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.

We started our walk this morning visiting the Islandic Down factory that is housed in a small building in central Borgarfjordur. The business purchases down from farmers who collect the feathers from ducks after they leave their nests. The total amount of this type of down retrieved in the world is 4,000 kilos a year of which 3,000 kilos come from Iceland and specifically this region. It is hard to imagine the volume associated with this weight. A bowlful felt as light as a balloon filled with air. This down is worth exponentially more than gold by weight. A standard pillow with a “soft” feel is USD$3,500. Pillows and duvets are custom made to the buyer’s specification. Sharon asked me if I ordered a pillow. On this one, I passed. Below is photo of a bowlful of this down.

From here, we were taken up to a parking lot at the mountain pass that opened this area for tourism and business. The trailhead’s path was intended to guide us to an area below the opposite side of the mountain shown in the photograph. The immediate elevation gain on the trail was over 1,000 feet. What also characterized this hike was that rocks of all sizes were around us — on the paths, in the streams, clustered in wide areas, and strewn on barren surfaces.

On the way up, I took a photograph of Julia (with attitude). We had stopped partway up. Julia is leaning on a trail marker (yellow) showing that our goal was to reach Storuro, a cluster of rocks at the base of the mountain (opposite side) shown the picture above.

Besides Julia, you will find a photo of the group reaching the highest point on this trail. At this location, we were 65•70” North latitude less than one degree south from the Arctic Circle.

At the top, we posed for a group photo in which we were order left (youngest, 26) to right (oldest, 81) We later found out that Laird was the oldest person so far to be on these Eastern Iceland treks with Mike. After conducting more than 60 tours over three years. Laird holds the record. The previous record was 79.

Another shows Laird playing with a snowball made from ice still frozen on the mountain. To give perspective on our descent into the valley, our band of hikers traversed rock fields and several streams in our path. When we reached our destination, we all sat amongst the rocks of the rock pool enjoying our lunches and the sun. It was 1 PM.

We were good to go at 1:30. Instead of retracing our steps over the mountain, Mike decided to take us down the valley to meet the main road. This path was no “gimme.” We had to walk carefully to avoid the rocks in our paths and we crossed chasms and streams flowing from the waterfalls.

About three-quarters of the way through the valley, we saw rain clouds in the distance. It was around 4 PM. We picked up the pace and made it to our pickup point almost unscathed. We did stand in a light rain for five minutes waiting for Mike and an associate to bring the vehicles down to this meeting point (elevation loss of over 1,500 feet). With the rains came a reward when we returned to our base camp. We saw a rainbow across the fjord from our town as the same storm that wet us swept across to the east.

Dinner ended and eight of us met Mike at the local brewery. We thanked Mike for being a wonderful guide. Afterwards, I began writing this blog and ended by admiring an almost sunset at 11:45. I am still awe struck by the light and its colors at this time of night.

We were on the bus from 8 AM until 8 PM visiting the major sites in the northeast section of Iceland. Towards the end of the day, a majority of our group opted for a spa visit while six of us went on a mile walk around a well kept botanical garden next to a river. I estimated that those of us who walked the garden logged about 5 miles for the day. I can’t say what our fellow spa members would claim for their mileage. Hence, the designation – unofficial.

Whether because of feedback from previous hikers or from his inner sensitivity, Mike, our guide, planned several strategic nature breaks during our bus trip. One of them occurred at a rest stop with a small but welcoming cafe at a highway junction. With mountains in the background, the area surrounding this cafe was flat and desolate like the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It stretched as far as the eyes could see. Here is Mike in one of his typical poses looking out over the countryside. What was he thinking about? The time — we certainly stayed on schedule. The next nature breaks? The weather? In any case, we all appreciate Mike’s effort in making our tour interesting and the going smooth.

Before moving on, some photos from the cafe that served pastries and hot drinks. Although I did not have one, I was struck by the item, love ball. I wondered about what ingredient in the fried dough that would induce love. Also on the menu was Iceland’s fan favorite hot dog. I was compelled to include the condiments in the cafe cooler that could be applied to the hot dog. Amongst the Icelandic bottles was Pennsylvania’s finest — Heinz ketchup. For those in the know, the label is shaped like a keystone — the motto of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

I don’t recall how long it took to our next destination — perhaps 45 minutes? We arrived at Dettifoss (foss meaning waterfall). Mike said this waterfall has the highest volume of water cascading over its edge in Europe. I’ll take his word for it. It beats out the Gullfoss on the Golden Circle and the Rheinfalls in Switzerland that are pretty impressive waterfalls.

