So says grandpa from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Except it wasn’t a brown bear. It was black. And it wasn’t lollipin‘…it was running hell bent for leather across the hay meadow just opposite my driveway. I’d heard rumblings about bears in my neighbourhood for years. I’d either never fully believed them or thought, well closer to the river maybe. I mean, I’m sort of close to the river, maybe a mile as the crow flies, but this was right there!!! I had trouble recognizing it, thinking first a black pony, but no, it had no neck. Then a dog…a very big dog, like an Afghan hound. But do they come in black?? And then I realized it was a bear!!! I fumbled for my camera to video it but also wanted to watch it, so needless to say, it disappeared down the gully before I could find my phone.
The wildlife here is really amazing. We have had cougar sightings, all over my RM which extends on both sides of the river. They’ve been spotted right near the bridge into town eating a road killed deer. One attacked a farmers sheep and horse. The wildlife officers denied it was a cougar, not wanting to panic people and said, oh it must have been a large feral house cat!! But apparently someone shot one in the process of killing a calf–definitely not a house cat!!
I’ve seen and heard coyotes and foxes. One cheeky fox was yipping in my front lawn, right under my bedroom window. I yelled at him, and I swear he looked up at me as if to say, really!! Whatcha going to do about it? Then I caught him running thru my back pasture. 
I’ve had coyotes eat my lambs, taking over a dozen in just a few days before I figured out what was happening. They killed one of my goats and from my front door I could hear them crunching the bones down in the valley. Since I got my big dog, they haven’t been back for a meal but I hear them singing.
On the less violent side, there are lots of deer in my yard. Over the winter they ate all the tender ends off the raspberry canes in the garden. But mostly they are down in the meadow. Real masters of disguise–I don’t know if you can see them here. 
How about now? They turn such a lovely red in the summer. 
I’ve been impatiently waiting for my spruce trees to mature enough to attract squirrels and blue jays. I had a squirrel the other day, but before I could put out the peanuts he was gone. We call all our squirrels “Anthony” after the giant squirrel room-mate on Doc Martin. 
We had another one in the back in the grainery but he didn’t stick around either.
Sometimes I really wish I had a proper camera with a telephoto lens. My cell camera is good for certain things but distance shots, not so much. However I did capture the detail in these beautiful moths my daughter found on the lawn. 
Everyone loves to eat chicken This little hawk dive bombed the chicken yard twice, the second time knocking himself silly. My daughter caught him and removed him before he hurt himself, but we had to take a few pictures before we “safely” released him. Look at those eyes and feet!!
And the snakes are starting to move now too–unfortunately they like to lay out on the road where its warm and many get run over by passing cars. These are just little garter snakes. They eat bugs and frogs, and some of the really big ones may eat mice or voles. Amazing how they can winter in this cold cold country.
This spring I’ve seen many antelope too, mostly on my bus run. They are so different from deer, crawling under fences instead of gracefully leaping over them.
And ever since I read about English badgers on another blog I follow, I’ve seen these guys everywhere. They move so fast and are so well camouflaged that I can never get a picture, but this meme popped on my feed and it’s just so funny (cause it’s true!!)
So those are my wildlife sightings and stories for this spring. I’m so glad to know we are not alone!!
Breakfast was included and what a spread she layed out. Eggs from her chickens. Banana bread, whole meal bread, both freshly baked, sliced meats, cheeses, veggies, skyr and of course excellent coffee. 
Today was Aidan’s tattoo day so we headed downtown to poke around a bit. Her artist was a no show for her morning appointment, but would be available later in the day. We shopped a bit then amazingly we felt a little peckish. There has been this restaurant down on the wharf I’ve been eyeing the past three visits we’ve made here. It looks very much like a local fishermen’s type place and so today we drove down to try it. It’s a really cozy place, order at the counter, pay, and they bring the food out. The server was an extremely pleasant young fellow with a twinkle in his eye and who spoke excellent English. I chose the fish and chips and poor Aidan, whose motto is “fish are friends not food” found nothing on the menu to tickle her fancy. Soup and bread came with my meal, a fantastic creme of cauliflower which I forced Aidan to taste. She liked it so she had her meal. My fish was again prepared so well.
I really wish it wouldn’t come with fries–I suppose then it wouldn’t be fish and chips, just fish–doesn’t really roll off the tongue as nicely. But it was delish!! The restaurant turns out to be the oldest restaurant in Reykjavik. Who knew? Then we saw some old gents come in for cake and coffee. Chocolate cake to be precise. I promised Aidan a piece after her tattoo.
