After 2 ROCKSTAR days in Iceland, gotta say the Eastern Fjords…not so much.
Iceland’s East Fjords are its most uninhabited area – largest town toured only topped 650 people. That said, easy to find beauty in even the most unforgiving of climates.
Started the day along the coast line with a short black sand hike to Hvalnes lighthouse. The chilly North Atlantic & strong undertow keeps Icelanders out of the ocean – opting for natural geothermal hot springs located all over the island.
Bowl of tomato soup for lunch (first non-fish meal in days :)) & self-toured Djúpivogur harbor. Joined Christine, an Australian on my circle tour, for a short walk-about the small fishing village. Goal: a stave church at the top of a hill.
Unexpected highlight: Stopped in a small high-end clothes shop & chatted with its female entrepreneur owner. Only local sustainable materials are used in their fashions – primarily fish leather. Concept: use all of the animal, like Viking women of generations past. Super interesting, very inspiring.
Ended the day in Egilsstaðir. Named after Egilsstaðir farm, the town (& our lodging) was near Lagarfljót lake.
Took a short walk & enjoyed the beautiful lakeside sunset. Lamb dinner & off to bed. Early start tomorrow morning – snow in the forecast (unexpected precip for Iceland, norm is mid-October).
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- black sand hike in southeast Iceland
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- Hvalnes Lighthouse
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- Djúpivogur village harbour
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- arfleifd.is – super impressive entrepreneur
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- Fashion with Flavor – fish leather
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- creepy little elf houses – found them everywhere
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- unexpected beauty outside a rock museum
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- Overnight in Egilsstaoir
Arrived East Coast just after midnight, couple hours shut-eye, then to Boston Harbor for a quick ferry ride across Massachusetts Bay. Far faster than hours spent driving around the boot, the fast ferry sails directly across the bay in an hour half. Snoozed for an hour on the trek over while my friends soaked in sun on the deck. Vacation!
Docked, disembarked, tagged my favourite food shack just off the pier & paid $16 cash for a fresh (whole-belly) clam roll. Same Portuguese lady has worked this stand for years — not the warm n fuzzy type. She takes orders only from the ‘IN’ window (food is served from the ‘OUT’ window) & only accepts cash. That said, there’s still sand in the clams on this roll – that’s how fresh this New England treat is. So…how was it? I’ll be back – highly recommended 🙂
Changed clothes & still logged a few hours of beach time. Outdoor seating for dinner. Aw, yes – this is the life.
Started Day 2 with a run to the beach (Cape Cod Bay) & Day 3 with an even longer beach run to the Atlantic. Came back soaking wet each time — humidity on the Cape is crazy thick but loved that sea salt smell in the air 🙂
Quick shower, breakfast on the deck, then rented kayaks for a 2-mile trek to Long Point lighthouse – the tip of Cape Cod.
Long Point is a peninsula located in Provincetown, Massachusetts, at the extreme tip of Cape Cod, as it curls back in on itself to create Provincetown Harbor. The Long Point Light was built on this point in 1827. The lighthouse once shared this peninsula with a settlement of fishermen that came to be known as Long Point, Massachusetts. This Provincetown village grew and thrived from 1818 until the late 1850s.
Took 20-30 minutes to regain a comfort level but ultimately LOVE LOVE kayaking. Super fun sport.
Landed near Long Point lighthouse, snapped some amazing shots (including a pirate ship), then completed my 4 foot hike up to the cross commemorating a fallen WWII soldier. Ok, I’m using the word ‘hike’ a bit loosely here. LOL! From Longs Peak, Colorado to Long Point, Massachusetts in a week – that’s a drop from 14,000ft to just over 4 feet. What a crazy, fun life.
Different day, different beach then dinner & a show. Tea smoked duck was just as good as I remembered. WOW!
Spent Monday afternoon in Boston – fish n chips at the Black Rose, followed by a touristy stroll thru Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall, the New England Holocaust Museum & Union Street (one of Boston’s oldest).
3-day weekends end quickly; sad to tell folks good bye. Quick hug, then hailed a taxi to Logan.
So long Boston, I had a wicked good time!
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- Boston Harbor
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- hour-half ferry trek to Cape Cod
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- (whole belly) clam roll – AMAZING!
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- …and a lobster roll too!
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- New England beach day
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- Pilgrim Monument – they landed here first, who knew?
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- ocean kayaking
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- next stop, Long Point
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- paddled ahead to Wood End lighthouse (photo far right), then followed land tip around to Long Point
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- Pirates!
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- tip of Cape Cod
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- Long Point lighthouse
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- WOW shot – love Cape Cod!
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- 14,000ft hike last Saturday, 4ft hike this day
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- hike SUCCESS!
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- Boston return
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- fish n chips @ the Black Rose
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- outdoor entertainment
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- Faneuil Hall stroll
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- So long Boston, I had a wicked good time!
