Grundarfjordur, Iceland

Did we see Iceland, certainly not! We did thoroughly explore this little town of 1000 people whose name I will never learn to pronounce. [And we have two more ports to visit with equally strange names.]

Again, no organized tours out to the country to see mountains or glaciers or waterfalls. Just an absolutely wonderfully relaxed day checking out this place. Plus witnessing some local cultural and history put on for the benefit of the visiting ship.

Iceland is Europe. Period. No natives or Inuit here. We could be in Norway, Sweden or Denmark. It is European from a geological point of view as well. Our geological lecturing professor informed us a week ago that the Atlantic Rift that runs north to south through the Atlantic runs right through Iceland. The west side is in the North American plate and the left side is in the European plate. It is splitting apart and getting wider at the rate of about 3 1/2 inches per year. [Eight centimetres for you youngsters.] It is a paradise for geological enthusiasts. Our professor has tweaked our ageing dormant brains into a very inquisitive state.

In a few words, I would describe what we have seen of Iceland while sailing up the fjord and in today's visit as... desolate, barren, sterile, foreboding, chilly, independent and interesting. There is nothing like an ill-informed person with a snap judgement is there!

The town is super clean, actually squeaky clean. The houses are very well kept but the architectural style seems to be Late Stalanist, or is it Early Stalanist? Built for the conditions, not too concerned with appearance. Utilitarian would be a good word.

As I mentioned some other time, the early natives migrated from Russia, Alaska and Canada, moving eastward, and eventually across the 16 mile stretch of water to Greenland. They never took the next step east to Iceland some several hundred miles across the cold and stormy waters. Meanwhile, about 1000 years ago, some Scandinavians left or were exiled from their homeland and settled in Iceland. Eric the Red was one such person, he was so bad that he was subsequently exiled from Iceland and went to Greenland. In between they also made pillaging raids on Britain and anywhere that took their fancy. Now the Scandinavians are what one could call one of the most peaceful people on this earth. Maybe there is hope for some present world nasties after all!