11-15 August, 24 August - 4 September, 2025
The sky in Iceland is a world unto itself - clouds or stars or aurora.
28 August |
| Clouds and crepuscular rays over Myvatn in north Iceland. (Also below.) |
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| Sunset over Myvatn. |
11-15 August, 24 August - 4 September, 2025
We started our tour in Iceland at the time when most of the birds are beginning their annual migration to more southernly climes. By the time we left in early September, the vast majority of the birds had left.
11 August |
| There were still quite a few puffins on the cliffs at Dyrhólaey. I didn't get a good close-up because my camera with the good telephoto lens had a dead battery. |
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| Puffins can be pretty comical in flight. Whether they're coming in for a landing or hurling themselves off the side of a cliff, they just don't look like they were made for flight. |
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| I never did understand some of the exhibits - why is an arctic fox on the table in the midst of a tea set? |
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| Some of the exhibits were disturbing, if accurate. This fox had "Naked Fox Syndrome", an infectious disease that causes hair loss and swollen joints, and is only found in Iceland. |
We saw seals at several beaches around Iceland. Two were particularly noted for almost always having seals present.
1 September |
| Seals basking at the appropriately named Seal Lookout on Skötufjöður in the West Fjords. |
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| The best place to see seals was on the beach at Ytri Tunga on the Snæfellsnes peninsula. At first, I thought these seals were just rocks offshore, but a closer look revealed them to be alive. |
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| More seals just off the beach. |
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| A closer view of these two seals. |
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| We went on a whale watching tour in Húsavik. We got to watch a humpback whale go for three dives, taking 8 to 11 breaths before each dive. |
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| We also had a rare view of a basking shark. |
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| To go out on the open whale watching boat, we had to wear cumbersome, but essential, survival suits. |
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| No matter where you are in Iceland (except, perhaps in and near Reykjavik), you need to be prepared to encounter sheep on the road. |
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| Sheep are curious. These were checking us out as we returned to the parking lot after a short hike to Kvernufoss. |
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| Checking us out on our hike through Dimmuborgir. |
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| More sheep as we waited for the ferry at Brjánslækur. |
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| Icelandic horses are renowned for their sturdiness and five natural gaits. They are small horses (not "ponies") and have many variations in their colors. To preserve both genetics and potential diseases, once a horse is exported, it cannot be returned to Iceland. |
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| Icelandic horses have shaggy manes that cover their eyes. |
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| A show horse at the Friðheimar tomato farm. |
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| Most hotels in smaller communities had itinerant cats. They slept where they wanted to and came and went as they pleased. Most were accompanied by notes that explained that they were not strays and liked to be cuddled, but not picked up and carried around. |
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| Most dogs in Iceland are working dogs. In Iceland they were sheep herders; in Greenland they were sled dogs. This dog came to us as we were admiring Foss á Siðu (waterfall) in south Iceland, and loved to retrieve rocks we threw into the creek. |
11-15 August, 24 August - 4 September, 2025
It just didn't fit anywhere else.
1 September
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| The most famous LGBTQ+ "Rainbow Street" in Iceland is in the town of Seyðisfjörður in the East Fjords. (We simply couldn't squeeze in a visit.) There's also a prominent Rainbow Street in downtown Reykjavik. This obviously not new street painting is in the remote town of Suðereyri, just showing how ubiquitous is the acceptance of the Gay Pride culture in Iceland. You don't get much more remote than Suðereyri at the tip of Súgandafjörður in the West Fjords. |
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| In Kollafjörður (West Fjords) we even saw a barn roof with rainbow colors. |
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| There's nothing more Icelandic than a swimming pool - almost always filled with geothermal warm water. This is the swimming pool at Heydalur. |
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| The swimming pool overflows into these man-made "hot pots", mimicking natural hot springs. There was a a "natural hot pot" on the property, but we didn't see it because it required crossing a river on widely-spaced uneven stepping stones. |
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| Icelanders love golf - rain or shine (mostly rain). This course is on the Reykjanes peninsula near Grindavik. |
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| More golf on the coast near Grindavik. |
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| We saw several of these picnic tables made from driftwood and wire spools along the coast in Kollafjörður. |
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| Driftwood was historically a major source of timber in Iceland. Kollafjörður was the only place we saw driftwood on the beaches and piled up for future use. |
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| Cairns like this were common along the roads in north Iceland and the West Fjords. This one was along Isafjörðup. |
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| Chains are required on many roads in the winter. This frequently seen sign marked a pull-out for putting on and removing chains. |
11-15 August, 24 August - 4 September, 2025
Public art, folk art, fine art, galleries - it's all there in Iceland.
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| A large wooden structure outside the museum gives an idea of the art to be found within. |
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| This cat may be our favorite item in the collection. |
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| The library has an impressive collection of art books, and several interesting sculptures. |
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| 34 huge granite eggs are displayed on the road along Djúpivogur's harbor. Each one represents a local bird species. |
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| The eggs are lined up in a long row. |
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| Two murals can be seen from one spot. Whooper Swan (left) and Golden Plover (right). |
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| Eurasian Wren |
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| Other artists have also started to paint murals in Flateyri. I liked this garden painting on a garage wall. |
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| Most of the collection is displayed on shelves in the garden. |
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| There are thousands of brightly colored rocks and minerals on display. It's difficult to comprehend that all of these stones were collected in Iceland - most of the rocks we saw were shades of gray. |
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| A rainbow of rocks and crystals. |
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| These cracks in a concrete bench along the beach in Ytri Tunga sure look like Icelandic runes, even though we're pretty sure they are just random cracks. |
