February 2024 ... Standing barely on the North American Continent, looking back 3 miles at the EurAsian Continent. On Iceland, the two tectonic plates meet.
Truth be told, I wouldn't have chosen Iceland for our "Call Girl Reunion." (Lest anyone read this who doesn't know me, my maiden name is Call ... thus, when my sisters and I get together, it's a Call Girl Reunion.) My sister, Jennilyn, chose it. Shortly after our father passed away in 2022, the three of us decided to spend some of our inheritance money on an adventure trip together. It was scheduled for January of 2023, but nearly the entire country of Iceland went on strike right at that time, and everything got cancelled. We rescheduled for February 2024, but felt like perhaps this wasn't meant to be, after volcanoes started erupting like crazy in the country late in 2023. But it happened! And I am so in love with Iceland that I would do it again in a heartbeat!
The three of us met up in Seattle, spent a day and a half there, which included a temple trip, then late on a Sunday afternoon we hopped on a plane for Reykjavik - or to be more accurate: Keflavik. In talking about the plane ride after, I win the prize for the best sleep on the plane, coming in at about 2 hours, compared to the other the other two who got maybe an hour, and zero sleep respectively. This is not too big of a deal on a nearly 7 hour flight, except for the time change. We landed at about 6:00am and had a full day ahead of us.
Our entire trip was a Wingbuddy excursion, which had its benefits (everything paid for all at once, including tours, transportation and hotel), and its deficits. One of the things that less-than-thrilled us was our walking to the hotel from a bus stop and vice-versa. We got the hang of it pretty fast, but that first morning, in Icelandic darkness, cold, and icy snow-covered sidewalks and streets, pulling suitcases while we navigated to a hotel we hadn't been before was tricky, cold and frustrating. Top that with the fact that check-in was scheduled for 2pm, and we were a little grumpy. Well, Camielle was really grumpy, Jennilyn slightly grumpy, and it didn't really bother me. We're a lot like the three bears sometimes. Other times we're like the three stooges. Occasionally, like the three musketeers. I'll stop there.
Hotel Fron is located right downtown. I actually loved this place. Tiny rooms, but fantastic breakfasts and great service.
There were three other Americans who got off at our bus stop and were headed for Hotel Fron, so we miserably stumbled in through the doors together. The poor hotel staff was bombarded with all kinds of complaints, like "why doesn't the bus drop off right at the hotel?" (it's a walking area only - vehicles forbidden) and "how are we expected to find this place!?" One of the front desk clerks had a brilliant idea and invited us to load our suitcases into their storage area, then sit down for their buffet breakfast. Genius.
Scandinavian Breakfasts are the best. This was my first plate of food in Iceland, but by the next morning, I figured out exactly what I like. Pictured here is a small puff pastry, some veggies, a boiled egg, cheese, rye bread, Skyr yogurt and raw Arctic cod - one in sauce, one without.
The rooms were ready within an hour of our arrival (bless them!) and our planned trip gave us this first day for relaxing in Reykjavik, so we did just that. Camielle slept the entire day; Jennilyn about half the day; and I didn't sleep at all. (3-Bears-like?) That night was our Northern Lights Excursion. Camielle lives in Alaska and has seen her share of the Northern Lights, plus she hadn't yet acclimated to Greenwich time (she never did), *plus* she had remote work she had to do, **PLUS** she wasn't yet ready to make that walk to and from the bus stop again, so Jenni and I spent the last part of the day and night together. I'd already been out and about in town and had a good idea of some fun places to show my sisters, so Jen and I traipsed around town for a bit, then warmed up in our rooms before heading out again for the excursion.
YES! We saw the Northern Lights. But at such a cost. Now sleep deprived for a kazillion hours, and standing in the cold at minus-kazillion with the wind blowing at a kazillion mph, IT WAS STILL WORTH IT. Yep.
On the docket for the next day was The Blue Lagoon. Side note: just two days later, The Blue Lagoon closed for the remainder of our stay because a volcanic eruption spewed lava that covered the road to that magical place. But for us, it was open and absolutely glorious!
