 |
|
Next Picture |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ICELAND AND GREENLAND 2002
Friday 23rd August 2002 Reykjavik
Got up quite early to pack my bags. Went to Snow & Rock to buy some foot-warmers.
Got a taxi at 6pm for LHR T1. Expected the airport to be busy due to the Bank Holiday weekend, but only took a few minutes to check-in. Waited around for the flight to Reykjavik to be called, which should have been at 21:55.
Flight was delayed by an hour. Had some strange salmon pate thing on the flight and had to pay £3 for 2 beers. We had a woman pilot first time for me, and the further we travelled north I could see a glow of light from the North. We landed in very thick fog much worse than aborted flights at Leeds-Bradford airport.
Met the rest pf the group at the airport and drove in a small bus to our hotel. Very small and basic, with shared facilities like school! Got to bet around 3am.
Saturday 24th August 2002 Hella
Up about 10am for a basic breakfast of ham and cheese, then went for a walk around Reykjavik. Went to the Cathedral, stark inside but an impressive organ. Went up the spire for ISK300 which had a good view of the colourful buildings but then the bells started ringing!
Went through the shopping centre, very empty and onto the harbour where there were lots of fishing boats which were rusty and looked like they had not moved for years. Went to the flea market and back to the shopping area, which was a bit busier than before. Had a couple of beers for ISK800 then went back to the hotel.
Drove down R1 and stopped at Eden for shopping at Hvaragati. Went on to Hella, could not see the Mount Hekla volcano but watched some horses practising their ‘gates’.
Hotel was quite nice, and had buffet meal. Went to the local pub but was empty.
Sunday 25th August 2002 Hof
Up at 7:30 and had a good breakfast. It was foggy and raining. Went to a high waterfall, Seljalandsfoss, which we could go behind and then onto a folk and transport museum. Saw another high powerful waterfall, Skogafoss, but was raining hard.
Stopped at a petrol station for dinner, at Vik, and then went down a black sand beach (rated one of the best in the world?) caused by the lava. Went for a walk along a canyon before stopping by a very small turf church.
Passed by the glaciers and tallest peak on the island. Crossed the braided river created by the melting ice on the glacier during eruptions of the volcanoes.
Arrived at our lodge for the night. Very nice inside. Went for a short walk before dinner which was a lamb roast. Cheap beer.
Monday 26th August 2002 Hof
Left at 9am and visitors Centre at Skaftafell National Park. Watched the film of the volcanic eruption underneath the glacier that caused the rivers to flood and the bridges to collapse.
Hiked past one waterfall and then onto Svartifoss, Black Waterfall, which comes through basaltic hexagonal rocks. Then hiked to an overview of the glacier before it started to rain. After a short break at the visitors centre, we walked to the foot of the glacier which would have looked great if it was in sunlight.
On the way back to Hof, we stopped at the village church and walked through the graveyard which has raised graves.
Grilled trout for dinner.
Tuesday 27th August 2002 - Egilsstadir
Bright sunshine with no clouds this morning. After breakfast took some photos of the church and the mountains.
We than drove to a glacier lagoon, Jokulsarlon, which had blue floating icebergs in the water which had carved off the glacier and created a huge lagoon which is 50:50 salt:fresh water.
Drove along the coast road, via some lakes which Whooper Swans and drove up the side of the mountains, with stops for scenic vistas. Stopped at a quaint village for lunch which had a tiny harbour.
Went swimming in a town pool before reaching our hotel for the night. Had steak for dinner, but there was nothing else to do so went to bed early.
Wednesday 28th August 2002 Lake Myvatn
Raining again! Crossed the Black Desert plain which had black sand dunes and not a lot else! Stopped at a small café where there was a quaint church.
Travelled onto Dettifoss waterfall which was great. Dirty glacial water pouring over black granite rock. Very inspiring. Travelled onto some bubbling pools, solfataras, which were surrounded by yellow rocks just like Yellowstone but no sapphire pools!
Went for a hike in the rain around Lake Myvatn which was not very pleasant before going onto out hotel for the night which was in a converted farm. Cheap beer though! Great buffet for dinner then watched Lethal Weapon videos!
Thursday 29th August 2002 Lake Myvatn
Another rainy day. Travelled to the Lake Myvatn, then went up to Kavla a volcano which erupted from 1975 1984. Crossed the lava fields visited the craters, including Viti Hell crater. Also some fumaroles but very muddy.
Went to the geothermic power station, then after lunch hiked around another extinct volcano, Hverfjall, and hiked through the lava fields. Not a good day for photographs due to continuous rain and drizzle.
Another nice buffet back at the hotel, then we watched a short video of Ammassalik in Greenland, where I would be in just a few days.
Friday 30th August 2002 - Borgarfjordur
Raining again. Stopped at Goadfoss falls which were excellent, and a turf house museum, Glaumbaer. After a walk around a small fishing town, Akureyri, we travelled on to our hotel, stopping at the thermal springs on the way which are used for direct hot water.
Saturday 31st August Reykjavik
A fine start to the day, blue sky and few clouds. Took a couple of photos of the church and then we went to a waterfall which was very pretty and then onto a glacier which was very cold and windy.
By the time we got to Geysir it was raining, but Strokkur was erupting frequently. Saw the rift valley at Thingvellir and large lake, then onto the geysers. Went onto Gullfoss waterfall which was outstanding but was pouring with rain. A fantastic waterfall.
Stopped off at a church on the way to Reykjavik and past Eden so completed the circle of the Island over 2000km.
Go the tickets and vouchers for the Greenland trip and went out for night on the town in Reykjavik. Went to the Dubliners Irish Bar, a meal at the Chinese and then a bar crawl. Hit my bed with a bang at 7:45 am after a few large vodkas poured by the Irish Girls!
