Wooly Moss, Glaciers, and Water Falls, WTRD 3, Aug 11, 2016

Iceland Day 2

As tired as we were last night, our sleep patterns were confused.  We dropped off quickly before 9:00 pm.  Russ awoke around midnight and finally went back to sleep around 1:30, just about the time I woke up and went back to sleep around  4:00 am.  Maybe tonight we will be a little more normalized, particularly after two nice hikes.

It rained throughout the night and was still raining when we left our hotel late this morning. Roads were wet and treacherous for cars and cyclists.

I wondered about our hitchhikers from yesterday and were wondering if they were trying to dry out from last night's rain as most of the campers we saw today were doing just that.

Visibility for mountain tops and distances beyond a mile on the flat have been poor, but have provided a misty beauty, and soft light for flora photographs. We're pretty sure there are mountains here, but have yet to see them.

Fortunately the first thing on our itinerary was to drive through miles and miles of a flora landscape of wooly moss covered volcanic boulders that were part of an ancient volcanic eruption that was so toxic that the only vegetation to regrow and thrive is a wooly moss.  The moss over the years has decomposed and is slowly turning into enough soil for other types of vegetation to grow...a very interesting soft green landscape.

Our first hike of the day was to the Fjaorgljufur, a deep narrow canyon, cut by glaciers through the volcanic rock.  Many of the cliffed formations reminded us of some of the moss covered formations in the Marquesas Islands.  A magnificent waterfall cascaded down the side of the canyon and splashed into the winding river.  It was very picturesque.

We stopped in the little town of Kirkjugolfio where a national monument has been established for the "church floor".  Natural basalt volcanic columns have been worn down by erosion to an almost uniform level creating a tiled mosaic look for a lightly elevated platform of flat stones that look as if they were laid by a stone mason.

Between our first hike and second hike we drove past mountains that rose into the mist,

long haired sheep in green pastures,

black lava fields,

ice fields and glaciers,

and glacial wash basins flooded by volcanoes that erupted under the glaciers and ice fields causing a catastrophic melt and flooding.

One of these eruptions was in 1999 and destroyed a steel girder bridge. One of the twisted remnants memorializes the event.

Our second hike of the day was at the Skaftafell National Park.  Towering above Skaftafell (but shrouded in clouds today) is Grimsvotn, one of Iceland's most active volcanoes.  Wish we could have seen it.  Thank goodness, it is quiet today and we won't be witness to fire and ice melt. We hiked upwards in the direction of the volcano to see Iceland's most picturesque waterfalls, framed by towering basalt columns that surround it (Svartifoss).

By the time we finished our second hike it was 6:00 pm and were hunggry.  Food here in Iceland (restaurants) is really expensive.  Even the most basic of meals (two ham and cheese sandwiches and two sodas) is about $48.00.  There was a little refreshment stand at the base of the waterfall hike.  We ordered a fish and chips, baby back ribs and chips, and two drinks..$50.00.  Yipes!  Breakfast has been included the last two days, but between simple lunches and dinners for two days, it has cost us $200.00. While we ate on a picnic table under a shade umbrella, it started to rain again.  Sigh!

Our last stop of the day on the way to our hotel was Glacier Bay.  Huge Bergie junks clog the bay and the neck of the river that leads to the bay.  In better conditions, these icebergs look as if they could be quite pretty given the right lighting.

Today in the dimming day and rain, they are not so appealing.  We get back in our car and head for the hotel.  Two big sheep run full steam in front of us to cross the road.  Crikey!  Russ came to a screeching halt about 10 feet from the flying woolies.

It's been another great day in Iceland. The beauty is stark, simple, and fresh.  The flowers are my favorites.

We round the southern end this evening and will head up north on the east coast tomorrow.

All is well with the Worrall Travel Rs in iceland.

A Long First Day in Iceland, WTRD 2, August 10, 2016

Flight Path from Seattle to Iceland

Two years ago upon our return from our Silk Road Odyssey, we booked a last minute flight home on Iceland Air.  The airline has a promotional program that we didn't take advantage of then, but on this trip to Europe, we made the promotional seven day stay in Iceland with no extra charge for airfare a part of this adventure as a part of our travel agenda.  We were one of the first people to book a flight on this plane early in the year.  Russ and I almost always travel economy premium with a little extra leg room.  I book a window, Russ books the aisle.  If we are lucky, nobody books the middle, and this usually works well for us.  Besides, we just can't bring ourselves to pay 2 to 3 times more for first class.  

Flying High in First Class

Somewhere along the line, unbeknownst to us until we were getting updated flight information, we had been bumped into first class from Sacramento to Reykjavik.  Nice anniversary surprise and a real teaser...our seats returning home are in economy.  (May have to rethink that now ;-). 

For those of you who fly first class regularly, you are probably thinking this is more info than you need to know,  but for economical friends, I just want to share what a nice experience this was.   We received little travel packs with eye blinds molded away from the eyelashes, cozy little socks, tooth brush, paste, chapstick,  Before we lifted off, we had sparkling wine, followed by a snack, beverage, and steamed towels.  We were issued a down quilt and big pillow with a cloth pillow case, and noise canceling headset full earphones.  Seats were spacious and there were foot rests.   The halibut dinner was superb, as was our ham and cheese croissant and fresh fruit breakfast  Real dishes, tableware, glass, along with linen napkins were pretty cool, too. Nice!