The air temp was in the teens or twenties (fahrenheit) but the water was hot-tub warm. The rock bottom of the lagoon is silica, and my feet are still paying me back with softness unknown to my feet since I was a baby.
Behind us you can see the snow on the rocks. On us, you see a silica mask. There are two swim-up bars: one with drinks and one with masks. We had three different masks through the hours in the lagoon, and two delicious drinks. Prior to entering the lagoon, when I asked about bringing my phone for pictures (it's water-proof) they encouraged me to buy a waterproof case because the minerals and salts could ruin my phone. This made it a little tricky to take pictures, and with the steam, I ended up with a lot of weird selfies when I thought I was taking pictures of the other two. But we got enough photos to help us remember how amazing it was!
We took a break from the water for just a half hour or so and got a bite to eat. I told my family that this sushi is the best I've ever had. And that could be true, or perhaps it's just been too long since I've been in Japan. But really .... so fresh, so delicious!
Note all that white silica near my hand. That extends down the side of the rock to completely cover the ground.
Deciding to end our day at The Blue Lagoon was an easy choice for Camielle; Jenni was onboard, but sad to leave; I could have stayed a lot longer but realized, once we got back to the hotel, how much I had exhausted myself and leaving was a good choice. As exhausted as we were at the end of the Blue Lagoon day, I remembered that we hadn't yet booked our snorkeling trip. So I hopped on the hotel computer and got Jennilyn and myself set up for Thursday with Adventure Vikings to snorkel the Silfra Fissure in Thingveller National Park. A few days later we took a bus tour that included that park - the place where the North American and the EurAsian tectonic plates meet. More about that later.
Laugavegur Street, Reykjavik, Iceland
Camielle planned to buy three Icelandic Sheep Wool Sweaters while on this trip, and Jen & I had found the perfect shop, right near our hotel. "Remember Reykjavik" is a darling new store run by young adult siblings. I had window shopped a lot that first day, while my sisters were sleeping, so all that comparison shopping served Camielle well. Shortly after getting back to the hotel, I took her to meet Aron and Nadia and to pick out some sweaters. It was a successful visit! And I was ever-so-slowly being persuaded to buy my own crazy-amazing-expensive Icelandic sweater. But not yet.
Muesli with added banana pieces
That night I realized I had fully adjusted to Iceland time. I went to bed early and slept soundly until about 6am - that's normal for me. I got up and enjoyed what became my regular breakfast. Muesli, Skyr, 1 boiled egg, red bell pepper slices, cherry tomatoes, green olives, thinly sliced cucumber and one very thin slice of white cheese. I'd also grab a couple of small croissants that I'd wrap up and take with me. That solid breakfast energized me and kept me going throughout the day. I was never hungry when it was time to eat later (but I did anyway!).
At Bus Stop 6 with our American friends, Linda & Adriana ... waiting, and waiting, and waiting!
Jen came down for breakfast in time to visit a bit before heading to our 8am bus appointment. We'd leave the hotel each excursion day at 7:45, walk briskly about 7 minutes to Bus Stop 6, then sometime between 8am-8:50am, the bus that would take us to the Bus Station would pick us up. From the Bus Station we would jump onto our tour bus for the day. It was pretty cold, waiting outside. And continuing to wait. Then wait some more. This particular day, Wednesday, we were slated to do the South Shores Tour, but the first bus never came. We walked back to the hotel and rescheduled the tour for Saturday, our last open, free day. So ... what to do? Camielle went back to bed (remember, she's still on Alaska time), and Jenni and I had a day about town. Our first order of town business was to buy Jennilyn's amazing and unique Icelandic sweater. She had picked this one out the first day we went shopping, but slept on the idea a couple of days. Really, it's not like we're putting down-payments on homes or anything, but it's still a pretty big purchase.
Jennilyn, standing outside the shop where she bought her sweater.
Jenni's sweater is really different from most of what we saw. She chose this open, hand-knitted and felted northern-lights sweater. When we walked into the shop to buy it (after having looked at it a couple of days in row earlier) the store clerk said that Jennilyn looks so much like the lady who makes these that he thought Jen was her!
