Lögberg-Heimskringla - 08.03.1985, Page 6

6-WINNIPEG, FOSTUDAGUR 8. MARZ 1985
Tours in Iceland
Akureyri and Midnight Sun
A number of tours in the north of
Iceland originate in Akureyri, about
50 minutes flying time from REyk-
javík with an average four flights dai-
ly between. The Akureyri Tourist
Bureau (Rádhústorg 3, Akureyri, tel.
(9) 6-25000) offers a three-day Grand
Lunar Tour during July and August,
departing on Monday and Wednes-
day at 8:15 a.m., which befits the
name. The first day at Lake Mývatn
is a contrast between Mother Nature
at her most violent — a volcano ac-
tive as recently as last September,
boiling springs and bubbling sulphur
pits, bizarre castles sculpted in
volcanic rock — and the unparallel-
ed beauty around the lake itself, rich
with flora and the haven for count-
less wildfowl and other birdlife.
Day two follows a winding trail
through lava fields and wind-eroded
sandflats to herdubreidarlindir, an
oasis at the edge of Odádahraun,
where there is ample time to explore
the area. Askja, a gigantic volcanic
cone that last erupted in 1961, is the
highlight of the third day. This is a
sleeping-bag tour — two nights at the
lakeside school at Skútustadir and
one in a remote lodge — with an op-
tion to stay at Hotel Reynihlíd on the
first and third nights.
Þegar ég veiddi
Framh. af bls. 5
að láta mér ekki ,,fatast”.
Háfurinn er á sínum stað, og ég
passa mig að stöngin verði ekki of
þverstæð og allt það. Nú er hann
orðinn spakur og kominn upp að
boeði, ég slæmi undir hann háfnum
og kippi honum inn „Mikið þó líka.”
Þetta er fallegasti urriði, ,,en ekki
hafði hann tekið” heldur hafði
öngullinn krækst undir brjóskið á
vinstri vanga og hafði ágætt hald þar,
en, hvað er nú þetta? Á bakugganum
er gapandi rifa, alveg nýleg. Þá
kviknar á perunni í huga mínum:
Þetta hlýtur að vera sami fiskurinn,
sem ég missti í gærkvöldi. Nú, ég hélt
hann hefði verið miklu stærri. Þessi
reyndist vera aðeins 5 pund.
~ Síra Lárus sagði ekkert, og enn í
dag veit ég ekki hvort hann hélt ég
væri að ljúga eða segja satt.
Vatnabyggð Chapter
Icelandic Club
of Saskatchewan
presents our 4th Annual
Thorrablot
(An Icelandic Celebration)
Elfros Hall
Saturday, March 23,8:00 p.m.
Icelandic-English Concert
Traditional Icelandic Banquet
Ethnic Food Sale
Dancing to the
Elfros Orchestra
Tickets: $10.00 per person
Two popular Midnight Sun tours
are the lþ-hour roundtrip flight to
Grímsey, an island lying on the Arc-
tic Circle (June through August), and
a four-hour evening coach excursion
along Eyjafjördur to the village of
Ólafsfjördur where traditional Icelan-
dic pancakes and coffeeÞtea are serv-
ed and an unobstructed view of the
midnight sun is possible from mid-
June through August. Overnight boat
tours to Grímsey are also available.
A combination coach-boat tour of
Eyjafjördur begins with a brief sight-
seeing spin around Akureyri, pro-
ceeds by coach north to Árskógssan-
dur for a ferry across the fjord, stop-
ping midway fqr a hike on the island
of Hrísey. On the fjord's eastern
shore, refreshments are served in teh
fishing village of Grenivík, and then
the turf and stone houses at Laufás
are visited, preserved from bygone
days with their furniture, utensils
and other artifacts, before returning
to Akureyri.
