Back to Camboriu

Travel Day

October 12, 2023

Camboriu is an important place to me. It's where my aunts, uncles and cousins live and a place where my family spent every summer (and some winters) when I was growing up. I was looking forward to going there and reconnecting with people I haven't seen in sixteen years.

We landed in Navegantes in the middle of rain, at an airport with no jetways.No problem, though, as the ground crew handed us umbrellas as we exited the plane and those were enough to keep us dry. I remember Navegantes as a small airport with barely any service but it has changed in these last sixteen years. It has grown from a one regional airline spot into a much bigger airport, with both domestic and international flights from several different airlines. The tarmac that with space for two regional airliners can now support four 737-sized ones and the number of baggage claim carousel has doubled from one to two.

We were able to get a big enough taxi that fit all our luggage and started the drive to the family's condo in Camboriu. Usually there are two options to get from the airport to our condo: ferry or highway. We took the highway this time, because it was raining and the water levels were high and the road would be slightly safer. The thirty minute ride was uneventful, but I got to see the first big signs of change: along the highway we could no longer see farms and empty land, only warehouses and factories.

We made it to the condo and got settled in. K was suitably impressed by the view from the balcony, but not as much by the dance we had to go through to get the hot water working again. After we unpacked and inspected the refrigerator, my sister and I were off to the supermarket to get the basics for the next day's breakfast, which in my case is mostly bread and requeijao and fruit and yogurt for K.

We went out to dinner, to the food court of a nearby shopping mall. There were many restaurant choices, but I convinced K to try one of the dishes that I associate with home that was not part of her list, pasteis. Pasteis are fried dough pockets filled with many different kinds of things and a great childhood favorite. The place at the mall offered over sixty different combinations of fillings for their pasteis, we picked two and did not regret it.

Family Day

October 13, 2023

My cousin H came from Florianopolis to spend the day with us, which was might nice of him given that's over an hour's drive from where he lives. I had seen him more recently than 16 years, though, as he is one of the cousins that actually came to visit me in California.

The first order of the day was to get some PJs for me, as I left my original ones in Rio. H and I made our way to what used to be the town's movie theater when I was growing up but is now a mini-mall. There were many stores selling pajamas to choose from and, as usual, I was tempted to grab the first one that fit me and call it a day, but H would have none of that. Under his direction we found the right store, selling pajamas made of the right material (cotton, apparently), with the right design and the right price. A sale was made and I had all the night-wear I needed for the rest of the week.

In the evening we went to my aunt's house to celebrate her birthday and meet the rest of the family. This was K's introduction to the extended family and with 14 of us there, all speaking in Portuguese at the same time, I believe it might have been overwhelming for her. Some tried to talk with her for a while, but English is not easy for them and it was hard to carry on a conversation. There was good food, though, and K got  to experience more Brazilian dishes, including an "empadao de frango" that she is now considering making for Xmas dinner.

One of my cousins arrived later in the evening and another could not make it because of the flooding in their part of the state, which made me sad as I was looking forward to seeing them. Still, we had a good time catching up on what's happening in our lives and I got to meet several new members of the family.

Fair Day

October 14, 2023

We woke up to another dreary day, but at least it was not raining. The plan for the day was to go to a local farmer's market so K could experience another one of the products in her list, "caldo do cana." This is literally sugar cane juice, freshly squeezed with some lemon in it. It is delicious and refreshing, sweet but not too much, which is somewhat of a mystery for me as I do remember it as being too sweet. Maybe it's the added ice, melting and diluting it a little but, honestly, it doesn't matter. It was a hit and I don't think I will have trouble convincing K to drink it again.

I also got to introduce K to cocadas, a sweet from Brazil's northeast that is made from coconuts. I remember only two types of cocada (regular or with "burnt coconut"), but this seems to be a thing of the past. The stall at the fair where we ordered the treats offered at least six different kinds, including one with passion fruit. We got the regular one, and later regretted not getting the others to compare and contrast. No matter, we were saved by my mother who brought four different kinds for K to try.