In order to see the falls, we walked through ancient lava flows. I am always taken how big boulders are found in the middle of nowhere. One has to be impressed by the sheer force of a lava flow. When I have watched videos of volcanic eruptions, I was unaware about how immense and chunky the lava mass must be. I thought its texture was more like smooth peanut butter.

While on the way back to our bus, I could not resist taking a photo of the lone food stand that stood amongst the rocks. Entrepreneurship in action.

A relatively short distance away (no nature break facilities here) was Namafjar Hverir, a field of exposed geothermal pools and vents. If you have visited Yellowstone NP, you will have seen a similar area. It is clear that we are in an active geological zone — the meeting of two major tectonic plates and the resulting mid-Atlantic Ridge. The smell is what one expects. The vents soundlessly spewed out its fumes.

Before leaving, I tried to capture the beauty of man made construction (our road) within nature. I entitled the image — Elegant Curves.

Mike must have sensed that the natives were hungry. Lunch was at the Kaffi Borgir, an all you want soup and bread buffet. My favorite was the coconut curry soup. Again, the mystery of how curry was discovered in Iceland. Where and when did the Vikings and their descendants discover coconuts? This soup proved to be my #1 over the vegetable and meat soup.

The Kaffi is right next to the Dimmuborgir, an area with pillar like lava remains. Several of the formations are imposing either alone or in a group. One line of formations reminded me of the Manhattan skyline. Local mythology believes that trolls live here.

Before dropping off some of our compadres at the spa, we visited Grjatagia — an easily accessible segment of the rift where the tectonic plates meet. Laird took a more cautious pose than Mike and Nicole while straddling the rift. A quirk of geography to be able to set foot on two continents. I took the liberty of using the preposition “of” instead of “on” because Laird in Scotland and Wales means head of the clan. Hail to chieftain.

The non-spa group walked a garden along the shores of Lake Myvatn. Here were lava pillars partially covered by water. The foliage was in bloom showing a pallet of colors from yellows to purple.

It was time to leave for our home base. But one final photo of Lake Myvatn.

The day started off gloriously. Cloudy but with large swaths of blue skies. The temperature was warm to the extent I was wearing only one layer of my lightest Icebreaker long sleeve t-shirt.

We began our hike going uphill to a pass between two pinnacles. The elevation gain was over a thousand feet but reasonably steep — 16% — on a smooth gravel road that cars could traverse. I felt that our training on the outer loop of the Trexler game preserve was proving to be worthwhile. Little did we know that the payoff would be big time on our return path —24% grade — that resembled the grade change of the Lion’s Head trail on Mt Washington. We acquitted ourselves on both climbs.

Here are some images of the uphill climb on the first mountain from the forward and backwards perspectives. At the top, we posed with our Limmer boots. We’ll be sending this image to Limmer’s so that they will know its boots hiked Eastern Iceland.

After we crested the top, we descended into the Brunavik valley which was inhabited until 1944. Unbelievable. We were here in summer; imagine winter. The verdant meadows were soggy; we had to walk carefully through the wetness and mud as well as fording the many streams that criss-crossed the valley. The weather also changed from sunny and partly cloudy to rain and wind. One must be prepared for any weather condition that can change on a dime.

We stopped at the mouth of the main river that flowed through the valley to take our lunch break. In the distance to the right is a small building that serves as an emergency shelter. Though primitive, anyone will appreciate that it is there in a storm.

Among the rocks, our band of hikers chose where to enjoy their lunches. Here is Fabio from Switzerland by the sea. Surrounding him were the mountains that defined the valley.

After lunch, we climbed one of the steepest grades that I have encountered in my walks — in the rain and wind. When we reached the top, Laird had just placed a stone on the makeshift monument signifying a successful climb. Now, downhill and our visit to the island where puffins have their nests.

Just up the road from where we had descended is an island where several species of birds nest. Of course, the most popular bird is the puffin. Who knew ahead of time that this island has the largest population of puffins in Iceland. Apparently, lots of tourists do.

I must admit the little birds are attractive. They appeared non-plussed with the tourists gazing at them and taking photos of them with hand held phones to cameras with long telephoto lenses. Below are some puffin images.

Enough puffins. We were tired and hungry. Dinner was a lightly fried very fresh fish followed by a dessert cup of crumbled cookies topped with a healthy serving of delicate whipped cream. Both winners.

Several of our newly made amigos strode down to the brewery for a nightcap. Another occasion to celebrate the hike and to learn more about one another. The brewery is an excellent place to do so.

