October 3 & 4 – Yesterday (the 3^rd) we arrived in Reykjavik around 10:00am. Right after an early lunch, we walked into the city along the waterfront. It was still cold and windy but manageable. I would love to show you pictures of the places we saw, but our current internet connection just won’t allow it!

We visited the Harpa, the very modernistic performing arts center. Its glass exterior is made to look like the basalt columns of the rock of the area. We also visited Hallgrims Church. It is both simple and beautiful; we were entertained by strains of organ music as we looked around the church. One picture I can’t show you is a sign saying not to interrupt the organist in English and Icelandic. We all know organists who don’t want to be interruptedJ

Today, we took an 8 hour tour of highlights of the countryside. We saw beautiful scenery including geothermal features (and a geyser erupting), the huge Gullfoss waterfall, the widening valley formed where two tectonic plates separate an additional 2 centimeters each year. All along the way, we took in the stunning scenery and enjoyed watching Icelandic sheep and horses.

We arrived back at the ship late this afternoon. We leave this port soon. The wind is howling! It may be a bumpy night. We now have 2 days at sea so I doubt I will be able to post anything. I’ll be back when I can.