Big Wheel

October 15, 2023

Another overcast and cool day, but we took advantage of the lack of rain to achieve one of our tourist goals, visit the FG Big Wheel. Yes, that is the name of the local oversize Ferris wheel. It tickled us pink that it was called Big Wheel, and the FG part was not surprising, as half the skyscrapers along the shore were built by FG's company and have those letters proudly displayed on top.

The Big Wheel is at the north end of Camboriu beach. K and I decided to walk there, as it was about 1.5 miles from where we were staying. Some thirty minutes later we found ourselves there, buying tickets for the Big Wheel from someone who made K's day by speaking English to her, something of a rarity where we were. They informed us that our R$30 tickets would get us one lap around the wheel, which would take between 15 and 20 minutes. Seemed like a good deal so round we went, enjoying the view of the beach and nearby forested hills.

After the ride it was time for some judicious money spending so we bought a lot of chocolate and a set of "official" pictures of us at the Big Wheel. Our R$40 got us three souvenir pictures, one of which we decided to leave with my mom so she would not forget what we look like.

The walk back home was as pleasant as the one to the end of the beach, but we did stop for a meal of appetizers, including some filet mignon cubes, steamed shrimps and bolinhos de bacalhau. Way too much food, as usual, but what was saved we had later that day with a glass of whiskey.

In the evening we went to Praia Brava (or Angry Beach, as K likes to call it), to go to a food truck pod where my cousin R owned one of the restaurants. Assorted uncles, aunts and cousins joined us. My cousin's truck sells pizza, so pizza is what we had, along with beers and a good dose of blues being played by a live band. Chatting over the sound of the music was hard, but we somehow managed and a great time was had by all.  K liked the pizza, liked the place and wants us to go back there next time.

Rained In

October 16, 2023

The day started drizzly and remained drizzly, so there was not much we felt like doing. The extent of activities that day included a trip to the mall to get some Havainas flip-flops and some chocolate.

At home I struggled trying to make it possible to watch a movie in the living room TV. The TV was old enough that the apps in it no longer were able to login to the corresponding services and whatever casting protocol it used did not work with our tablets. I tried different combinations for over an hour, but nothing that worked successfully, so we ended giving up and just watching things individually.

For me this turned into an evening of reading, which is never a bad thing.

Long Walk

October 17, 2023

The day was cloudy again, but no sign of rain so K and I decided to walk to the south end of the beach, about 2.5 miles away from our condo. The plan was, once we got there, to go for a ride in one of the gondolas of the Unipraias Park. We walked and talked, with a couple of stops along the way to rest and enjoy the view and by the time we got to the end K did not feel like going for a gondola ride. So we sat by the beach, watched the local Pirate Ship go by and admired how loud the music in it was, that we could hear it from so far away.

Eventually it was time to walk back and we both agreed that lunch would have to be at the restaurant we saw during our walk out claiming they had the world's best hamburger (in English). We ordered hamburgers, of course, along with caipirinhas and had a pleasant meal. Not sure I am ready to claim that was the best hamburger in the world, but it definitely was tasty. As a side note, I had forgotten that hamburgers in Brazil come with mayonnaise.

Passeio Sao Miguel & Camelodromo

October 18, 2023

Our last full day was once again cloudy, but K and I were ready for another walk. This time our goal was to explore Passeio Sao Miguel, a pedestrian-only area with many restaurants and outdoor seating. To get there we decided to walk along the Avenida Brasil, instead of along the beach, for a change in scenery. 

Now, Avenida Brasil is a busy street with lots of shops and we had to stop at several along the way, mostly for some window shopping. We eventually ran into a store that my uncle had mentioned, part of a department store chain that started in Santa Catarina. There, of course, we had to go inside and check out what they had, and how the prices compared to the ones in the U.S. So, it turns out things cost about the same, except for electronics which is at least two to three times the price. Of course, salaries in Brazil are lower than in the U.S., so comparable prices really means more expensive for the natives. Oh well, this is a reality that I remember from growing up in this country.

