The Traveling Widower

Tag: National-Geographic

  • Back to Reykjavik – The Very Last Stop

    A vibrant display of the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) illuminating the night sky with shades of green and purple over snow-capped mountains and a calm water surface.
    Not a real picture….read on

    July 2nd, 2026

    This has been the trip that never stops giving, in a good way. On most every trip, the last day consists of a bus ride to the airport and then endless hours waiting in a lounge, or at the gate. On the return trip from Antarctica, I think there was an 8 hour gap between flights back to the US. Talk about boring. I was lucky to find a private club which let you in for a reasonable fee. Boredom was not an option on this trip, not even for the last day.

    Today, we started out on a short flight from Akureyri to the small commuter airport in Reykjavik, From there, we headed over to this pretty amazing museum, the Perlan, which is a domed natural history museum built over what used to be the main hot water tanks for the city. The facility focuses on the wonders of Iceland, and the place is pretty wonderous on its own.

    Entrance of Perlan, a museum in Iceland, featuring modern architecture and signage that reads 'Perlan Wonders of Iceland'.
    Interior view of a modern building showcasing a large glass dome ceiling, with artistic displays of whales around Iceland on the wall and visitors observing from the balcony above.
    A rocky cliff face populated by numerous birds, with some standing and others sitting on various levels of the rocky texture.

    We started out with one of those immersive displays in a domed theater, of the Aurora Borealis which you can see in the winter. The seats are all reclined, you get the full 360 degree view by just looking up. An incredible video display. You are not allowed to photograph or video the show, but you can take pictures before it starts of the aurora displays they show as you settle in. The film was a journey of aurora’s across the solar system – hard to describe without seeing it. Amazing stuff.

    A vibrant display of green and purple auroras swirling across a night sky, creating a sense of motion and depth.
    A vibrant display of the aurora borealis with swirling green and purple lights against a starry night sky.
    A vibrant aurora borealis lighting up the night sky over a snowy mountain landscape, with swirling green and purple lights and a star-filled background.

    From there, we wandered through some of the history and geology displays (we did not have a lot of time). There was one display that caught my eye (and camera), about one area we spent a few days at – Myvatn.

    Myvatn translates to the lake of midges! The guide book never mentioned that. I wonder if they have a Midge Day celebration every spring, when the annoying little creatures all hatch and start seeking body openings to crawl into. It could have been worse though – Geitungavatn (lake of hornets) would have been really bad.

    We moved on to the highlight of the museum tour – the volcano show. This one was a lot like something you’d see at a  Disney or Universal Studios park. They warned you first about motion sickness – I understood why after about a minute into the show.  You sit on a stool in a glass enclosed area, and the film moves all around you as you slide across a volcanic field, fall down a rift zone and then go underwater until you enter a volcano crater. You then fall down the volcano magma chamber, (which I’ve already done for real but without the lava), and are eventually blown out in an eruption. The floor vibrates during the eruption. You really do feel like you are on an amazing ride. I thought I was in Mordor from Lord of the Rings, looking for Sauron to appear. Wow. I did sneak one picture before they told us we could not take pictures

    There was another short video afterwards on more recent eruptions, then a walk through an ice cave. I could have lived without that – I felt like I was walking through a freezer that really needed to be defrosted. No old frost-bitten food though.

    Close-up view of textured blue ice formations inside a glacier.
    People walking through a snow tunnel with icy walls, featuring a person in a red jacket and hat in the foreground.

    That was the end of the tour for us – we were on a tight schedule since we had lunch reservations, and then had to drop some of the group at a hotel before dropping a few of us off at the airport (myself included). We had the opportunity to take in a great view of Reykjavík from the top of the building, but it was incredibly windy, so I passed on the opportunity, and headed back to the bus.

    Our last lunch together at a great restaurant in a Hilton hotel, where I probably added another pound or two of gut from the deserts (Tiramisu!!!), and then made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. A great end to a fantastic trip. We had such a good group of people, a fearless and excellent bus driver, a wonderful naturalist from National Geographic, and the perfect trip leader, a native of Iceland who has incredible knowledge of the culture and history of this incredible place. He kept us entertained and educated with stories of Icelandic history and folk lore, interspersed with his own personal family background. He should write a book or two. Maybe three – he has a lot of stories to tell.

