On the last day in Stykkisholmur, I decided to take on a boat ride on one of the local Fjord.
We were lucky to see several puffins and I was even able to photograph them flying (yes they can fly) and swimming
On one of the islands in the bay, I caught this woolly sheep in an apparent staring contest with a sea gull – this is not a Mexican Standoff!
This is the perfect season to raise chicks – or whatever young Cormorants are called. There were several nests with young chicks in them along the cliffs.
The specialty of this particular tour is that towards the end of the tour, they trawl the bottom for whatever lives there and let you taste what comes up fresh and raw! All that with a glass of wine too. It was delicious. I particularly liked the sea urchins.
This is known in Europe as one of the places with the fastest tidal currents. There is a large body of water with a very limited access to the sea and therefore twice a day, with the rising and ebbing tides, there are fast currents in this area. Look at the water level difference between one side of these islands and the other!
Never saw so many puffins all together. They actually seemed to be grazing here.
A nesting pair of eagles. They are protected in Iceland so we could not get very close. The captain indicated that he was not even supposed to stop the boat in their vicinity, so I took photos with my long 300mm lens.
The Stykkisholmur Cathedral from different angles. It is a stunning building; unfortunately, I was not able to go inside as it was closed by the time I got there.
I stand corrected – this is the most Puffins I have ever seen all together!
The Reykjavik Cathedral – quite unique too. This is built entirely of concrete and on top of a hill so you can see it from all parts of the city.
The inside is quite austere with few decorations.
While I was visiting, a local musician was practicing on the organ – it added a very nice touch to the visit.
As I often do now, I took a walking tour of the city – we had an American guide (the one with the red t-shirt) who is studying at Reykjavik University. Most of the other people on the tour were students too!
Iceland’s current parliament – you will see the earlier version later in this episode.
Iceland sits right on top of the North Atlantic Ridge and therefore the island is growing as The Americas are moving away from Eurasia you can see the rift at the forefront of this picture
Here is another view of the fault created as the two continental shelves move apart
Strangely enough, this is where early Icelanders decided to form their first government. Most of the population would gather here once a year for several weeks and speakers would repeat the laws which had to be learned by heart since they were not written down. New laws were passed by general acclamation.
A waterfall from the American Plate down into the rift ‘valley’
Not too far is the place that gave its name to Geysers. This is Geysir, which used to be a regular gusher but has been dormant for years after tourists threw too many rocks in it in an attempt to get it going.
Next to Geyzir is Strokkur – which erupts every 4-8 minutes, but not very high – OK here, not very high still means 10-30 meters. Geyzir used to go up to 25-40 meters!
High enough that I could not get it all in one shot – this is actually three photos stiched together
From beginning to end – after a while, I understood the first signs of a coming “burp” so I was able to get them just as they were starting. By the end, only steam is coming out!
Gullfoss Waterfall – this is the biggest in Iceland, dropping 32 meters in two steps.
Impressive amount of water at this time of year, all being channeled into a narrow gorge
You can get a feel for the scale compared to the people on the walkways.
The is the geothermal plant that serves Reykjavik. I was not able to visit, but it produces electricity and enough hot water to be able to heat the city sidewalks in winter to prevent ice formation.
Bare landscape with the pipe bringing the hot water to Reykjavik. You can tell that winters here are harsh as there are no trees and very few bushes.
On my last day, I needed to kill quite a few hours as my flight left after midnight. I went to visit a bird sanctuary the Floi Nature Reserve, which was very hard to find as it was totally unmarked, and at the end of a very long dirt road that looked like it was leading to a private farm. With the help of the locals, I finally arrived there. Once there, I saw quite a few different birds.
The coast around here is very dangerous. There have been many shipwrecks and there are traces left over from them.
The larger pieces have explanation plaques with explanations in Icelandic and English.
There are very big pieces that were thrown quite a long way from the sea in this ship graveyard.
This concludes my trip to Iceland. It was obviously too short to see a significant portion if the island, but I got a good overview of a few places.
I will have to come back again!
LOGISTICS and INFORMATION:
HOTELS
In Stykkisholmur, I stayed at the Hotel Breidafjordur. Nicely located and very friendly! www.hotelbreidafjordur.is
In Reykjavik, I stayed at the Hilton, which is a little out of the center of town but has a shuttle to help you get back and forth.
RESTAURANTS
In Stykkisholmur, I enjoyed my meals at both Fimm Fiskar and Narfeyrarstofa. I enjoyed the second one so much that I actually went there twice. Food is excellent in both places.
In Reykjavik, I ate at the Perlan Restaurant, perched on top of the city’s water tanks and revolving to give you a leisurely sight of the whole town. I also ate at Einar Ben, a small restaurant right in the center of town with great local food.
TOURS
For the boat tour in Stykkisholmur, head to the harbour and there is the booking office for Seatours. www.seatours.is I took the “Unique Tour”
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