Oh No ! The Last Day

Driving back to Reykjavik, we made a brief stop at our original guesthouse and to any activities at the travel agency - Guðmundur Jónasson Travel - in the same building.

Perlan

We then headed off on a whistle stop tour of the town.  First to the Perlan (The Pearl) which is 25.7 metres (84.3 ft) high and was fromerly a collection of hotwater storage tanks.  Until in 1991 when the tanks had a hemispherical structure placed on top and converted into a tourist attraction with shops, posh eatery, a Saga Museum and, our destination, a viewing platform.  This gave a 360 degree look over the city and the sea - all the way to "Snæfellsjökull".  This is a glacier on the most western part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula and, we were told that we were lucky to see it 73 miles away across the Faxaflói bay.

Hallgrímskirkja

From there it was a short drive to the Hallgrimskirkja (Hallgrim's Church) the tallest  - 74.5 m (244 ft) - church in the country.  It is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson.  It's modern Nordic design is the work of state architect Guðjón Samúelsson, who also designed the Akureyrarkirkju that we ahd visited a couple of days ago.  Unfortunaetly, there was not much time to see it (inside was closed for an organ concert) as some of us had to be at the harour to set sail to, hopefully, find whales.

Leif Ericson

Out the front there was a statue of Leif Ericson, an Icelandic/Norwegian explorer and the first European thought to have landed in North America. The monument was a gift from the USA to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Iceland's parliament.

The four of us had signed to go to sea to try a bit of whale watching were dropped off by the harbour whilst others headed to desport themselves at the Blue Lagoon or to explore the City in greater depth. As we walked down the quay it was ironic that on the opposite side to our boat were four whale catcher boats tied up and gradually rusting away - their harpoon guns had been removed to make them less of a sore point.

Whale Catching Boats

Whale Watching Boat

Once out in Faxaflói Bay the sea became a bit bumpy and it was good to see that my sea legs hadn't completely deserted me - there was a PA announcement about the availability of sea sickness tablets but none of our party seem queasy.  After a while we started to rush from side to side as fleeting glimpses of Minke whales were reported.  Even if we were quick enough, all that we were able to see was a fin and a dark curved back - none of this leaping out of the water you see on the TV.  Filling in the time between whale (we saw no dolphins or porposes), it was good to watch various sea birds riding the up draughts along the side of the boat.  The stars were undoubtly the Gannets who performed their usual headlong plunges into the sea.  We were taken off to see Lundi (Puffin) Island on the way back but they were just small specks on the surface.

Tjornin Lake

Back on dry land and after a quick bite to eat, we explore what appeared to be a compact but lively City - there were lots of people having a Saturday stroll, the occasional busker and plenty of weddings.  Close to the centre was the pleasant lake at Tjornin - apart from plenty of opprotunity to feed the waterfall, the nearby civic centre had an excellent 3D map of Island (it had taken 17 man years to construct from layers of card) and a bar that was a converted dance hall (its music was still still provided by vynl LPs).

The majority of us met up again on the tables outside the Enski Barinn (doesn't that sound better than the "English Pub" ?) for a few beers whilst we talked about our experiences, watched the world go by and kept a respecfull distance from a UK stag party.


Tonight I was hoping to have the opportunity to sample some of the local delacies (Puffin is supposed to look and taste like Lamb's liver) but the majority ruled and we went off to sample Islandic fish and chips - it was advertised as an organic bistro : to be fair, the food was good.

The Harpa

Afterwards, some stayed to sample the night (or late evening) delights of Reykjavik - the Lonely Planet warns that the locals don't go out for a social drink but to get plastered !  Some of us, being wimps and aware of the early start the next morning, walked slowly back along the sea front to our beds.

This took us past the spectacular new concert hall - the Harpa.  Its outside is made up of individual polygonal glass frames resembling sparkly fish scales, which reflect water and light, creating a kaleidoscope of luminous colors.

A fitting end to a spectacular visit to Island.