Bird cliffs and hot pots

OK, so we didn't ski and swim today. But we ventured to the westernmost tip of Iceland, Latrabjarg, on cliffs up to 1,300 feet high.

The guide books say it's actually the westernmost tip of Europe. We're fairly certain that Europe is a pretty far piece from here, but we'll let the geologists have the final say on this one.

We are simply awestruck by the beauty, the remoteness and the majesty of the landscape. Karen said it best when she said standing here makes you feel so small. That's partly because the cliffs and fjords are so towering, but also because there are only 8,000 people in the entire Westfjords region.

Our next stop was Talknafiordur, a town of 200 that has the most spectacular hot pot views we've encountered in our lives.

Scroll down for brief comments on the day's highlights.

This is actually yesterday while getting off the ferry. Other than they parked the cars mere inches apart, we're still unsure how they fit so many vehicles on board.

This is on the way to the Latrabjarg region. Notice the lack of guard rails. Yes, we were going slow, because it didn't seem like that stake on the side was going to keep us from rolling
hundreds of feet into the water. 

 We can't say enough about the Hotel Latrabjarg (www.latrabjarg.com). Our hosts, Carl and Sere, and their son Kristopher made us feel like royalty. In the morning, Carl spent time with us over breakfast telling us about the region and just plain getting to know us. These kinds of conversations are what make traveling so rewarding. Our thanks go to Peter and Inga, a couple we met way back at the Blue Lagoon, for recommending this special spot.

This is at the trailhead to the cliffs that are mobbed by mating and nesting birds. We don't understand Icelandic, but we think the sign says "beware of drunks."

Have we mentioned how remote we are? We looked on Google Earth, and it appears that we're on about the same latitude as the northern tip of Alaska.

The bird cliffs again. And this wasn't even the tallest cliff.

Can you tell we liked the cliffs?

The wind was whipping up big time. Thank goodness for fleece and Gore Tex.

But the sun was out in all its glory.

It's a long way to the rocks below. In the U.S. there would be footpaths and suicide barriers. In Iceland, you lie down next to the cliff's edge and peek down.

f

Sure beats working.

The most picturesque hot pot we've ever experienced. It's down a gravel road and not signposted.

The view from our tub.

Yee haw! What a great day of skiing and swimming the fjords!

You wouldn't believe the excitement of our first day in the Westfjords.

This is Brad skiing on a glacier:

And here we are at the end of the ski trip doing what the locals call the Polar Bear:

Alright, alright. We can't deceive you.

That's NOT what we did today. But it's what our sea kayaking guide, Runar, did this weekend. Looks pretty "cool," eh?

We'll get to today's real events in our next post. Just know that if the weather cooperates, we'll be going off the grid between Wednesday evening to Saturday. That's when we're hoping we'll get out for our sea kayak/camping adventure. The kayaks, unfortunately, do not have wifi access.

But now that we know that there IS swimming in the fjords, we may just have to try it.

Finding great things in unexpected places

When we were thrown the curveball of the missed ferry ride yesterday, at first we were crestfallen because we'd lose a day on our itinerary.

But then we found our home for the evening, Hofdagata Gistling (www.hofdagata.is) a lovely B&B with a hostess, Ella, who quickly made us feel at home.

And we were joined by new friends Hermund and Hallbjorg from the Faroe Islands.

One of our activities, as described in yesterday's posting, was going to the community hot pots, which were free for the day.

While our fingers were turning pruney, a swarm of 15 year olds descended. They were classmates on a three-day trip celebrating their graduation to high school in Reykjavik.

They were fun to watch, boys and girls having a good time laughing and playing in the warm water and going up and down the waterslide.

After dinner, we were strolling the town taking photos in the late light, when a small group of the kids chatted us up about what we thought of their country. They were very proud. When they found out we're from near Los Angeles, their first questions were, "What movie stars do you know?" "Do you know you look like Bruce Willis?" "Are you on Facebook?"

Here's a photo of who we hope become our Facebook followers:

We've told you about the all-night sunlight. Here are our after-dinner photos, taken about 11 last night.

As we write this, we're just a few minutes from landing in the Westfjords, which many of the locals describe as the most beautiful part of Iceland. Here are a couple of photos of the ferry ride:

 

Food lovers, take note: It's all about the Icelandic hot dog!

This episode deserves to be posted all by itself.

No one ever told us Iceland is a food lover's paradise. But Brad is now threatening to transfer his job to Stykkisholmur and move here just so he can be near the local wiener wagon.

It's specialty: deep-fried hot dogs on a bed of crunched-up Doritos with creamy garlic sauce and melted cheese. Garnished with seasoned salt.

A pregnant woman from Houston who experienced the gastronomic delight yesterday told Brad he wouldn't be able to stop at one. She was right.

 

As anyone should be able to guess, Karen was disgusted by the entire ordeal.

On a plus note, readers should know that this does not mean our diets have turned unhealthy. Here's the evidence from lunch near the harbor before catching our ferry:

Yes, our lunch was really French fries and hot chocolate. Plus, a triple-layer chocolate cake that we took to-go on the ferry.

We now have a few hours on an e-ticket ferry ride to Flatey Island and on to the Westfjords. The Arctic wind is howling and the waves are crashing hard. In other words, a perfect way to ride out our sugar high.