Time for bed. Remember the commentary about hiking the back half in the rain and wind. Here is a photo of those mountains at 10:52 PM. Perhaps we should hike at night.

Rain was the forecast. Mike decided to take us on a route next to the ocean under the clouds. The mountains will come tomorrow assuming better weather conditions.

We drove from our hotel at 9:30 for Stapavik, a cove that was once a major trading post for the Vikings. At the trailhead, we started off over a double sided step ladder that prevents sheep from escaping the fences built next to the road but allows access to people. We wondered about the upside down boot on the post just to the left. A warning sign about the dangers on the route or something more mundane as someone losing a boot? In any case, we were off on our second hike of this tour.

The coastline presented images that met what we thought as the Icelandic coastline — rocky cliffs, waterfalls, and black sand beaches. I’ll let the images tell the story of the beauty of this walk.

Laird captured this image of me walking across the black sand. Later, as we climbed up a hill from the beach, Karen shows the power of the wind a la Marilyn Monroe. The temperature was in the 40’s. Mike from Nashville said that he loved the cold. He was escaping the heat wave sitting over the eastern US as did we.

Our climb took us to a cove where goods were unloaded and pulled up the cliffs since the Viking times. They were then transported over the mountain to the villages that dotted the area. We ate our lunches around a modern structure that supported the pulleys used in the early 20th Century — protected from the wind. Over the cliff was a dramatic rock formation that stood mightly against the wind. We all wondered how the Vikings were able to unload the goods from their ships in this cove given the waves and wind. We were here at the end of June — the start of summer!

We retraced our steps back to our van. Along the way, we encountered sheep gazing in the grass. When they saw us, they moved quickly to get ahead of us to the safety of higher ground. Sheep abound in this area. Mike, our guide, said you never know when you might encounter them. We later did on the road. The shepherds round them up at the end of season by sweeping the area in a long line. Once corralled, they are sorted by their owners’ marking for wintering or for the market.

Our day’s adventure ended with a round of beers at the local restaurant that is owned by the brewery next door. A few hours later, dinner with sweet potato soup and lamb meatballs. Simple Icelandic dishes by our chef Baldursson. Now sleep in the land of the midnight sun.

We asked for a taxi at 7:15 AM to be sure that we would be on time for our flight to Egilsstaoir at 8:35. Icelandanders are punctual; our driver pulled up at the front door of our precisely at 7:15. Ten minutes later we entered the terminal; by 7:30, we were checked in, our baggage tagged and on the conveyer belt. When our boarding was announced, we had our boarding passes scanned and we were on board the plane within 5 minutes. The plane’s door closed and we were up in the air at 8:35 AM, the published departure time.

From this description, did anything strike you as odd? No security check of our carry on or a body scan. We walked directly from check-in to the plane. I will ask someone in the know about the lack of TSA-like procedures and report in a later blog.

The flight took about 45 minutes almost entirely over clouds. Upon arrival, Mike, our guide from Czecha met us. We were whisked off on a 70 km, one hour ride over a mountain range to Borgarfjordur, our home base for the next five days. Because our rooms weren’t ready at the Alfheimer Guesthouse, we went on a tour of the town that has a permanent population of 100 people. Our hotel, more like a 1960’s US motel, can be seen in distance over the fjord. The rooms are spacious and will serve us breakfast, lunch from offerings at the breakfast buffet that we will eat on our hikes, and dinner. Laird and I tried some drafts from the local craft brew house after dinner — the IPA and the dark lager. Thumbs up. We will visit again for after dinner nightcaps as the days turn into twilight.

After the brewhouse, our tour took us to the oldest heritage house in this town built in the late 19th Century. This home was way ahead of its time in using natural materials as insulation and protection. We took a group photo in front of it. We are 14 experienced hikers – six from the US, four from Australia, three from Switzerland, and one from England. One happy and eager band of hikers.

Part of our town tour included lunch at one of the two local restaurants. The fish soup was delicious and was a significantly better rendition than that from the Seabaron in Reykjavík featured in Somebody Feed Phil. Both of us downed two bowls along with nicely flavored slices of bread. When did Eastern Icelanders start using curry to flavor their bread?

Our rooms were still not ready. So, we continued our town tour that featured a mural showing puffins in all of their glory. Sharon wanted to see live puffins but it wasn’t meant to be. Here were puffins celebrated on the side of a building. Turns out that Eastern Iceland has the largest number of puffins in Iceland. Who knew. One of hikes will start near a rock inundated with puffins. In the end, Laird and I will view the puffins. Perhaps Sharon and Jean will need to make a return visit to Iceland, the next time to the Eastside.