We made it to Passeio Sao Miguel and after wandering around a bit ended up eating a cafe there. The waiters were a little bit afraid to approach us, since we were speaking in English, and sent the owner to figure out what we wanted. He, apparently, had traveled all over the world and spent several months in New Zealand (where he met his wife who turned out to be from his hometown) and was comfortable talking to us. We chatted a little and once the staff understood we spoke Portuguese, the waiters were much more comfortable and we got a tasty meal. Interestingly enough, all ordering and paying was done via a tablet. 

After lunch and cafezinho, it was time to go back home for a well-earned nap.

That night my mother took us to a nearby part of town I did not know existed, a warehouse set up with mini-stores selling all kinds of products. Most of them were selling cellphone accessories, some were selling perfumes, and others were selling "high quality" counterfeit clothing and bags. That proved to be irresistible to K, who decided it was time she had her own real fake designer bag.

On the way back home we stopped for dinner and I crossed another item from my reading list, a shrimp strogonoff served over rice, as strogonoff should always be.

Leaving Camboriu and Final Thoughts

October 19, 2023

The last day was a travel day, which meant we were busy with packing and arranging transportation to the airport. My aunts and uncle, as well as a cousin, dropped by to say goodbye and we spent a pleasant hour chatting. Then we got in a taxi, made our way to the airport, took advantage of the lines for those over 60 to check in and go through security. The flight was delayed a few times because of the weather, but we were not stressing since there were no connections to worry about and we got to Rio only thirty minutes late.

In all I enjoyed the trip to Camboriu and seeing my extended family again after such a long time. I wish I had more time to hang out with them and chat, to really catch up with what is happening in their lives, but the one week we head was not enough for that. 

Camboriu itself has gotten much bigger than when I last was there. Many more buildings, several of them skyscrapers, and the beach has been artificially extended. It didn't feel crowded, though, maybe because it still is a summer town at heart and we were there off-season. Apparently they now have a plethora of museums that we missed because they did not pop up in our sightseeing recommendation app.

Oh well, there will be other visits.

Back to Rio

 Getting There

Going back to Rio after 16 years took some effort. The first step was getting airline tickets. We found really nice prices going via a Central American airline that would allow us to fly business class and were very excited! When it came time to close the deal, however, we found out that the prices listed were for each leg. With the resulting explosion in price we switched to one of the major American airlines, paid extra for more legroom and felt we were good to go.

Then came the paperwork. I needed a new passport, which meant scanning a lot of documents, uploading them to a government website, getting an magic number and then sending the documents again to the local consulate. There were a couple of back-and-fourth before they were happy, but all this got sorted out and 4 weeks later I had a brand new passport in my hands.

Next came getting K a visa.  For the past couple of years U.S. citizens did not need a visa to go to Brazil, but the Brazilian Consulate website said that was changing just before when we were planning to go. They also said we should wait until September to apply for a visa, while they sorted out the processy. So we waited, and mid-September went online, filled out many forms, scanned many documents only to find out at the end that the Brazilian government had postponed the new visa requirement until January and all that paperwork had not been necessary. Oh well, at least we know had everything we needed to go.

The trip itself was nice. The first leg to Houston was in a 787 (my first time in one), the plane was clean, left on time (despite three gate changes) and dropped us off in Houston with plenty of time to enjoy the airline’s club before catching the flight to Rio. That flight too left on time and proceeded pleasantly, except for the fact that my window seat had no window and they had to reboot the entertainment system for my seat’’s sound to work. 

Arrival in Rio was straightforward, no lines at passport control and straight through customs, the duty free shop and finally to where my mother and brother were waiting. One 20 minute car trip later and we were back at my family’s condo, the place where I had lived from when I was born until I left to study abroad.

