Iceland: The North - Húsavík

The Ring Road in the red, Husavik is the dark circle.

A beautiful fishing and touristy town of the North! It is large compared to many other town - a whooping 3000 or so. It has a lot going on there - aside from fishing. It is quite famous for its museums and whale watching tours.

How to get there? Simple. Just follow the Ring Road signs.
Make sure not to speed even if you are worried about the accommodation that had been booked on the internet a long time ago.
the fines are rare but steep.

They will make sure that you get your bed for the night.

We managed to beat the night by only about an hour. Just threw our stuff into the hotel room and took off to explore and eat. This was one of the first findings - roses in September some 50 km South of the Arctic circle! For us?





Find # 2:
A1952 snowmobile made by the Canadian company - Bombardier (eh?) .... what a gem of a machine!

Find # 3:
A display on the side of a building lures us in.
And astronaut museum - dedicated to the Apollo astronauts who came to Iceland to hone their rock-collecting skills. 9 of the 12 who came here in 1967 ended up walking on the Moon.






Find # 4?
FOOD!!!!
Just as the darkness fell we walked into a fish-serving restaurant featuring the catch of the day.
And the experience? Oh, sooooooo good!











There is nothing like a splash of bright colours on a foggy morning!

Just like the astronauts half a century ago, these people wore their thick, protective gear with purpose and pride.

The brave souls willing to jump into an inflatable boat to be carried onto the open vastness of the Arctic seas.
Why?



For a chance to get a glimpse of a whale - of course!

We, "the elders", along with many younger ones, decided to do just the same except - we would take the BIG boat!
We would be much safer and the ride would be easier on our stomachs, we believed.
(Yes, you can start laughing NOW if you wish.)

In any case - the whales present at that September the 5th glorious day would be a Minke and a Humpback - if.....if they decided to feed and show off for us. Just like the one on the poster by the ticket office.


If not, we would could just visit the whale museum down the road.






Our whaling trip started with laughter a anticipation as our beautiful  "pirate" boat took off onto the open water.

They would take us some 3 km OUT there - past the mountain ranges of the bay - into the blue space all around us made only by the water and the sky. 30 more km and we would touch the Arctic Circle.

 But then the swells started to rise ....

Many of us lost interest in the whales - it was the survival instinct that kicked in - and it went straight from the heads to the stomachs. Many a fish got well fed that day.

But we did see some whales and at the end it was a trip to remember in a positive way. There is something about those giant mammals that draws the human race in - less and less for their flesh, more and more for their companionship. Perhaps one day we will figure the reasoning of that.

I could not help but to think of the poster in Reykjavik.

 A Minke whale showed up - feeding in different spots, then a Humpback at the end of our 3-hour trip.

I am sure that many have much better photos than mine - but for us it was the time never to forget.

And the next time?
Pack some Gravol and have a couple the night before ....

Look straight at the horizon .....

Do not ....

You know ....

Do whatever works for you but go.