So after two agonizing days at sea, where our illustrious Captain decided that compensation for missing two ports of call was extra bingo games (that you still had to pay for….and no, we didn’t partake…we aren’t that fricking old yet), we finally pulled into our first port in Iceland, Akureyri, the largest city in the northern part of the country. Since we had an extra day here we decided to visit some local attractions. Here is our ship at anchor as we are on our way to the Botanical Gardens.
The gardens exceeded expectations. I actually wasn’t expecting much given that it’s Iceland, but there were some pretty cool plants, with Iceland Poppies taking center stage.
The garden was founded in 1910, so some of the trees in the garden are well over 100 years old, which can’t be said for most of Iceland, where the trees were mostly cut down for building houses and for firewood. Kim of course wore the appropriate attire for the setting.
We visited the Akureyri Church, which sits on a hill overlooking the city. While it has an interesting exterior, the interior was so “blah” I didn’t even take a photo. If anybody stays awake during a service in this building it would either be a honest-to-god miracle or an act of 5 shots of cappuccino. Yikes!
On our second day in Akureyri, the actual date we were SUPPOSED to be here, I had a tour planned for our group of 10. Our first stop was Godafoss Waterfall, the “waterfall of the gods”! Remember those commercials advertising the monster truck shows? Sunday Sunday Sunday!!! Just think of them when you say “waterfall of the gods!!” and you get the picture.
I gotta admit though….Sunday Sunday Sunday is pretty appropriate!
Put this on your must-see list!
We next visited Skutustadagigar (who in the hell came up with these names?), an area of “pseudo-craters”, a rare geological formation created through the interaction of lava and water.
This is the most distinct pseudo-crater we saw. The interaction of the lava with the lake caused the lava to explode around the spot of contact, spewing cooled lava into a cone shape, hence a pseudo-crater. Class dismissed!
This is the same pseudo-cater from a different perspective. Gorgeous spot!
Our next stop was the unique lava formations of Dimmuborgir, known by the Icelandic people as the home of the trolls. Dimmuborgir translates as “dark castle”.
The below sign lists the current trolls who inhabit this area, the Icelandic Yule Lads, also known as Iceland’s 13 Santa Clauses. Starting on December 12th, these trolls are said to start giving gifts to children by placing them in their shoes, as long as they are good. If they have been bad, their shoes will be filled with rotten potatoes.
This is the home of one of the trolls, the “Spoon Licker”, who is known to sneak into houses and lick the wooden spoon used to scrape the pots and pans. Other trolls have names like “Stubby”, “Pot Scraper”, “Bowl Licker”, “Door Slammer” and “Sausage Swiper”. The Iceland population has too much time on their hands…particularly in the dead of winter.
That’s “Spoon Licker’s” cave behind part of our retreating group.
These two lava formations are said to be “kissing trolls”. Legend has it that if a troll stays outside too long and they are hit by the sun, they are frozen in place forever, which is what apparently happened during this troll kissing party. You know what’s really surprising?? Marijuana isn’t legal in Iceland! Seriously!
We visited one of the thermal baths, this one called Hverarond. I don’t care how relaxing it might be, they stink to high heaven.
Mike and Julie opted to enter the smelly hot water, so Kim and I took a short hike on a nearby hill. There are thermal vents all over this area…you have to make sure you aren’t standing on one, as it might melt your shoes! In the distance is a major geothermal electric plant.
Here is Reynir, our excellent guide from Tours By Locals. Thanks Reynir!
BTW, our guide pointed out that in the city of Akureyri, all of the traffic signals red lights are hearts. Pretty cool!
A nice shot of the ship as we are boarding before departure.
A view of northern Iceland on departure. The weather was just perfect.
One last shot of northern Iceland as we head west.
As well as one last perfect sunset.
Next up, we visit the tiny town of Isafjordur, and take a tour of some nearby highlights.