The Hanging Valley

On Monday I hiked up to the base of a hanging valley on the eastern wall of the fjord. There are actually 2 hanging valleys in this fjord, both located on the eastern wall. However, the one that I hiked is particularly spectacular. A hanging valley is a geologic feature that looks like a giant seat carved into the wall of a fjord. Here, in Ísafjörður, legend has it that a giant Icelandic troll sat down on the mountain top to dip his feet in the water and created this large cutout in the land. From the bowl of the valley, there is a wonderful view of Ísafjörður which you can see in the pictures. It was a beautiful hike and I was accompanied by Andrea (my next door neighbor), Zelia (her 18 month old daughter), and Allan (another Masters student).

The Morning After...

SNOW! The morning after the storm...

You wouldn't believe it unless I showed you pictures...

Ladies and Gentleman:
Today, August 20, 2009... it snowed in Ísafjörður. As you can see in the following pictures, it was not cold enough to accumulate at sea level, but at about 500 meters elevation and above... the snow accumulated! As I understand it, most of you are enjoying the hot muggy days of August and I just wanted to let you know that winter is just around the corner. Or shall I say, in Iceland.
Love, Jamie

Vigur

Today I went to the island of Vigur. It was about a 30 minutes boat ride from Ísafjörður (I figured out how to make my keyboard Icelandic so that I can properly type Icelandic words). The views from the island were spectacular. Some of the things I saw included puffins and other icelandic birds, the only windmill in Iceland, and the smallest post office in Europe. Enjoy the pictures! Most of them are taken from the island itself, not of the island. The ones with the houses, flag, and windmill are from the island itself.

Barn Party

The barn party was so much fun!! I got to watch the sun go down over the coast of Iceland, and then I saw it come back up 4 hours later! The locals were so friendly, the music was great, and I had a wonderful time. The party officially lasted until 6:00 in the morning but I only made it until 3:45. Still, a definite personal record.

I went for the most wonderful run this morning. Sleeping in was great because I've been getting up around 7:00 for the last week and it's making me tired. Friends and family want to skype with me at home and I have to wait until 10:00 or 11:00 for them to be ready. I just got back from the liquor store and it was a madhouse. There is only one place in town that you can buy alcohol and the store is the size of my kitchen. So, imagine a town of 4,000 Icelanders buying their booze for the Saturday night festivals in a kitchen sized store between the hours of 12:00 and 2:00. INSANITY!!

I'm working on getting all my photographs from my trip online and will be emailing everyone soon with a link.

I'm going to a 'barn party' tonight in Nupur. All the surrounding towns are invited and the party lasts from 6:00 pm until 6:00 am. I'm going to try to make it through the whole night but this is highly unlikely. I will let you know how it goes!

Also, I am enjoying reading all of your comments on my page. Please keep them coming!

My first week alone...

Some of the things I have learned since being in Iceland:

1. The Icelandic word for taco sauce looks similar to the English word for Salsa but is most definitely not the same substance as I found out when I slathered taco sauce on my fried egg sandwich.

2. "Dumpster Picking" is exactly what it sounds like. You go to the dumpster out back of the local grocery store and bring home all the food that was thrown out but is still edible by whichever standards you set for yourself.

3. Sheep are often times suicidal and jump in front of your moving vehicle unexpectedly.

4. When you put bananas from "dumpster picking" in a pot with stolen rhubarb and cook it with some water and sugar... it makes a pretty decent desert.

5. If you don't haul ass bagging your own groceries at the checkout line, you will quite litterally be run over by the locals.

6. No matter how many times I clean the house, fridge, and kitchen... my apartment will always smell like fish.

7. My washing machine is in German and apparantly, cycle B gets my clothes suffeciently clean.

8. When you put your clothes on the line to dry, you must first look out the window every five minutes to make sure that it didn't start raining, and secondly... accept the fact that your clothes will smell like fish when they are dried.

Until next time... :)