First Day

October 7, 2023

We spent most of the day unpacking, catching up with the family, getting acquainted with the cats and doing our best to not fall asleep during the day. I was able to reach out to a couple of friends and make dinner plans for the week, and there was a brave attempt to lie in the hammock and read, but that was thwarted by an inability to concentrate. 

Late afternoon my mother suggested we go for a car ride so K could get a sense of what the town was like. We drove around Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana beaches and got our first taste of the chaotic, noisy, “where did this motorcycle come from” Rio traffic, made worse by the constant honking.  Copacabana was K’s favorite part of the tour, mostly because of how well lighted it was. 

For our first Rio dinner, we had a collection of “salgadinhos,“  including bolinhos de bacalhau and shrimps risoles. I  had forgotten how much I liked them! I ate way more than I should and thanked the gods for having lost some weight before this trip. If I keep eating like this, I am sure to get it back!

The day ended with a nice thunderstorm, with heavy rain drowning out the traffic sounds. I really like watching the rainfall from our balcony, so for me this was a treat.

Hippie Fair

October 8, 2023

Our first Sunday was both my mother’s birthday and the Ipanema Hippie Fair day, something K and I had been looking forward to for months.  We celebrated the day with lunch at my mother’s club, where they had a buffet with many different dishes and K got to try bacalhau, the first of many items on her “things I want to eat/drink” list. I too chose the bacalhau, mostly because that is one of the hardest dishes to recreate back home.

After lunch we went back home, dropped of the car and took a ride-share to the Hippie Fair because parking there is nearly impossible. Our driver dropped us off at one corner of the fair, we got out and started wandering around the square visiting the dozens of stalls selling local arts and crafts, or so I expected. I was wrong. I remember a Hippie Fair with dozens of stalls of artists selling all sorts of creations, with paintings in many different styles, sculptures and more. Instead there were way too few artists, all selling variations of the same thing, paintings of favelas. The rest of the stalls were selling basic touristy stuff. Where I thought I would see lots of sculpted wood and metal I saw stands selling touristy shirts. Where I thought I would see interesting jewelry, I saw mostly the same things I can get back home. This was disappointing, it was not the Hippie Fair I remembered and wanted K to experience.

We went to bed, hoping the next day would be better.

Sugar Loaf

October 9, 2023

And it was better! After a good night’s sleep and some breakfast we got a cab and made our way to the Sugar Loaf. Had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to get our tickets, but they accepted our driver licenses as valid ids and we were able to get the senior discount (which in Brazil starts at 60). Another ten minute wait and we were on the cable car going up the mountain-side.

Up there it was cold, windy and overcast, but not too crowded and we got some nice views of the city. The old coin-operated binoculars were gone, though, and I could not properly enjoy the view of airplanes landing and taking off at the Santos-Dumont Airport, one of my favorite activities every time I go there. It was nice showing K Rio from above and giving her a sense of where everything was. 

We had lunch at the mountain, and took the opportunity to introduce K to another one of the food items on her list: açaí bowls, this one mixed with banana and granola. She liked it!

After that it was another cable car ride down the mountain, followed by a taxi ride back home for an evening of resting and hanging out with the family.

Beaches and COBAL

October 10, 2023

The plan for the day was to visit the nearby COBAL, where I hoped to introduce K to the many different fruits and vegetables common to Brazil. K likes food and farmers‘ markets, so this was something right down her alley.

We started the day’s adventure with a little drive. My mother took us to the “West Zone” to visit the Barra beaches, and that turned out way more complicated than expected. First, we got lost trying to get to the beach when the road we thought would take us there took a turn, instead and paralleled it for a long while. This was followed by a flat tire when the car jumped a curb, and we ended up changing those plans and cutting the tour short. After an attempt to go and deal with the tire that ended with us at the entrance of a favela at a place that sold used tires, (thanks to the GPS’s nearby recommendation) we gave up and headed back towards home and COBAL.

