Part 4
Iceland continued.
The taxi driver who took me from the hotel to the Fly Bus at 4am on my departure morning under grey and threatening skies, responded to my comment on the weather gods turning nasty : “The weather in Iceland is like my ex-wife – cold and unpredictable “.
I actually thought that was pretty funny – and true.
Overall, we had been blessed with the weather on its best behaviour. By now at the half way mark it was time for a spin in an amphibian conveyance to get up close and personal to the ice bergs in a pea soup fog.
Who needs to go to Antartica ! Cruising on Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon between jagged icebergs shrouded in fog was surreal.I have never watched Game of Thrones but was intrigued to learn that Iceland was the location for much of the infamous series. A cue to binge watching perhaps.
A comment on our accomodation . Simple but comfortable . I loved the farm village of Modrudalur. The guide says (quote) “At 469 metres (1539 feet) above sea level, Modrudalur is the highest inhabited place in Iceland, and snow can be seen almost year-round. “
The farm has a quaint, beautiful church built in 1949 by farmer Jon Adalsteinn Stefansson in memory of his wife. The dinner menu was intriguing – made all the more so by the preparedness of most to try out just about every local delicacy, including reindeer.
Is there any other country on the planet that offers more natural wonders than Iceland?
We were all agreed that the first couple of days were gob smackingly amazing yet – there was more to come. Waterfalls everywhere.
Dettifoss – Europe’s mightiest waterfall.
Altogether we marvelled at a total of 5 waterfalls , two thermal lagoons, extraordinary lava fields, black sand beaches as well as the diverse animal and bird life .
At some point along the way, someone commented on the lack of insects on Iceland.
That is until we pulled into the car park at Lake Myvatn only to be greeted by swarms of lake midges after which the lake is named.
Annoying – I added a midge/fly face protection net to my collection of souvenirs. I am used to bugs – I think Intrepid could have warned the group.
Some of the earlier arrivals before our tour got underway had been to the Blue Lagoon near Reykjavik. The Secret Lagoon earlier in the tour had been a hit so most were keen to indulge in the Forest Lagoon at Akureyri. It was quite something – especially the cocktail bar serving drinks in the water. By our standards expensive ($80 AUD) – that doesn’t cover the cocktails , but not hard to see why lounging in a lagoon is very popular with Icelanders.
The changing rooms are an experience on their own!
And so we came to the last two days before returning to Reykjavik and going our various seperate ways .
Part 4 to come.
