Thursday, June 6, 2019

Iceland day 6: Up to 66 degrees North!



I’m stoked about going as far North as I’ll likely ever get! We’re totally equipped, thanks to the additional layers we both bought in Norway. I asked Olga if this 2C degrees is normal, she said there simply is no normal any longer.
First stop, Godafoss waterfall (waterfall of the Gods). Every waterfall is of course beautiful, but this one comes with a story! In 1000AD. Iceland’s elected legislature was under pressure to convert Icelanders to Christianity. In a symbolic act, the presiding legislator threw the Nordic gods over this fall, and the people hereby peacefully were ‘converted’ to Christianity. They did, however, secretly continue to worship Thor, Odin, and the other gods of the Norse pantheon. 




Once we hit Akureyri, the second largest city on the island, 


we 1)stocked up on our evening cocktails, and 2)had lunch in a really lush botanical garden. 


This area is amazing! It’s known for having the best weather on the island, and sure enough...the temp is back up to a balmy 9 C, and the plant life is lush. This city is tucked in the very back of a long fjord, so it’s not even windy! 


I could easily spend all day here in the garden and various museums, but we push on to the adventures ahead!
The drive is absolutely amazing...all it seems to take is for the cloud over to raise and we realize what a BIG country we’re in. The saying ‘Iceland...better than the pictures’ is really true!


Now we head into a series of tunnels worthy of fine Swiss engineering! I remember when we were in Switzerland a few years ago we thought they were master diggers. Well, Iceland also diggs through  immense mountains! This one is a 7 km, one way tunnel with turnouts. We had no idea what this maze of signs meant. We just figured we’d follow the van in front of us. What we learned pretty quick is you’re supposed to stay back from the car in front of you so you can ‘give way’ to oncoming traffic, since the pullouts are all on our side. Felt like we were going through the tunnels of Mordor! We went through 3 more, but fortunately those had 2 lanes!


Our reward for surviving this was a ‘fika’(afternoon cake and coffee) stop. The North side of the island is Definitely Nice! 


Here’s what I’ve waiting for...our very Northermost spot! 


Next stop...polar bear country! We’re about 15 miles South of the Arctic Circle! Turns out it’s warmer here than much of the island has been! A little breezy, but VERY comfortable given our location! I’m down to one jacket!


And, in the distance, Greenland!


Our last stop for the day is a very old turf church. The turf is renewed as needed, but the timbers date back to 1834. There has been a church at this site since about 1000 AD! 





Phew! Another day done, we find our hotel


Evenings are SOO long here! It feels really weird to look outside at 9:08 to full sun, clear blue sky, and wonder...what should we do now? After all, the sun won’t set till 12:18 am...and it’ll come right back up at 2:15 am! Let me tell you, it doesn’t really get dark in between, either! 

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