Rafting Through the West Glacial River Canyon

In Akureyri we take a spectacular river rafting trip through the West Glacial River Canyon.  We start with an hour bus ride to the base camp in Skagafjordur where we don our gear, receive our safety instructions (when the guide says "paddle," everyone paddle hard; when he says "down," everyone on their knees in the boat, head down, paddle in the boat; if you fall out, float on your back down the river, do not try to stand up in the swift current), and climb on another bus to the drop-off point.  

Our crew ready to go

Getting on the river

Heading out

Continuing

Resting

Our guide has a GoPro camera on his helmet and takes these pictures and the following videos of our journey.

Videos of the trip

Near the end, we stop to allow the more adventerous among us to do some cliff jumping (and quickly swim to shore across the swift current).

Jumping in

This has been a lot of fun and a great view of Icelandic wilderness.

Akureyri, Iceland

Akureyri is the second largest urban area of Iceland and is referred to as the "Capital of the North."  Only 62 miles (100 km) from the Arctic Circle, the city is at the head of a 37-mile (60-km) fjord, one of the longest in the country.

Originally settled in the 9th century, Akureyri remained a small town until the late 19th century, when agriculture put the town on the map with meat and wool products.  Later, Norwegian settlers arrived and established the fishing industry, focusing on herring and cod.  Akureyri is now the headquarters of some of Iceland's largest fishing companies.

Arriving in town

Art in the port

Heading into town

Whimsical taxi

We wander over to the main street and stroll seveal blocks.

Down the main street

There is less art around the city than the other locations we have visited in Iceland.  But, some of it is quite whimsical, for example, the trash cans are covered with troll outfits.

Artwork

Trash can art

We quickly stick our head into the famous Akureyri Luthern Church, a significant landmark towering over the city, then continue our stroll through the city.

Akureyri Church

View from the front of the church

We head back down the hill from the church, entering the main part of town from a different direction and pass back down the central street toward the port.

Heading back down past a small park

Back to Commercial Square and the main street

One great sight that we heard about, but hadn't yet seen (towns were too small for a traffic light), is that the red lights on traffic lights here are heart shaped.  We spot several! 

Red light

This has been an interesting stop.  We had a good wander and note that this is clearly a commercial, fishing-oriented town.

Visiting the Waterfalls in Seydisfjordur

We stroll out of Seydisfjorduc toward the largest waterfall we can see and follow the path up to it.

Serious waterfall

Looking back at town

A path leads along the base of the hills from waterfall to waterfall and we visit several of them, enjoying the sound and sights of the water cascading down.

Along the path

Toward the next waterfalls

Pick a waterfall, any direction

Scenic stops along the way

We pass several great picturesque falls until we reach a bridge that the high water is flowing over.  We decide that is a sign to tun back and stay dry.

More great waterfalls

Water flowing over the bridge

As we turn around, we look in the distance and see more scenic waterfalls that we will not get to this trip.

In the distance

On our way back, the clouds descend, giving us great views of the town and the mountains peeking through the mist.

Clouds descend

Back along the path

We follow a different path back into town, finding more waterfalls, big and small.

More waterfalls

This has been a great day with good hiking and lots of scenic waterfalls all along the paths.