- The Nordic Sojourn 2022 — start of trip
- Western Norway — Fjords, mountains, and a lot of rain!
- Longyearbyen, Svalbard, and start of the cruise
- Magdalenefjorden and Gravneset
- Texas Bar and…
- Arctic pack ice and polar bears — what a day!
- Ny London, Ny Alesund, and the massive glacier!
- Poolepynten and fin whales!
- Northeast Greenland National Park and Scoresby Sound
- Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland
- Patreksfjordur, Iceland and the bird cliff
- Reykjavik and the start of our Icelandic sojourn
- The Golden Circle, Iceland
- Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland
- Westman Islands, Iceland
- The South Coast and Waterfalls, Iceland
- Vatnajökull National Park — Svartifoss, Skaftafell and Glacier Lagoon Jokulsarlon, Iceland
- The East Fjords, Iceland
- Working our way north — canyons, wastelands, fumaroles, pseudo craters and lakes!
- The Diamond Circle
- Akureyri, a breakdown, and a detour
- VR Viking battle, Glaumbær, Icelandic horses, and back to Reykjavik
- Husafell
- Into the Volcano!
With a smaller group and a smaller van, our group now settled into a bit of a more leisurely pace. For one thing, we were starting to move away from the more heavily touristed south of the island to the more fishing-oriented towns of the East Fjords. Our first stop of the day was in Höfn, a small, quaint fishing village where we went to the visitor’s center, which also served as a museum for the area. Given that it was a Sunday, most everything else was closed. Consequently, our guide suggested a place we might like to see — an old movie set of a Viking village for a movie that was never released. Sure, why not! The village was built on a farmer’s land who has now turned the village into a tourist attraction, along with the obligatory Viking Cafe and Gift Shop. We walked down the gravel road and climbed up onto the old Viking ship (which had been powered by engine!), but it was in the same state of disrepair as the rest of the village. The village itself looked mostly what you would think it would look like, with ramparts, sod-roofed buildings, statues of Norse gods, etc. What did seem out of place, though, was the three story building that was there. I don’t recall ever seeing this type of building in any Viking program I had ever seen. While a movie was never made there, the site was photographed as a backdrop for the TV series, Witcher. Before we left the farmer’s compound, we stopped at a fence with a sign advertising Radar Station H-3. It turns out that this was an old NATO base, run by the US Air Force, that tracked Soviet ships, long-range bombers, and reconnaissance aircraft from bases like Murmansk on their way to probe the US’ air defenses. The intercepts here would be passed to the Keflavik Airfield so aircraft could be scrambled to shadow these interlopers. Interestingly, the site was deactivated in 1992 and yet there was obviously still some kind of operations going on there, with lots of security cameras watching the area. Hmmm.. inquiring minds want to know!
From there, we drove up to the village of Djúpivogur for lunch. Apparently, this used to be quite a bustling fishing village, but most of that industry is gone and many of the people have left for the big city. We ended up having a picnic down by a unique art installation — The Eggs of Merry Bay, that is a tribute to the native birds of eastern Iceland. In 2009, Icelandic artist Sigurður Guðmundsson created 34 giant stone eggs that represent the shapes, patterns, and colors of the eggs laid by the various birds. Each egg has a sign giving the bird’s genus, species, and common name. What is odd is that installation is actually outside of the center of town and we only saw two other people while we had lunch there.
Along the road from there, we made two quick stops. The first was to see Nykurhylsfoss, which is the lowest and last waterfall in the Fossa River (there are 29 before it!). It drops about 45 feet into a pool and set of rapids. The second was to Blabjorg (Blue Cliffs). Apparently, these cliffs were formed as part of a pyroclastic bast that happened about 9-10 million years ago. Because of the high heat of the ash, the layers fused and turned into this dense rock called ignimbrite. The sign said the rock was green because of the chlorite minerals in it. Then why call it the Blue Cliffs? Frankly, it looked kind of gray to me.
And speaking of rocks, our last stop of the day was at a modest little house in the little town of Stöðvarfjörður, on the banks of a beautiful fjord. In that house (and the backyard and the driveway and every inch of the property) was an amazing rock collection. Ljósbjörg Petra María (or Petra for short) collected rocks for most of her life, starting around her home as a little girl, then across the East Fjords, and then across Iceland. As an adult, she was often mocked for spending so much of her life pursuing this hobby, but when people from all over the world made their way to her home to see her collection, she began to get the respect she deserved. Ultimately, she was given an award by the President of Iceland. She died in 2012, but her family continues to run her house as a museum.
That evening we stayed at a lodge in a nearby national park, hoping yet again to see the Northern Lights. Not so much…
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
