LAND OF
AND
AND
Reykjavik, capital of Iceland
žingvellir - Ancient Parliament
Iceland is at the merging of three tectonic plates (American, European and mid-Atlantic) - this is a fissure where they meet
Geysisstofa Geysir Center
It*s thinking
It*s getting serious
More seriouser
SHE BLOWS!!!
The next four photos are of Gullfoss upper and lower falls ("foss" means waterfall in Icelandic)
An example of why most of Iceland is heated by geothermal energy. Also, their hot water comes directly from the earth and has to be cooled before it is pumped for human use. The hot water smells like sulfur.
We took a boat trip and visited a bird colony.
Some people did some fishing from the boat and we were amazed at how fast everyone caught a fish. These birdies are fighting over the innards thrown overboard.
This is an example of the volcanic basalt formations. The second photo is of the church in Reykjavik and you can see where the architect got his inspiration.
Dried fish heads which will be sent to Nigeria for food. Icky, pooey, ptoooooo
The islands we visited on our boat trip.
The Icelandic horse was brought over by the Vikings and is 3/4 the size of a *regular* horse but are not ponies. They are five gaited known for their smooth ride as you can see by the full steins of beer. To keep the breed pure, no other breed is allowed on the island and, if a horse competes in a foreign country, it can never come back to Iceland to keep away any foreign disease. My only regret is not joining several other fellow travelers in taking a ride on them. Guess it will have to wait until we go back (which I'd love to do because we really loved this place).
Horses and sheep are left in the wild throughout the warm months and every fall there*s a round-up of the horses who, in turn, are used to herd the sheep to the farms for winter. This is becoming a big tourist attraction and people come to participate in the three-day round-up. There are sheep zones and barriers prevent sheep from one zone to enter another so, if one zone develops a disease, it won*t infect the whole island*s herds
Typical lighthouse
This is the *herring town* Siglufjordur whose harbour, in its heyday would be filled with fishing vessels. Because of over fishing, the herring disappeared.
This was a depiction of life in the village when the herring were running. Women would work all day cutting and packing herring into large barrels.
Godafoss
My new boyfriend in Akureyri
Restored turf houses in Skagafjordur
Icelandic horses - this horselet is having a bad hair day
Lunchtime
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