Northern Lights Exploration

Lyn and I were going on the Northern Lights Exploration 8–day tour that we booked through the On the Go tour company, which is really a British travel agency that books you on tours with other companies. The actual tour company was Gudmundur Jonasson, an Iceland tour company. We had to wake up early in Los Angeles to call the UK before the end of their work day to ask any questions that we had.

We also had to fill out “Fit to Travel Questionnaires…to access the suitability of travelers over 65 years of age.” We both passed.

The best times to see the Northern Lights is from September to mid–April as there are full dark nights in these months. So, we were here in October, before it got way too cold.

Photo: Map of our tour itinerary.

Our Tour Director, Erik

Lyn and I were a bit surprised that there was no tour notice on our hotel wall telling us when we would be leaving or any other Welcome to Iceland greeting, which is standard for the tours we have taken beforehand. Our tour vouchers said we would be picked up at 9 a.m., so we and our luggage were in the lobby at this time. Erik came to pick up our group (photo). We did find out quickly that we would not have porter service on this tour, though our bus driver did put our luggage on the bus and took it off. The rest was up to us, but we either had first–floor rooms or elevators, so not too bad.

Erik is a Swede who has made his home in Iceland and was a very good tour director. We had 28 people on the tour: 11 Americans, 1 Canadian, and 2 each from Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, London, and Hong Kong and Asian couple I think were from China. Twenty–two of the tour group were women. There were many on the younger side in the group and the rest spread out to older ages. So, a mixed–age, women majority, international tour group.

Our Bus

Our new home away from home.

City Tour

The first part of the first day of our tour was a city tour of Reykjavik. This is the harbor area.

Tjornin

We drove past Tjornin, a small lake in Reykjavik.

Hallgrimskirkja

We stopped at the modern Lutheran church, the Hallgrimskirkja. Lyn and I were here yesterday but we weren’t allowed inside because a funeral was being held. Today, we could go inside.

Halligrimskirkja

Inside the church. There is an elevator to an observation deck but Erik said we didn’t have enough time to go up it.

The Perlan

Our next stop was at The Perlon (The Pearl), which is a modern structure that covers six hot water storage tanks.

The Perlan

The Perlan also has an observation deck. I took this photo of Reykjavik from it. Many of the roofs in Iceland are painted to prevent damage to them from the rain and snow, with many of them painted white.

Harpa

Our last stop was at the Harpa, Reykjavik’s concert center, 2011. It is also called “Day of Icelandic Music.”

To get around Reykjavik and to see sights and buildings not in walking distance or up hills, there are city tours and also a hop–on hop–off bus.

I have put my photos of our city tour on a slideshow. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/reykjavik–city–tour/

(Slide Shows, Iceland, “Reykjavik City Tour”).

Borgarfjorour Valley

After our city tour, we headed out to the countryside and Borgarfjorour Valley. The valley is quite unpopulated, with long driving stretches of mountains, hills, lakes, and rivers and few buildings or towns.

Borgarfjorour Valley

It also started to rain, not an unusual occurrence, along with strong winds, on our tour. We were told by On the Go tours to bring along very warm waterproof clothing––good advice.

Grabrok Volcano Crater

Our first stop in the countryside was at the Grabrok volcano crater. It was a long walk up to the top of the volcano, one I decided not to take. I had already seen a volcano crater in Death Valley, California, so it would not be a new sight to see after a such a long climb. You can drive right up to the crater in Death Valley––much easier.

Deildartunguhver Hot Springs

Our next stop was at the Deildartunguhver hot springs. A geothermal plant is here. Iceland’s hot springs produce about 30% of Iceland’s electricity and about 87% of its heating and hot water. This one plant provides hot water to two towns with one of its pipelines running 40 miles (65 km) long.

MOVIE of the Hot Springs

You can see the power of these hot springs in this movie.

Hraunfossar Waterfalls

Our next stop was at the Hraunfossar waterfalls, which extend over one–half miles (900 m) over a lava field.

I have put my photos of the countryside and Borgarfjorour Valley on a slideshow. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/borgarfjorour–valley/

(Slide Shows, Iceland, “Borgarfjorour Valley”).

MOVIE of the Waterfalls

This movie shows the strength of the Hraunfossar waterfalls.

Icelandair Hotel

Our last stop was at our hotel, the Icelandair. I didn’t take photos of the hotels we stayed at in the countryside, so I borrowed this one from our tour literature. All the hotels we stayed at were very nice. However, there were no other restaurants near them or even towns, so you were limited to eating at the hotel restaurants. All dinners on the tour except for one was at our own expense. Each restaurant offered three choices of two courses: soup or salad and entree. The prices at all the restaurants for the two courses were between 5,200 to 5,400 Iceland krona, which comes out to be U.S.$40 to about US$42, not inexpensive. I chose cod brandade and ling with rice and tzatziki (a Greek sauce) for my meal. Wine, beer, or coffee extra.

Other choices for tonight’s two courses: cod brandade and leg of lamb or salad with orange and beetroot and vegetable pattie with rice and salad.