Lögberg-Heimskringla - 10.11.1977, Page 2

LOGBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA, FIMMTUDAGINN 10. NOVEMBER 1977

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MANITOBA GEOGRAPHY TRAVELLERS
GRAND TOUR OF ICELAND
By Jean M. Chartrand
Our next stop was at Stöng, be-
lieved to be the oldest farm in Ice-
land and here the bus received a
second wash in the river. After
leaving Stöng we headed to the
Búrfell hydro-electric plant on the
Thjórsá river, which is run by
computer.
After lunching at Arnes we
travelled to a beautiful waterfall,
Gullfoss, the “Golden Waterfall”
with its beautiful rock formations
in the canyon, tillite layers inter-
spersed with the basalt layers.
Then it was on to geothermal area
around Geysi. Geysir did not spout
while we were there but Strokkur,
the Churn, certainly put on a show
for us. Surrounding Strokkur are
several small hot springs and the
water coming from them is hot —
I know for I stuck my fingers in
the run-off just to see how hot is
was. Nearby is Blesi, a blueish
Geysir which has a blue tint — be-
cause of the colloids in the water.
there was plenty of chance to re-
lax or swim in the hot water. That
night we were lulled to sleep by
the sound of a waterfall and
swans calling across the lake.
Next morning Unnur had an-
othed surprise for us — a trip to a
cave where a farmer had lived
from 1918 to 1922 while waiting for
While we were there we saw mem-
bers of the Eire Navy who were on
a four-day tour of the area. From
there we went on to Laugarvatn,
the school where Home Economics
is taught.
Tlqe smorgasbord that night was
our first and certainly one to re-
member. It started with herrings
in various sauces, followed by sal-
mon, trout and shrimps, then meat,
hot and cold, and all the vegetables
and pickles, followed by a very
tempting desert, cheese, crackers
and fruit, and finally coffee as only
Icelanders can make. Two hours
later we rose from the table after
being very well fed, and forgetting
all about any diets we might have
had.
There is a strange fact about this
area. It is in a geothermal region,
the water in the lake is ice-cold
yet only a few feet away on the
shore you can make a hole in the
lava and cook an egg in ten min-
utes. Being in a geothermal area
his farm. He and his wife lived in
one half of the cave and on the
other side of the rock wall was
where he kept his sheep. A daugh-
ter was born to that family in the
cave in 1922 and is now living in
Reykjavik.
From there it was on to the
graben at Thingvellir and the view
of the Almannagjár wall. Some
climbed over the rocks to stand
beside the waterfall tumbling over
the cliff side. After lunching at
Valhöll we travelléd to Selfoss, the
dairy centre of Iceland. There we
visited the dairy whose production
is about 120,000 tons of dairy prod-
ucts annually. In touring the dairy
we saw the testing and bottling of
milk, making of butter, skyr, yo-
gurt, chocolate milk and cheese,
and the drying of milk for skyr
making in the winter when the
production of milk is down.
The largest river in Iceland,
ölfusá, flows through Selfoss. It is
the combination of three rivers
which unite just north of Selfoss—
the Hvitá, the Sog, and the Brúará.
At the junction of these rivers we
saw the clear mountain rivers
mingling with the muddy glacial
rivers.
Our next stop was Hveragerði, a
Garden of Eden, with its hot-
houses where they grow bananas
and tropical plants. We wandered
through shelves of exotic plants,
hanging plants and cacti and then
sat down for coffee in these beau-
tiful surroundings. Of course, like
most other places they had souve-
nirs for the tourist who needed
something for someone on the list
of people that had to have a me-
mento of Iceland. This hot spring
area is the source óf power for
homes and greenhouses. We were
told that people have arisen on a
morning only to find that a hot
spring had come up through the
flóor overnight. What a rude
awakening.
Then we were oh the last lap of
our 3,600-kilometre trip, over Kam-
bar where the lava flow came over
the cliff to the lowland plain be-
low, past the glider station and
finally into Reykjavik — a grand
circle tour of the island — 15 days
on the road, living out of suitcases
and a unique tour of the country
never before attempted r by any
group. We were told afterwards
that geologists do this tour in 22
days. So we had really crammed
our sightseeing into a compact
tour.
Next day was last minut.e shop-
ping and packing ready to return
to Canada. At noon we had a
lunrhcon date whith the Depart-
ment. of Education dignitaries at
the Diplomats House. In attend-
ance, apart from the members of
the Department of Education, werc
Ted and Marge Árnason of Viking
Travel, Ólafia Sveinsdóttir of
Samvinnuferðir, Unnur Konráðs-
dóttir, our guide (Steindór Theo-
dórsson was unable to attend as he
had taken a group on tour to Gull-
foss), the Canadian students who
had been on an exchange program
in Iceland, the twenty-two teach-
ers who had been on the grand
tour plus two teachers who had
visited families in Iceland. Again
we had another sumptuous smor-
gasbord, beautifully served.
After the luncheon, Jean Char-
trand, secretary-treasurer of the
Manitoba Social Sciences Teach-
ers’ Association presented the Min-
ister of Education, Vilhjálmur
Hjálmarsson, with a bronze buf-
falo, a certificate of thanks from
M.S.S.T.A. and a little gilt buffalo
for his coat lapel and commented
on the wonderful time we had dur-
ing our stay in Iceland. After pfe-
senting the dignitaries with small
gilt buffaloes, compliments of the
Department of Tourism and Re-
creation and certificates of thanks,
the luncheon gat.hering decided to
depart.

That evening several of us de-
cíded to pay Unnur a visit and
have our last social evening with
her. Unnur had hoped to greet us
m Icelandic costume but somehow
the costume had shrunk during
our tour of the island or was it
that Unnur had added inches to
her waistline like the rest of us.
(Continued next week)