Day 6 — Transitions (4 July)

Our dedicated hiking days ended yesterday. We were transitioning from Eastern Iceland back to Reykjavik to connect tomorrow with our Southern Iceland tour.

Borgarfjordur was transitioning too from overcast, cold, and often rainy days to warmer temperatures. The result was fog this morning that blanketed the fjord.

We were on our way to the airport but first made a stop in Seydisfjordur the major port city on the Northeast coast. Founded by a Norwegian in the mid-19th Century, Seydisfjordur grew as a major fishery port because the length of its fjord. The high cliffs of the fjord provided a safe harbor from any significant weather patterns from the sea. Seydisfjordur also was the only telephone and telegraph station in Iceland until the invention of the wireless. Even today, Seydisfjordur is the terminus of the fiber optic undersea cable connecting Iceland to Norway and thus Europe. Seydisfjordur also offers weekly ferry service to and from the Faroe Islands and Denmark. Several ocean liners dock here on a regular schedule. The major drawback to its location is the danger from major avalanches because of its towering sheer cliffs. The most recent disaster occurred in 2021.

We toured Seydisfjordur with Arne, the owner of our hotel in Borgarfjordur. He had visited the town as a boy and had helped the town recover from the avalanche. The town architecture is similar to that found in many Nordic countries. The modern design has sleek lines, many windows, and features to maximize efficient energy use.

As we walked, I took a photo of the Orkan gas station — Cheap Fuel Iceland. The price was 313.25 ISK per liter. That’s USD$2.57 or around USD$12.57 per gallon. Compare that to what we pay in PA — about $3.09 per gallon. It is no surprise that we saw Teslas and hybrids on the road.

Like Reykjavík, Seydisjordur had painted a street with rainbow colors. I was taken with how public Icelanders were about DEI when we were withdrawing our commitment in the US.

It was time for lunch and Mike took us to one of his favorite stops — the Askur Pizzeria in Egilssaoir. The pizza is cooked in a wood fired oven.

After applying the various Pizza Professor tests of drips and droops, my subjective judgment rates the several pizzas that we tasted as 8 out of 8 slices. Who knew that I would find the best pizza that I have ever tasted in Iceland. The crust was crunchy and crispy as my teeth bit into the edge. No chewy here. My favorite was the garlic pizza. Superb. We also had a combination with mushrooms, ham and onion, prosciutto and arugula. I felt like and probably looked like Phil when he tasted and discovered a dish that gave him his big smile on camera. I also include a page from the menu. The bad news is all of the pizzas cost at least $30. Hey, it’s Iceland.

It was time to say goodbye to Mike and our fellow hikers. So many stories told during the week among people who were once strangers. As I mentioned before, all were seasoned travelers with many adventures behind them and with many more experiences in the future. Some continue their retirements while others continue their careers. Laird and I concurred while on the plane that it was such a pleasure to be in a group that functioned so well, were agreeable, and were punctual. Thanks all.

Our flight to Rekyjavik went smoothly. Passing through the gate and onto the plane took a few minutes with no security checks as with our previous flight. I don’t have an official explanation yet but the speculation is two fold: very little violent crime occurs in Iceland (tamed modern Vikings) and a prop plane that has a maximum range that can’t get a hijacker to the Faroe Islands. The cold Atlantic waters awaits such a fool. In any case, we safely made it to Rekyjavik with Karen and Nicole.

We walked from the domestic airport to the Hotel Fron passing by familiar places including the street where one of our most successful triumphs of the trip occurred — free parking in the downtown. Besting a parking authority brings joy to any Bethlehem resident — ours is the focus of more complaints than any other Bethlehem City agency.

Dinner was the final event of the day. We returned to Skal!. We tried our gin martinis – the seaweed infused was interesting; the Stockholms was similar to other common gins but lighter on the juniper berries.

We tried some new dishes besides the colorful radishes that we had before. How about cod ceviche and steak tartare but prepared differently from our previous one with bone marrow. In my opinion, the best was the sole. We selected a glass of white Burgundy to complement the dishes.

Hiking trips have their learning experiences. This trip gave me an appreciation for guided group travel. Perhaps this trip was an anomaly. We’ll see as Laird and I join the g Adventures Southern Iceland tour. I now understand the love of puffins. Our village and hosts of our hotel made me aware why people live in such a remote location. But three months in darkness? Perhaps the answer lies in Ichigo Ichie that my friend Aoyama-san taught me on my 88 Temple pilgrimage — live and enjoy living in the present. Everyday, every encounter is a gift.