Look how ingenious this small scoop shovel is, made from a shoulder blade bone, to clean out the cow barn, which still smelled like cow!! I loved it!!
The houses were very small, and sometimes two families would live in each house. Space was tight so every inch was used. Check out how steep the stairs are and how well worn the steps are. 
I certainly wouldn’t be making many trips up those stairs. Many houses had several solid fuel burning stoves, wood, peat or dung, but couldn’t have been as well insulated as the turf house. There were lots of windows so even if cold at least there was lots of light. 
A super way to spend a few hours. Back at the tattoo place I had planned to go out shopping again but got sucked into the cozy couch. I wrote a few postcards and listened for screaming from the next room. Just kidding, Aidan did really well and was very happy with the result. I’m not allowed to scoop her release so I can only show a progress shot. 
As promised, I took her back for chocolate cake once it was all over. Quite delicious!!
Home tomorrow!!
I really had no specific plans to stop anywhere as it was the first day of summer, a national holiday, so it was uncertain what exactly would be open. I thought we might stop in Akureyri to see the lighthouse and perhaps walk the harbour. The lighthouse was easy to find, (not really) but I loved driving thru the residential streets looking at houses. 
I really want that blue house!!
I don’t know the story of why there are two different lighthouses. But there was a family of gnomes?
We looked for but couldn’t find the harbour. I had hoped to wander thru some fishing boats, maybe sit with a coffee but there was nowhere. So we carried on. Now we could have gone the long way to Reykjavík, following the coast, but a newly constructed tunnel under the seabed shaved an hour off travelling time. Again, three and a half miles long, same as in the east fjords, there was no toll. Perhaps it is all paid for. 
The ventilation left a lot to be desired. The exhaust from the vehicles was actually obscuring the visibility. And the smell was quite strong. But we made it.
We walked around a bit. I didn’t want to shop really as I would do that while Aidan was otherwise occupied tomorrow. We stopped for a famous Icelandic hotdog. They are good, just a bit too sheepy for me. 
Then the waffle wagon was open at the square at Hallgrimskirkja so we had one of those too. 
The church was quite beautiful!!
It was turning out to be a really lovely afternoon and we were puzzling about what to do. Pingvellir National Park or back to the Secret Lagoon. Well, not much of a contest really. The hot springs it was. And it was lovely again, although there were several tour buses there. On the way home we stopped at IKEA for supper. Aidan hadn’t had meat since we got here and I don’t count bacon or hotdogs. So roast chicken it was. I had the salmon. 
It was so much fun people watching. Everyone was out for a tasty cheap meal. One old couple sat next to us and I could tell this was a special meal for them. The old gent was very solicitous towards his wife, running for drinks and napkins and salt. Unfortunately he tipped his plate into his lap and I felt so bad for him. I suspect he had difficulty seeing. He managed to salvage most of it but it wasn’t the outcome he was hoping for.
Heading west now, we chanced upon the beautiful waterfall Godafoss. The parking lot was empty and coffee shop closed for another 20 minutes so we parked and walked down to the falls. Quite breathtaking!! 
We stood and admired it a bit and watched in horror as a photographer took his life in his hands at the foot of the falls. What people will do for that perfect shot. Back at the shop I had the bestest coffee while Aidan checked out the shop. Lots of interesting things. Back on the road, over the mountains. The weather was not sunny but it was clear and mild. No slushy snow today. Up along one of the fjords was a turf house museum I wanted to see. These are the buildings people lived in for centuries, like our prairie soddies but much more substantial. The lady at the museum had been to Canada. Manitoba generally and Gimli in particular. There’s a large Icelandic settlement there in Canada complete with a large Viking in the center of town. Anyway, she opened up the building for us and answered questions along the way. I thought it was fascinating, especially how they decoratively piled the turfs up. 
Once the turfs were piled they were sawn even to give a smooth finish to the wall. Walls were thick to keep out the cold. 
The furniture was amazing too. Especially the beds. They were so small and two people slept in each bed. 
The rooms up top were surprisingly bright and roomy, while the lower rooms were mostly store rooms. The big kitchen was downstairs too. 
The kitchen was also the bathing room as it was the warmest room in the house. People bathed twice a year, Christmas and the first day of summer. 
There was a small picnic area behind the museum shop so we stopped for lunch. This is me getting the look. 
But she got me back, snapping in mid swallow. 
The crocuses were blooming!!
