Icelanders

1. Looking and talking with these people you can change the way you live.
2. They are shy with tourists but really express themselves when they are with friends.
3. They don't want a big house or a lot of money. They know how much they cam spend and try to manage.
4. Clothes are just to have some. Not buy all the time. And as for all these expensive wool jackets and jumpers, they make their own (and even sell them to you).
5. After the crisis some had to find another way to earn money, so they started studying technical studies (electricians, plumbers, tailors).
6. They love their country. No fancy Attractions. Just a rope and a iron pole, or just some rocks lined up and there you have a pathway.
7. In the cities children go for a morning walk and they clean their city (and get paid from the municipality).
8. They eat at home and not to fancy restaurants.
9. They drink before they go out since it is so expensive. And they start dancing when they go to the bar (alcohol has started working from before).
10. They really like coffee and they brew it with love.

Reykjavik, Day 7. The end

Thursday morning found me at Stofan café enjoying a nice coffee, some clouds in the sky made me sit inside this cozy place. You should know that they do have a thermos with cafe americano where you can refill for free many times.

After that a nice lunch (lamb curry) and here I am now enjoying my last afternoon in Reykjavik under the sun. Also here they had free soup for starters

Wearing shorts (trousers and t-shirt) laying on the grass listening to nice music and drinking a beer. I should let you know that I got a suntan! A nice day for sure summarizing my trip.

I also found out a place near the airport which I will visit and add some more pictures.

And here it is.....

Stingrays drying

Fish heads drying

The sunset behind the glacier to the west

Full-moon to the east

Keflavik airport at 23.30

Leaving wonderland at 1.00 in the morning

I think that this is the time where my blog from wonderland-Iceland will have to come to an end.

A last post that I already started will be posted and that will be all from Iceland.

No conclusions, sadness, no regrets.

Just an amazing experience.

I must say that I really liked sharing these experiences with all of you and I will consider continuing my post at my next holiday in another wonderland (there is somewhere out there and i have to discover it)

Next stop??.......who knows.....

Skaftafell to Reykjavik, Day 6

The next morning me and my discreet but silent company left to return back to Reykjavik. A first stop at the destroyed by a glacial flood bridge and a second stop at Vik’s black beach. The whole route almost 70 km I would say was covered by black sand due to glacial floods of the past.

 Next stop at Dyrholaey. At the beginning a nice view of the arc and after that we noticed some other arcs.

But the most exciting was the puffin cliff. Hundreds of puffins at a very close distance to us just enjoying the nice weather and acting like models to us. Amazing feeling.

Last stop before Reykjavik was Skogafoss. An amazing waterfall where a rainbow was formed and it is here where it ended (or started).

That was the end of an amazing trip through an extraordinary and beautiful country. 

For the afternoon it was time to relax, had another nice lunch with a lobster soup and a cod souvlaki.

Tomorrow I plan to relax in the city.....

Songs of the trip

 

Chasing the sun - Wanted

 

The Lumineers - Ho hey

Myrra Rós - Animal

Myvatn to Skaftafell, Day 5

Brrrr…. A cold morning and an early wake! At 6am I left the camping site and started heading to Seydifjordur for the night. A first stop at Dettifoss and Selfoss was a nice start for the day. The way the waterfall was roaring was just something that I have never heard before. Of course I have a special video just for you. 

Dettifoss

Selfoss

 

And I am leaving to Englishtadir. Around 10 I was already in the city and I decided that I would not be staying where I was supposed to! And at that point I met Batiste and Clemens from Bordeaux. They were traveling around the island hitch-hiking and I was their next company. A young couple or friend or family that would spend a month in Iceland. Not being talkative at all except if you asked them….

So a long journey following the amazing route 1 started. The asphalt changing to older asphalt and gravel, going up the mountains and down the hills…..

Some stop here and there for me to enjoy the amazing nature and some wonderful u-shaped glacial valleys. Our next main stop would be Hofn where we visited a wonderful museum. The stone museum with its nice polished rocks. Mainly jasper and some other wonderful pieces consisted the house.

The next destination was Jökulsárlón. I anticipated to visit this place forever. And it was surely worth it. And it was even greater. Skaftafell glacier breaks and its huge ice pieces start moving along this lake towards the sea.No one can really get the correct size picture. Maybe if you look at the size of the people in some of the pictures you will understand its size.

After staring the place for like 30 minutes we where off to Skaftafell camping place. But luckily on our way I collected some obsidian samples and then we walked up to Svinafelljokull glacier that was really close to the road. Only 10 meters away and it was massive.

Many glacier edges along the road and we finally arrived at Skaftafell around 7pm. Tired yes but I really wanted to go and visit Svartifoss

An amazing waterfall no because of its size but because of its look. Millions of basalt columns surrounding the area and me gazing and staring like fool. I didn’t want to leave that place. 

Around 9 we were back to the camping site and went to sleep. A long day of seeing and driving. A total of 15 hours totally worth every second. I could say that I got tired!!!

Husavik and Lake Myvatn, Day 4, part 2

For the night the plan was to stay at a camping place. And a new thought came in my head!
Lets do some more sightseeing (although i have been driving and seeing things since 7.30 and now it was around 17.00)

And off i am to visit Hverfell crater. Its a long and "hard" way up, where you have to climb from the side of the crater all the way up and all around it! This is the place where NASA send the Apollo 11 astronauts for training

After that i was off to Namafjall-Hverir, a geothermal zone where again you could see Earth breathe. But this time she had a very very bad smell. Rotten eggs but at their worse. The place was so extraordinary with steams blowing, mud holes with hot water and many other that everyone was all around the place watching the show with excitement.

Time to go back? No!

I want more and i want them now

So I am to Krafla geothermal power stations. That is the place where someone can see an old volcano crater filled with water, old craters, lavas of different times of flow during late explosion, collect amazing lava samples (it was not allowed) see lava tubes and lava channels. 

On my way back i took with me a couple of French guys, a Chemistry teacher and a Doctor who where staying in the island for one month and were hiking.

So i finally returned to the camp site at 9.30, set up my Portuguese pop-up tent and went to sleep.