Day 13 to Akureyri

Today a relatively short drive to near Akureyri

Our luck with the weather continues

First stop was at Skutustadagigar  where there were “false” craters and birdwatching in the lake…..

…unfortunately there were swarms of flying ant like insects (a first) so we only stayed for a quick photo

We the diverted to have a look at Husavik, stopping at a natural geothermal pond where you could swim for free with goldfish! The water was about 27 degrees only but pleasantly warm compared to 12 degrees air temperature

These are the goldfish and these are as you see them in the flesh - courtesy of Google

Husavik lived up to its reputation of being a pictoresque town centred on whales and whale watching trips

First stop was the excellent whale museum, which had lots of great information on whales and the skeletons of 7 whales including a 25 m blue whale

The blue whale skeleton recovered from a dead blue whale the washed up on an Iceland beach in 2010

The whale at the time of recovery from the beach, just to give an idea of scale

They also had a lot of information on climate change including this map of the arctic showing the NW and NE passages plus worryingly a potential transit route for ships if the ice keeps retreating

Plenty of information on Narwhals as well, including the fact that killer whales are believed to kill about 1000 of them a year

We had lunch here including excellent coffees

We took a stroll along the harbour after lunch

Then hit the government run Vinbudin (grog shop). To give you an idea of the extraordinary price of alcohol in Iceland, a 4 litre casket of very basic Lindemans red wine costs AUD 85 - and below is the proof. A bottle of Gordon’s gin was AUD 110, a bargain in comparison.

We then headed south to Godaflos, in a bitterly cold wind,  arguably one of the most impressive waterfalls we have seen (and we have seen a lot!)

That was our last call for the day before heading to our hotel for the next 2 nights

For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant in town. We obviously enjoyed the meal..

…and the local craft pale ale was very nice as well