Day 11 July 22, 2014 ~ Akureyri Iceland

Yesterday was the first of three days in northern Iceland. Last night, and the next  2 nights we will be hop-scotching this territory. Northern Iceland is penetrated by numerous glacier-carved fjords. The Icelandic Fjords are different from the Greenland fjords. Whereas the valleys in Greenland were steep-sided and stony, the Icelandic fjords are soil and grass covered, and have an altogether softer aspect, as seen in yesterday’s photos of Isafjordur.

 

Akureyri is located at the head of Eyafjordor, the longest fjord in Iceland. We entered the fjord at 4 this morning. Bob is planning to view the passage, up at the crows nest. It is pretty foggy.  Cant see a whole lot.

It's now 7:30 and the fog is starting to lift.

Akureyri is one oh hundreds of cute villages which litter the coasts of Greenland and Iceland. At 15,000 people, it is significantly larger than most villages.

 

We've seen hundreds of cute villages all over the place. We are touring from Akureyri to see the countryside. We are anxious to see some of the interior of Iceland. There is supposed to be a pretty lake and waterfall at the destination, but it's the ride through the countryside that Bob is looking forward to. If we glimpse some of the town on the way, so much the better.

9:12am and we are on our tour. Quite a nice luxury tour bus.  The ship is docked on the west side of the fjord. Our route takes us around the tip of the fjord, then north up the east side. Our first stop is a turnout where we can view Akureyri across the water.

About 10 miles north we turn right and head up into Vikurskard Pass. We are told we are on the ring road, which goes all the way around the Iceland. The pass is low and gentle, and we are through in the time it takes to write about it. We hate to harp on weather, but it really is delightful to have a partly sunny day for touring.

 

Descending into the next valley the scenery is very pastoral, with no trees and broad, verdant green valleys between low tabled mountains. Nestled on the hillsides are small groves of Mountain Birches. Most of the indigenous trees were burned for firewood a century ago. The forestry service is working to revegetate, mostly for erosion control.

We are told that Iceland should be completely covered with ice, based on latitude (almost on the arctic circle). Instead it enjoys a relatively mild climate because of the Gulf Stream.

 

Our next site is a rift name Grjotagja, where Mid-Atlantic Rift is clearly visible. We were excited to see this special geologic feature. We've heard about this mid Atlantic split.

 

 

 

Next stop is the volcano which erupted for 10 years starting in 1975, and a nearby older caldera from the early 1700's. Next stop a fumerole. Ho hum. It really is interesting to see all these geothermal features, but, for the most part they are not as impressive as Yellowstone. The thing that makes this area unique is the mid Atlantic ridge, which is under the Atlantic Ocean most places. You can tell we are starting to become jaded, can't you.

A comment on Icelandic roads. They are excellent. The circle road is quite narrow, in keeping with European tradition, but it is well graded and well paved. Signage is excellent. There seem to be a lot of campgrounds, but they mostly have tents.

What a day....

Back to the boat at 4pm. The weather has deteriorated to scattered showers, but no fog. We are looking forward to being able to see the fjord as we sail away tonight.

 

At 10pm tonight we shall cross the arctic circle. Appropriate ceremonies are planned poolside. Something involving a swim across the arctic circle, in the pool. We may be there, and we may not. Right now, Bob is in the Crow's Nest watching the scenery roll by, at 8mph. Watching scenery roll by at 8mph is like watching grass grow. I love it!