Sunday 1st September Reykjavik
Pissed. Stayed in bed all day. Too windy for Whale Watching. The others went to the Blue Lagoon.
Monday 2nd September Ammassalik
Coach picked us up at 9am for transfer to the airport. Bus driver got lost trying to find a guest house for fellow travellers, but made it to the domestic airport at about 9:30.
Our flight was delayed until 11:15. Very small airport. Got on a Fokker 50 to Kulusuk. There were nice icebergs off the coast of Greenland, some very blue. Had a bit of a bumpy landing in Kulusuk on a gravel runway.
Caught the helicopter shuttle to Ammassalik. Took 8 minutes in a 9-seater Bell helicopter. Nice and sunny, great views of Ammassalik town which has lots of small wooden houses painted red or blue or yellow or green. A large ship in the harbour, bringing in supplies from Denmark.
A truck arrived to take us to the Ammassalik Hotel which is on the hill overlooking the town. Great view from bedroom window. Had a buffet lunch and then met our guide to explain the trip options.
Went on a tour of Ammassalik. To the ‘Skunk Works’ where they make carvings. The old church which is now a museum, the tourist office which sells lots of local crafts including seal gloves, hats and coats. Also carvings from Polar Bear claws and Narwhal Horn.
Went to the New Church, internet café, bakery and coffee shop. The town was a bit dirty with plastic bags and beer cans strewn around. On the coast there are seal coat (and other remains) scattered about. Many dogs are around, but the locals look friendly, even though they all look drunk. A very pretty and pleasant town.
Great dinner of braised shark in the hotel but a bit cloudy so did not see the Northern Lights.
Tuesday 3rd September 2002 Ammassalik
Got a boat from the harbour for a trip to a glacier. On the ‘Timmik’ passed lots of large icebergs, some of them very pretty and blue. It was sunny and the sea was not rough.
We passed Kulusuk and went to the foot of the glacier. It did not have may icebergs around it, but one section was blue from carving. The boast got close to the shore and we went onto the glacier. We had a nice lunch on the boat on the way back. Not so sunny on the return.
After a short rest, went on a hike through the ‘Valley of Flowers’ up to a waterfall. The sky had cleared and was sunny again.
Had roast beef for dinner, and watched the mountains turn pink with the setting sun.
Wednesday 4th September 2002 Ammassalik
Not a cloud in the sky. Walked down to the helipad then waited an hour for the pilot to take us to the Mitivagkat glacier. Flew over the harbour and fjord before heading for the mountains. Landed on the glacier which had a fresh dusting on snow which was soft and very deep in places. Could see a glacier carving into the sea as well as the main ice cap, which covers the whole of the country.
After 30 minutes on the glacier, flew in the copter low through some valleys past some glaciers and out to sea where we circled some large icebergs. Headed back to Ammassalik where the supply ship had gone. Superb trip.
After lunch, took some photos of the icebergs in the harbour and took a pleasant leisurely walk down the Valley of Flowers again. The stream waters are very clear and there are some nice mosses and plants in the bogs.
Had boiled ham for dinner, then stayed up late determined to see the Northern Lights and I did! Green streams of clouds dancing across the sky, moving quite quickly and then fading, and then starting again in another area of the sky. Brilliant. Thursday 5th September 2002 Reykjavik
Up early to catch the helicopter to Kulusuk. Ham and cheese for breakfast again!
Helicopter flight was great, seeing the glacier and icebergs we’d seen two days before on the ‘Timmik’. We had a few hours to kill at Kulusuk airport, so went hiking to an iceberg lagoon that we could see from the terminal. A bit further than it looked over very stony and quite boggy ground.
The tide was out so there was much seaweed and tiny snails on the rocks. The icebergs were blue and reflected well in the deep blue lagoon.
Left Kulusuk in the Fokker 50 for Reykjavik via Constable Point which is in North Greenland. So we followed the coast North which gave us excellent views of the icebergs, glaciers and ice-cap from 22,000 feet. It was where icebergs were born. Fantastic! Also could see the tops of mountain through the thick ice cap as we went a fair bit inland too, but the snow came up to the ocean, not as it was further South. It looked like smooth icing on a cake, with chocolate swirls (the lateral moraines) coming from walnut whips as the mountains flowing into a deep blue sea with tiny little icebergs but they were actually huge!
When we got close to Scorsby Sound, the land dropped in height and the snow disappeared to be replaced by brown earth. There were huge cliffs, which had great colours (similar to the Grand Canyon). We landed on a dirt runway and went inside the terminal building (shed) for an hour while they refuelled the aircraft. There was a huge soppy dog (species unknown) that looked like a bear!
Constable Pynt is near Scorsby Sound, the largest or longest fjord in the World. I did not see anything else there. It is 71 North, well within the Arctic Circle, but was not cold and the sun was still shining.
We flew directly South to Iceland, over the Denmark Strait where there were many clouds, but could still see the icebergs well out to sea.
It was windy in Iceland and quite bumpy coming in to land. Found our bus to the hotel, but we ended up in the ‘Cabin’ next door. Went out for a huge Chinese meal as only had a snack on the plane (either left the bags or the beer behind as the runway was short and we were heavy!) Nice beer too!
Friday 6th September 2002 Home
Worst breakfast ever. Nothing appetising on the menu. Walked down to the front to the harbour and the shops. Found an Atlas, which showed we were level with the Beaufort Sea, further north than the whole of Alaska!
Caught the FlyBus to the airport and checked in. Had to take my boots off and put them through the X-Ray machine! On leaving Kefilik Airport saw Hekla volcano and one of the large ice-caps from the plane. Iceland looked clear for once!
Got home at 9:30 pm.
Highlights - Iceland
Highlights Greenland
|
||