Trip Index
- Planning and Day 1 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: Southampton pre-cruise, embarkation
- Days 2-3 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: Bruges battlefields, Zaanse Schans windmills
- Days 4-5 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: at sea, Copenhagen
- Days 6-7 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: Gothenburg (Sweden), Oslo
- Days 8-9 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: Stavanger, Bergen (Norway)
- Days 10-11 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: Shetland Islands (UK), Faroe Islands (Denmark)
- Days 12-14 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: at sea, Akureyri, Reykjavik (Iceland)
- Exploring Reykjavik, Icelandic cuisine, Northern Lights hunt
- South Coast, Golden Circle, Silfra snorkel
- West Coast, returning home
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Today was another early start for our West Coast tour with EastWest. It was cloudy, cold and windy. EastWest picked us up at Bus Stop #3, the closest to our hotel, the Reykjavik Konsulat. We were the first passengers on the mini-bus. It was fancier than the one used on the South Coast tour. The rest of the group were picked up from elsewhere downtown and from a suburban hotel.
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After a two hour drive, our first stop was to Sheep's Waterfall (Selvallafoss). A path led behind this one as well; the water was closer than at Seljalandsfoss.
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15-second video of back side of Sheep's Waterfall: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)
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Next on the tour was a visit to Snaefellsnes peninsula, starting with the famous arrowhead peak of Mt. Kirkjufell as seen on the Game of Thrones HBO series. Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall was nearby.
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360 spherical picture of Kirkjufell, taken with the Ricoh Theta S: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)
Kirkjufell, West Coast of Iceland - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
Afterwards, we drove to Saxhóll Crater. It was pretty windy and cold, so the guide didn't come up with us on the 10 minute climb. The gusts were so strong at the top, you could lean back and the wind would keep you from falling.
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15-second clip at the top of Saxhóll Crater: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)
360 spherical picture of Saxhóll Crater, taken with the Ricoh Theta S: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)
Saxhóll Crater, West Coast of Iceland - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
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The guide gave us free time to roam around the area. The path to Djúpalónssandur wove through lava rock formations. Fragments of a 1948 British shipwreck were strewn on the beach. Some of the rock formations had origin stories, such as the Troll woman and the Singing Rock.
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Afterwards, we drove a short distance to Arnarstapi, where the guide let us out to stroll for half an hour along the picturesque coastline trail. The landscape was quite striking. The mini-bus was waiting for us at the end of the trail.
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Last on our tour was a home-cooked dinner at Lýsuhóll Horse Farm. Pictures could not capture the serene openness of the vast farmland, surrounded by snowy mountain peaks.
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Dinner consisted of spaghetti with a choice of bolognaise or marinara sauce, baked fish, and lamb soup. The fish and the soup were excellent! The chocolate cake with fresh whipped cream was to die for. After the meal, we had some time to pet the Icelandic horses in the stables. There was plenty of horse candy to go around.
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11-second clip of me feeding an Icelandic horse: (click here if you cannot see the preview below)
And that was the end of our visit to the West Coast! I enjoyed our second tour with EastWest; having dinner at the farm made it stand out from the rest.
On Sunday, our Gray Line airport transfer would pick us up at 1pm. In the meantime, today happened to be a Pokemon Go community day, featuring Turtwig. With the event starting at 11am, I spent an hour catching Pokemon in a park across the street from the hotel. It was easy to identify who was playing: folks staring intently at their phones while walking, charging cords dangling from a pocket, catching Pokemon with the flick or roll of their finger - no different than in the United States. It rained off and on, so there weren't a lot of people out. I did ask a solo player if he had caught any "shinies" (special Turtwig) and he said a few, and told me of a location where he found a high-stat Turtwig. It's always fun meeting Pokemon Go players in the wild, but even better when you are in a foreign country, sharing the same love for the game.
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After checking out of the hotel, Kaleb and I rolled our bags to Bus Stop #3 and got lunch to-go from nearby Icelandic Deli.