    I’m fortunate to have scheduled a return trip to Iceland next year – a photographic tour of the less traveled areas. I can hardly wait. I have a feeling there will be at least one more trip after that in the future. Maybe a summer home in Iceland?

    This is not quite the last post from this trip – once I get around to curating the RAW photos from the Sony and GoPro, I will add a few more to the page I published during the trip, and might do a brief trip summary if I have any thoughts worth publishing. Right now, I’m really looking forward to my last flight home (Seattle->SMF) and to doing nothing for a few days. 

    Peace

    One last update – the flights (KEF->Seattle, Seattle-Sacrament) were uneventful. That’s a good thing. On the last flight, I did take a picture of a glacier covered volcano – Mt. Hood. No waterfalls though.

    And I will continue to add photos to the Iceland gallery page, as I work through the images and videos from this trip.

  • Plate Tectonics and Midges

    A lone figure walking across a barren landscape with steam rising in the background, under a blue sky with scattered clouds and mountains in the distance.

    29th June, 2026

    I think the main difference between this type of trip and the NatGeo cruises that I’ve been on, is that the land based trip do not have any sea time, where you can sleep late, hang in the lounge or library reading, work on photography, or just relax and do nothing. Even the activity days have a lot of rest time in between the morning and afternoon off-ship activities. This trip, you get up, have breakfast, and you are off for the day with multiple stops, a break for lunch, then back in the bus. I’m on day ten, and I’m running on vapors. But at least we had an ice cream stop today – that always helps. One scoop of vanilla and one of banana crunch. Yum!

    Today was a hiking day, amid some really interesting volcanic and rift related landscapes. First off was a walk-about at an area with a high degree of geothermal activity – Hverir Geothermal Area. There were lots of stinky, bubbly pools and a lot of smelly steam. Similar to some parts of Yellowstone. Another place where you do not touch the really hot water unless your are missing a few cylinders. This area has had recent volcanic activity, and has a major geothermal plant, with pipes and wells all over the mountain pass. 

    A desolate landscape showcasing arid hills and rocky terrain under a partially cloudy sky, with steam rising from geothermal areas.
    A geothermal area featuring steam rising from hot springs, surrounded by a rocky landscape and distant snowy mountains under a blue sky with scattered clouds.
    A geothermal landscape with steam rising from multiple vents against a cloudy sky.
    A geothermal area with steam rising from a vent, surrounded by barren land and distant mountains under a partly cloudy sky.
    A large mud pot in a geothermal area, showcasing bubbling gray mud with swirling patterns, surrounded by cracked earth and various textures.

    Next up was a stop at a beautiful underground pool, which was along the actual rift zone (Grjotagja) – there is a large crack where the two plates are separating, so you can stand with one foot on the North American Plate, and the other on the European Plate. Really, I’m not making this up. This region has had a lot of activity along this rift, and the crack can be seen in a number of places. The pool at one time was a popular bathing spot – it’s a little tricky getting down to it, but worth the risk of falling into the water. 

    A panoramic view of a rocky landscape with a fissure, surrounded by clouds and distant mountains.
    A man in a black puffer jacket and sunglasses stands with his legs apart on rocky terrain, holding a hiking pole. In the background, a group of hikers and mountains under a cloudy sky can be seen.
    An underground cave featuring a clear blue pool of water, with rocky edges and natural stone formations above.

    That’s me straddling the rift zone. Impressive. The crack, not me.

    From there, we took a hike up the remains of a volcano, to see the blue lake in the large crater, created when the volcano blew its top. Something I do not want to ever witness close up. As Jimmy Buffet put it, “I don’t know where I’m gonna go when the volcano blow”.

    A serene volcanic crater lake with turquoise water surrounded by brown hills and overcast skies. Steam rises from a distant geothermal area in the background.

