Seljalandsfoss according to Wikipedia (a scant entry, but I’m sure it’ll expand).

It goes without saying that I am rather impatient when it comes to posting pictures. (No, really?) My goal is usually to upload the full batch of pictures to Flickr BEFORE writing about them, so I can link to the batch in my text. But that idea usually flies straight out the window with the enthusiasm generated by the pictures themselves. And, in case it’s not apparent, I am wildly enthusiastic about Iceland and I would go work for the Iceland Tourist Commission in a heartbeat if they pay to send me there!

It’s not as if I’ve never seen a waterfall before, or a glacier, or majestic scenery. I have, but Iceland is different! My photos simply do not do this country justice, but they’re all I’ve got to show you (more videos to come, though); they’ll have to do.

I’m throwing all my Iceland photos into one set, so if you just want to view photos I’ve uploaded today, they’re here.

Technorati tags: Iceland, Seljalandsfoss, waterfall

We laughed and laughed over this one… it was in the middle of “nowhere”, along the road north of Reykjavik toward Akranes.

I’m going to have to do some post-processing for these photos after I get home.

I’m at Keflavik Airport, waiting for my Halifax flight to board. I always take the window seat, and sometimes it pays off: I nabbed some great aerial shots of Vatnajökull — the largest glacier in Europe — on the east side of Iceland during the flight from Paris. It’s a beautiful clear day and the visibility is incredible, but ARGH!

I packed both USB cables in the checked baggage!! I never do stuff like that, there’s always one with me. Except right now. Oh well.

… are what made me thankful I bought a DSLR before I went to Iceland:

Technorati tags: Tjörnin, Reykjavik, Iceland, seagull

Warren said I couldn’t leave Reykjavik without having an Icelandic-style hot dog from this particular stand. It’s a tiny hole in the wall, but there are always queues. The Icelander I sat beside on the plane told me to try it with EVERYTHING, so of course I did. (No, I haven’t tried the rotted shark yet.)

This place’s claim to fame is having been patronized by Bill Clinton. Seriously, they have a little article about it taped up on the wall.

The verdict: DEELISH. They have this special mustard sauce that’s mild, but the best part are the crunchy onion (?) bits. MMmmmm.

By the way, I added a videoclip of one of the strongman competitions to the Viking Days post.

I had a field day in Reykjavik, photographing the celebration. I wanted to capture the spirit of Iceland’s people, and I think I found it all over the city: music stages, funfairs for the kids, dancing in the square, walking along Laugavegur (if you’re familiar with Vancouver, it’s like Robson Street), and the whole atmosphere of the day.

My favourite photos are from the dancing in the square. People of all ages bopping to many different kinds of music: traditional, cover tunes (Beach Boys in Icelandic!! “Surfin’ USA” and “Little Deuce Coup”), Icelandic line dancing, tango, boogie-woogie, it was impressive! I’ve never seen such an age range dancing together, especially the old folk. I filmed and took pictures for a whole hour!

Taking this picture nearly made me cry. A group of mentally handicapped were dancing in the square, and this one was so overcome with joy he hugged his group worker. I was verklempt.

There was some incredible dancing going on: this guy danced with two and even three women at the same time. Check this out:

Lots more photos after the jump.

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This is the final weekend of Viking Days, and where else to be enjoying it than the second largest city in Iceland, Hafnafjordur, home of Viking Village.

More photos from Viking Days here.

A videoclip of one of the competitions:

Filming credit and (heh) commentating goes to Warren.

Technorati tags: Iceland, Hafnafjordur, Viking Days

… means that I’ve accomplished two days’ worth of sightseeing in one. It’s half past midnight and it’s still light outside. I’ve just downloaded something like 350 photos from two cameras, a photographic record of a day FILLED with much more than I can possibly describe in one sitting. I don’t think I’ll last much longer, because I’ve been awake for nearly two whole days — I didn’t sleep on the plane because I was chatting with the Icelander seatmate.

Here’s the express version:

9:00 - drive to Blue Lagoon from Keflavik
9:00-11:30 - Blue Lagoon
11:30 - drive from Blue Lagoon to Reykjavik to drop off everyone’s luggage at their hotel
1:00-4:00 (?) - whale watching

On the whale watching boat, I met a couple of Canadian guys working in Iceland, and they offered to drop me off at the hostel. We dropped off Butch, and Warren took me on a 7.5 hour sightseeing tour by car! I’ve seen practically all of Iceland’s top 8 attractions or so in one day!

The Iceland photo set thus far is here.

The Blue Lagoon was more green than blue today, because of algae. But it was heavenly! It was like being in a hot tub on the moon. Imagine black lava rock dipped in yoghurt with steaming water in it, and everyone — men and women — floating around with white silica mud masks on their faces.

During the whale watching tour, I saw more puffins than whales. But I’m still glad I went, cold wet fingers and all, because I met Warren and had the opportunity to see more of Iceland by car than I ever would’ve been able to otherwise. He’s a font of knowledge and a superb tour guide — from WHITE ROCK (just south of Vancouver), of all places. We blazed a wacky trail around Iceland’s interior and southern coast in (ahem) his company’s truck:

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Touching down at Keflavik Airport at the unholy hour of 5:15. I’m very impressed with Icelandair, leaving precisely on time at 2200 and arriving at 0515 on the nose.

I just had a big Scandinavian breakfast at a hotel in Keflavik and I’m waiting for the others to arrive from the Baltimore flight before we all go whale watching and dolphin spotting.

Free wi-fi everywhere at this hotel, I love it!

I had the good fortune to sit next to a native Icelander on the four-hour flight from Halifax. Of course, I drilled the poor man about everything I’d read and heard and watched about Iceland. And of course, I had to bring up the topic of elves. Not right away, mind you. There was a long preamble.

Me: “So, I have to ask you about elf hunting.”
Him: “Oh yes. There’s a season for it, and you must have a permit.”
(It being some strange hour of the night? morning? heaven knows what time, I searched his face for a sign that he was pulling my leg.)
Me: “A permit? Really? Elf hunting? E-L-F?”

I wrote out the letters with my finger on my left palm for good measure.

Me: “I don’t mean reindeer,” and put my hands about a foot apart, one above the other. “Little people. Elves.”
Him: “O-o-o-h… yes, well, people do like to believe in this.”

It was an interesting conversation, to say the least. We covered food, transportation, wages, taxes, real estate, language, and the Danes