The Traveling Widower

Tag: travel

Default category for all travel related posts.

  • Whales and Gnomes

    A whimsical whale with a Santa hat and a beard, adorned in a colorful sweater, leaping out of ocean waves with a backdrop of pine trees and a coastal village.

    1st July, 2026

    It seems like I neglected to post two days worth of photos and activities, so now that I’m almost over the crummy chest cold I brought home from Iceland, I’m finally getting around to post them. 

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    Our last full day of the trip was all about whales, usually one of my favorite activities but after the crummy tour I had in Reykjavik my first day here, I was not overly thrilled about the prospect of 3 hours riding around in the cold, with nothing much to see. But as usual with this trip, my low expectations were greatly exceeded.

    We left the Hotel Kea in Akureyri early in the AM, and headed up the coast to Husavik, a bustling harbor village which is a center for whale watching tours. Before heading out on a boat, we first made a stop at the local whale museum – this small building housed one of the most informative and interesting exhibits on whales and whaling that I’ve ever seen. Really. The tour guide was an interesting character, who has worked on whale tour boats before, and was a literal fountain of knowledge on whales and the whale hunting history and politics. He spent a great deal of time discussing the recent issues related to the start of hunting again in Iceland, a very controversial topic which I won’t get into, but you can if you want here. The tour moved up to the second floor of the museum to view a kind of spooky but incredible collection of complete whale skeletons, including a blue, sperm and humpback. The blue whale had died, likely of old age, and washed up on shore in 2010 – the story behind processing the carcass for the bones was interesting and a sort of humorous (not humerus) – think of the effort to cut up a Thanksgiving turkey, and then try and imagine one 85 feet long, weighing 150 tons. Yuck.

    An exhibit displaying a large whale skeleton in a dimly lit room, with modern lighting and a blue backdrop.
    A large whale skeleton on display in a dark exhibition space, with a man walking nearby. The bones are arranged prominently, showcasing the ribcage and vertebrae against a blue background.
    A detailed display of whale skeletons in a museum, showcasing the skull and ribcage structure against a backdrop of ocean and mountains.
    A mounted whale skeleton displayed in a museum, featuring the skull and elongated jaw structure, with a scenic background of mountains and water.
    A large whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling in a museum, with displays of marine life in the background and a visitor observing the exhibit.

    Husavik Whale Museum

    On the bus ride in, our trip leader (I usually do not include names of real people in my blogs) told us about a rather unbelievable, but true story, about Husavik. Apparently, the town competed in a European song contest (I’m not sure if they won), and Netflix filmed a movie with Will Ferrel, about the effort. I still don’t fully understand it. But the town has an exhibition at the main hotel to commemorate the effort and the movie. I’m not making this up – you can find the movie on Netflix. I’ll pass – I’m not a Will Ferrel fan.

    The whale watch tour was scheduled after an interesting lecture from a researcher at the Whale Institute and of course, we had to have lunch.  We never missed a meal on this trip. It’s going to take me a while to work off the weight I’ve gained on this trip – way too many desserts. Back to the whale watch…this one was much more pleasant, and a bit more successful that the one in Reykjavik. Our boat was quite a bit different from what I’m used to – no cabin. Just a pilot house, and a lot of seating. Plus an entrance to a bathroom below the deck. One other big difference – you had to wear a protective, waterproof overall. Not a bad idea given how cold the water is, assuming you might wind up overboard. The suits were nice protection from the wind and rain as well. The scenery was stunning as we cruised across the bay. – tall, snow capped peaks, with a lot of streams and waterfalls. A nice backdrop if we had a few breaching whales. 

    A scenic view of a harbor with various boats moored, against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains and a cloudy sky.
    Passengers and crew aboard the Nattfari boat in Husavik, surrounded by scenic coastal views and cloudy skies.
    A scenic harbor with several boats docked by a wooden pier, against a backdrop of mountains and cloudy skies.

    I did not get that particular shot, but we did have a few humpbacks blowing and diving near the shore, and one whale did breach but it was too far off even for my 400mm lens. But, I did get a couple of good fluke shots, and some nice scenery images as well. No complaints – it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

    Scenic view of mountainous terrain with snow-capped peaks reflected in calm water under a cloudy sky.
    A whale's tail emerging from the water, splashing as it dives beneath the surface.
    A scenic view of a waterfall cascading down a rocky hillside, surrounded by green grass and rugged terrain, with a calm water body in the foreground.
    A humpback whale's tail partially submerged in calm ocean waters, with a clear sky in the background.
    A whale partially breaching in the water near a rocky shoreline with green vegetation and a small waterfall in the background.

    The coast we were sailing along was along a mountain range, with no obvious access other than by boat. No docks along there. But there was this nice looking house, all by itself. A place to get away from it all.

    A solitary house surrounded by lush green hills and small waterfalls, viewed from a body of water.
    Look closely – the house is close to the shore.

    The tour lasted about 3 hours, including the slow ride back to the harbor. We were given the option of another geothermal bath soak on the way back to the hotel, but I opted out in favor of a search for a t-shirt to wear on the way home. Shopping. Not my favorite thing to do, but I just did not feel like going through the hot tub ritual again.

    I did find a shop that sold t-shirts, but more importantly, had an entire room dedicated to one of my peculiar obsessions – gnomes. They were not the type you put in gardens, but I had branched out quite some time ago to include the indoor variety, and I was like a kid in a toy store. Complete gnome overload. 

    A retail display featuring a variety of decorative gnomes and holiday ornaments, arranged on shelves. Products include gnome figurines in red and white, plush holiday decorations, gift boxes, and puzzles, all set against a minimalistic background.

    Eventually, I found one that was small enough to fill the limited open space in my luggage, and fit in with the rest of the indoor gnome population. I’m sure the others will welcome their foreign brethren. They probably all speak the same language. Gnomish. It’s sort of Scandinavian – lots of strange letters. 

    A decorative grey gnome with a tall pointy hat adorned with snowflake designs and a white beard, sitting on a black textured case, with a lamp and other items in the background.

    We had our farewell dinner that night at a surprise and welcome change in restaurants – a very high-end sushi house. We each were given a wonderful and large platter of assorted sushi, some of the best I’ve had. Plus a wine pairing, which I did not participate in (that darn heart thing). Not a bad way to end the really great trip.

    Just one more night in a really uncomfortable hotel room (Hotel Kea), and I’ll be on the long way home.

    Peace

  • 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.