25 Sept Another Blue Sky Day in Reykjavik Iceland

Another blue sky day - we have been so fortunate with the weather. Not only hasn't it rained, the wind has been minor.
Tip - try to get to your free (included in the hotel rate) breakfast ten minutes early to be one of the first in line. Several people were already in front of us when we arrived right on time this morning - there was still lots of food but the seating available was not as good as yesterday. So either arrive early or an hour later as by then the rush of early birds will have already left. This is a good breakfast, lots of different breads and cereals with cucumber, tomato slices and bell peppers to add to the Gouda type cheese for a healthy open faced sandwich.

Iceland sits on top of two continents. The western area belongs to the North American tectonic plate and the eastern section is part of the Eurasian plate. Iceland is growing by about 2 cm per year as it splits wider at the points where the two tectonic plates meet, and new magma fills up the gaps. Volcanic activity is a way of life here and shapes a rather lumpy landscape. Since the end of the last ice age one third of all lava produced on the Earth's surface are the result of Iceland's volcanoes. Icelanders have been living with volcanoes for over 1000 years and today benefit from clean geothermal energy. Truly the land where fire meets ice creating the dramatic landscape that lures tourists like us!!
In 2024 Iceland is projecting 2.4 million tourists, a meteoric rise from less than 500,000 in 2010. Tourism contributes 10 % to the GDP. Still all of us tourists must have a huge impact on an island with only 400,000 people, the majority living around Reykjavik. The car rental business is booming - so many rental cars at the airport as far as the eye can see!!
We checked out this morning and strolled over to Loki's Cafe across from the statue of Leif Ericsson and the big Lutheran Church. At 8 degrees C the sun was warm and we enjoyed two cups of coffee on the patio. This is a good deal - a coffee and one refill for about six dollars Canadian with a nice carafe of water on the side.

The lady at the next table was Icelandic but has been living abroad (Luxemburg) for many years. We had a pleasant conversation about travel and she insisted on sharing her smoked lamb open faced sandwich with us. It was good.

Since we are moving to the Aurora Hotel at the airport today we decided to use the local bus system again. We thought it would be just the reverse of coming by transit to Reykjavik. We were wrong. The number 1 bus does not accept credit cards. Big surprise. So we wandered over to the bus terminal BSI and waited awhile to catch the 55 directly to the airport. This bus does take a credit card but to be on the safe side I got the exact amount in cash and paid with cash. 3600 kroner sounds like a lot of money but in reality is about 36 dollars Canadian. I hadn't used my little stash of Icelandic kroner - credit cards are accepted everywhere (except ordinary city buses.). 100 kroner - a coin - is worth one dollar Canadian. And the BSI terminal charges two hundred kroner to use the bathroom. This was the only place we paid for the WC - all the public washrooms at our stops yesterday were free.
The number 55 bus from BSI has a WC. Interesting.
So now we are checking into a hotel that costs more than 40,000 kroner. An astronomical sum for the convenience of sleeping right next to the departure terminal. I used points to pay this handsome sum and we ate a grocery store supper in our not overly luxurious room.


But we have to be at the airport before 6 am and the Aurora Hotel's "free" breakfast is served from 4 am. Well we won't be first in line tomorrow! But we should be there shortly after five - I have set all kinds of alarms and Jeff has been sleeping since 9 pm. I hope I can sleep this last night in the land of fire and ice! It has been a short visit but memorable. Not a typical destination for budget tourists! This is the most expensive hotel I have ever stayed in but not the most luxurious. There is an electric kettle and possibly instant coffee. Two single beds. Our window looks out on a wall - but our room is really quiet and the beds are comfy. It costs more to stay here than the flight for one person from Calgary. A hamburger and pop costs seventy dollars in the restaurant.
Tonight we watched a bit of TV - an English channel, from England. The most tourists come here from the US followed by the UK. We have seen a lot of Asian tourists as well. Iceland is a tourist hot spot! Very safe, low crime rate.
I must try to sleep!