Retired Nomads - Part 3: Seydisfjordur, Iceland

Aug 4 - 13:00 - 22:30 – Seydisfjordur, Iceland

It was a nice sail in through the fjords. (and sail back out in the evening) Viking also be in port, but they canceled most excursions due to fog. (the advantage of an expedition ship that uses Zodiacs).

morning on the ship

later morning going through the fjords

After breakfast we attended the port talk on Djupivogur followed by a short lecture on Icelandic Language. Another lecture followed on Norse Religion and Mythology that was set up for the Road Scholars, but all could attend.

After lunch, our tour was called Natural Beauty of the East. Iceland’s East Fjords are best explored from the impossibly picturesque port of Seydisfjordur, nestled between the sea and steep mountains.

It was a unique opportunity to visit one of Iceland’s most scarce places - the forest Hallormsstadur. We had hoped it was a real hike, but it literally was just about a 5-minute walk to see the trees since it’s Iceland’s only forest. (quite skippable in hindsight) We did make a stop at a bridge that was unscheduled.

not great photos taken from the vehicle

wild horses from the vehicle

wildflowers on the short hiking trail

the forest

path in the forest (there are harder hikes here, but we only had about 5 minutes here)

Bernd on the bridge

The tour continued along Lake Lögurinn surrounded by beautiful scenery.

small museum & rest stop

views from the deck of the museum

wild horses

Hengifoss Waterfall

I stopped at the smaller waterfall and it was a long steep hike

I was rewarded with 2 sheep that passed right in front of me on the trail

the blue dot is me walking back

The tour ended at Vök Baths. In comparison to Myvatn Nature Baths - the small blue lagoon of the North, Vök Baths offered the opportunity to bathe in crystal clear, sulfur free thermal water. This one was unique in that there were 3 pools with different temperatures. It also was more of a local swimming pool and was full of kids. We tried them all and got a frozen drink to enjoy while soaking. (same icee, but not named Krap) For those that wanted to take a dip in the unheated cold lake they could jump over the side and there were ladders to get them back in. (yeah, didn’t do that)