Return of Iceland

We finished packing our duffels after having grande lattes with our friend Ian. Hoisting the bags onto our shoulders, we trekked through the train station which looks much like todays airport shopping malls. Looking up at the departure boards displaying our express train to the Oslo International Airport.

Leaving Norway to Iceland

Our next destination was to finish our quest from July 2011 when our plane touched down at KEF Airport on the island of Iceland. After gathering our duffels, we went to the rental car counter and We were informed our plan of circumnavigating Iceland was thwarted by a bursting glacier on the south end of the island. So we were forced by nature to travel half way around on the ring road and returning by the same route though it didn't diminish the beauty and adventure we experienced.

This time we landed, picked up a mini four four wheel drive motorcar and within 30 minutes we checked into the Northern Light Inn which is located next to the famous hot springs, "The Blue Lagoon". Sharon and I planned to drop our gear into the room, slip on a swim suit, and revisit this great natural wonder by immersing ourselves into the warm soothing turquoise waters of the lagoon.

Relaxing after relaxing

Since our last visit, seven years ago, we were warned that Iceland has become very popular but we didn't expect to be turned away at 8PM because we didn't have reservations. I should have guessed by the dozen plus tour buses in the parking lot and the line out the door to get in, that this popular spot was a "no go," still we walked to the cashier and were informed that if we came back at 10 p.m. we might get in. Sharon and I realized this would not be the same experience we had seven years ago so we left. Later we found out our hotel had beautiful saunas, steam rooms, and a relaxation room plus something unusallly better to offer which I will let Sharon describe:

"The sensory deprivation experience of floating in a pool of body temp, heavily salted, water had been suggested by a friend recently. She even left me a brochure at our Phoenix house to go and check it out. So the seed had been planted, and now I was going to get to have this experience. First and foremost if you plan to do this, be sure that you are in a good place mentally and that you like yourself. I can't imagine that this is always a good experience for everyone. For me it was fantastic floating and pushing off the walls of the tank in total darkness made me wonder if this is how my grand baby, who is currently incubating, feels. Yep that's where my thoughts were happily floating. After an hour the elevator music starts to play in your tank, and you can turn lights on, which were very hard to adjust to from total darkness, several blinks later I sat up and opened my womb-like chamber. Coming out of the private room, that also had a wonderful shower and products to wash the salt out of hair and off the body, in my bathrobe I went straight to the spa therapist in charge and asked if this would be advisable for pregnant women. The enthusiastic response of how she had her niece in the tank several time during her pregnancy with rave reviews means that I will be giving my grand baby and mommy a hopefully memorable gift soooooon!"

Returning to our hotel we redressed and opted for a fantastic Halibut  dinner at Max's, the hotel's spartan Danish designed restaurant. In addition to a great dinner we got to watch the World Cup match on a big screen. We cheered on Sweden but they lost at the very end of the time allotment.

Fabulous crater to hike around

The next morning we pointed our mini Jeep east,  wasting no time to tackle the missing section from our previous visit. The weather was a challenging down pour with brief let ups. One of these brief periods, we became distracted by a sign introducing the Kerio Crater which was better than your average rest stop. It afforded us a nice hike around the rim of the crater. Our quest was  to get to Sveitarfelagid Hornafjordur aka; the glacier. Because of the distance, it was necessary to spend the night in the small village of Vik. Quickly we discovered this little coastal town had no rooms. The rain wasn't letting up but the gods were with us when Sharon emerged from the front door of the Arsalia Inn, not on the map, with a smile accented by rivlets of rain water cascading down her face.

A guesthouse at the southern tip of Iceland

Luxury at it's finest at an unbeatable value.

The Gistihus sporting a plain building design, wasn't helped by the myriad of kitschy decor filling the  shelves and tables throughout every room. The accommodation sported 2 single beds plus the down the hall bathroom feature, all for a mere $230 a night. Oh...that included an eastern bloc nation breakfast. Our room reminded both Sharon and I of inns we stayed at in Nepal except the Arsalia had heat. One great thing was we drove a short hop up the road to a restaurant with a basement pub to catch, yes ....another World Cup match. So much better watching these games out in the world as futbol/soccer is truly one of the common denominators and languages crossing all barriers.

