As we approached Heimaey Island, we sailed through an archipelago which formed as result of volcanic activity under the ocean. The water was a little rough, but it was a beautiful day to be out on the deck. We saw Surtsey Island (second picture), which emerged from the ocean in 1963 as a result of a volcanic eruption under the sea. Since the eruption ended, the island has been eroding because of heavy seas. Access to the island is highly…
In the first picture below, we are on our way to the village of Isafjordur which lies in the Skutulsjordur Fjord. It has a population of about 2,500 and is a fishing village. After docking, we took a small boat to Vigur Island. There was beautiful scenery including mountains and a volcano. The volcano has a flat top; volcanoes of this type are sometimes called table mountains. They form when lava erupts through a glacier. The last picture is of…
After leaving Grimsey Island, our next port of call was Akureyri. It was a busy day – there were four stops, the first of which was the Godafoss Waterfall, or the Waterfall of the Gods. It was named in 1,000 AD when the Parliament declared that Iceland would be a Christian country. The Godafoss Waterfall is located in the Skjalfandafljot River. It is one of the largest waterfalls in Iceland. The Skjalfandafljot River runs across a lava field which is…
Another shore excursion was visiting Grimsey Island. It is the most northern part of Iceland that is inhabited. The Arctic Circle runs through Grimsey Island, and we had the opportunity to have our picture taken holding a sign that said we had crossed the Arctic Circle. There are only about 100 residents in Grimsey. Fishing is the primary occupation. They have their own post office, a small store, church and airport. We got to Grimsey Island by tender. The water…
When we took our Iceland tour in 2016, there was not a choice of shore excursions – though I will say we were very happy with the ones Tauck provided. Our first port was Grundarfjordur. We had three stops, each with a different kind of beach. Budir, our first stop, is famous for its black church and rare golden sand beach. We first came to the church, one of three black churches in Iceland. The exterior of the church is…
My husband and I took a small ship cruise around part of Iceland through Tauck in 2016. Due to multiple flight delays, we arrived in Reykjavik 24 hours later than what we had planned, but fortunately our tour was not starting until the next day. We walked along the bay where there were lots of rocks, much of it lava rock. We also saw a sculpture named the Sun Voyager. It was designed by Jon Gunnar Arnason. It commemorates the…
After we finished our Yangtze River cruise, we flew to Guilin where we took a leisurely boat ride down the Li River. We saw fishermen, farmers and lots of water buffalo. Leaving the Li River area, we saw water buffalo sharing the road with cars. Near the hutong neighborhoods, rickshaws and cars were on the streets. Cities had modern, multi-lane highways. There was also a great deal of construction – roadways, buildings and bridges. During our trip, we saw farmers…
We saw a variety of housing in China. When traveling through cities, we frequently saw high rise apartments. Often they would have bars on the windows to protect children from falls. Buildings of more than eight floors were required to have elevators. Tauck, our tour company, did a great job of arranging for us to see different styles of homes and meet the families who lived in them. I am not picturing the families here, to protect their privacy,…
This will be the last “Beijing” post and will focus on the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven. The Summer Palace was originally commissioned in 1749 but was damaged in two wars. It was rebuilt in 1886 at the direction of Empress Dowager Cixi. She is said to have been one of the most powerful women in Chinese history. She was widowed when she was 26 and her five-year old son was next in line to serve as emperor. …
Our tour group visited Tiananmen Square which means the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Besides being a major tourist attraction, many celebrations and military reviews are held here. This was also the site of the student and worker protests in 1989 which ended with many pro-democracy protesters being killed. The first picture under this paragraph is the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. Our guide told us that Chairman Mao is revered by the Chinese people and indeed, many Chinese were waiting to…