Iceland 2005

   
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Was on a workshop on Iceland in May 2005. Stayed in Grand Hotel in Reykjavik for three days only, and experienced mainly the capital of this remote island. My general impression of Reykjavik was mixed. The outskirt of town was messy, with a blend of concrete buildings spread across the barren land. Downtown though, was quite nice, with lots of shops, restaurants and pubs. Definitely a place to spend some days. Iceland is very expensive, period. Expect to pay up to 60 US dollars for a steak dinner!

 

Barren land

The Blue Lagoon

 

One evening we went for the obligatory swim in the Blue Lagoon, situated about one hour drive south of the city. With a temperature of about 35°C, you feel a bit "boiled" after spending some time in the mineral rich, sulfuric-smelling waters. We put on a silica mud mask, rich of active ingredients that is supposed to energize, cleanse and balance your skin´s upper layer.

The area between Keflavik Airport and Reykjavik was looking very desolate, almost without any houses. This gives Reykjavik a very “lost” appearance, a small island of populated ground surrounded by a vast wasteland. But I think the nature there is quite impressive, especially the regions with geothermal activity covered by basalt bedrock.

Geothermal power plant

 

  

Basalt bedrock

 

 

   A list of birds seen on Iceland during the trip can be found here. I did not even bring a binocular, so the listed birds were observed from the bus. In general, it was relatively few bird species to be seen, really.

Lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus ssp. graellsii)

Eider (Somateria mollissima)

 

Shag (toppskarv) Phalacrocorax aristotelis

Swane (sangsvane) Cygnus cygnus

Greylag goose (grågås) Anser anser

Mallard (stokkand) Anas platyrhynchus

Wigeon (brunnakke) Anas penelope

Tufted duck (toppand) Aythya fuligula

Common eider (ærfugl) Somateria mollissima

Oystercatcher (tjeld) Haematopus ostralegus

Golden plover (heilo) Pluvialis apricaria

Purple sandpiper (fjæreplytt) Calidris maritima

Common snipe (enkeltbekkasin) Gallinago gallinago

Arctic skua (tyvjo) Stercorarius parasittcus

Common black-headed gull (hettemåke) Larus ridibundus

Herring gull (gråmåke) Larus argentatus

Lesser black-backed gull (sildemåke) Larus fuscus ssp. graellsii

Great black-backed gull (svartbak) Larus marinus

Glaucous Gull ( polarmåke) Larus hyperboreus

Arctic tern (rødnebbterne) Sterna paradisaea

Redwing (rødvingetrost) Turdus iliacus

Raven (ravn) Corvus corax

Starling (stær) Sterna vulgaris

Snow bunting (snøspurv) Plectrophenax nivalis

Reykjavik downtown

 

The type of cars they like on Iceland...

Iceland countryside

 

Iceland countryside 2

The pond Tjörnin

 

Reykjavik harbour