Iceland, Part 2

After a few days in Iceland, Erin and I were starting to get used to the cold, wind, and rain.  We had accepted the idea that we wouldn't let a little thing like weather stop us from experiencing the adventures we had planned.  On Wednesday we had that thinking put to the test.

We drove to Husavik Wednesday morning and started at the Whale Museum.  It was very informative about different whales and the whaling industry in Iceland.  We especially found it amusing to learn where and how they got their different whale skeletons.

After the Whale Museum we got some soup for lunch and took some Dramamine.  We were soon on a trawler heading out to see to find some whales.  Unfortunately the sea was not calm and had to contend with some large waves and swells.  Many people on the boat got sick including me.  I regretted my choice of shellfish soup for lunch.  Erin didn't vomit, but she felt terrible for the whole trip.  After about two and a half hours she didn't care when we spotted the dorsal fin of a humpback whale rising out of the water.  Next time we will be more weary of the weather before heading out on a boat.  Fortunately we had a nice cabin just outside of town on the edge of a nature reserve to recuperate.

The next day, having spent far too little time in our cozy, little cabin, we drove down to Lake Myvatn.  The area provided a number of hikes up cinder cones and around lava formations of various sizes.  There were also swarms of flies we tried to avoid and grazing sheep.  After a long day of hiking we had dinner at one of our favorite places, Vogafjós, The Cowshed Cafe.  More than a metaphor they actually had cows that you could pet.

After dinner we continued East away from the lake.  Not far away is a field of bubbling mud and steaming vents caused by the volcanic nature of the area.  After a drive by the local geothermal power station we were on our way to our next stop, the town of Seyðisfjörður in a fjord on the East coast of the island.  While the drive over the pass into the fjord was foggy and it was getting late, it was still light out when we safely made it into town owning to the long summer days.

The next morning we got up and hiked up to a waterfall overlooking the town and the fjord.  We also checked the waves out on the water as we prepared to go out in a kayak in the afternoon.  We met our guide who gave us a brief instruction on steering and paddling our two-person kayak.  Then we were off paddling into the fjord on our way to another waterfall.  The trip was much more peaceful than our outing the previous day though by the time we were through our arms were much more sore.  Before long we were back on the road and heading to the South of the island where we had some of our most memorable experiences...