This "black" glacier is the fourth largest in Iceland

The next day, weather seemed to let up a fraction as we forged east towards the glacier. Early in the morning our hostess pointed out "The Black Glacier" that was easily accessible with a 4WD. Within an hour we discovered the small road heading up into a mountains. The winding cinder coated single lane trail taxed my miniature 4x4 but it continued to chug away on the crunchy road surface. Eventually we came to the end of the road after about 20 miles. The drive was not a loss because the craggy mountains framed the ribbons of the black glacier and the water fall at the end of the hiking trail supported bright green moss covered rocks making it all worth the effort. Once back on the main paved highway,  I stopped for petrol, a stretch and a natural break at a small crossroads. Returning to the highway, Sharon and I were strangely attracted to take a single lane road towards an inn nestled at the base of a mountain for lunch. Pulling up to this lovely property with its smartly arranged cabins, the place looked empty of business but inquired about some coffee and snack. The charming young women at the desk said they were not serving at this time. Then we asked about a room for the night. At first she said they may have a room but quickly discovered the hotel was booked full, everyone must be out in nature as no one was hanging around the inn. Instead of just turning us away, she began phoning about the area and found us a room at the contemporary Luka Hotel. Located on a remote grassy hill a slight 4km splinter off the main highway, we would never have known it was there.  We couldn't believe our good fortune. The rooms were incredibly comfortable, of simple Danish design, with a fabulous restaurant overlooking a  pasture dotted with the short legged, long maned, horses and of course, even more sheep.

A treat at the end of the black glacier road

We had a wonderful lunch, returned to the car to reach our goal, the "Sweitarfelagio Hornafjordur" glacier. Whisking along the endless fields of violet colored Nootka helped cut the monotony of the long stretches of two lane driving. (Nootka aka; Alaskan Lupine, was introduced to Iceland in 1945 to help provide nitrogen to improve the lava soil.) Keep in mind the speed limits on these roads max out at 60 miles an hour slowing our arrival time. We finally came to the turnoff and within minutes we parked and began layering our clothing to protect us from what the cold and the low dark threatening clouds may bring.

First glimpse of the Sweitarfelagio glacier

Look for hikers on the ridge above Sharon's head...

Ignoring the tour kiosks and gift shop, we dashed around the building and onto the hiking trail. There were a fair number of hikers though not really crowded most likely because of the threatening weather. Our layered clothing kept us warm and dry as the rain and wind kissed our faces added to the drama of what we were about to see. The 45 minute hike on the lava rock trail lead us to the first view of the glacier. I was truly moved by it's immense size and character. This was Mother Nature at her finest. We continued for another 30 minutes towards the glacier growing in size with every step. A small body of water populated with bluish icebergs separated us from the glacier's wall. I tried to capture the feeling and imbed it in my memory not wanting this experience to end. The clouds began dropping lower and our time at this hallowed spot on earth must end. Now we stop into the kiosk, they have a pay station that you must visit, we were impressed that there were camera's with license plate recognition and our vehicle was identified in the system, I wonder how many tourists fail at this part of their visit and what the fine is for not paying and how the rental car company deals with it. We stopped into the shop, bought beautiful bags of Icelandic salts in colors we had never seen before, leaving to get back to our hotel and our 8 pm dinner reservations.

Magical image

The morning sun greeted us for our last hours in Iceland, we took an early morning walk around a nearby lake. Leaving our hotel at 7:30 after a beautiful breakfast buffet, gonna miss this treatment, we motored west towards KEF, Iceland's International Airport. We allowed plenty of time to catch our early afternoon flight to Boston. With time to pull off the roads and explore a bit more, we avoided Reykavic altogether and found a great little town and restaurant to enjoy our last lunch. I had forgotten the miles and miles of purple fields of wild flowers. The contrast of purple, cadmium, green medium moss covered mountains and cerulean blue skies stretching on forever. It was our first fully sunny day and our last one in this magical place. I will miss Iceland. I've seen her twice and easily return again in the near future but next time in the off season. (TIP: While pumping gas in Nova Scotia, having a casual conversation with a gentleman on the opposite side of my pump suggested flying from Halifax, Nova Scotia..."it''s a lot cheaper" he added. I thanked him for the tip. My life can take cues from casual acquaintances. Most times they turn out fine.The Halifax roundtrip to Iceland is $553.00 on Icelandair. Not bad! But we would also suggest that you contact One World Travel in Bisbee for all your travel needs.)

Endless fields of "Nootka" aka' Alaskan Lupine

We arrive at the airport, drop the car, and get through the self serve electronic check in. The airport used to be a small terminal with a couple shops featuring Iceland crafts but now they have a large selection of  Duty free stores just like all the other international airports. Unfortunately the homogenizing of these facilities makes them lose all the lovely character that made each one distinctive. Never mind there's a World Cup game being played so we walk to the airport bar, order 2 beers for the reasonable price of $1,980 (20 US).

Not all exotic holidays have warm sunny beaches

The announcement is broadcast for boarding our plane. Everyone shuffles towards the door onto the tarmac and out to the stairs. I like this part of boarding because you get a view of the large bird unlike boarding through a jetport. With everyone buckled in we begin to move towards the runway. Within 5 minutes I'm thrust back into my seat while gazing out the window seeing Iceland disappear. I wondered if I'll ever return to breathe the air of this miniature magical wonderland.

Over Greenland on our way to Boston