Friday, August 19, 2016

Friday, August 19th, Isafjordur, Iceland

Greetings!

We're staying around the town today, taking advantage of the 2-day stay here to do the laundry, and catch up on some sleep.  It's a small town, and our hotel is right in the middle of it.  We get a perfect view of the townsfolk, and the cruise ship passengers, out our hotel window.

With gas at $6 per gallon, Icelanders are exploring other means of transportation. Without a doubt, cars are necessary to travel the long distances between towns.  Around town, it's another story.  Skateboards, bikes, scooters, sit-down bikes, and busses are everywhere.

On our morning walk, we explored old houses and a strong salt cod industry, and saw the Cruise ship tourists who came off the two ships parked in the harbor.  The largest, carrying 4,000 passengers, unloaded this morning.  The ice cream shop across from our hotel seemed the place to congregate, and we joined them for an excellent bowl of chocolate, caramel, and berries.

Driving to a nearby natural history museum, we discovered an exhibit featuring a piece of lignite (formerly a redwood tree) retrieved by a local geologist from a coal mine.  Evidently, such trees grew on Iceland 14 million years ago.  A larger display is being hosted this weekend near the ferry we will take on Sunday.  It's being organized by a local park ranger,  and I'm eager to learn more about Iceland's redwood history.

To see the rest of the photos taken today, click on Friday, August 19th.
  

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