Whale Watching and the Blue Lagoon

We left early to head out looking for Whales. There are supposed to be Minke Whales, Humpback Whales--and sometimes Orca. There are often White-beaked dolphins too sometimes. But I think they forgot to tell the Whales that we were coming to look for them. We left on the Whale-looking boat and stopped at a little Island full of nesting Puffins. Then we headed out further into the ocean. But today, the guide said the whales must be swimming somewhere else because we didn't see one Whale. The boat ride was pretty fun but sometimes it got pretty rough.
The puffin is in front of the seagulls.


When we got back we headed to the Blue Lagoon. It's a place that's been created from the run off from the geo-therma. So the water is light blue/turquoise and warm. There are pots of mud around the outside of the pool that you can rub on your face and its supposed to make it smooth. Everyone looks pretty silly. I also went in a steam bath (hot) and a sauna (hotter).

Dad, me and Grandma head into the warm water.

Heading into the Blue Lagoon (floaties were required by the rules for anyone under 10)

Museums, Waterfalls, Geysers, and swimming pool

When we got to Grandma's apartment, we rested for a couple of hours and then headed out to the Perlan, which is a pretty cool water tower. See the picture below. Inside we ate lunch and went to a museum called the Saga Museum. The museum was scary but fun. I learned a lot about Iceland's culture--like the Vikings and the early settlers. I also got to dress up in Viking helmets. The helmets were heavy and so were the weapons. Then we hiked down to the beach and walked along the ocean. The sun never went down but mom and dad finally made me to bed.




This morning (Friday) we left on a tour to lots of cool places in the Golden Circle (South west Iceland). We saw the pipes that bring the hot water to the city. Then we went to Thingvellir (a national historic site) where the Icelanders had there first government in 930. It was awesome. They used the cliffs as a big auditorium.




After that we went to the waterfall called Gullfoss (Gold water fall) where I walked out over the waterfall. It was really misty and I got soaked. Then we ate lunch and I had a big bowl of Lamb Stew. From there we went to see a Geyser. Geyser are caused by pressure under ground that builds up and then blows its top. This one goes off every 5 minutes or so. We also stopped at a energy plant where they turn Hot water they drill from the ground into electricity.


Tonight, we went at a pool where there was a water slide. But the outside temperature was about 40 degrees but the outdoor pool was almost 90 degrees. Everyone in Iceland likes to swim and there are pools and hot tubs everywhere.T

At the Geo-Thermo EnergyPlant

I've arrived in Iceland

Nelson lands at the International Iceland Airport.

I just arrived in Iceland at 6:30 a.m., Thurs. We took a bus from the airport into the city of Reykjavik. Then from the bus terminal to my Grandma's apartment. We're going to rest a bit and then head out to the Saga Museum that tells the story about Vikings and Iceland.
Lots of lava rocks and very few trees. It's foggy and rainy, just like Deep Gap.

At the airport I exchange some money. $1 = 122 ISK (Iceland money)

Trouble posting from airport but we're on schedule to arrive at 6 am

Almost ready to go!

Tomorrow we leave for Iceland. We'll be flying from Charlotte to Boston and then from Boston to Reykjavik, Iceland. It will take us about 2.5 hours to Boston. Then we have a 4 hour wait. Then we leave for Iceland about 9:30 p.m. We arrive in Iceland at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday. Then we'll take a bus from the airport to where my Grandma is staying. I think it'll be fun but a long, long trip.
There is a 4 hour time difference between Iceland and Deep Gap.

I also heard that right now the sun is up in Iceland over 20 hours a day. How will I know it's bedtime?

We'll try and blog during our trip, if mom can figure out the computer thing :)

Grandma Arrives in Iceland

We just received an e-mail from Grandma. She arrived in Iceland this morning at 6 a.m. She said the sun was shining and its "very beautiful." We leave a week from tomorrow.
The picture on the left is the view from the apartment where we'll be staying

Here's a picture of the apartment we'll be staying in.

Reykjavík's City Center. Our apartment is #1 on the map.

We found a map of Iceland

We went to the Blue Planet Map Store www.blueplanetmap.com
in Boone and bought a map of Iceland so we could see the cities and roads.

Check out our clock of Iceland. Now you can see what time it is there.