Iceland May 26th 2022

 Today was a busy day of driving and driving and driving. We started off in the small sheep village of Hof this morning, leaving early to catch our boat tour of the glacier lakes. We took a zodiac out around the icebergs that floated in the lake. It was really cool to get so close to such large icebergs. As with the last tour, our boat driver was Polish. We drove about an hour through the mountains and next to the water. The tally of waterfalls seen has to be in the hundreds at this point as they seem to be around every single corner, thanks to the massive amount of ice that is melting at this time of year and the steep rocky cliffs. We stopped at some thermal baths that were more than thermal. I felt although they were trying to cook us too well done. The hunt for puffins is still yet to have been accomplished. We stopped multiple times through the fjords at birdwatching stops and could not see them. It continues to be the biggest challenge that we need to overcome for this trip to be successful.  

Today's deriving time was around 4 hours, so getting into the 2 and half-hour mark, we had a choice between continuing along the ocean winding road or taking a shortcut up through the mountains. We chose the shorter route, unaware that it was a dirt road through 25 kilometres of winding uphill driving. It was a fantastic drive, although very bumpy in parts. I am glad that Annie bought the anywhere tire service on the car. The dirt road was beautiful as you zigged and zagged up the side of the mountain with waterfalls coming down all around you. We were all very relieved when we finally made it back to the paved roads.  

Horticulturalist Beckett made some realizations about the fauna growth throughout the island. The first thing is there are very few trees anywhere around the ocean. When the first people arrived on the island in the 800s, they chopped nearly all the trees down to build houses and such. As the island has a very mild temperature all year round, it takes much longer for any large plant species to grow. However, as we gained altitude through the valley, we entered much more temperate parts of Iceland that get more rain because they are protected from the harsh ocean winds. By the time we had ascended to the top of the dirt road, we had basically entered a forest. It was weird as I had not seen a tree on the island since we left Reykjavik 2 days prior.  

To get to the town we are staying in tonight, we had to climb a mountain and come back down the other side. The town is located at the bottom of a fjord, and the only access to it is up and over a snowy mountain top that runs steeply into town. The town is called Seydisfjordur and is one of the most picturesque towns I have seen. I broke my streak of burgers today by eating ribs with dinner. What a shame. Anyway, the trip has been amazing, and I look forward to seeing another 100 waterfalls as they are the highlight of the journey to this point. Best wishes from the Fjords,