Then as we just finishing up, a second car had pulled into the yard with a couple of girls. They had their lunch too and then, unbelievably they were up on the 500 year old turf roofs dancing around like goats. I yelled at them to get off, using my too polite pissed off mom voice. Aidan said, why didn’t you use your “yelling at guineas in the garden” voice?? I wish I had. Can you believe it?? No respect 😳 They beat a hasty retreat and I was still pissed about it miles later.
These beds belonged to the hired men. Approximately 30 people lived in this complex of rooms. Space was limited and so was privacy. Anything you had of value was placed under your pillow and no one touched it. Each man had an individual food bowl that he decorated and this was kept by the bed. 
This was a rhubarb chopper!!
Both these farming/church complexes were started in the 11th century. There was a church at each one with first a priest then during the reformation a pastor. While the main man was out churching, he had to have hired men to run the farm so the complex supported many people. It was very interesting.
Poor Aidan had no luck with the menu–she had pizza again. It was very good but too much for one person. 
I also had a really good dark beer. 
But the highlight of the meal was the view out the window up the fjord. We spotted whales!! I think they were minke from the size of their dorsal fin. I think there were two, and they just slowly cruised up the fjord and then back down again. We were so lucky. 
The photo really looks like nothing but with our own eyes they were much closer and much more exciting. Perfect end to another great day!!
But I digress. The winter weather meant a trip east to Seydisfjordur might be off the table. The plows were out but even this short half hour drive might be a white knuckle event over the mountain pass. I just wasn’t up to attempting it. So we headed into town, did some sightseeing and stopped in at the local museum. They had a two room display, one on an old turf house with the assorted implements and accoutrements of life out in the country, and a caribou discovery center. Both were interesting. We got to take a selfie with a caribou!!
We stopped in at the grocer and picked up some baked goods for a quick road lunch and decided to head out. Roads were wet but good till we hit the top of the mountain. Then it became unpleasant quite quickly. But thankfully it didn’t last long, just a half hour of driving in freezing slush several inches deep. Not fun. 
This was the nicest single lane bridge we crossed, and most of them are single lane. 
And then we were on the other side of the mountains. There was an odd coloured mountain off in the distance, then we noticed it smoking as we approached. 
We turned off to find it was the Fires of Morrrdorrrr (rrrroll your rrr’s). 
Really cool and a bit disconcerting to find out how close we are to holes in the earths’ crust. We were in a very active (volcanically speaking) part of the country.
It’s really hard to make out the detail. This volcanic rock just sucks up the light and the pictures really don’t look like much but it was so very interesting. We had to go for a hot chocolate afterwards. 
Then we drove a little farther down the lake to a forested park that had some nice paths to walk but the gates were already closed. That didn’t stop one couple from jumping the gates but we thought better of it.
Aidan made it up and back down again in half an hour (or less). She’s a machine!!
Breakfast was included in this lovely guesthouse so up to the main farmhouse we went. I think most of the people staying here were tourists but I just can’t get over how unfriendly everyone is. Maybe they’re just not sure what language to use but a smile works in any language. In B&B’s everywhere people generally greet each other. Good morning, enjoy your meal, goodbye. Something like that. Here everyone is very introspective. No eye contact, no chit chat. Not that I’m Miss chatty. I prefer my own company but I do like to say good morning, especially on such a fine day.
We were seeing signs for caribou but figured our chances of seeing them were pretty slim. 
Around one corner Aidan said, what are those brown things in the field? Too big for sheep–they turned out to be caribou!!
Lots and lots of them, scattered in small groups all along the fjordlands just like deer back home. They were pretty shy and we couldn’t get too close. Aidan had a real camera with her so was able to get much better shots than I could with my phone. Finally we just stopped taking pictures cause everywhere we looked there were caribou.
We flew by a sign that I quickly dismissed as not having the gas symbol on it but Aidan said, I think that’s our stop. So back we went. And sure enough it was just the prettiest little fishing village, with gas. We fueled up, used the wc, and had a walk around the small harbour filled with boats.
The houses were so neat and tidy–I could live there. Such a remote and pretty spot. We picked up a yummy lemon cake from the grocer. 
On the way out there was a swan swimming along side the road. Aidan says they are whooping swans. They are everywhere too!!
Then back on the road. We passed some nets out in the fjords–I think they are farming fish here but I don’t know what kind. 
This map gives you some idea of the ins and outs of the drive. The highway excellent and there was only a few kilometres of gravel where they were building a new bridge. 
And finally, near the end of the drive, there was a three and a half mile tunnel we had to drive thru.
