Correction – Isafjordour is not the second largest urban area in Iceland, Akureyri is, with a population of 17,000. Yesterday we were at Akureyri. Gary and I went whale watching while Sharon went inland to see lava fields and boiling mud fields. Maureen went on a botanical garden tour.

What a beautiful country! We were always surrounded by snow capped mountains as we sailed into the fiords. The fiord into Akureyri is 40 kilometers long. The air is clear, the only smoke or steam is from naturally occurring thermal pools. All heating is done using the underground thermals. Because heat is so cheap, all driveways and walkways are heated – no need to shovel.

As we drove along the mountains we see hundreds of creeks cascading down the mountains as the snow caps melt.

Our guides all talk about swimming in the ocean year round (occasionally having to break the ice to swim, in their bikinis). They do admit to not staying in the water long!

On our tour we stopped at a waterfall. We passed the usual lava fields as well as some farm land. While they have a long winter, September to June, the the water temperature is moderated by the gulf stream which surrounds the island. The main farming is dairy and sheep.

On our tour we saw Minke, Humpbacks and bottle nosed dolphins. There seemed to be quite a few whales in the bay we explored. In addition I finally got to see puffins.

Last night we crossed the Arctic circle on our way to the Faroe Islands.