TeddytoArctic2022.blogspot.com

 Life is truly abuzz with the approach of Midsummer. Incubation, growth, blossoming and rest, all part of the dramatic display of the amazing life of Djupivogur, Iceland at 64.6 degrees north. Some photos of our wonderful walk.  Arctic Terns (Icelandic 'Kría') let us know we are near to their eggs, hovering and swooping low.      'Kria' eggs Two large Greylag Goose (Icelandic 'Grágæs')eggs Mostly, the Eider hen will not be moved from her eggs, sitting motionless. A chance view of some Eider duck (Icelandic 'æðarfugl') eggs however.  A proud Eider hen and her 17 ducklings! The delicate beauty of Moss Campion. A highly recommended walk, Djupivogur.

An afternoon stroll along the banks of Seydisfjordur reveal a plethora of wildflowers. It was an absolute delight to find so many. The next fun task was to identify them using the reference books aboard.                                                                                          Cottongrass - Eriophorum. An d a cuckoo flower - Cardamine                                                                              ? Help!!                                         ...

Arctic tern (Icelandic: Kria) eggs in black volcanic sand, Djupivogur. Close up of same. Note the grains of sand blowing across the eggs.                                                             Photos by Ashleigh Wilson

 At Seydisfjordur. We came in in the evening 2 days ago. Just in time for some great pizza at Skaftfell. One more off my bucket list for this trip! Seydisfjordur is lined with 3600' (1100 m) peaks. Heavily snowcapped. The low sun in the evening and the morning illuminates the peaks brilliantly, which brings down into the fjord a magical clear and intense light.  The summer solstice was yesterday, and we are just a degree south of the Arctic Circle. No night. We won't see the night until late August/early September, then we will see the Aurora Borealis and our first stars. This morning Karl and Ashleigh caught the bus to Egilstadir 40 minutes inland, for the day. The route up along the river at the head of the fjord and over the high snowy pass is the only way out by road. This spectacular trip alone makes the outing very much worth while. Egilstadir is a modern town, spread out in a suburban sprawl, no character. It is the central hub serving the villages and small towns of th...

 At Neskaupstadir, tied up to a fishing wharf, behind a huge highly mechanized trawler. We came in last night. I took the opportunity to pinch scrap wood around the quay and cut it up for the woodstove. All Iceland towns have hot & cold pools, saunas etc. But a majority of these are indoors. Some are outside. Which is way better. Here the facilities are outdoors, and we spent 2 hours soaking in the rain, the fjord mountains above looming in and out of the fog & cloud. Soaking in the pools, dips in the cold tub, swimming, careening down the water slide & in the sauna. I'm pretty saturated & wrinkly with the water and the heat. Next: a large fillet of mountain trout for lunch.  Which trout came from two characters we met in Stodvarfjordur quay the night before last. One of them is a big hunter, fisherman & outdoorsman. This spotted trout, a frozen gift from him, was about 2 feet long. Enough for 2 meals for the 3 of us. We had the first fillet for supper last...

 Today Ashleigh joined us, fresh from Australia via Reykjavik. She's unpacked & all cleared away. We went for a long walk on the black sands of the coastal beach and its grasslands inland. Teeming with birdlife. A lot of them sitting on eggs. we found the nests of terns, barnacle geese, eider, fulmar. Others seemed to be nesting but we did not find theirs - the curlew, oyster catcher, woodcock, swan. A fresh breeze blowing in from the open sea, the  horizon inland teeming with jagged mountains, snow capped. We have til July 6th to get to Isafjordur to meet Mike. From now to that point we are just tourists, albeit on a boat. 2 days ago Jon took us out on his boat. It was the day of prayers for the fishermen, with a barbecue for all, and quite a few villagers went out on various boats for an excursion. We stopped in the fjord to take cod - just finished them up this evening. Pic is of me (l) and Karl (r), with Jon and his grandson Richard. Photo by Jonina Gudmundsdottir. Tom...

   Came into Djupivogur, SE Iceland 2 days ago.    We left from Inishkea North off Mayo, west Ireland, and sailed straight to Djupivogur. Winds from the easterly quadrant the entire way - NE, ENE, E, ESE. Rather surreal. No gales either. These easterlies prevented us from going to St Kilda and the Faroes as they lay to windward, so it was straight up & in.  At 5 1/2 days it was a fast run, my best by far.     Saw a whale spout in the distance, vertical, probably a rorqual. Not a sperm whale, as these spout at a 45 degree angle. Nearing Iceland a humpback surfaced alongside us, checking us out.  The skies here, compared to west Ireland, are much clearer. Far less haze. Visibility excellent, often phenomenal. The first land I saw, a snowcapped mountain, lay 80 nautical miles (90 land miles) out. The clouds here are usually much higher. Few cumuli, and these tend to be light & floaty. Mainly high cirri, rich in texture & variety, fea...

Heading out shortly, with this afternoon's tide. Lots of dinners & wine in the past week! All is tied up and tidied up, and we are ready to leave behind our affairs.  Forecast is very light winds until Monday. We should jump off from Inishkea then if not before.  Tonight probably Inishlyon by Bofin.