Our flight across northern Canada and across bottom part of Greenland to Iceland was very smooth  .

Frozen

Unfortunately, neither Russ nor I sleep well on planes, and even though we had comfy seating, Russ slept a little and me not at all.  Our plane arrived in Iceland at 6:30 am on August 10, but our biological clocks were still on Pacific time of 11:30 pm August 9. With no sleep, we had a full day ahead of us.

After passport control, luggage pickup, and ATM stop, Russ picked up our rental car for our self-drive tour (car, sightseeing route around the island with  notes about each suggested stop and walk, and booked guest houses for seven nights returning us back to Reykjavik  the night before our departure). While Russ checked in, I dug through the luggage to pull out some warm clothes to change into.  The temperature was in in the low 50's with rain and fog. We got in our 4x4 VW SUV in the poring rain and headed north through a rugged volcanic moonscape of ancient lava plains.  

Once out of the urban airport area, we turned onto a narrow two lane road which looks like it will be the standard for the rest of the trip around the island.  There is a small to non-existent shoulder marked by a broken white line defining life and roll over, undulating elevations with blind rises, impatient cars, tour buses and campers passing one another.  There are a surprising number of camping cyclists vying for space on these roads.

Spacious example of bicycle lane and road width

Bet they had no idea before they signed up for the cycling adventure how perilous these roads can be, particularly with with sight seeing drivers shifting their eyes from the road to see the  rugged mountains, ice fields, and glaciers.  It's scary.  The roads farther from Reykjavik have fewer stripes so what we thought original was standard is not.  Since it rained  most of the day and the forecast looks like a rainy week, we were thankful we had chosen a car over bikes.

We spent most of the day just ahead of the tour buses.  Our first stop was the giant rift between the North American and Euro-Asia tectonic plates are bumping into each other!  The pathways were filled with bus tourists.

We took a few quick photos and left before the buses.  Our next stop was the Geysers.  As soon as the buses pulled in, we left for the Gullafoss waterfalls, and so it went for most of the day until we were out of the Reykjavik Day Tripper Range.  Nevertheless, tourists and tiredness aside, we enjoyed the variety of beautiful scenery.

Spring flowers on thermal hill

Strokkur Geyser spouts upward every three to 5 minutes.

Extremely clear and boiling thermal springs

The volcanic mountains, cascading waterfalls reminds us both of Norway and New Zealand.

Gullfoss Waterfall

Seasonal Fall, No Name

Receding Glacier

Black Sand Beach where puffins hangout

Along the way we picked up two hitchhikers Philip and Barra from the Czech Republic, both working on their masters degrees in journalism and teaching.  They are here with summer jobs at a campground.  With the thousands of daily tourists here in Iceland, the the 330,000+ Icelanders can't fill all off the jobs needed.  Phillip and Barra accompanied us to the Puffin colony, and the Ocean caves and pillars on the black sand beach before we dropped them off at a campground.  They spoke excellent English and were able to give us some good recommendations of what to see and where to eat.

We loved the Puffin colony.  It was cold, rainy, and windy.  The puffins are pudgy little birds who have to flap their wings hard to stay in the air and land like a helicopter on the cliffs.  Today was especially challenging.  It was hard to hold the camera still enough in the wind for a clear picture and the puffins were working extra hard.

We pulled into our hotel around 6:30, have just eaten dinner, and can't wait to go to bed, exhausted after being awake for about 36 hours.  It's been a long soggy an scenic day. 

But all is well with the Worrall Travel R's in Vic, Iceland.

 I

On our way to Iceland and yonder WTRD 1 - August 9, 2016

Today is our 47th wedding anniversary!

WhooHoo.  I don't know where the years have gone....or the hair, but think we traded them in for an abundance of memories.....love, work, travel, adventure, friendships, and family.  Wouldn't have missed a moment.

On this anniversary, we are off on another adventure.  My sweet husband and I  flew this morning from Sacramento to Seattle, gazing down on artistic rice fields in Sacramento,

Picasso Fields

Volcanoes in California, Crater lake in Oregon, and Mount Rainier in Seattle.  

A Little Overcast today in Seattle

Currently we are waiting in Seattle to board a flight that will take us to Iceland for a week self-drive tour, then to Transylvania in Romania, and Friendship Force outbound exchange in Moldova, sailing in the Cyclades in Greece, Friendship Force World Conference in Marrakech and a tour of Morocco including a stay with a Berber Family in the Atlas mountains and the Sahara desert.  We will be returning to USA, to be with Garyn, Jess, Imogene, and baby sister, before returning to California.

We arrive in Reykjavik early tomorrow morning.   on Worrall Travel R Day (WTRD 2).  I think I got the glitch figured out on Blogger for some of you who said our posts were no longer being sent to you automatically.  Just in case, I am also sending this email.  PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU RECEIVED 1 or 2 posts.  1 means you got this one, but not the one through Blogger.  2 means you got both.  Also if you would like to receive ZERO posts, let us know that as well.  Thank you.

Remember that photos will follow on the blog.  You can see them here, once they are posted.  Http://WorrallWind.blogspot.com

Please keep in touch with us.  We want to know what you are doing too. When we are gone for so long and so far away, we really appreciate comments on the blog or emails to our email addresses.  

All is well with the Worrall Travel Rs, Sleepless in Seattle