PETA. People Eating Tasty Animals.

 I began the day rather early with a whale watching tour. It didn't go as well as we all hoped, but overall, it was enjoyable! First, we stopped near the "Puffin Island" where the Icelandic puffins were busy cleaning up their nests and preparing for mating season. Puffins nests are between 3 and 9 feet underground, and often have two chambers. One of the chambers is used to sleep and nest in, while the other is used for their excrement. It was difficult to get good pictures of the puffins, as the boat couldn't get too close to the shore. Click here to look at close up pictures of puffins! They sure are beautiful little birds.

Once we were further out to sea, some whales began surfacing. None of them came too close to the boat, but just being able to see them was a nice experience. We saw 5-6 different Minke whales, as well as some harbour porpoises. 

While on the boat, I met a New Yorker named Andrew who had just landed in Iceland for a 2 day stop over on his way to Denmark. I showed him around the city a bit, and we ate lunch at a nice little restaurant where I ate Minke whale. Yes, I just paid to watch them in their natural habitat, and then walked into the city and paid to eat one... I'm a horrible person... The meat was so red, that I only lasted 5 bites or so before I just quit and let Andrew eat some. For those who have been reading my posts since Australia, you'll know I complained about how red kangaroo meat was... Well, kangaroo was cooked thoroughly compared to this whale!

We finished lunch and headed to Hallgrimskirkja, the tallest building in Reykjavik. As you may remember, I planned to visit this on my first day here, but had technical difficulties with the camera! Today was a much better day for a beautiful view over the lovely, colorful city of Reykjavik. 

After some shopping, I walked Andrew to his hotel, and then went to the local bird feeding area. There is a lake/pond in the city with benches around it, where people bring bread to feed to the birds. There were a large number of birds there, as well as many different breeds. I enjoyed feeding them, and then just watching as many parents brought their children to feed bread to the birds. The kids loved it! I truly enjoy watching children get so excited about such simple things.

This kid was having a BLAST.

Lagoons, Bingo, and Rotten Shark... Oh my.

The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa. The warm water, heated by the earth, is full of rich minerals and silica. It is proven to be good for the skin, and provides a warm retreat from the cool Icelandic air. Upon arrival, you have to take a shower. This keeps the lagoon itself free of many germs/bacteria that we carry around throughout the day. You enter the lagoon inside, and go through what can only be described as a "doggie door for humans," which leads into the warm, steaming waters of The Blue Lagoon. It was such a relaxing environment, and an amazing experience.    

I went with some women that I met Sunday, when I went into Reykjavik for worship. They were fun to be around, and it was a blast getting to know them more.

After showering, I tried to comb/brush my hair... The minerals in the lagoon absolutely DESTROYED my long, thick, hair. It is poofy, coarse, rough, tangled, bent, broken, etc. Maybe I should just cut it off?

Finally, I just gave up, and spent ten minutes trying to get it into a ponytail. Upon succeeding that venture, it was time to head to BINGO!!! Carina is a nurse and they are taking a trip to Boston soon, so they hosted a Bingo night with tons of cool prizes as a way to raise money. After awhile, my time came! I got Bingo, and yelled, "AMERICA!!" Everyone laughed (pretty sure I was the only non-Icelandic person there) and clapped for me. Now I have a big basket of crackers, cheese, and jam that I have to transport home... We'll see how that goes! I might end up eating all of it during my 10 hour layover in Boston.

Finally, to end my long, yet awesome day... The moment I have NOT been waiting for... It is time to eat Hákarl. "Hákarl is traditionally prepared by gutting and beheading a Greenland shark and placing it in a shallow hole dug in gravelly-sand, with the now-cleaned cavity resting on a slight hill. The shark is then covered with sand and gravel, and stones are then placed on top of the sand in order to press the shark. The fluids from the shark are in this way pressed out of the body. The shark ferments in this fashion for 6–12 weeks depending on the season. Following this curing period,  the shark is then cut into strips and hung to dry for several months."


Much of my traveling so far has been based off of Andrew Zimmern's show, "Bizzare Foods." I used his advice on Australian cuisine to find some delicious food, and thought I'd do the same for Iceland. The hotdog I had the other day was great... but what was he thinking with this rotten shark? On the show, he described the smell as reminding him of "some of the most horrific things I've ever breathed in my life" He noted that Hákarl is "hardcore food" and "not for beginners." Why didn't I just listen to him? Either way, I am proud of holding in there for as long as I did... I also tried Sheep Head. It actually tasted OK. I had three bites... the first and third weren't great, but the second one was better.

The video is little for some reason, but you can
make it full screen. Enjoy!

The World Is My Book. Turn the Page.

6:15 A.M... Walk 2 kilometers to the bus stop

6:43 A.M... Take the bus to the bus station

7:30 A.M... Get picked up by tour group

8:00 A.M... Begin an epic journey across Iceland.

"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow.
The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."

This tour goes along the beautiful south shore of Iceland to the extraordinary glacial lagoon, Jökulsárlón. We passed some charming villages as well as Skaftafell National Park and we visited Seljalandsfoss waterfall and Skógafoss waterfall. Just before we arrived at the lagoon we passed Iceland’s biggest volcano, Öræfajökull glacier. 

2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull are still evident

As you can see, there are many amazing blocks of ice that have broken off Europe’s biggest glacier, Vatnajökull, as they sail slowly towards the ocean which is only a kilometer away.

Injured Eye

Lava Field

Hot Spots steam rising as the temperature drops

About 30 minutes outside of Reykjavik, it started to snow. The sun was beginning to set, as a heavy fog settled over the countryside. I have never seen such thick snowflakes! They were enormous, but still fluffy as they were tossed to and fro by the wind. I watched them spin around, up and down, side to side, before finally landing on the cold ground. It was a perfect way to end the long day traveling across Iceland.

Spelunking

I spent the majority of today relaxing/sleeping, but when Benjamin got home from taking a final, we went to get something to eat, and then to some caves here in Gardabaer. First stop was a fast food joint called "Aktu Taktu." I've seen them in a few different areas around the city, and was wondering what it was like! They don't have McDonalds or anything like that anymore, because the cost of operation was too high. The food was good, but overpriced. It was nice experiencing "fast food" in Iceland though! 

It was neat to explore the caves near my host's house, since no tourists get to go there. People who visit Iceland rarely stay in Gardabaer, and no tour groups go to these caves. They were fun to explore!

Benjamin!

While we ate, we talked a little bit about price differences between here and the U.S. Benjamin said the sales tax here is 25%; 12% on food. The income tax is over 30%! I was shocked! Luckily, right now the dollar is worth 125 krona, so the price differences don't seem quite as drastic for me.

TRAFFIC
This is quite random, but I've been wanting to mention all these oddities for awhile...Traffic lights here turn from green --> yellow --> red. While you are stopped at the light, it turns back to yellow, before turning green. As soon as it hits yellow, everyone starts moving as if it has already turned green! Also, while driving down a 2 lane highway, there will occasionally be another lane on the right, (it's more like a shoulder), where cars can go around someone who is turning left. This way, traffic isn't slowed down by a car wanting to turn left. They can just whip into the extra lane, and go around. Then, there are massive amounts of "round-a-bouts." There are even 2 lane round-a-bouts. You don't see many throughout the States, unless you are in a neighborhood or something. Here, they are everywhere!