Most Excellent Thing of the Day

In 2008 we took a family cycling trip in the San Juan Islands. One of the stops included a small county fair. What made the biggest impression on me was one family's scrapbooks of envelopes sent to them by a friend who travelled a lot. It inspired me to do the same and even though I don't always remember, we do have a small collection of hand-decorated envelopes mailed to ourselves from our different trips.

As I packed for Iceland I proudly remembered to take a self-addressed envelope (no stamp since I would need to buy one there). During our northernmost stay we sat down with colored pencils and drew little memories. I did not think to take a picture of it.

My parents received the postcard I mailed the same day I mailed the envelope. My parents-in-law received the postcard I mailed the same day I mailed the envelope. I began to give up hope. Maybe I forgot to put on a stamp? Maybe I forgot to put the country? Maybe it got stuck in the mailbox? Maybe all the postal workers in Iceland loved my envelope so much they wanted to pass it around and not send it to me?

And then, miracle of miracles, my parents-in-law were coming to my house and someone driving down the street asked if they were going to that house. My in-laws were told that the envelope had been delivered to the wrong address and the driver was returning it to us. Yippee!

Random Iceland Pictures

One last post of pictures that didn't fit anywhere else.

so many adorable souvenirs, so little need

yarn-covered hangers at the cafe where the choir rehearses
and where we watched a World Cup game

lupine, which we saw all over

Iceland poppies

small-town ambulances

lichen

moss

forest spirit

taken as we drove by 

and on a sign not much farther from there

I am struggling to learn about it, but did find this quote on another blog. "Kleifaheiði, (404 m) a mountain road from the Barðaströnd coast to the head of Patreksfjörður. On the top of the moors, at their western edge, is the Kleifabúi cairn in the shape of a man, raised by road workers. It is said the it resembles Hákon J. Kristófersson (1877–1967) a farmer and a congressman from the farm Hagi at Barðaströnd."

midnight in Borgarnes on 21 June

What a great trip!

Hot pots, pools, and spas

We tried all three!

We didn't see anyone enforcing it, but we did wash before putting on our suits.

photo credit - DAG
Our first swim was at Fontana Laugarvatn, a spa with a cafe.

They had three pools with different temperatures (32-40C) and 

we could get in the lake to cool off before getting back into the warm water.

Our next swim was at the end of a single-lane gravel road.

photo credit AAT
where we could sit in the hot water and look out onto the ocean.

Reykjafjardarlaug 

photo credit AAT

This one had a brief mention in a guide book, but I am not sure we would have found it if there had not been three cars parked there already. There was an honor box for payment and no showers, which might be why the pool was not very clean.

photo credit AAT
Not far from the pool was a very warm (45˚C?) natural hot pot.

photo credit Charles Haynes
It was great to get out of the cold air and into the warm water to have a soak.

The final spot was not visible from the road,

 

but there was definitely a pool

and a hot pot.

If you looked very carefully beyond the hot pot you might have noticed the mountain range on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, including the snow-covered Snæfellsjökull volcano to the west (right-hand side of picture). We crossed the Breiðafjörður and had a stunning view, which was good since it was rainy and very overcast the next day, when we had considered visiting.

We didn't buy many souvenirs but I liked this magnet, the road sign for pools.
Hot pots are usually marked by the same symbol with a thermometer.

Puffins

Before going to Iceland I tried to do some planning but also tried to stay flexible. One thing on my must-see list was puffins.

A book I read as a child took place on Puffin Island. It sounded amazing but I never thought about seeing puffins myself until I started reading about sights along our route.

Látrabjarg
65˚30'N 24˚32'W

We headed out the westernmost point in Iceland (and Europe, if you don't count Maldives, which I don't since it is in Asia, although it is a sovereign state of Britain).

It was not very crowded when we arrived and I had a moment of panic. What if sunny, breezy weather was bad for puffin watching? What if they decided to hang out somewhere else today? The ranger thought it was odd when I asked if he had seen a puffin today.

We headed to the first viewing spot and there they were!

We were allowed to explore the cliffs but 

were encouraged to lie down in order to avoid falling off the potentially crumbling edges.

We all took so many pictures. Here are a few (some pictures by D. and A.).

The cliffs are filled with birds, like a high-rise apartment building.
No wonder the ranger thought it was an odd question!

It was a very satisfying visit! Now I am reading my childhood book again.

Labels

I appreciated the labels of everything in Iceland, even if I could not read them. Every creek we crossed had a name, every part of a waterfall, every little street.

Dynjandi

Strompdljúfrafoss

Göngumannafoss

Hrísvaðsfoss
(hmm, I am not sure how to type the Icelandic d, know as eth)

Bæjarfoss

Near Geysir, seen on the first day.
According to this site the name means The Royal Spring,
in honor of the visit of Denmark's King Christian IX in 1874.

My sister lived in Sweden for a year and I lived in Denmark for year. Despite our combined language skills we could not pronounce or understand most Icelandic. Icelandic does no use Q or W but has several extra vowels. In addition to the eth  (ð,Ð) there is also the thorn (þ/Þ). We had no problem getting by in English.

p.s. Found another sign among my pictures.
The signs are related to the rocks and the tradition of carrying them to show strength and
the ability to be a good defender, or so I gather from reading different translated pages.

Knitting

 Just as singing seems to be a big part of Icelandic culture, I get the feeling knitting is, too.

We saw sweaters for sale in person

and advertised in the paper.

Even more amazing were the knitting supplies available in the convenience and grocery stores.

These two pictures were taken in a small grocery store in Búðardalur,
population 266, but maybe it might have been the only store in the area.

This picture was taken at the store in the center of town in Ísafjörður,
population 2571 and the largest town in northern part of the Westfjords.
On the right side and in the back you can see pattern books, needles, etc.

We stayed near the airport the last night and these pictures are from a store in Reykjanesbær, population 15,129. I guess the people need something to do between choir practices.

I did not buy any yarn. I am still trying to use up the yarn I bought in Scotland in 1991.