This is one of a few "rest spots" that generations of Icelanders have used while bringing their sheep home after pasturing in the highlands for the summer. This picture doesn't show it very well, but there are waterfalls along the entire length of the cliff that spill out into the river below. This is also the most vegetation I saw all weekend!
One last picture of the Laugerfall Hot Spring hut where we spent Friday and Saturday night.

And what weekend trip wouldn't be complete without sheep!

A slightly closer view of the steaming glacier. If you look closely in the lower left hand corner you can see a little lake that has been formed by the melting snow.

The little Toyota Landcruiser towing the radio repeater up to a higher point. That odd black thing on the back of the repeater is actually a guy holding on for a free ride up the hill.
The hot spring. I realized afterwards what was so wonderful about this spring was that it didn't smell like sulphur. The water was a comfortable hot tub temperature and I could have sat in it all night.

And here's the radio repeater we came to move to a higher point.

Another "most amazing sight ever." Smack dab in the middle of the glacier is this geological active area still spouting steam and boiling mud. I'll try and find a better picture. This was very impressive.
Now we're at the edge of the glacier. This is looking to the North-East.

In the middle of Vatnajokull glacier...not much to see, but it was a beautiful day. The weather report predicted rain and clouds, oops.

On the glacier! We were headed to a high point on Vatnajokull (largest glacier in Europe) to move a radio repeater to a better location. The vehicles of choice were these modified Toyota Landcruisers: 44" tubeless tires, an on board air compressor, some sort of nifty suspension system system, a 19" laptop with the newest GPS system, sattelite phone, radio, and....it goes on. These trucks would warm the heart of any PG girl!




The 4x4 Club of Iceland, also known as the Search and Rescue Association. They all seemed like really nice guys, even if they never spoke english, and my Icelandic is rudimentary at best. For all you safety conscious people out there, those blue diesel barrels were transported in the back of the vehicle I was driving in where the extra seats normally are. I was assured this was common practice, as is driving across crevasses...

Last Weekend

Sunrise. Nothing but rocks and snow for the next 24 hours. The simplicity of the landscape was beautiful in its own way.


Saturday morning we were up at around 5am. This is our first glimpse of the small Askja glacier on our way to the much larger Vatnajokull glacier. It was very early, and a little chilly, but definitely worth the view.

I spent the weekend with the 4x4 Association of Iceland. No, just kidding, but sometimes it felt like it. More pictures and explanations to follow. Friday night I was treated to an amazing show of "nord lys" while sitting in a natural hot spring near the Vatnajokull glacier in the interior of Iceland. I managed to capture a little bit of the lights with my camera on a 15s exposure. One of the best shows I've ever seen, they literally filled the entire northern horizon at times. I think everyone should come to Iceland at some point!

School Days

We took samples of the ocean floor (38 metres down) near the cod pens. The mud closer to the pens really stunk compared to the mud taken from the middle of the ocean.
A picture from shore looking back towards town. I think it may have been raining in town again.
We stopped by some cod pens and I got to hold my very first, real live cod! Each pen contains about 180 tons of fish!
Me in my oversized rain/fishing gear before leaving on a field trip. The university owns a little fishing boat (not the one I'm standing in front of) and often takes students out in the Eyjafjordur to see what they are studying first hand.

Another view of Namafjall. One of my favorite spots in Iceland.

Sheep are everywhere! They are different then Canadian sheep in that there are spotted sheep, grey sheep, brown sheep, as well as the normal white and black. This picture doesn't really do justice do the brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges.

Another picture of a boiling mud pit. Like I said, I loved this place. One of the most fascinating places I have ever been to.

The mighty Dettifoss. This waterfall was truly humbling. It is apparently the largest waterfall in Europe when measured by cubic volume/second. The fog rolled in just as we arrived, making for a monochromatic landscape. We were also the only people here; the advantage of travelling in the off season.
This is me standing next to a steam vent in Namafjall. This place was so exciting... boiling mud pits, stench of sulfur, steaming rocks... This is one of those things that I definitely wanted to experience while I was in Iceland. Just this one pile of rocks has made the whole trip worthwhile. Where else do rocks emit steam? I guess Yellowstone maybe... but who's keeping track! Back in the day, these rock piles were used for cooking. I don't know how tasty sulfur bread would be.
What a view! This is Iceland for you 80% of the time since I've been here. Beautiful in its own way. There is a waterfall down there somewhere, we just couldn't see it!
Boiling mud! Sorry, these pics are a bit out of order, but you get the idea.
And the fog lifts...now we can see Hafragilfoss.

