ICELAND: PART IV

Wishing to bring my travels up to date, I face a conundrum. How do I decide what to include and what to leave out? My imperfect solution is, for now, to include less narrative and more imagery.

I hope you will be no less inspired.

Curious Icelandic Horses

Kalfshamarsvik Lighthouse

Ketubjorg Cliffs and Dalshorn at Skagi

Vatnsnes

Grimsey Island: This tiny island straddles the Arctic Circle. I stayed a few nights in a large guesthouse where I was the only inhabitant--even the owner was elsewhere.

The Protestant Church on Grimsey was built with Driftwood in 1867 and renovated in 1956.

Grimsey Island is about 2 square miles(~5 sq. kms) and home to about 85 people. I spent a delightful afternoon walking around this island and saw just a handful of residents.

I became hooked on these islands of Iceland. Hrisey Island was next. I joined the locals picking wild blueberries. They were far better prepared than I will special tools for the task, but I managed to gather enough for breakfast each morning.

On Hrisey, I recall tractors, but no cars although I suspect they were there despite its diminutive size (approximately 3 sq. miles/7 sq. kms).

Walking paths were abundant and always offered a splendid view.

Back on the mainland and a stop in Akureyri

Godafoss Falls (a redundant name since "foss" is falls). When I arrived it was raining and chilly. The weather had apparently detered other visitors. I lingered in awe of the spectacle.

The nearly four months I'd spent in Iceland had been an extraordinary experience and exquisite reprieve from the stress and strains of the pandemic. I was seriously considering staying on, but now October I was warned by the locals that Iceland in winter could be extremely challenging. Getting snowed-in, stranded, cabin fever were a few of their concerns. It seemed time to choose my next destination. It was a bittersweet farewell.

to be continued…