Day 25 Djupivogur, Iceland

Djupivogur is pronounced du-pa-vor, and it is a small coastal village on Icelands east coast.  It has a population of around 2000 so no secrets in this little town!  Our tour is to visit the waterfalls of this area and believe me, there are heaps of them. Once again we are boarding a "big foot" four wheel drive however this time we have to share the vehicle and the tour guide.  There are four vehicles in our convoy.  Although we have a tour guide on board it is the guide from one of the other vehicles that gives all the talks at the various stops along the way.

It is a very bleak foggy morning as we set out on our journey but it doesn't take long to see the fog lifting. The way the fog rolls back over the mountains is very dramatic.  

The first stop we make at our first waterfall is a short walk to a lookout point.  We are told that there is only a quarter of the water flowing over these falls at the moment and I'm sure it would be spectacular in full flood.  These falls are called Sveinstekksfoss Falls and I can't tell you how to pronounce that word!

Once everyone is in their respective vehicles we make our way to the next stop that is a farm ruin.  Our journey takes us through the Falkasfgjufur Canyon. It is dotted with sheep however, interestingly,  I don't see many farms. 

When we reach the ruins our guide talks about the owners of the abandoned farm that were his distant relatives. 

You might have noticed in the photo above that the wife lived to 95 years old and according to our guide she gave birth to 17 children.  The house ruins do not look big enough to house so many people but of course those children would have been born over many years.  Our guide tells us that they lived a modest life but not poor.  The nearest farm was around 10kms from them and the nearest village was 40kms away.  There weren't any roads, only paths and everywhere they travelled was by foot.

Our next stop is Falkasfoss Waterfall that is a tiered waterfall and very pretty even without a large water flow.  On our way we pass a camping area that looks very inviting.  This is the Icelandic's summer vacation so there are quite a few campers there.

It is just a short drive to our stop at Falkasgjufor Canyon lookout.  Even though the sun is shining bright it is still chilly.

One of the guides points out the little blueberry like berries that are scattered on the ground.  We are encouraged to taste them and they have a similar taste and texture to a blueberry but a little more tart.  

Mulafoss Waterfall is our last stop.  A lot of us are looking for a comfort stop by this time and there is an audible sigh of relief to see three port-a-loos lined up.  However, you have to be desperate to use them.  Most of us are.  The guides have set up a light snack of cake and coffee or hot chocolate.  It's very well received.  It is hard to get to Mulafoss Waterfall as it takes a bit of rock scrambling but we manage.  

This is our turnaround point and we follow the same road back to Djupivogur.  The views are somewhat different though as our seats face the opposite side of the canyon and the clouds have well and truly departed leaving us with a glorious sunny day.

Our arrival back in Djupivogur is perfect timing as there is a tender waiting for us and we are back on board our ship for a late lunch.  

A visit to the on onboard doctor last night confirmed that my head cold has turned into bronchitis. He issued me with a bag full of medication that will either kill me or cure me 😁.  All medical, including meds, are included on this cruise so that's a relief.

Day 23 Reykjavik, Iceland

Today's tour in a 4x4 Super Vehicle (a Mercedes) we saw a different side to Reykjavik.  As we were the only ones participating in this particular tour we had the whole vehicle and our guide (who I'll call Claus because neither of could catch his name) all to ourselves.  Philip sat up the front with Claus and chatted with him almost the whole way.  We gained a lot of information - almost an overload - and I will try to recall it in today's blog.

Yesterday, as we made our way to Blue Lagoon, we drove through miles upon miles of lava flow with hardly any greenery and today was quite the opposite.  It isn't a lush green, after all we are in the Arctic Circle, but the Purple Lupins make a nice change of scenery.  Claus said that they have finished flowering now.  June is their peak season.

Quite soon, Claus turns his big rig off the main road, throws her into 4wd and we start ascending a track that is very rocky and quite steep in parts.  This is Mt. Úlfarsell that is around 300 metres above sea level.  Many are hiking the track that would not be an easy task as not only is the ground uneven and steep but there is a bitterly cold wind blowing across the mountain.

However, the views over Reykjavik and the bay are spectacular when we reach the top.  We have to walk the last 100 metres to reach the top.  But boy is it windy and cold.  So different to yesterday.

