By Noosha
Fun language fact! Did you know there's an Icelandic word in the English language? Geysir (or as we spell it, geyser). It's a name given to an erupting spring in Iceland and is derived from the Icelandic verb "to gush". You're welcome. :)
Old Geysir in Iceland is no longer gushing, but its neighbor Strokkur never failed to entertain. We stood by it for about 30 minutes and saw it explode 5 or 6 times. Totally awesome watching the build up in anticipation of the next eruption.
Wait for it...
It's ready...
By Noosha
This day was full of squeals (mainly by me) because we saw puffins!!
We took a 3 hour ferry ride from Dalvik to the little fishing island of Grimsey located off of the northern coast. Grimsey's claim to fame is that it's bisected by the Arctic Aircle, and we wanted to cross that invisible line on the day of the Summer Solstice.
We were surprised by the number of people heading to a village that boasts a dozen houses at most. In an effort to beat the crowd, we decided to power-walk our way to the circle. Well, instead of beating the crowd to the Arctic Circle post, we completely missed it. A good thing though, because the latter part of the trail led us to large colonies of puffins nesting in the cliff side. No one else was around to enjoy it except the two of us.
Puffins have eluded us most of this trip. They don't like to stick around when humans show up. Rightfully so, as they are hunted for their meat in Iceland.
It's a joy to sit on the grass and watch these ridiculous and adorable birds. Even watching them fly or more realistically flutter is entertaining.
Puffins aren't the only birds nesting in the area. Arctic Terns would swoop down and terrorize us with their squawking. You feel concern for your hair, but if you move along quickly from their nesting areas, you won't be on the receiving end of a peck.
Like much of Iceland, Grimsey was a serene and beautiful place. There are two bed and breakfast places here for those interested in being on the island with fewer tourist. As for us, 3 hours seemed adequate. We headed back to the mainland by the evening ferry.