Doh! We broke our No. 1 travel rule

If there's one thing we've learned from our travels, it's that you can never believe what anyone says about ferry schedules. We usually trust only the people who work in the ferry office to provide accurate departure times.

So when we walked into the ferry office today and were told that we'd missed the only boat to the Westfjords by five hours, we could only blame ourselves for not confirming what we'd heard from fellow travelers and travel information centers.

First, the top photos from the day ... followed by our itinerary for tomorrow, provided we actually get on the ferry.

That's the view from our bed at the Hotel Hellner, through our window. At midnight.

We were delighted this morning when the clouds lifted from the Snaefellsjokull glacier just behind our hotel. Yesterday, it stayed mostly hidden.

With the sun shining bright, we made a beeline to the trail to from Djupalon to Drtivik, which is partly on a volcanic rock beach and partly on a lava field.

  

On the trail are the remnants of an ancient labyrinth. Karen nailed it on her first try.

From the mountains to the sea: You can't see the beach to the left, but it's there.

Another view of the glacier. It's said to be the inspiration for Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Just another humdrum drive past yet another dormant volcano. This is starting to get old.

Just kidding.

In the port town where we're staying, Stykkisholmur, there's the Library of Water, where there are glass tubes from floor to ceiling of water from 24 glaciers from all over Iceland. It may not sound very exciting, but it was actually a very peaceful and calming place. Not to mention unique.The photo is of the harbor through one of the water tubes.  

We have most of the day to kill before tomorrow's 3 p.m. ferry to the Westfjords. We'll likely spend it hiking. Or doing a walking tour of the town. Or sitting in the hot pots. Oh wait, we did the hot pots this afternoon ... here's a shot: 

If you're wondering, we asked at the woman at the front desk if we were too old to go down the slide. She said not by a long shot. So we did.

Hikers' paradise

Today was another good day.

After breakfast, we hiked from our little town, Helner, to the next little town, Arnarstapi, and back again. And after a hot chocolate and waffle at the tiniest beachside cafe we've seen, we tackled two waterfalls in the Snaefellsjokul National Park. (Don't worry, we can't pronounce it either.)

Again, words fail us in this otherworldly landscape. Instead of attempting to explain the diversity and beauty, we offer the below photographic evidence. To see larger photos, just double click.

 

 

  We couldn't resist posting this one ... he seemed to think there were snacks in Brad's pocket. 

Funny, he was right.

And finally, here's a portrait of a blogger toiling under trying circumstances. Note the drab outdoor surroundings and the midnight light. And the two empty beer glasses. 

 

As for tomorrow, all we know is that it's a two-hour drive from here to Stykkisholmur, where we're catching the ferry to Flatey Island and Brjanslaekur. Whatever we do before the ferry is anyone's guess ... but we know it'll be awesome.

If there's a drizzle, don't let the vacation fizzle

So this being Iceland, there's bound to be some rain. And that's what we encountered this afternoon.

Luckily, the day ended with us safely ensconced in a spectacular and warm hotel perched on a cliff overlooking the very dramatic North Atlantic. As we write this, we're overlooking said ocean, wind howling and rain pelting the windows ... just like a Hollywood murder mystery.

And even though it's going on midnight, it's still light outside. That still is freaks us out.

First, some photos from the day, followed by some commentary.

This is our cabin in Geysir before taking off this morning.

 The vastness of Iceland. It's mesmerizing.

The town of Borganes. You can tell it's starting to get a little chilly.

Uh oh. Wrong turn. Karen blames Brad, and Brad blames the Icelandic map makers. But hey, they don't call it Iceland for nothing.

We are always humbled by the kindness of others when we travel. Like Inga at the Hotel Geysir, who gave us free breakfasts this morning because she doesn't want to see anyone leave hungry, to the angel working the cafeteria at a gas station who showed us how to use the pay phone and -- in the soaking rain -- how to retrieve the receipt from the self-serve gas pump.

And then there were the kind folks, Dominic and Marious, at Hotel Helner (www.helner.is), who extended us every courtesy. Their restaurant has been open only one week, and it was absolutely wonderful. We had the local black cod and fish soup, complemented by a '96 Turnbull cabernet that we lugged all the way from the duty free shop in Boston (wine is prohibitively expensive in Iceland).

The Lonely Planet guide on Iceland advises travelers to not let a little drizzle make the vacation fizzle ... and that's exactly our attitude. We may not know precisely what we're doing tomorrow if the rain and wind are still doing their thing, but we know it will be a blast.

The sun came out tonight

You sure don't hear many people say that.

But that's exactly what happened at about 10 p.m. yesterday when some high clouds parted to reveal the glorious sun. Despite our writing earlier that there's 20 hours of daylight, it actually stays a shade of light all night long.

After leaving the Blue Lagoon area, we pointed the car for the Golden Circle (by way of a Reykjavik electronics store to get an electrical adapter for our computer) where we were re-schooled in the beauty of nature, and were fortunate to see the power of nature in action

We took a short hike and shot some photos in the rift where the North American and Eurasian plates are ripping apart at the speed of between 1 and 18 milimeters annually.

Here's some trivia: Did you know that the English word geyser comes from the town of Geysir? It has one geyser that erupts every five minutes or so, and another, larger, one that goes off about three times a day at unpredictable times.

And then we went to one of Iceland's most famous waterfalls, Gullfoss.

Words on a blog would never do the beauty of this area justice So let's just let some photos do the talking.