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This is not all of Goðafoss by any means, but maybe the most picturesque part (big image small). |
“Goðafoss” is usually explained as “the gods’ falls”, but it could equally mean “the goði’s falls”: a goði was a chieftain-priest who got his position by being powerful, not religious. He would have had religious duties, though.
Skjálfandi = trembling; fljót = wide river.
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Just one sight today, the very fine waterfall Goðafoss on the river Skjálfandafljót. From there we drove to Akureyri for lunch, and then to the airport for the flight to Reykjavík.
My journal stops, for some reason, in the middle of the day before this. So I will have to rely on Mark’s page, my faltering memory, and the pictures themselves.
We drove from our hotel by Mývatn to Goðafoss, a very fine falls. In the first imate to the left, most of the group is ahead, while Giselle and I hung back for photography (big image, small). In the second, that’s Shirley to the left, Giselle to the right, admiring the sights (big image, small). The whole falls is in view in the next shot (big image, small); in the fourth shot, the group is just standing around (big image, small). The last picture shows the river itself with tourists admiring it (big image, small).
From there we drove to Akureyri, and had an early lunch. About this I remember nothing—I guess it wasn’t so distinguished. And then into the bus one final time to go to the little Akureyri airport, where we all piled into a domestic plane for the flight to Reykjavík. But of course not without saying goodbye to Hulda, who was staying there in Akureyri, her home town.
Most of the others were leaving for the States that evening, but we didn’t want to be so rushed. For that reason, Mark had reserved a room for us for a single night in the same hotel, the Centrum, you can see it at the right, and a medium-sized image, too.
The most memorable even of the day, however, was our terrific meal at Fiskmarkaðurinn, “The Fish Market”, a restaurant that impressed us much more than the other fancy place we ate at in Reykjavík, Fiskfélagið, the night before the beginning of the tour proper. The waitress recommended to us that we choose the tasting menu, and the combination of small dishes that they offered was just terrific. You can read about the specifics of the menu on Mark’s page.
From there to bed at Hótel Centrum.
The next day, June 23, we got up, had breakfast, and did some shopping before going to lunch. We chose a pleasant informal place where we saw Kristín and Erling again, so we could say goodbye to them once more, as well as thank them for designing a great tour. And then we went off to Keflavík for the flight home. I did manage to get my required picture of Mark waiting for our flight. And that is how I close this account of a wonderful vacation.
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Previous day’s pictures. Return to the central Iceland page; to the central travel page; to my home page.
