Iceland!

I've been wanting to visit this unique place since I learned it existed when Gorbachev and Reagan put it on the world stage. This year was the time to finally take action and after 2 successful Intrepid trips, I found one I liked with them again.

My flights from LAX via Newark fo Keflevik all went very smoothly, on time, and with the use of Club passes to ease the waits (and fill my belly). From the plane window, the cloud cover over Iceland looked heavy and quite low. When we did see the ground it appeared to be quite flat and mossy. Baggage pick up and customs were quick and fast and the driver was waiting as expected. 

On our way from the airport to Reykjavik, he filled me in with information on the geology and this volcanic rock and pointed out the steam cloud coming off of the Blue Lagoon spa, the fissure separating the N. American tectonic plate from the Europe plate, and explained how the view out the car window reflected hundreds of thousands of years of volcanic activity. 

Since it was so early (8a by the time we got into town), I stashed my bag with the desk staff until I could properly check in. I had some minor shenanigans losing (or leaving behind) my phone charging cable which gave me an excuse to take a hour walk (and then I later found the missing cable in my purse 🙄), then went to a bakery/restaurant down the street called Sandholt for what turned out to be a giant bowl of delicious sweet potato soup with delicious bread and butter (whipped and served on a warm rock)

before heading to the main church, Hallgrimskirkja, with a striking facade. There was a funeral taking place inside so I couldn't go in. There is a statue of Leif Erickson out front. 

At this point, I was quite exhausted so I want back to the hotel to kill a few hours and try and stay awake for the group meeting. 

Our tour guide is Kristian, a native Icelander whose family goes back to the original Viking settlers 1000s of years ago. The group included Sue and Judy, friends from Australia, Fred from Ohio traveling without his wife who can no longer go along, Annie from Florida who has been to it or 87 countries, Frances from London who seemed on the young side for this group, and Claudia from Oxford England who is in her 80s! After Kristian gave us the tour info, we walked to our fancy van and drove a few minutes to a restaurant called Potturinn og Pannan (or Pots & Pans). Dinner was a delicious wolf fish over rice and mashed potatoes with grilled veggies and a delicious creme brulee with berries including something called a golden berry which reminded me of the gooseberries from Ottawa. 

We got to know our fellow travelers a bit over dinner. Since this is a Premium trip, the people are older, seem quite well off and very knowledgeable but different levels of travel experience. 

After Kristian dropped us off, Frances and I meandered into a few souvenir shops on the way back. Gave me some ideas for when we return to Reykjavik in about 9 days.