On Rainbow Street looking directly at a statue of Leif Erickson in front of the Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church
Jennilyn and I wandered up and down many of the Reykjavik streets, popping in and out of shops and really enjoying the walk and the cold, fresh air. We learned that 80% of Icelanders are Lutherans, and this church is the tallest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures. It's gorgeous outside and inside.
A half block from our hotel, looking right smack at the Atlantic Ocean
Inside the magnificent church
Walking back to Hotel Fron
Our American friends told us about a little soup and coffee shop in town. We took a little rest in our hotel rooms, then headed back out for dinner and a night stroll. It was really lovely. Reykjavik is beautiful at night and I felt totally safe.
One of these bread bowls is filled with veggie (cauliflower-rich) soup; the other is meat soup (beef & lamb)
Jennilyn, in her fancy new sweater outside the Hotel Fron
After our night walk, that desire for my own Icelandic Sheep Wool Hand-Knit Sweater surged. I trotted out on my own, back to "Remember Reykjavik" tried on about a half dozen sweaters, then finally settled on the one I adore. I'm not usually that reserved in making decisions, but I questioned whether I would wear it enough to make it worth the cost. I'll tell you ... even if I were to never wear it again, the next couple of days made it totally worth the cost! (You can buy these for anywhere from $200 to $500. But careful - many that are "Made in Iceland" are actually machine made. That mattered to me.)
See why it was so hard to choose?!
This brings us to Thursday: Silfra Fissure Snorkeling. Jenni and I have both been really excited about this. We're pretty seasoned warm-water snorkelers and divers. And I'm really good at squeezing into a wetsuit, though I have only done that a few times. Mostly I am in the water in my swimsuit, whether I just have a snorkel or I have a full BC and tank. But this: This is Iceland in the WINTER. So we opted to do a drysuit snorkel excursion. Can you hear me laughing at myself right now? Look at these few pictures of donning a drysuit and you might understand:
This is after a good amount of cirque-du-soleil worthy movements first getting the thermal undergarment on and THEN completely zipped up; then getting these 65-year-old legs with titanium knees into the legs and feet of the drysuit THEN getting it pulled up above my waist with a healing torn rotator cuff. Sheesh!
This DiveMaster's name is Cristo and he earned every bit of his money this day even before we got in the water!
It was a perfect (albeit cold) Iceland day for snorkeling! The sun was shining and the surrounding beauty is unbelievable. Once all six of us had our dry suits on, (getting the head thingy on is not picture here, but that was equally difficult) the guides put our gloves on for us. Too bad they were literally frozen. Because I don't think any part of my body has ever been so cold. I still don't have feeling in the tip of my right thumb. (Frostbite? It's pink, so probably not.) We stood in a circle for our safety briefing, willing our fingers and toes to warm up, then as a group, we walked the quarter of a mile or less to the entry point of the Silfra Fissure. While standing at the mouth of the fissure, we put on our fins (well ... *we* means that Cristo did most of the work. Most of us couldn't bend enough in the drysuits to get the fins on), then Cristo dropped some liquid anti-fog into our masks. It immediately froze. He dropped more in our masks, followed by hot water, which froze just as quickly. He said, "Don't worry. Once you get in the water it will melt." He was right!
Looking out as we froze waiting for the safety briefing
Drysuits just waiting for us!
Slipping into the Silfra Fissure, which winds between the two tectonic plates, with the North American Continent on one side of us and the EurAsian Continent on the other, was not just ethereal, but my entire body melted in that gloriously, relatively warm 35 degree (fahrenheit) water. My fingers thawed, the ice in my mask melted, and my face felt refreshed, leaving the chapping icy air and being covered in the cleanest, purest water on earth.
This spot is known as "The Cathedral" and this picture was taken by Cristo just before I entered.
Silfra Fissure and the lake it runs into is glacier fed. The water is constantly moving and is as pure as you can get. I have one regret from this trip and it's that I FORGOT TO DRINK THE WATER OUT OF THE FISSURE! Dang*it.
This is me (I have my own prescription mask and snorkel, which made it easy to identify me in the photos). My sister, Jennilyn is in the background.