Back on board our truck we head to the Mt Hengell area.  Mt. Hengell is an active volcano that has not erupted for 2000 years but this area, with its many hot springs is an important source of energy for the Nesjavellir power station.  Near the power station we stop at another vantage point for more spectacular views over the area known as Blue Forest and Lake Pingvallavatn - and if you can pronounce these name, good on you!

We continued on a gravel road following Lake Pingvallavatn through lush country before arriving at the little township of Hverageroi where we stop for a comfort stop and a bite to eat.  We purchase two ham and cheese rolls and two orange juices from the bakery and this time we only pay $26au.  A much better price for a really delicious fresh roll.

Our stop is short as our guide wants to take us back to Reykjavik via a beaten track that is affectionately called The Thousand Waters.  The track follows a stream that we cross numerous times. It is a lovely drive and we see quite a few sheep through this valley.

As we leave the stream we climb through the hills and we come across Igloo like buildings with lots of pipes coming out of them.  Our guide explains that the water comes from underground and is then piped to a power station where the water passes through the hydro system and then discarded (like artesian water it has a strong smell)  The steam is then piped into Reykjavik to heat the water supply of households.  I hope I have that right.  Anyway it is a pretty ingenious scheme.

It was a very interesting tour and the first time we have had a one on one with a tour guide.  By the end of the tour we were the best of friends!  Here's a photo of Claus explaining to Philip how he inflates those giant tyres.

Day 22 Reykjavik, Iceland

The famous Blue Lagoon was our tour today.  This is a geothermal pool where the water ranges in temperature between 37-39 degrees celsius and the pool contains 9 million litres of seawater.  It is brought 2000 feet from underground to be pumped into this pool.  The water is a smoky aqua blue colour and visibility below the surface would be zero although we are told to not immerse our heads below the surface.   The geo-thermal water is packed full of minerals that rejuvenate the body but too dry for your hair as the water contains silica that would make your hair very stiff.

We boarded the bus for our one hour trip to Blue Lagoon and, per usual, the guide talked about things of interest along the way. It was interesting to pass by the Rio Tinto owned aluminium smelter.  Bauxite is imported from Australia to be processed into aluminium.  

We are reminded on our drive to Blue Lagoon is that this is volcanic country.  On both sides of the road we see old lava flow and in between we see the small thermal pools.

Very soon we come upon the latest small volcano to erupt - just a few short weeks ago.  There is no longer molten lava flowing but it is still smoking.  This volcano was quite close to the Blue Lagoon and was a very real threat.  In order to stop the lava flow towards the Blue Lagoon a huge wall was constructed.  In places we see where the lava from this volcano flowed across the road.

Our guide is a bit flustered by the time we arrived at the Blue Lagoon.  She had two more people on the tour than she should have.  It turned out they were two of the crew but it was enough to really throw her into a spin.  Consequently after she herded us all into the lagoon entry area she left us. We were left standing around for a good fifteen minutes waiting for her to do what she had to do and come back to us. By the time we were issued our tickets into the lagoon none of us had any idea where or what we had to do from there and this area is very large. Turns out we had to find a locker, change into bathers, leave our belongings in the locker and head to the shower room.  Everyone had to shower before entering the pool.  Finding our way around was a bit of a nightmare but fortunately I found someone that spoke English and she explained the procedure.  

I finally meet up with Philip and we waded our way into the warm water.  I love warm water.  Can't stand cold water.  We have swum in many "springs" across Australia but this is by far and away superior to anything we have ever experienced.  A drink voucher was included in our ticket so we made our way towards the bar and then found our way to a seat to enjoy them - never leaving the water. It was such an enjoyable way to while away time.  

After our swim and back into warm clothes we headed to the canteen for a bite of lunch.  This was probably the worst BLT I have ever eaten and I left half of it behind.  The mayo was so full of chilli that it was inedible.  I returned to the canteen and purchased a packet of popcorn ( a really healthy alternative but so delicious😂) .  Can you guess how much 2 BLT, 2 Juice, 1 Popcorn cost?  $103AU is how much!  Highway bloody robbery.  They have you over a barrel as there are no other food outlets within a 50k radius.

There is a geothermal electricity plant right beside the Blue Lagoon.  Around 30% of Icelands energy is generated through geothermal and the remainder from Hydropower.  They are a world leader in alternative fuels.

This is the end of the first leg of the Grand Cruise and all but 70 of us will leave the cruise tomorrow and we will be joined by another 500 odd folks tomorrow.  This is the view we have from where of ship is docked.