Iceland 440: Day 2

Sunday, 14 December 2008

3am to bed, 10am to rise – not too bad.

Our first excitement of the morning was opening our curtains to our terrific view. It was dark when we got in Saturday evening, so we had no idea what was in store. It was a cold crisp morning, the sun was shining and in front of our little apartment was Reykjavik's bay framed by snow-covered mountains. My favourite spot in the apartment was quickly discovered.

But there was no time to linger, as we had another busy day in store. First up was Reykjavik's weekend market. This is basically an indoor swap meet with small farmer's/fishermen's market attached. We wandered past stall after stall after stall of attic liberations. We also got to taste the Icelandic specialty - Hákarl. This is a kind of shark or skate (we've heard conflicting stories) that is fermented, in the ground for several MONTHS! We had heard that it was vomit inducing, but it wasn't quite that bad. I'd be perfectly happy not to experience that flavour again, ever in my whole life, but my breakfast did not instantly make an unwanted appearance. Even the market parking lot offered stunning views!

Back to the apartment to put together a picnic then it was time for Slim's first birthday presie – a very special tour of Iceland's most famous sights. We headed down to the lobby to meet our guide, Christian, and were awed by our transportation.

Heading out of Reykjavik, we got the very sad story of how the world's economic crises was affecting Iceland. New stores that would never open and cranes that would lie still. But the surrounding scenery was stealing the show including tiny churches set in snow covered hills and the adorable Icelandic ponies.

Our first stop was þingvellir (pronounce the first letter as 'th' in 'thing'). This place offers a triple whammy: the longest, continually running Parliament in the world was founded here, the North American and European continents are wrenching away from each other and it is so beautiful. You can't actually stand on both continents here though – they are across a lake at this point in the chasm. The other amazing thing here was the temperature drop – from 0 C in the city toaround -10 out here. We were very grateful for our puffy coats.

Next stop was Geysir. This is the geyser from which the word originates. Unfortunately it is pretty dormant these days, only shooting off steam once every three to five years. However, don't despair, the geyser just a few feet away, Strokkur, goes every three to five minutes – very handy for the tourists.

Just one more natural wonder on the list: Gulfoss. This is a huge double water fall – not tall but wide. The other really interesting thing about it is that it flows into a big chasm at a 90-degree angle. So you look over the edge of the chasm with the edge of the waterfall facing you.

The other thing that struck me about the sight was the lawsuits waiting to happen aspect. This would not fly in the US in a million years. I did not want to go down the last bit of the trail as it is basically a sloping skating rink with a single, flimsy-looking rope separating you from the rushing, freezing-temperature water.

We hiked up to the top of the ridge that overlooks the whole scene then joined our guide and freezing fellow tour takers (Aussie cum Londoners who did not bother to bring their puffy coats for the weekend – not recommended) for a hot cup of coffee.

The final destination on the tour was Stokkseyri, a small fishing village on the southern coast. The sun was well down by the time we got there. As we came into town, Christian showed us an old fishermen's shack. In the winter when farming wasn't possible, the men would travel to the coast to fish. They would all cram into tiny sod shacks to sleep, drawing lots to not be the person sleeping by the door (as he would be most likely be frozen to the door in the morning).

We then headed to Við Fjöruborðið for a fantastic langoustine dinner. We were the only ones to enjoy this lovely meal – our fellow tourists were vegetarian and our guide had developed a shellfish allergy (after enjoying so many great meals here). Very sad for them as it was delicious.

We were back in Reykjavik about 90 minutes later, well satisfied in every way. And ready to catch some zzzzzzz's!

(More photos here).