Iceland May-June 2018, Part 1 Cruise around Iceland

Our ship, Ocean Diamond

Our Planned Route

On 5/29, we boarded ProCruise’s Ocean Diamond along with 146 other passengers for a 10 day/9-night cruise around Iceland. We started in Reykjavik and traveled around Iceland in a clockwise direction, stopping at a different port every day.

Lava Formations

 Snaefellsjokull Glacier

Church Rock

On our first stop, in West Iceland, we took a Snowcat trip up on Snaefellsjokull Glacier on top of a volcano. Down at the coast we walked along the shore to see birds and unusual lava formations.

Puffin

Oldest Windmill in Iceland

Male Eider Duck

 Next, we took a trip to Vigur Island, in the West Fjords to see how Eider duck down is collected and processed. Due to high winds in North Iceland, our trip to Grimsey Island was cancelled and replaced with a hike through a natural area on the island of Hrisey. 

Harbor Seals

Siglufjordur

Black headed Gull

Hrisey Island

Rock Ptarmigan

Godafoss

 The following day we took a bus trip to Godafoss waterfall, and Myvatn lake, took a soak at the Myvatn Nature Baths and enjoyed the impressive lava formations at Dimmuborgir and other interesting sites. 

Lava formations at Dimmuborgir

Hverir, Geothermal Area

Dressed for high speed adventure

The best excursion was whale watching on RIB boats from Husavik in North Iceland. We dressed in survival suits and then the driver hit the gas. We got airborne with every wave, followed by a crash landing. I didn’t know if my old back would survive the beating. When we finally slowed down we were at Puffin Island and puffins were flying all around us. Then we took off across the bay at breakneck speed to catch up to some whales that had surfaced. We repeated this process several times until we had our fill of whale pictures. Then we zoomed back to the dock. I took some pain meds but was still stiff and sore the next day. Can’t wait to do it again!

Whale Watching

 In East Iceland, we toured a nature preserve and took a Super Jeep into the Vatnajokull National Park. Next, in South Iceland, we docked at Heimaey Island, The Pompeii of the North. Much of the town was half buried from a volcanic eruption in 1973. The islanders prevented the closure of their harbor, by pumping tons of salt water on the flowing lava. The experts said this would never work, but it did. They  dug themselves out and the town is quite functional again. Quite an amazing place! This island is also famous for the million puffins that nest here. Then we returned to Reykjavik and said good-bye to our new friends.

Iceland May-June 2018, Part 2 - The Golden Circle, West Iceland and Westfjours

 Right after we departed the ship we headed to the Touring Cars location. Here we picked up our Deluxe Motorhome. I guess it was deluxe because it came with a toilet and shower, something most of the campers lacked. Surprisingly none of the campers had microwaves - I thought I would starve. (I did lose weight on this trip!) After a somewhat adequate explanation of the features of the RV, we were on our way.
 

Fault  at Thingvellir National Park

We wanted to do the Golden Circle Tour first because we knew it would be jammed with tourists if we waited to do it in late June. The Gold en Circle Tour includes the most popular tourist sites (after the Blue Lagoon) in Iceland. First is Thingvellir National Park, famous because you can walk in the rift valley between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates and it holds significant historical value in the development of Iceland. The next stop is Geysir, but this famous geyser has been replaced by its more reliable neighbor, Strokkur geyser, which we watched erupt about every 5 minutes. Last is our favorite waterfall in Iceland (and we have seen more than a hundred), Gullfoss, a spectacular double cascade dropping about 100 feet. Don’t miss this one! We skipped the Blue Lagoon, since we had been there three times previously.

Strokkur Geyser

Gullfoss

Raudfeldsgja Canyon, better watch your step!

After the Golden Circle, we drove to West Iceland to tour the Settlement Center in Borgarnes. We drove out to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula to see stuff we missed on the shore excursion. We stopped at Raudfeldsgja, where a gorge cuts deep into the mountain. We tried to enter the gorge, but steep and slippery snow banks, with big drop-offs, discouraged exploration. A safer bet was the popular and scenic shore walk between Arnarstapi and Hellnar, which we completed. We camped in Stykkisholmur and took the ferry to the Westfjords.

Ferry to Westfjords 

After a 2-hour ferry ride, we landed near Flokalundur and started a hike in Vatnsfjordur Nature Reserve. We had hardly started the hike, when Pat said “There’s an Arctic Fox”. I thought she was joking, but sure enough, the fox was just ahead of us, checking us out. The next day we were hiking in the reserve on a trail with lots of waterfalls, when we met a group of hikers from Seattle. I asked them if they felt right at home with the cool (in 40’s) drizzle which seemed to be the norm in this part of Iceland. 