COBAL turned out to be a disappointment. Where before there were dozens of market stalls with different types of vegetables, meats and fruits there were now only a few, all with the same limited selection. No new fruits for K to see, so we ended cutting short that visit and heading to a nearby restaurant. The food there was good, K was able to cross moqueca off her list and I got to have “arroz a piamontesa”, something I cannot find back home.

In the evening I went out with my brother to deal with the flat tire. The old one could not be fixed and we ended having to buy a new one and wait for over an hour until they got around to installing it. That part was not too bad, as it gave me a chance to chat with C and understand what is on his mind these days.

We ended the day by having dinner with my friend R and her son, who I hadn’t seen since they visited us 10 years ago. We met at a restaurant near where I was staying and had good food, good times and caught up on what has been happening in our  lives. Definitely the highlight of an otherwise disappointing day.

Corcovado

October 11, 2023

Finally a sunny, warm day and the destination was the Christ the Redeemer statue at the top of Corcovado Mountain. My mother wanted to come with us, and we took a taxi to the tram station in Santa Teresa. Getting tickets was relatively quick, though K was not able to get a discount because she did not have a Brazilian id. 

Trams leave every 20 minutes and there was a crowd, so we stood in line for 40 minutes before we were able to sit down and start our journey up the mountain. No air conditioning in the tram, but open windows and a slight breeze had us at the top of the mountain twenty minutes later.

There were some changes since I last was there. Elevators and escalators are available to get those who need it to the top. The old stairs were still there for those willing to walk. The parking lot at the base of the stairs is now gone, replaced by a line and tents for those waiting for the van service to take them back down the mountain.

At the top was what I expected, an amazing view of most of the city of Rio, and a couple of things I did not expect: a mass and too many people. Why there was a mass outside I don’t know, as there is a chapel at the base of the statue that could have been used for that (or at least there used to be). The crowds were there because it was the first sunny day in a while and the eve of a major Brazilian holiday. The result was not enough space to move around, forcing us to jostle with others in order to be able to take in the view, making the experience somewhat unpleasant. Taking selfies with the statue in the background were almost impossible.

We tolerated that for as long as we could and quickly decided we had enough. We stopped at the bar for some beer and water, and then joined the line for getting the tram to go back down the mountain. Another forty minutes waiting had us finally boarding the tram and twenty minutes later we were heading home in a cab.

All in all an unpleasant experience.

The one good thing that day was dinner with some friends at Bar Lagoa, an old haunt of ours. K finally got to meet F, the last one of my friends she had still not seen, and hang out again with A and his wife C. we caught up on what has been happening with our lives, ate some good food and ended the day on a high note.

Leaving Rio 

October 12, 2023

The next day we said goodbye to Rio and left for Santa Catarina. Two taxis took K, L, my mother and me to Santos Dumont Airport where we were to catch our flight to Navegantes. The airport has expanded since I last was there, lively, clean and efficient. Better than that, it had a Fluminense store where K bought her first ever official team jersey.

Dealing with security and boarding was trivial and again we benefited from the 60+ rule getting in the front of the line in both cases. No need to take shoes or belts off! The plane was clean, left on time and one hour later was landing  at the now International Airport of Navegantes.

Final Thoughts

I left Rio with mixed feelings. In some ways, this visit was very disappointing. Cloudy almost every day, too many people, crazy traffic, wild delivery people on motorcycles and the things that I remembered from sixteen years ago that I wanted to share with K were no longer there. Time changes things, but I wish they had changed for the better.

On the good side, it was nice to reconnect with my siblings and friends, hang out at a place that feels like home and rediscover food I had forgotten how much I liked.

Random Notes on Iceland

When I first arrived in Iceland, I thought Reykjavik was a small town. Apparently all it takes is a few days driving around the island to change one's mind. After a week of seeing nothing but isolated farms and the occasional town with a few dozen houses, your perspective changes. Getting back to Reykjavik, it suddenly seems huge.