I'm on the left, my sister on the right. What a memorable experience!
Isn't this beautiful?! It's not anything like diving in the tropics, but I'm so glad I had this experience and that I could share it with my sister. I would do it again. BUT ... I would choose to use a wetsuit instead of a drysuit for a couple of reasons: 1) I would have more maneuverability, and 2) I wouldn't be spending so much time in the freezing cold getting on my suit. I'd be able to put it on then hurry and get in the water. The snorkel took about a half hour, and it was really lovely. Go to AdventureVIkings.is if you want this same experience in Iceland.
Across the street from our hotel
Although we were beat at the end of this day, I went out for a night stroll. Have I emphasized enough yet how much I love this place? It may be cold, but it's invigorating. PLUS ... I had my new Icelandic sweater, so my core stayed toasty warm!
Friday morning on the bus for the Golden Circle Excursion. Note all of our cute Icelandic sweaters!
The three of us got up bright & early Friday morning and when we entered the bus, we hiked straight to the back and took up that whole row. This would end up being about a 10 hour tour to see the countryside, cross North America into No-Man's-Land and then on into Europe, step inside a giant greenhouse, and enjoy some of their geysers up close. We also hiked a bit to a beautiful frozen waterfall where we happened to run into two of the people in our snorkeling group! Dean and Emma were most helpful the previous day as we tried to get our legs and feet into the drysuit. Dean is a physical therapist and Emma is a total sweetheart. They were touring Iceland on their own in a car, so running into each other was a drop of serendipity.
With so many tourists, we could hardly believe it when Dean recognized us and was that *rude American* pushing his way through, separating us! These are a couple of really good people and we were thrilled to see them again!
I am in total awe of the colors of nature. That water can be blue or green or white or clear ... I just love it so much and can not believe my good fortune of being able to witness the majesty of Iceland!
Obviously, Camielle is smarter than I am. With everything covered but her eyes, she kept warm-ish while my face turned a chapped-looking red.
It was neat to see steam rising from the snow-covered land. There were small geysers along the trail leading to a pretty large geyser that erupted frequently. Camielle and I went only part of the way, but we still enjoyed this phenomenon.
I'm getting things out of order here, but I don't think it matters (I am so NOT a perfectionist). Our first stop this day was actually the greenhouse.
We heard from our guide the next day that Icelandic Horses are really offended when you call them ponies. They look like Shetland Ponies, but as we learned, they imported horses from Norway, then bred them until they became these sturdy little *horses* that can do pretty much anything (including living outside ALL the time).
We had lunch in the bus ... as Camielle and I enjoyed some Arctic Cod fish & chips, Jennilyn patiently waited to retrieve her pizza from the luggage compartment of the bus. The driver wouldn't let her bring it on the bus saying it looked too much like a buffet. Eeeek!
This was the tour that took us through Thingveller National Park, between the two tectonic plates, placing us, essentially, between two continents. It was a really beautiful, open, scenic ride. Jenni and I got out of the bus and enjoyed taking pictures of each other viewing North America while standing in Europe.
See the hot springs or the geyser on the right, right next to the Atlantic Ocean.
This is a boarding school that was built ages ago and is still in use.
After getting dropped off at Bus Stop 6, we walked up Rainbow Street and into a couple of little shops on our way to the hotel.
Again, we were exhausted when we got back to the hotel. There's a little corner store a half a block from our hotel where we bought water and a ton of Icelandic chocolate. (No, I didn't eat it all. Sheesh. I brought some home to my family!) We stopped in there pretty much every day UNTIL we learned that a couple of blocks the other direction is a real grocery store where everything is nearly half the price.
Sunrise on Saturday Morning along the South Shore
Saturday, Jennilyn and I headed out on our last excursion. The bus took us on a very long and exquisitely beautiful road trip along the South Shore of Iceland. Our guide was fantastic. And the bus driver got lots of points from us too, since the weather was atrocious. It was windy (60 mph at times, with even stronger gusts), and snowy, and icy. We saw six accidents this day, including one smaller tour bus which slid off the road. Parts of the day were sunny, parts were treacherous.