Arctic Fox

  Only about 10% of Iceland’s visitors ever get to the Westfjords, so crowding was not a problem. The wind was another story. We were cautioned about the winds in Iceland by the rental company. We were told not to drive when the winds exceeded 14 m/s (about 31 mph). Prior to crossing a mountain, there was a digital display of the current temperature and wind speed at the top. That might not sound like much wind, but when you are driving a sailboat (at least it feels like one), down a steep narrow one lane dirt road with a sheer drop off, you will find it scary. So, when we had the time, we delayed our trip or took an alternate route. When we complained to a local about the wind, her rhetorical reply was, “What would Iceland be without the wind?” (Our answer: Fine, enjoyable, pleasant, warmer)

Whimbrel

Dynjandi

After our wind detour, we arrived at Dynjandi, the most dramatic and beautiful waterfall in the Westfjords.  At Bolungarvik, we toured a historic fishing village, Osvir, and our costumed guide took us though the old buildings and explained how the fishermen lived in those days. At Holmavik, we had to check out the Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft. In the past, the witch hunters in Iceland burned 19 men and one woman at the stake.

Fishermen used seal skins to keep dry

Redshank

Alaskan Lupine

White-tailed Eagle

Our home on wheels

Rednecked Phalarope

Iceland May-June 2018, Part 3 - North Iceland and Travel Notes

Jurassic dinosaur or Killer Whale?

How big is a Blue Whale? (historical photo)

 We headed north to Hvammstangi and toured the Seal Museum and saw several waterfalls at Kolugljufur Canyon. In Siglufjordur, we toured the award-winning Herring Museum. This town was the primary port for herring processing in Iceland between 1903 and 1968, but due to over-fishing, no herring are currently fished. In Akureyri, we camped next to a preserve that had lots of hiking. We also walked through the town’s botanical gardens, which were pretty amazing that close to the Arctic Circle. In Husavik, we had the best Fish & Chips that we have ever tasted. We also explored their outstanding Whale Museum, with a full-size skeleton of a Blue Whale.

Don meets the locals

The Rock People

Asbyrgi Cliffs

Our last major destination was Jokulsargljufur (canyon of the glacier river Jokulsa) National Park. We started at the northern entrance, Asbyrgi, where a catastrophic glacier flood carved out a canyon with 300-foot vertical walls. We hiked here a couple days before taking on the very challenging dirt road to Dettifoss. On the way we stopped to see the bizarre shapes and twists of basalt columns and a horseshoe shaped waterfall. We finally reached Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe. Just a little further upstream was another pretty waterfall, Selfoss. From here, we started our trip back to the airport.

Jokulsargljufur Canyon

Golden Plover

Slavonian Grebe

We camped at Myvatn Lake and were greeted by thousands of black flies! The next morning, gale force winds made the little buggers disappear. We also got a text message from the rental company telling us that we should not be driving in such high winds. That’s when we figured they were tracking us. I guess they didn’t know we had two days to drive half way around Iceland. So, we really had no choice but to start knocking out the kilometers. We stopped at Godafoss again and were surprised to see a much higher water level than we had experienced three weeks previously. We missed Glumbaer Folk Museum on the way out, so we stopped and toured a large sod house. Back at Touring cars, we returned our RV – no problems - and headed for the airport. This time we flew Iceland Air and had a much more enjoyable flight back to Halifax. 

Godafoss

Sod House

Inside a Sod House

Travel notes on Iceland

STOP, don’t pack your bags yet. Regardless of how you travel in Iceland, (short of hitchhiking) you will find it very expensive. As a general rule expect everything to be at least double what you would normally pay for it. Gas or diesel was three times more. Laundry was about seven times more expensive. We did have some good weather in Iceland, that is when we took most of our pictures. But the weather changes quickly, except for the wind, which can blow hard for days in a row.

Icelandic Horses

July and August are the peak travel months in Iceland and that was reason enough for us to avoid that time period. June was crowded enough for us. Our old 1996 travel guide said, “Iceland has still to be discovered as a tourist island”. In 2001, we did a three-day layover in Iceland on our way to Scotland.  Now Iceland hosts five times their population each year. They are trying to improve their roads and facilities, but they just can’t keep pace with the increasing hordes of tourists. This is especially true in their campgrounds. 

Almost Heaven, North Iceland

Most of the wild flowers bloom in June and everything else is green, where vegetation exists. We did have problems with black flies around Myvatn Lake, but by July the black flies are more wide spread. Most of the days in June were cool (40-50 F) and windy. But when it was nice, it was beautiful.

This ship sailed to America and back

We spent a full month in Iceland, a 10-day cruise and 22-day RV rental, and we didn’t see it all. For most people, a layover (up to 7 nights free from Iceland Air) of 3 nights is enough to see Reykjavik, take a Golden Circle Tour and soak at the Blue Lagoon. If you love it, then plan a longer trip and be sure to include North Iceland. If you have the time and money, the ProCruise’s Ocean Diamond was an easy way to see lots of Iceland in a short period. OK, now you can pack!