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A coach picked us up, continued on to other bus stops, then dropped everyone off at the Gray Line Bus Terminal to transfer to the airport bus. In total, it took about 45 minutes to get to KEF airport.
Our tickets were on Icelandair. At the terminal, not only was there the usual self-service check-in kiosk - there was also a self-service bag drop; you scanned your own baggage tag and put it on the conveyor belt.
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Remember when we disembarked off Oceania Riviera five days ago with hardly any fanfare? The immigration officer at the airport flipped through our passports over and over again, looking for an arrival stamp and finding nothing. She asked how we got into Iceland. We explained that we got off a cruise ship a day early with no officials meeting us, that security checked with guest services and said we were good to go. The immigration officer said that someone was going to get in trouble (not us, thankfully), stamped our passports, and let us through.
Kaleb and I decided to have a light meal at the airport cafeteria before our 5pm departure. The mushroom soup was very good.
An announcement was made - our flight would be delayed three hours. The compensation was a $16 USD meal voucher per person. And we just purchased our food! We ended up buying some snacks to bring onto the plane.
The good thing about having our flight delayed so long was that the terminal was not busy, leaving plenty of open seating area.
The airport restrooms were interesting in the fact that each toilet had its own wash basin, and the sink had a faucet with a hand dryer attached.
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Our tickets were in coach, but at least we had a row of 2 seats for an 8-hour direct flight to San Francisco. The legroom was much smaller, with little room for underseat storage. Kaleb's tray table hit his thighs.
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Other than the tight quarters, it was a non-eventful flight back home. There were spectacular views of glaciers out the window.
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And that was the end of the Iceland portion of our Europe trip! Iceland should be on everyone's bucket list, with so much natural beauty to behold. We had a comfortable stay at the Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel. The close proximity to Bus Stop #3 made it convenient to go on day tours. Reykjavik is a very walkable city. Prices are high in Iceland, so it helped to use credit card points to cover our hotel stay, some of the tours, and airfare. Food can be expensive, but the local places we ate at seemed reasonable.
What new adventure awaits? To wind down from this long trip, Kaleb and I go overnight backpacking in Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe...stay tuned!
(Missed the last entry about our visit to the South Coast and Golden Circle? Click here to catch up! Don't miss a single update - click here to have the latest delivered straight into your inbox...opt out anytime.)
If you came here from a Facebook or Twitter link, thanks for clicking the "Facebook Like" button at the top of the page or retweeting!
Don't miss a blog entry! Sign up for updates direct to your inbox here or add the blog to your RSS feed.
Getting excited reading about these trips and want to go? Contact me at yellowdogtravel at gmail d0t com with your ideas and I can help you plan it! Or if you've already put a deposit on a cruise through the cruise line, contact me to get more information on transferring the reservation to me to get bonuses like extra onboard credit or gifts. I have lots of happy returning clients - references always available.
Come check out my other blog "What in the world is Kat Kong doing now?", documenting things other than traveling...sign up for blog updates direct to your inbox here!
Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
(Missed the last entry about our visit to the South Coast and Golden Circle? Click here to catch up! Don't miss a single update - click here to have the latest delivered straight into your inbox...opt out anytime.)
***
If you came here from a Facebook or Twitter link, thanks for clicking the "Facebook Like" button at the top of the page or retweeting!
Don't miss a blog entry! Sign up for updates direct to your inbox here or add the blog to your RSS feed.
Getting excited reading about these trips and want to go? Contact me at yellowdogtravel at gmail d0t com with your ideas and I can help you plan it! Or if you've already put a deposit on a cruise through the cruise line, contact me to get more information on transferring the reservation to me to get bonuses like extra onboard credit or gifts. I have lots of happy returning clients - references always available.
Come check out my other blog "What in the world is Kat Kong doing now?", documenting things other than traveling...sign up for blog updates direct to your inbox here!
Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
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