The roads are an interesting proposition. You have two-lane roads all around, but the bridges are almost always one-lane. We even get a few one-lane tunnels just for fun. 'Einbreid Bru' is some Icelandic you learn really fast. We have F roads which you can only drive through if you have 4-wheel drive. We have roads winding up mountains with sheer drops down the side and no guard-rails, followed by long straight stretches with guardrails. 

What they don't have are mile markers. I don't know why, but they were not there. It makes finding places a little more challenging. For us the work around was to put in coordinates in our GPS, but I have no idea how people handled this before then.

They do have raised posts with reflectors (cat's eyes?) along both sides of the roads. There was one spot we went that had them twice as high on one side of the road than on the other. I still haven't figured out what that was for.

There are sheep everywhere, and every time we got close to one they were branded. We saw branded sheep in places where there were no farms within sight, which makes me wonder, "how do the farmers find their sheep when it's shearing time?" Don't think they had trackers on them, and I'm curious as to how they handle this.

The other three animals we found in the farms where horses, cattle and rolies, big white cylindrical animals you could see grazing all over the place. Some people claimed they were just bales of hay in huge plastic bags, but I'm not convinced; they were moving around as much as the sheep. K. thought it would be a great idea to sneak into a farm and paint smiley faces on the rolies. In one of the places we drove by they had actually done that.

Swimming pools are a big deal, every town, no matter how small, had one. Heated of course, but used all year long.  The ones I saw were always covered, and a couple included huge water slides.

Everywhere we went the food was good. Everywhere we went the food was expensive.

When you first turn the shower (or faucet) on, it smells like sulfur. The smell goes away relatively fast, but it's definitely there.

Voyage to the Center of the Earth

August 18th, 2015

This day promised to be a light day. Less than 250 kilometers to drive, and all the attractions we were interested in where in were close to the hotel. No need to hurry to get things done.

Our first stop was at the lava tube at Vaetner. You can only visit it with a guide and our guide was a funny young man who asked us to call him Gummy because his real name was just too hard to pronounce. He gave us helmets, flashlights and instructions on how to behave inside the caves and then led us down some circular metal stairs into the "center of the earth." We learned something about the region's connection to Jules Verne (Vaetner is where his Voyage to the Center of the Earth started), how lava tubes are formed, what total darkness looks like, what total silence sounds like, and that the guides stored their sodas down in the cave because its temperature was around 34 Farenheit all year round.

The visit to the cave was followed by a hike along the coast to look at some interesting rock formations and a stop at Amarstapi for some coffee and a visit to ????, the half man/half troll guardian of the peninsula. Then it was time to get into the car and head back to Reykjavik where we checked into our hotel.

We did do one more thing that day, which was go visit the Blue Lagoon. Our mission: simmer in a nice hot pool until they kicked us out of the place. Getting there was a little bit of a drive and a challenge, as our GPS did not have an entry for Blue Lagoon. Fiddling with it a little we took a guess that Bláa lónið is where we wanted to go. Turned out we were right.

They got the spa experience down to a science there. When you arrive they give you a wristband that serves as your id and wallet. You store your stuff in a locker (which you lock with the wristband), shower, put on your swimsuit and join the throngs in the lagoon. In this particular day, given it was rainy, windy and cold, the throngs where not as throngy and once you got in the water you did not want to leave. According to K., Blue Lagoon is a misnomer, it should be called Sea Foam Green Lagoon. Whatever its color, it was nice and warm and once I got in I refused to get out.  But apparently they kick you out around 9 pm.

And that was it for our Iceland experiences. The next day was spent with last minute shopping, and just relaxing, and the day after we got on a plane and came back home.

The Walter Mitty Day

August 17th, 2015

After a good night's sleep we were ready to get on the road again. Our goal was to make it to the west end of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula by the end of the day, which meant we had over 400  kilometers to cover. Checking our map, we decided to forego the hot springs at Reykir, and seal-watching at Vatnsnes. It wasn't a hard decision, our geothermal experiences so far had been disappointing, and back home we have easy access to seals, sea-lions and sea-elephants. So we got into the car and drove.

