparkling sea.







 Infamous volcano Eyjafjallajokull looked meek from 5 k away, but we viewed a film by the family who lives at the base of the glacier that was melted by the eruption. In the two years since it exploded, they and their neighbors have recovered and rebuilt and shared their remarkable stories.

Later, we walked on the Solheimajokull glacier tong. Each year the glacier recedes the length of a football field. We stood at the base of the ash covered surface and listened to the sound of ice melting into rivers and running to the sea. 

We hiked 15 minutes along a broad creek bed with only the trickle of a stream because of a drought to reach a geothermal pool. It was a man made pool, built in the 1920s, but fed by a boiling hot spring. Several local families lounged in the steamy water while we soaked away the grime of the day before heading back to the city.

 Tomorrow, we visit the Golden Circle with the same guide. It will be difficult to match the magic of this day.

Day 154: Spa treatment

I had my first ever spa experience today at the Sundlaugarvegur sports complex. The center includes the spectacular indoor Olympic pool, an outdoor lap pool, several huge hot tubs, three shallow pools for playing, another for the water slides, a soccer stadium, playing fields and the spa. It was mobbed today. While the guys liked the hot water and steam rooms, I preferred the cool cascades of water pouring over me. The best part was the water slide. Very few other adults were using it, but we had a great time.

 Evan got a lifetime best time in the 50 meter event, a 27.1, so he was ecstatic! After the meet, we walked all over the city, picked up sandwiches and ate on a sunny knoll overlooking Harpa, (the opera house) and the harbor. Once the closing ceremony was completed we took a cab back to the city center where we watched an excellent street performer and then had dinner at a restaurant called Cafe Paris. It was such a joy to spent a leisurely evening with the family. It's far too rare. Early tomorrow Evan and his friend Matt are flying to Amsterdam for the week and we are off to tour the south shore.

Harpa

Day 153: Laugardalur

Our first day in Iceland was long and invigorating. We slept only a little on the six hour flight and arrived about 6:45 am. Lisa was waiting for us in the line for customs. The Airport Express shuttle delivered us on the doorstep of the Einholt Apartments. Although we could not check in early, we stored the luggage and walked to the  pool where the IGLA meet was underway.

 It has been many years since we last saw Evan swim competitively in college so it was wonderful to see him swim so well today. He won three medals yesterday and another today. His one disappointment was a fifth place finish in the 100 free today. Tomorrow is the 50 free which is his favorite event. Strolling along a walking and bike path on the edge of the sea, we could see the city center and distant mountains that we'll be exploring over the next few days.

 We booked trips to the southern shore and the Golden Circle for Sunday and Monday. A traditional Icelandic soup for lunch and Mediterranean (Greek) food for dinner provided the great variety of dishes that I love! It's been 36 hours since we have slept soundly. We should be ready for bed, but the sun is still shining at 10:15. It will set about 11:15 and rise again at 3:30 am.