To keep up with my traveling tradition, I ended up at a medical Clinic today to deal with what appears to be some sort of internal pain, not related to the food or country….but on the bright side, it allowed me to check out, yet, another country’s healthcare…Iceland’s is impressive…I walked in…once I finally found a place, of course…not so easy in this area…but thank goodness I am here and not on the east side….and was greeted immediately and was given a full exam by the nurse on duty…She felt she needed to consult with a doctor so she called him up and they discussed…seems they came to a conclusion and she quickly gave me some medicine….she did admonish me that I might actually need to see a doctor if I am not feeling better in a couple of days…problem there is this is Iceland’s Independence Day weekend(Monday is their holiday and that is when I could get back to reykjavik…probably just in time to see a doctor but I am sure he will be partying in the streets with the rest of reykjavik…I hear it’s quite a celebration and all is closed)…when I went to pay, I braced myself for the price….and then she said 850 Icelandic krona…which is just 7.00!  I couldn’t believe it…I need not go into indepth comparisons to the cost of health care in the states BUT….By the end of today,  I got the feeling based on how I am feeling, I will be visiting the lovely medical facilities in Greenland…so I can then report on that country as well Yay! (-;

Once my foray into Medical tourism was complete, I decided not to let a little pain stop me…I remembered that lovely woman from Holland… I did go  on a little walk through Skutustaoir, which is a natural monument around the coastline of a pond called Stakholsjom…it is filled with Pseudo-craters that were formed by steam explosions when burning lava encounters the wetlands…lots of birdlife here…but no Puffins that I saw…those little buggers were hiding from me, I am sure…when I arrived, there were 3 tour buses full of what I soon discovered were tourists from a ship…heading to the Faroes..I originally had planned on Iceland and the Faroes but when I saw that I could do Grenland, there was no decision…the Faroes will be there for awhile to come but Greenland, as we know it, is disappearing rather rapidly…It was a nice walk that allowed for good pictures…and the day was magnificent…which made my pain all the more annoying since I had a few great hikes AND I WAS  going to do the pool. But the nurse said no pool and no strenuous hikes…While wandering around, I spoke with a man who came from the ship and he filled me in on their lovely itinerary…Eventually they will end up in Denmark…I then saw a man trying to use a timer and take a pictue of himself…being quite familiar with this process and knowing it never turns out the way you intend, I asked if I could take the picture for him…He appreciated my offer and we took turns photographing each other from all angles…it turns out he is from St. Petersburg Russia and works on the ship…he has been doing ship work for 7 years and enjoys all the new places he gets to see…we wandered and shot pictures and chatted for awhile then we did pictures from my iphone of the 2 of us(see pics below)…Once I finished being entertained by my Russian friend,  I decided I would at least go to the hot spring pool and shoot some pictures…..after snapping some pictures,  I headed out to Akureyri, the pseudo capitol of the West…but not before I stopped at this marvelous little cafe called the Vogsfjos Cow Cafe…Spectacular view, which seems to be the norm in Iceland…this is a working farm that also is a guest house and cafe…all food is from their farm…or locally grown…I ordered the dessert…first dessert of the trip…and since my stomach felt fine, their ice cream specialty was perfect…it was made up Geyser Bread ice Cream(they put their own pieces of bread they make called geyser bread and mix it with their fresh cream from their cows)…then the other ice cream was Angelica ice Cream(this is made from Angelica herbs that were made into a schnapps and that was made into the ice cream…and both topped off with their fresh made whipped cream…OMG, I died and went to heaven…these 2 American women traveling from Alaska sat next to me and decided to order my entire same lunch, including the dessert…We chatted and I filled them in on the things to do in the area…they gave me some advice for the Snaefellsnes Peninsula that I will be driving to on Saturday and hanging on Sunday  and part of Monday, before I head back to Reykjavik and then I filled them in on the East and South…After I left them, I headed toward Akureyri…stopping only at Godafoss Waterfall…yes, yet another waterfall…the is called “The Falls of the Gods”. I think all the falls have been quite amazing but just like castles…they get a little stale after the 5th or 6th one…I am falls’d out!

I arrived at this nice Guest House…very geared for lots of activities from Whale Watching to Horse back riding…I wandered a bit around Akureyri and decided to get a bite to eat. I had been recommended to a great Sushi & Fish Restaurant…so I headed there, only to discover they did not feel they could accommodate a single person! First time i have ever been rejected at a restaurant based on being solo…especially a Sushi one where you can usually sit at the bar…but they had no bar and I decided to go in search of a better place…I ended up at this great Backpacker Hotel…a place i was assured to be accepted! It was delightful and I chatted, as usual, with several backpackers and heard about their upcoming hikes and adventures…My meal was not as fancy as I would have had BUT it was also not as expensive since they allowed me to order from the kids menu, which seemed to have what I wanted and was the  perfect amount…so it all worked out better…as these things tend to do…I decided to make it an early night since I was still feeling, as my dad used to say, a bit punkish…but regardless of my body, I am going to have a great day tomorrow and not waste a moment…will have to scale back my hiking activities but I can still do some nice walks and enjoy some lovely villages on my way…so until next time…

Icelandic Fisherman

Skutustaoir

 

 

Me and my Russian friend

 

 

 

 

The Hot Springs

 

my lunch with fresh veggie salad and their own mozzerella

 

The yummy ice cream treat

 

 

 

 

Akureyri from across the water