The Magnetism of Mývatn
Three guided sightseeing coach
tours offered only by Eldá (Lake
Mývatn, tel. 96-44220) cover an area
of northeastern Iceland, much of
which is little visited by Icelanders
themselves since no regular coach
service is available. Each tour
originates at Hotel Reynihlíd on the
lake's eastern shore. Northern
Highlights, approximately 10 hours
in duration, departs on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 a.m.
between 15 June and 10 September,
and features a visit to the fishing
community Húsavík, an exploratory
walk on the Tjörnes peninsula
fossilized shell beds, a unique bird-
watching site abounding with puffins
from June to mid-August, Ásbyrgi
National Park, the columnar basalt
formatjons at Hljódaklettar (Echo
Rocks), and mighty Dettifoss
waterfall.
Ásbyrgi, Hljódaklettar and Detifoss
also comprise an important part of
Arctic Circle Tour. The late depar-
ture time in early summer allows for
optimum viewing of the midnight
sun — at midnight — virtually on the
Arctic Circle at Hraunhafnartangi,
the northernmost point of mainland
Icelandic Canadian
Fron 7th Annual
Bonspiel
March 24, 1985
Winter Club
200 River Ave.
lst draw 2 p.m. sharp
Entry $32.00 per rink
Contact Jo Bell 284-5060
or
Susie Erickson 338-3014
after 5 p.m.
Need 16 Rinks: Light lunch
served after Bonspiel.
Iceland. The fishing village
Raufarhöfn, the marshland birdlife at
Melrakkaslétta and sea bird cliffs fur-
ther enhance this tour, being offered
for the first time in 1985.
Eldá's speciality of the house, how-
ever, remains the popular Grand
Mývatn Tour, a guided 8-hour
ridingÞwalking excursion around the
lake, beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Tues-
day, Thursday and Sunday between
1 June and 10 September. The tour
is divided by a lunch break at the
hotel, and sightseers with insufficient
time may sign up for either half. The
afternoon segment includes a walk to
Leirhnjúkur, not only an active
volcano but one that erupted last
September, as well as the explosive
crater Stóra Víti, Mt. Krafla, and the
boiling mud pools of sulphurous Mt.
Námafjall where diversions from the
paths are not recommended. The
morning tour includes the
underground cave Grjótagjá, bizarre
lava formations at Dimmuborgir
(Black Castles), and pauses at many
sites around the lake to observe bird-
life and nesting areas, pseudocraters
and abundant flora.
The largest tour operator in
Iceland, specializing in organizing
any kind of adventure to meet in-
dividual or group interests, is Úrval
Travel Bureau (Pósthússtraeti 13,
Reykjvaík, tel. 28522-26900), a
member of the Icelandair group
which includes the carrier itself,
Hotels Loftleidir and Esja, Reykjvaík
Excursions and Loftleidir Car Rental.
special interest groups —
photographers, geologists, ornitholo-
gists, botanists, students of classical
Icelandic literature and history, and
others — are catered to, with
knowledgeable guides in each field
ready to share their expertise.
Úrval is exclusive agent (and co-
sponsor) for the two rnajor interna-
tional sports events held in Iceland:
the Reykjavík Marathon (25 August),
open to both men and women at
either half- or full-course distance,
and the Lava Loppet, a cross-country
skiing tournament at distances of 42
and 21 km for both sexes scheduled
to begin this year on 13 March in the
high country above Akureyri.
Package deals are available for par-
ticipants in both events.
Sports is an integral part of other
tours; horse shows, brief riding ex-
peditions for the inexperienced and
longer ones into the wilderness for
veteran riders, angling for trout for
two, four or six days in different
lakes and streams each day either in
the south (May-September) or north
(June-August), rental of a 3-bedroom
summer house at Grímsnes near a
golf course and trout fishing.
Almost any tour can be arranged to
meet the traveller's needs and
schedule, but Úrval offers some ex-
cursions of their own such as
Highlands and Lowlands, a 12-day
guided sightseeing journey by coach
with ample opportunity each day to
take short walks and many
photographs. It starts out along the
south coast via Thórsmörk as far as
the bird cliffs at Dyrhólaey, the
southernmost point of mainland
Iceland, continues inland toGullfoss
and Geysir, proceeds across the Cen-
tral Highlands on the Sprengisandur
trail to Lake Mývatn, and takes in
many remote areas in the north and
northeast, such as Dettifoss, Her-
dubreid and Askja, before returning
to Reykjavík via Borgarfjördur and
Thingvellir National Park.
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