Wednesday, September 11

Today was traveling day.  It's 500 km from Hofn to Akureyri so we got an early start.  The east coast of Iceland is fjord country so it was slow going-- snaking up and down the shores of the fjords.  We stopped a bit in Breiddalsvik for some kleina and other snacks and then headed inland for Egilsstadir where we stopped for lunch at a cute cafe where the walls were lined with bookshelves.  They tell us the Icelanders read more books per person than anywhere else on the world.  I could live here.

Then we turned west, through some desolate mountainous areas with no vegetation, people, or even sheep.  Well, maybe a few sheep.  As we neared Akureyri though, the countryside changed and we saw farms again, and even trees!

We stopped for a swim in the Myvatn Nature Baths (Jarbodin).  It's northern Iceland's answer to the Blue Lagoon--a gorgeous place to soak in the powder blue, mineral rich waters, but with less hype.  Actually, hype is not Iceland's strong suit.  It's so refreshing not to have ads or signs everywhere.  It's such a clean, neat country.

Akureyri is a cute town.  It's the second largest town in Iceland but only has 17,000 people.  The downtown area has a walking street where we had supper--pizza for G and me and salad bar for J.  We passed over the whale steaks.  Sorry, Paul, we haven't been able to find lefse, lutefisk or rotten shark yet.

Here's a picture from along our route today.