Day 5 (May 30): Akureyri and North Iceland

We stayed the night in Hrafnagil, a small village south of  Akureyri, in a campground next to the school/swimming pool. It was really green, with trees separating different sections of the campground and  hardly any campers. That might be because the swimming pool was closed for repairs (we think that's what it said) and the indoor bathrooms and washing machine were closed because school was in session. So services were limited, but it was fine for the night. 

Our camper in daytime mode with the tree breaks out the window, and then a picture of our camper that shows the view out our back window. 

The next morning, we headed into Akureyri, the largest "city" outside Reykjavik. We walked around, bought amazing hot dogs (Meg's had mango chutney and blue cheese) and did NOT buy the speckled eggs from the fish monger. They might be gull eggs or maybe puffin eggs. 

Finally we got back on the road. After paying the toll to take the tunnel under a mountain, we drove until we saw a huge parking lot. We stopped, walked a bit - and presto - a waterfall! We'd found Goðafoss. 

Our next destination was Myvatn, a lake with all sorts of interesting things around it, including hikes, museums, nature baths and more. We saw the cute sheep and moved along. 

Later we passed a geothermal power plant and it's associated "blue lagoon". We saw power lines marching away from the plant all the way to the coast. 

Some other travelers told us not to miss Dettifoss, so we detoured 20 minutes off our route and suddenly, in the middle of barren rocky terrain, we found a huge parking lot filled with campervans. We headed off on the hike and suddenly - the waterfall appeared! With rainbows! And spring flowers!

I was kind of worried about where we'd be staying that night. We'd left behind all trees and grass, and the wind was blowing something fierce. Our campground, described as an oasis, was way off the road. And indeed - there was grass! Lots of the buildings were bolstered by piles of turf to cut the wind. The water wasn't working in the kitchen building, so we cooked and ate in our snug camper. 

A view out our window from around 10:30 at night. It never got very dark even when the sun went down.

Day 4 (May 29): Grimsey Island

The Arctic Circle marks the latitude above which, on the summer solstice, the sun will not set. It's actual latitude varies year by year, but it's approximately 66'33". I've never been anywhere close. 

The 66' line crosses the northern part of Iceland, but to cross the Arctic circle near Iceland, one must go to the very northern tip of a tiny island off the coast of Iceland - Grimsey Island. 

Even though this is a technicality (all of Iceland is pretty darn light all night this time of year) - I've always wanted to cross this line - and now I have!

From Dalvik, we boarded the ferry, the Saefari, for the 3 hour journey north. 

It was a very foggy morning, so we could only see the very bottom of the snow-covered mountains that we were passing - wondering what they really look like. 

The harbor at Grimsey is cute - but also a working fishing harbor, supporting the 57 inhabitants. 

Once off the boat, we took the path north toward the tip of the island, and Meg got her first look at .... puffins! 

The gulls are pretty neat too, even if they're not as showy. 

And then ... Icelandic horses! Genetically similar to the Shetland pony, we saw thousands around the island, living outside year round. 

Finally - we made it to the circle! There's a rock:

And a huge ball:

On the way back, we passed a pair of women from France with their folding bikes. I admire them - but I was glad I hadn't brought mine. It was really better hiking terrain. 

Then a mist came up - which was gorgeous but cold:

Finally we made it back to the harbor, in time to see fishermen sorting the catch, which was then weighed, put on ice and loaded onto our ferry. We thought about buying a fish - but even the smallest were way bigger than we'd be able to eat in one day. 

On the way back, the clouds lifted and we could see those dramatic snow covered mountains we missed on the way out. 

What a day!

Day 3 (May 28): Route 1

 We started our day as we ended the day before - in the hot tub, watching the bay. That morning, a seal was resting on a small rock, a pair of red-necked Phalaropes swam by, there was a loon (a Common Loon - just like in Minnesota) and the ubiquitous but pretty Eider Ducks. 

We continued along the ring road, stopping to see these characters at a little roadside pullout:

Next up was the cute fishing town of Hvammstangi:

We stopped in a little grocery and I took a picture of a very typical grocery shelf. Matching the products to the little labels above or below, entirely in Icelandic, was often difficult, even though these varieties of skyr seem pretty obvious. 

A few kilometers down an unassuming dirt road, Kolugljúfur Canyon suddenly opened up, revealing yet another spectacular waterfall, complete with parking area and hiking trails. 

Then back to route 1 as we headed to Dalvik for the night.