    As you can tell, this day so far was all about geology. It’s hard to avoid in Iceland. We had really good weather to this point – the sun was out, temperature relatively warm and not much wind. That’s both a blessing and a curse. In this region, there are swarms of small midges and when the wind dies, they are all over you – all openings on your face are fair game for them. It’s hard not to inhale them. The only thing that helps are head nets, which some of us had. By the time this day was over, we were all wearing one. Most of the food stops sell them. You are still surrounded by clouds of the darn things, but at least they are not crawling in your ears and nose. 

    After the crater hike, we headed off to lunch which also happened to be at the start of our longest hike of the day. The restaurant was packed – there were a few cruise ships docked in Akureyri, including a NatGeo/Lindblad ship. We had already seen a bunch of passengers, all wearing the same blue parka. We felt under dressed for the day. The restaurant was also strange about restroom use – you had to pay, or have lunch there, More on that in a bit.

    After lunch, we set off on our 2+km hike through Dimmoborgir, a very weird park with a set of trails which wind through some very bizarre volcanic structures. I won’t bore you with the geology – there are strange towers of basalt, many with holes large enough to walk through. It’s an absolute maze which would be easy to get lost in, but fortunately, the signage is excellent, and points you back to the parking lot. The hike was long enough to feel like it would never end. Fortunately it did. And it was fortunate for some of us that we made it back to the WC’s at the restaurant with time to spare. 

    A view of a large volcanic rock formation with a prominent arch, surrounded by smaller rocks and sparse vegetation.
    Unique rock formation with a prominent arch, surrounded by greenery and a cloudy sky.
    A jagged lava rock formation featuring a circular hole near the top, under a cloudy sky.
    Rocky landscape with rugged terrain and sparse vegetation under a cloudy sky.

    There was a pretty bird, singing away as we neared the end of the trail. I snapped a few before setting my speed record back to the restaurant.

    A bird perched on a branch, singing with its beak open, surrounded by green foliage.

    I was pretty pooped at the end of this little activity and it was still early afternoon. This is where a “sea day” would have come in handy. There were only two more stops to go and I was bound and determined to not sit these out in the bus. The next one was to view, and hike of course, a series of volcanic craters near the South edge of Myvatn – the hike was fairly easy, and scenery was fantastic. The craters reminded me of the Civil War crater at Petersburg National Battlefield. But bigger, and created by nature, not by war. This is where the ice cream stop occurred. My outlook on life improved markedly after the break. It was difficult eating ice cream without ingesting midges – unwanted protein. I found a free corner in the ice cream shop to lean against, and enjoyed the ice cream midge-free.

    A scenic view of rolling green hills surrounding a calm lake under a cloudy sky.
    A display of various ice cream flavors in a glass-fronted freezer, with colorful containers and a decorative design on the front.

    The very last stop was for some birding along the lake, not too far from our hotel. A short walk on an easy trail – not a lot of birds, but I did get a few nice shots.

    A duck flapping its wings while swimming in a body of water, surrounded by lush green plants.
    A group of seven ducks swimming in a green-tinted body of water, with six black and white ducks leading and one gray duck trailing behind.

    That was it – 13K steps and about 5.5 miles of walking. I was ready for a nap. I’ve given up on processing photos from the two cameras and phone. I’m doing enough for initial posts to the blog, but any serious sorting and curation will have to wait until I get home. I’ll do a ‘best of’ post once I get settled in.

    We did have an interesting dinner later in the evening, at a working farm a short distance from the hotel. The dining area has windows into the barn, so you can see the cows as they are fed and milked. Our table was right next to the windows, and I thought it would be interesting to face the cows while we had our dinner. I did not notice that we were facing the rear ends of the cows in their stalls. That was a very big mistake. You can probably guess why. I did not take any pictures other than this one. Ick. I just focused on my plate.

    Cows eating hay in a barn, with several animals visible through metal partitions.
    View of a dairy barn with cows lined up in stalls, seen through a glass window. Vintage items are displayed on a shelf above.

    Peace.