LIVE from Jewel May 15, 2024 - 27 nights

[twangster]

 

 

 

[twangster]

Zooming in I could see the icebergs melting before our eyes.

 

 

 

A group of five or six seals were playing in the water.

 

 

Ducks also appeared to make the spot a social gathering point.

 

 

Each of these bergs were moving in the currents and winds of the lagoon.

 

 

It was all very magical.

Edited May 24 by twangster

[twangster]

It took us a while to make it out this far from Reykjavik and too soon it was time to start making our way back returning on the same road we used to get here.

 

This provided an opportunity to see things from a new perspective in different lighting later in the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

 

 

[twangster]

We made it back to Vik.  Here we would grab dinner (not included) with an unpublished stop at a church for views of the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

Hours later we arrived back in Reykjavik.  The other members of the group wanted to see a church in Reykjavik but with rain in the forecast and our short day the next day they weren't sure how they would make it work.  Our guide and driver solved the problem by taking us there before returning us to the ship.

 

 

 

 

It was nice being able to see around downtown a bit as well.  This is a side benefit of a private tour with a good, flexible guide.

 

Pictures taken at 10:23 pm.

 

 

Edited May 24 by twangster

[twangster]

Tour summary:

 

 

Twelve hours covering 487 miles.

 

Our driver was very efficient in keeping us on task while moving us along safely leveraging his skills at passing slower traffic where ever he could.  

 

It was a whirlwind tour but with long Icelandic daylight hours it worked out quite well and the things we saw were unbelievable.   

 

The truth is these photos are crap compared to what we saw with our eyes.  Just wow.

[RFerrington]

<sigh>

[StanleyandGus]

@twangster I am enjoying these posts very much. Obviously, your photos are spectacular, but your summaries are lovely; I feel that I’m really seeing it.

 

Thank you for taking the time to do this.

[njkruzer]

We're these ship tours or private?  If private, what company?  We're there on TA in August. 

[HBE4]

1 hour ago, RFerrington said:

<sigh>

 

<<double sigh>>

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

As we continue our drive there are more waterfalls, some smaller, some larger.

 

 

The views along the coast are breathtaking.  Pictures don't capture it.

 

 

 

Our guide points out a rock slide that is less than 12 months old.  

 

 

The boulders are massive, some the size of a house.  

 

 

A brief stop for some photos near this farm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This slide is less than a month old.

 

Any idea what was growing in that farmers field?

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, twangster said:

 

The people look so tiny standing at the foot of the waterfall. The scale is simply staggering. 😮

[twangster]

Just now, FionaMG said:

 

The people look so tiny standing at the foot of the waterfall. The scale is simply staggering. 😮

 

I normally try to take pics without people but in this case it's adds to the effect.

[twangster]

I have a video of the private tour but YT is taking a long time processing it so I'm moving on.

 

I'll post the link when it's done.

[twangster]

Day Ten - Reykjavik Day Two

 

The forecast looked pretty terrible and the radar didn't seem to argue for me to go on this excursion, but I did anyways.  So glad i did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

After arriving back to the ship near 11pm I was seriously doubting my choices.  The view from deck 12 with a pretty high wind at 5:45am:

 

 

What was I thinking?  Is it too late to cancel?

 

I'm up so I might as well do this.

 

The 4x4 were parked close to the ship.

 

 

These are not stock Ford trucks. The front is an F350 and the rear is an Excursion.  They are welded together then lifted with 46" tires.

 

[twangster]

We drive through town and past some apartments on the edge of town.

 

 

In Iceland, our driver tater tells us, this is considered a forest (they have very few trees here).

 

 

This is Tater, our driver.

 

 

 

 

This is what a mountain looks like in Iceland.

 

 

 

I see a ship.

 

 

Amazing view.

 

 

It was windy, very windy!

 

 

Great views but that wind!

 

 

Time to seek shelter.

 

 

[twangster]

Big tires.  The rubber hose is an inflation system that allows them to air up, or air down the tires.

 

Lower air pressure provides better traction off road and can prevent punctures while road speed and handling at highway speeds warrants higher pressure.

 

 

 

Despite the rain and overcast it was very beautiful.  

 

 

 

 

 

Much of the trail system leverages land used by the local power company owned by the city of Reykjavik.

 

 

 

Various steam outlets that are being harnessed to produce electricity and hot water for Reykjavik.   If you ate sitting on a geothermal cache of steam and hot water, you learn to use it.  

 

 

 

 

Did I mention it's windy?

 

 

 

[twangster]

We drove around a very nice lake with many small houses around it.  

 

 

This is a power plant.  It produces 1.2MW or something along around that.  All powered from the earth.  Tater tells us that Iceland is a lead in a global geothermal energy production.

 

 

At the end of lake is a hydroelectric plant.

 

 

Looking for a bathroom break we end up at the same bakery where our private tour stopped yesterday.

 

 

Bridal dress falls.

 

[twangster]

Instead of the 45 minute drive to Reykjavik, we go back off road.

 

 

 

More moss covered lava flows.

 

 

I think this additional off road session was added just for Tater as he seemed to be in his glory as was the driver of the black 4x4.

 

 

 

[twangster]

Still some snow up here.

 

 

 

Just off trail steam was emanating from the ground.  Tater noted this can be quite dangerous as you are likely to break through the crust when walking which would near instantly cause severe burns with extreme heat just below the surface.

 

 

We approach another power plant location.  

 

 

 

When they bore a new hole down 3 or 4 km, they ket it vent for a period of time.

 

 

Up close this sounded like a jet engine.

 

 

Tater asks his friend over the rado why he wasn't moving as the CO2 is not good for the paint or windows.  "I can't see" was the response.  Sure enough when it was our turn, we couldn't see past the hood.  

 

[twangster]

So for an excursion I was trying to find a way out of, it turned out to be fantastic!  

 

I loved this excursion!  

 

Anyone can see Iceland from a highway but to see Iceland up close and off road was a unique experience.  So worth it and the rain and wind added to the experience.  

[twangster]

Looks like YT is done processing my tour video from yesterday so here it is:

 

 

I didn't put a lot of effort into this so don't expect too much as YT video go, but video does provide some more context.

[andreasfcb]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

We drive through town and past some apartments on the edge of town.

 

 

In Iceland, our driver tater tells us, this is considered a forest (they have very few trees here).

 

 

This is Tater, our driver.

 

 

 

 

This is what a mountain looks like in Iceland.

 

 

 

I see a ship.

 

 

Amazing view.

 

 

It was windy, very windy!

 

 

Great views but that wind!

 

 

Time to seek shelter.

 

 

 

Ah, there's the Greenland – ehrm, Iceland – I was talking about.

 

The change of scenery is epic. We didn't dare to go to the glacier, it was too far for us (12 hour drive, dang). At least we have a great reason to go back! I really love the glacier icebergs!