Southern Iceland

We have spent the past 2 days roaming the southeast part of Iceland. There is one main road which rings the island. It is mostly paved. Eighty percent of the population lives in Reykavik so the rest of the country is extremely sparsely peopled. There are few stores or places to stop. The silence is wonderful. The birds are so different, especially their calls. There is one that is a guillemot which sounds like a whirly bird. There are many hot springs. Monday we went to a waterfall , climbed up behind it and were able to stand in a grotto with the water falling, forming a rainbow in front of us. It was so awesome and we had it pretty much to ourselves. Our hotel is out in the country and had a hottub outside our room in which we sat drinking wine and looking at the snow capped glaciers and volcanoes off in the distance a few miles.
Yesterday we went on the Golden Circle which included a stop at the first Icelandic church, then the geysirs, followed by a visit to Gullfoss the largest waterfalls in the country. In the later afternoon we ended at Thingvellir the site of the world´s first parliament dating from 970 AD. The setting was truly spectacular. At the end of a huge blue lake surrounded by high jagged rocks bisected by a waterfall. This is also the site of the division of the tectonic plates separating the Americas and Europe. Very cool day. Of course we have not yet seen the dark. The sun really does not set and those dark shades come in handy. Today we are off to Reykavik and the blue lagoon with a flight to Copenhagen at 1AM. NO sleep for us !

Iceland

What an interesting place! Just under a 5 hour flight from Boston. We went directly north over Labrador and Greenland landing near midnight. The sun was just starting to set. No matter it never got dark and started to rise an hour later. Our room was on the 4th floor of the Flughotel overlooking the harbor and mountains of Keflavik. Unbelievable sticker shock - the food and gas is unbelievably high. Gas is about $8.50 a gallon- now I cannot complain about our measly $3 a gallon. There are no trees anywhere. The land is barren but with such a stark beauty. Speaking of beauty you should see the people. They are tall, striking and with the most stunning eyes. Also love the red hair. As we were landing I could see geysers in the distance. We will leave here shortly to start to explore. We have rented a Toyota Yaris. The roads, such as they are, are quite narrow and much of them are unnpaved so it will be interesting. Will try to keep this up. Oh, the best part so far- they have TAB! It is in Icelandic but I already know this is going to be my souvenir.

Iceland

I don't even like to be cold. I guess the lure of a cheap airfare is stronger than my anathema to cold. Anyway, on Sunday, May 27 we are off to Boston for 3 days in Iceland and then on to Denmark and Sweden. Will try to keep up with the blog but I am guessing there are no 50 cents an hour internet cafes in Scandinavia!