Our first stop was at Stykkisholmur, an old fishing town, and, apparently, where they filmed scenes from 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'. Our goal was to visit the lighthouse they have there, and take a look at the Breidafordur, a bay with hundreds of little islands. We parked at the harbor and a small hike later we were by the lighthouse, enjoying the view and the weather. The lighthouse was much smaller than I expected, but the hike was pleasant and the view of the bay was very nice. With a stop for some coffee and another one to refuel we were back on the road and heading towards Kirkjufell, apparently Iceland's most recognizable mountain and our next stop. And yes, it also appeared in the Walter Mitty movie.

Don't have much to say about Kirkjufell. I certainly did not recognize the mountain, but that is to be expected given my inability to notice things around me. It stands by itself, and I guess that makes it different, but I found it unremarkable. Kirkfoss, another waterfall, was nearby so we also stopped there.

Back in the car we settled in for another hour or so of driving until we got to our hotel. We passed a few attractions we wanted to visit along the way, but they were close to our hotel, we were tired and decided to visit them the next morning. So we checked in, had a beer, a nice dinner and ended the day with a walk down to the beach.

Sleeping in the Middle of Nowhere

August 16th, 2015

The plan this day was to trek along the north coast of Iceland, and spending the night near ????. There was some sight-seeing we wanted to do along the way, visiting Godafoss and Akureyri, Iceland's capital of the North. 

Godafoss was the first stop, about an hour out of Husavik. It' a beautiful waterfall, but it's claim to fame is more historical than anything. In the year 1000, Thorgeir, then leader of the country, was forced to choose between Christianity and their pagan gods. In order to keep the country united, he chose Christinaity and, on his way home from that meeting, threw his paga idols in this waterfall, hence its name. There were nice walks along the waterfall and we chose to follow one of them, leading to a pedestrian bridge that allowed us to cross the river and enjoy the waterfall from the other side.

Back on the road we made our way to Akureyri, the second largest town in Iceland with a population around 20 thousand. We had two goals there: visit the church (Akureyrakirkja) and the botanical gardens. A two hour drive took us into town and we found the church, where we parked and went exploring.

The church was designed by the same architect that designed Hallsgrimkirkja in Reykjavik, and it shows: the same preference for unadorned concrete, one high tower in the middle and straight lines. This one was a little more art deco-ish than Hallsgrimkirkja, but interesting all the same. Unfortunately it was closed, so we did not get a chance to inspect the organ they had inside.

Since it was close, we wandered down the steps in front of the church and went to explore the old downtown area, which is basically a street with bookstores, restaurants, bakeries and souvenir shops. After exploring a few of the stores (and buying some souvenirs) we ended up having coffee and pastries at one of the bakeries. One interest tid-bit: they had doughnuts, which they referred to as USA. You could have a caramel-glazed or chocolate-glazes USA if you wanted.

Back in tourist mode we climbed up the stairs and headed past the church to the world's norhtnemost botanical garden. It was small, but pretty, with many different plants, shady walks and benches for one to enjoy what was a sunny afternoon. And enjoy we did, spending a very pleasant half hour there before getting back on the road.

Back in the car we decided it was getting late, we still had a long drive before us, so our next destination should be our hotel. We got out our trusty GPS, and tried first the name of the town, then hotel name, but the GPS said it had no idea what were talking about. We then tried entering the coordinates of the hotel as provided by our travel agency, but there was something wrong: it listed the latitude as being XX degrees and 69 minutes, somethiing that can't possibly be correct as there are only 60 minutes in one degree. Not that it mattered, as every variation I tried had our destination as the Atlantic Ocean. 