As we neared the junction of whether to turn back to the guesthouse, Mike made a command decision to have our group hike down a road that led to a trailhead. We turned right and were treated with meeting friendly horses, rocks where elves may live, and the roar of a fast moving stream that cut between walls of rocks where we turned to backtrack to the town and our hotel.

We made our way to the hotel. Keys to rooms were given out; dinner was eaten; and Laird and I ended our first day with glasses of beer bursting with flavor. But the highlight of the day was receiving some kitty love before retiring.

It started with the Road Scholar catalog. Thumbing through, I came upon “a class” roughly entitled — Hiking Through Iceland. However, the hiking seemed to be limited to short jaunts seemingly to go to and fro by bus from lagoon to lagoon. Pshaw – a kindly anachronistic five letter word that substituted for Roy Kent’s favorite four letter word on Ted Lasso.

Undeterred, I googled “hiking Iceland” and settled on a double tour with g Adventures – eastern Iceland followed by southern Iceland. These are guided and use bases from which hikers are taken to various trailheads. These tours are diametrically opposite from the self-directed, continuous path, and walking only hikes that are described in my previous blogs of the 88-temples, Camino Santiago, and Via Francigena. We’ll see how this one goes.

Laird Evans who walked the Portuguese Camino with me in March 2022 will join me. But beforehand, we spent five days exploring Reykjavík and environs with our wives, Sharon and Jean. As we talked about this trip with friends and acquaintances, we found that we were late comers to this Nordic island. Almost everyone knew of someone who had been to Iceland including themselves. But hiking —- ah, we were the first. Day 1 will begin tomorrow.

But first, some stories about the five days of the pre-hike experiences in Iceland.

Indeed, Iceland is very expensive. We can confirm Manhattan styled sticker shock everywhere from a $8 hot dog from a stand (no fries) to $80 for three kebobs at an Asian fusion restaurant whose tables were filled for the two hours that we dined. Even a selection of fresh radishes and goat cheese with garnishes of micro radish tops and crumbled rye bread was $19. But these dishes were excellent as were the cinnamon rolls at Brauo and Company – $7.50, the best deal in town. Thanks Phil of Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix) for your recommendations.

We did not try the oysters at one restaurant which offered them at $12 each — beyond the planet earth price. Be prepared but you can enjoy some superb meals. We won’t mention the cost of beer, wine, or spirits. We can attest though that Icelandic gin is smooth and delicious.

Getting around can be costly but in the end worth it. Sharon and Jean rode the on and off touring bus – $45 each. We rented a car for about $1000 not including gas but it was worth every penny.

We drove the Golden Circle counterclockwise and for the most part avoided following the gigantic tour group buses. We did meet in the middle. We shared the mighty Gullfoss with 20 buses and another 100 cars.

But we had the flexibility to stop wherever and stay as long as we wanted. We spent over two hours at Fontana Spa on the Golden Circle whose water is fed from hot springs. On another day, we drove north of Reykjavik and spent even more time at Krauma Geothermal Bath in Deildartunguhver. The water comes from the largest natural hot springs in Europe. What a site – you can skip the lines at Geysir on to see steam vents and bubbling water on the Golden Circle and have a relaxing bath at Fontana and Krauma.

Most impressive was the rift at the Pingvellir National Park. It is here that the North American Plate slides by the Eurasian Plate causing the dynamic smoldering of lava that formed and continues to form Iceland. In between these two plates, the Iceland assembly met a thousand years ago and where the ceremony that created the independent nation was held in 1944. We were at the easternmost edge of North America.

Driving in Iceland is easy and made easier with Waze. Traffic is light and drivers really follow the speed limits which are much lower than American ones. I think that having red light cameras at the critical intersections and speed cameras at random places on the road control the animal instincts of many drivers. The driver’s side of the car is the same as the US; you have to remember to put your headlights on when driving — rain or shine, night or day. If you are interested, I can share some tips on finding free parking in Reykjavík.

Finally, museums are a plenty in Reykjavík. The Harpa concert hall is well constructed with interesting geometric accents. We attended a free — yes, free — jazz recital with a renown Polish pianist, Artur Dutkiewicz. You can find these gems.

Reykjavík at 11:30 PM. Thank goodness for blackout curtains. The prelude ends. Our flight to Eastern Iceland and Day 1 is tomorrow. Sharon and Jean return to Newark.