Rented a Car this Saturday

We rented a car on Saturday to explore some of the sights Iceland has to offer. Here is a walking path with the sights in Icelandic. The first word means "echoing rocks." As you can see, Icelandic is proving difficult to learn. This walking path took you through really interesting basalt formations.

Of course, I had to stop and eat the blueberries along the way!

Some lava formations. There are all sorts of myths, stories, and legends, regarding the "hidden people" in the rocks. It is easy to understand why after seeing the bizarre shapes in the rocks.
This is a picture of "kirkja" or church. Another lava formation. I like the wave shape, although the cave is pretty cool as well.
More basalt columns. One of the unique features of this area is how the columns are parallel to the ground, normally they are perpendicular. This picture also gives an idea of scale.

I went river rafting this Saturday with the law students from the University. This is a picture after our trip with our guide, Anup. Three of the guides were from Nepal, one from the US, one from New Zealand, and the other two from Iceland. It was a great day with, what I considered, serious rapids (Class 3 and 4). It was also absolutely beautiful; with the contrast between the bright green grass and black lava rock, with the occasional white of a sheep or water fall. I'll try to attach a link from the river rafting company.

We passed a family herding some sheep on our way home. The sheep here are more like goats in that the seem completely at home on little rocky outcroppings. All the sheep spend the summer up in the mountains, then come to the valley farms for the winter.

More sheep!

Surrounding area, but not too far

Another picture of the countryside surrounding Akureyri. I think we were in either Modruvellir, or Munkathvera! This is looking south.

This church was built in the 1800's. It shows the typical sod/wood construction from that time. The yard was filled with graves both marked and unmarked...sorry if I stepped on anyone! The most recent gravestone we found was year 2000, and the oldest was 1806.
A view looking to the north, towards the ocean. The farmland reminded me a lot of home. Cows look the same everywhere, as do hay bales!

Some horses that we stopped to say hi to on our drive down the end of the fjord. Lena and Kata are a couple of nursing students that I met on my first day at school.

Another picture of "my" beach. I'm really glad I stumbled across this place.

Arctic cotton growing next to the ocean. I've noticed quite a few flowers that I've only seen at much higher elevations in Canada; could have something to do with the fact I'm sitting at 66' north here.

A view of my favorite discovery thus far. I wandered up to a high point outside of town on my walk in the sun and came across this little beach. It is only about a 20 min walk from my place and a 5 min walk from the main road (but you can't see it from there, as its behind a hill). No one around, and if you can ignore the occasional whiff of fish from the factory on the other side of the rocks, almost idyllic!

Another view of downtown, but in the sun. It is almost like a different city. But that was the other day, the rain is back!

Sun!

The sun does shine...once in a while! This is a looking north east over town with the ever present Akureyarkirja. I'll try and remember my camera when I go for my longer walks to the grocery store because there are some stunning views out the fjord when the fog lifts.

The view from my room. I wonder how far along they'll get on this house before I leave. The majority of houses here are built solely of concrete. Luckily, they only seem to work on their house when I'm not home so I haven't woken up to the sounds of construction!

The People of Akureyri

I'll hopefully have some pictures of the surrounding area soon. I'm itching to get out on some of the hiking trails. The rain has been relentless though; hopefully the sun comes out before too long!
Like 90% of the kids in Iceland, this fellow has blonde hair and bright blue eyes. We were both in line for a piece of the cow they were roasting in the center of town.



Friday night in Akureyri, and everyone drives in circles honking their horns! Its the thing to do I hear.



There are hippies in Iceland too! This fellow's name is Hjordur, and I couldn't pronounce it properly for the life of me. It means "reindeer" so he said just to call him Bambi!

The view down the main street in Akureyri. Most of the coffee shops convert to clubs at night but you could get a drink at any time of day if you wanted to. The street is closed to traffic during the weekend, but opens to vehicles in the evening and during the week. Its nice to be in such a pedestrian city. Public transportation is virtually non existent though.

Day to day life in Akureyri

This is me shortly after discovering how to listen to CBC radio, Prince George online. A little sound of home. A bit weird listening to the morning show in the afternoon, but that means I get to hear the marine weather forecast without waking up at 6am!

This was taken at a school sponsored function this weekend. School sponsored is synonymous with free drinks. Latvia Laura and I may have had one or two drinks at this point...