We gave up on the GPS and decided to navigate the old way, by map. Followed it for two hours and eventually were in the vicinity of where we thought the hotel was, but could't find it. Eventually we gave up, stopped the car and, after a few attempts were able to reach someone in the hotel who told us in which route the hotel actually was. We reoriented ourselves and ten minutes later were arriving at our destination where they pointed us to our room, a grass-roof cabin a little bit down the road.

We both had lamb for dinner at the hotel; the other choices were fish (which we were tired off), horse steak (which we did not have because we don't eat pets), and beef heart (which is way much bigger than a chicken heart). No matter, the food was delicious and and afterwards we retired to our cabin for a hot shower and a much needed rest.

Whales and Lava

August 15th, 2015

After waking up early and a good breakfast, we headed off to the docks for our whale watching tour. There were a few dozen French people waiting for our boat to start loading which surprised me, as our tour person had said that he'd only sold two other tickets for that time. He had claimed his boat could carry 41 people, but it was beginning to look like it was going to be crowded. Our luck changed, though, when the French found out they were waiting in front of the wrong boat and left. Our numbers reduced to a dozen or so, I felt we were in for a more comfortable trip. 

The first thing that happens when you board a whale watching boat in Iceland is, they give you a waterproof, neon-colored overall and tell you to put it on and tighten it around you wrists and ankles with the velcro strap. Apparently that is to help you float should you fall in the water, which, by the way, they do not recommend you do as it's very,very cold. We put our suits on, me with a little difficulty as they did not have one in my  size, but we made it work and soon, under the watchful eye of our guide, Veronica, we were on our way.

Our first destination was Puffin Island, and we eventually we got there after a detour to look for a humpback whale that never materialized.  The puffins were, as K would say, adorable and sight to behold. Apparently they were getting ready to migrate south, but there were thousands of them still there, flying around, diving or just resting in the water. I was impressed by how fast they fly! Our guide said up to 80 km/hr, an impressive number for a bird so small.

When we got our fill of puffins we went further out in search of whales. We soon found a pod of white-beaked dolphins, apparently residents of the area. They were curious and playful, swimming along with the boat and jumping out of the water, until they got tired and left us to look for more whales.

It was somewhat of a long search, but we did find a mink whale swimming leisurely along the bay and got to admire it for several minutes, before it was time to head back to land and the rest of the activities for that day. Our plan was to drive to lake Myvatn and enjoy the volcanic attractions around that area: Dimmm???, Hverfjall crater and the Hverarond geothermal area.

Dimmuird??? was our first stop. It was a maze of black lava rock formations, and supposedly the home of the "Yule lads," thirteen sons of a couple of trolls that spend their time telling stories and playing pranks on each other. There were well marked paths that took us among the rocks, each one more strangely shaped than the other, with small caves all over the place. Our path eventually led us to the Kirkja rock, a big hollow formation that locals say looks like the apse of a church. It took us over an hour to go there and back, and the Kriklja rock was a little anti-climatic, but it was worth the effort:  there were interesting formations everywhere.

The next stop was Hverfjall, a volcanic crater about a kilometer wide and 420 meters tall. I mention the height because, when we got there, we found out that parking was at the base of the mountain and you had to walk all the way to the top to look into the crater. And climb we did, with several stops along the way for rest and recreation. I will say that the crater was large, but unimpressive, just a big, dark gray, sandy bowl. Maybe the view from the other side of the rim was better, but I was tired, the climb had drained most of my energy and there was no way I was going to walk around. So we toop pictures and started the long trek back down.

Our final destination for the day was the ???? geothermal area. Despite the beautiful description in the guide book, it was a disappointment: a few fumaroles, a couple of mud pools and the worst stink I've ever smelled at a geyser area. I'm beginning to believe that if you've visited the geysers at Yellowstone, with all their colors and gushing water, there is no point in visiting the ones here.

By then we were tired and gave up on our tentative plan of going to a geothermal pool by the lake to relax. Instead we went back to our hotel, had dinner and went to bed by 9 pm, with the sun still shining outside.