The Traveling Widower

Tag: photography

  • Iceland: 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.

  • Iceland: Ferry, Cross to Hrisey

    A scenic view of a coastal area featuring a small town along a shoreline, with a backdrop of mountains under a cloudy sky.
    Approaching Hrisey

    So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
    ‘Cause this land’s the place I love
    And here I’ll stay
    Gerry and the Pacemakers

    June 28th, 2026

    Every now and then, a song comes to mind when I’m doing something strange like riding a ferry to an island. I started humming this awful song from the 60’s by a one-hit-wonder band when we boarded the ferry. I wish I could forget it.

    Every day on this trip is significantly different from the previous day, and just as interesting and strange. Today we started off with the Herring Museum in the village of Siglufjordur. We then drove along the fjords, going through a couple of long one way tunnels… yes, one way. 

    Interior view of a vehicle driving through a tunnel, showing the dashboard and two passengers in the front seats.
    Two lane tunnel – much safer

    There are rules and turnouts to avoid head on collisions, but some drivers apparently do not follow the rules as we found out. But buses with a great driver trump cars in this situation, and the other car was forced to back out to the closest turnout to let us go forward. We made it safely to the town of Arskogssandur (say that fast 3 times…or just try and say it once), to take a ferry across to the island of Hrisey. Why you might ask? For more Icelandic history and culture, to have lunch, and to take a tractor ride around the village. Sounds like fun. It was, and very strange.

    The town with the long name, is another village with a Herring fishing history, and still supports tourist and commercial fishing as well as whale watch tours. It also has a sense of humor when it comes to traffic signals.

    The island of Hrisey is a short ferry ride up the fjord, and the only way (obviously) to get there, other than a small plane or helicopter. The ferry is faster than either of the other two. The island has been populated since Viking days, and the village is basically there for no reason other than for fishing, and possibly for collecting and riding tractors. Everyone seems to have one.

    The village is very small, but with a lot of cute houses, and one very nice restaurant with an owner who could be a good stand-up comic. After a great lunch, with some of the best dark rye bread I’ve ever had, we boarded a tractor pulled trailer for a ride around the village, with the restaurant owner as the guide, who gave a humorous running description of the village. We ended the tour at the town’s museum, in what was the oldest building in Hrisey. After about a 3 minute walk thru, I decided to just wander the streets for a while seeking photo opportunities,  and eventually wound up back to the harbor, and photographed some Eider ducks with the ducklings. Cute. We all made it back to the ferry in time, and boarded the bus for our next stop – The Waterfall of the Gods (Godafoss). On the way, we passed by another town we will be staying at for the last two nights of the trip, and traveled through a couple of tunnels again (two way, thankfully no near collisions).

    A scenic view of a small town featuring a winding road, a white church with a red steeple, colorful houses, and snow-capped mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.
    A whimsical outdoor scene featuring a colorful, decorated house with a white facade and red trim. The entrance includes steps leading to a white door, adorned with a blue and red sculpture. The front yard has quirky decorations, including two standing rubber boots and a red glove, surrounded by rocks and wooden logs.
    A decorative tree stump sculpture with a carved face, complete with wooden eyes and facial hair, set against a white building and surrounded by stones and planter boxes.
    A silhouette of a statue on a grassy hill with a cloudy sky in the background, featuring a bench in the foreground.
    A wooden tree stump decorated with garden gnomes, surrounded by colorful flowers in a residential yard beneath a balcony.

    They did have Uber on the island – here is the waiting line for drivers at the ferry

    A row of red tractors parked on a grassy area near a building, with overcast skies in the background.

    The very few kids on the island had a great park, complete with a zip line. I thought about it for a minute or two, but stayed off of it.

    A playground scene featuring a swing set and a colorful jumping pillow, with grassy areas, a building in the background, and cloudy skies.

    There was a real hobbit house on the island

    And I did get a couple of nice Eider Duck photos

    So far, we have been rained on for all the major waterfalls we have visited – I still managed some good pics, but I keep wishing for some sunlight. Today, we finally found some. As waterfalls go in Iceland, which has an endless supply of them, the Godafoss one of the largest and most powerful. It reminded me of Niagara Falls….which I last saw about 60+ years ago so the comparison is a bit shaky I guess. 

    There was a short walk to the first view spot, where the sun was directly facing the camera. I did not complain, just followed our fearless leader to the next stop which was much better, so I clicked away. The best location was down some very steep, rough steps, and across a very rocky trail. I heard that little voice saying…”Don’t hurt yourself idiot”, but decided to go anyway. The voice should have said “Put the camera in your camera bag!!”, which I did not. I managed to make it down the stairs, but almost lost it on the rocky trail. I managed to right the ship before I crashed on the rocks. Our trip leader was looking very concerned. I then put the camera away, and used my multi-purpose monopod as a hiking stick, and made it safely to the spot where everyone was taking photographs. Phew. It was worth the effort – the falls were magnificent and the lighting was pretty good as well. There always seem to be some people who feel that they must get as close to the falls as possible – that’s why people wind up getting carried over Nevada Falls in Yosemite. And if they don’t get killed, they wind up ruining the photographs for everyone else. So when the inevitable occurred, I figured it was time to put the camera away, and head back up the trail and stairs. 

    A scenic view of Godafoss waterfall in Iceland, showcasing cascading water over rocky cliffs, surrounded by green landscape and mountains under a cloudy sky.
    A scenic view of a waterfall cascading over rocky cliffs surrounded by lush greenery and dramatic clouds in the sky.
    A scenic view of a waterfall cascading over rocky cliffs under a cloudy sky, with a river foreground and smooth water surface.

    I spent a bit more time at the last viewing point at the top of the falls – absolutely awesome. Most everyone else had headed back to the bus, so I packed up and stumped back down the trail. An end to a very good day. We started out in the pouring rain at the Herring Museum, ferried over to a strange village on an island for lunch, had an exciting drive through a tunnel, heard all kinds of stories from our trip leader who should write a book or two about his life in Iceland, and then visited this beautiful waterfall. Sort of the way this trip has been going. No complaints about that.

    Peace