Why are we without coats, hats and scarfs? We wanted to show off our sweaters š
Seljalandsfoss
Jen and I decided we wanted to get a little closer. Of course, we chose to be safe. Our guide sufficiently scared us away from getting close enough to the giant hanging icicles that could kill us. Eeek. But we DID get close enough to be sprayed. It totally took me by surprise:
At Seljalandsfoss preparing to take off my coat for a picture, but getting sprayed first!
From Seljalandsfoss we went to Reynisfjara Beach (Black Sand Beach). I was so excited about this part of the tour, and even planned to take of my boots and wiggle my toes in the fine, black sand. Nature had another plan. This is where the wind got crazy. Jennilyn and I had to hold onto each other tightly to not be blown over. We went as far as we dared onto the beach. Between the windy snow and the windy seaspray, we F-R-O-Z-E!
Reynisfjara Beach
That's the ocean behind me - but the snow and the ocean spray are blending together so much that it's hard to tell.
We pushed through the wind to get inside a tiny little shop where I tried to clean my glasses and we saw some GORGEOUS hand-knit sweaters that were quite a bit less expensive than in Reykjavik. I was SO TEMPTED to get some for my daughters, but I decided that if they couldn't try them on first, they may not like the fit. Like I said, I tried on a half dozen before deciding on the one I got.
Jenni's gloves after just five or ten minutes of being outside.
As crazy as the weather was, this time at Black Sands Beach was cool. I'm so glad the bus driver was comfortable taking us there! For lunch we stopped somewhere ...
Lamb Goulash
We both wanted to expose ourselves to as much of Iceland as possible, so we got a bowl of lamb goulash to share. Since caring for a little lamb years ago when our kids were younger, I've been adamantly against eating lamb. So as far as I know, this was my first experience. Tastes like beef - at least in this goulash dish.
Skogafoss Waterfall (that's redundant because foss means waterfall)
Next stop: more beauty in the water - both frozen and flowing! Skogafoss was just as magnificent, just as awe-inspiring as anything else I'd seen.
I think I'm out of order again. Before Skogafoss, we stopped at Solheimajokull Glacier. It was an icy walk and extremely windy, so we didn't go all the way to the glacier, but we enjoyed the beauty of what we did see.
See the glacier in the center?
Then, a bus ride home ... or rather, back to Bus Stop 6, and then a walk back to Hotel Fron. What a lovely day! Well worth the time and the freezing.
Just in case you do our exact trip and need a marker for Bus Stop 6, this is it š The Culture House
That night, all three of us had dinner together in the restaurant attached to our hotel. It was a lovely indulgence.
I got seafood salad, Camielle got salted cod, and Jennilyn got an Icelandic hamburger. Then we shared desserts and settled in for our final night's sleep in Iceland.
Sunday morning, I strolled through town on my own after eating my last delicious Icelandic breakfast, including Skyr ... which, THANKFULLY, Fred Meyer sells!
I could live in Iceland. It was pretty sad for me to leave. After we all got moving Sunday morning, we enjoyed a "Fly Over Iceland" virtual tour/ride before heading to the airport.
I love my sisters. And I think it's cool we're currently all in our 60s.
The plane ride home was smooth, and we enjoyed conversation together. But because the country was being asked to conserve energy after the most recent volcanic eruption, we were informed we wouldn't be receiving our meals on the plane. We ate an Icelandic hotdog in the airport, then flew against the jetstream, making it about an 8 hour flight to Seattle. In order to acclimate as soon as possible back to our time zones, we didn't sleep.
The walk to and through passport control and customs was l-o-n-g. But eventually we made it to our Seattle hotel where we visited for a few minutes in my room, then said good night and good-bye to each other.
Ok, following are a few pictures I forgot to upload earlier and I'm tired and not a perfectionist so I'm just going to put them here at the end.
Just one of the many accidental selfies.
The US Embassy in Iceland
yum
Just a scenic picture of a town church
On our way home from the bus stop after the snorkeling trip
In my hotel room, taking a picture of my new sweater to show my family.
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