After that first pretty little town we popped into all the communities along the way. They were all nice ( but not as nice as the first one!!)
This home had a troll house outside. 
This community had resident ptarmigans!! They are very shy birds too but how cool to see an active bird in town. 
We were nearing our destination and decided a hot soak in the community swimming pool would be just the thing. All of Iceland’s pools are outside. A large swim pool with lap area. Play area for the kids. Water slide usually. And two hot tubs-one hot and another one hotter. One glacier cold plunge pool. After our soak we were STARVING!! We asked the pool guy about restaurants and he recommended a few. The one we stopped at was a 50’s diner, a new restaurant in town. 
I so wanted fish and chips and they had it on the menu!! Aidan ordered an Icelandic hotdog with fried onions on top. 
My fish was sooo good. I had feared they would’ve been fish fingers or some other horrible thing but these were slivers of fresh cod, lightly battered and fried just enough. They were scrummy so I was quite happy. We had milkshakes also. 
With paper straws!! A few more stops in town looking for Aidan’s favourite skyr then off to the guesthouse. I must have been tired because I neglected to take pictures. We drove thru one of the most forested areas of Iceland as well and I didn’t get a shot of that either. Bed was very welcome tonight.
We watched from our room as car after car drove past, heading for the beach. We weren’t really sure what was down there but we were game go find out. Well it was just the most beautiful black sand beach and black basalt columns. 
We snapped a shot of our guest house on our way by–not much to look at from the outside but quite pleasant on the inside. 
From here we stopped in Vik for gas, an excellent coffee at the Lava coffee shop and a tour thru the wool/tourist shop. I think Vik is a rest stop for your buses so there is, quite naturally a large woollen goods/tourist shop with absolutely beautiful things.
My daughter found a pony hide that wanted to come home with her. 
The moss covered stones were still the same but there were so many picnics spots and points of interest. 
Halfway to Jokulsarlon there is a new visitor center–at least I’d never seen it before. But I’d read about it before we came. There was a nice walk out back of it to the foot of the glacier. The sun was out and it was just a beautiful day. It was just a short walk, about 3k, but there were tons of birds and some spring flowers just popping up. There were pussy willows too. 
We came up to the glacier lagoon filled with ice chunks–there were warning signs but people paid absolutely no attention, running on the glacier, taking selfies. Just an accident waiting to happen. But it was sure beautiful. 
It doesn’t look like the sun is shining but it was. After our walk out we were starving. We stopped at a picnic spot and had ham and cheese sandwiches. But by then the wind was coming up and it clouded over again. We stopped briefly at the Jökulsárlón glacier bay, but the tide was rushing back into the bay and there was no where to walk on the shore. The iceberg calves there were bright blue and we saw a few seals. 
The parking lot was jam packed. I’ve never seen it like that, with markers out for parking and so many people. It was cold and windy so we carried on to our next guest house. What a beautiful spot it was. We got a cabin with two bedrooms which made my daughter happy. Apparently my snoring is ruining her life. But after a full day outside we had been hoping for just some mindless tv before bed but there was no tv. But there was a deck of cards so we bonded over rummy. It was quite fun, not that my daughter would ever admit it. 
And so ended day two!!
We turned around and headed back. We got upgraded to a diesel, but had a really good look inside before leaving. Again, car filled with mold!! Then he pulled out all the stops and upgraded us again to a large Suzuki AUTOMATIC!! He asked, so cute, Barbara, could you drive an automatic?? Does a bear poop in the woods?!? Again another thorough inspection and we couldn’t find anything wrong. It was a very comfortable vehicle with much more clearance, more comfortable seats, better windshield. And bonus, today we discovered that by plugging in my phone the car would display my map feature so no more using the tiny phone screen for directions–we could use the bigger built it screen on the dash. For anyone who drives a modern vehicle this is probably a normal feature but all my vehicles are 15+ years old so not much more advanced than a Flintstone car.
A cool shot of vintage bathers…
After a long soak we hit the road again. It was a very long 90 minute drive. We stopped in Vik on the south coast for supper, a really tasty pizza. Look how tired my girl is 🙁
Once at the B&B our host told us the puffins were back. It was too early to go to bed so we headed out to puffin mountain 15 minutes away and drove to the top. And we saw them!! Not up close but we saw them flying back from ocean feeding. It was sooo windy up on top of the mountain. Quite cold but invigorating. We walked around but saw no nesting puffins, just the flying ones. But we were close enough we could see their little orange beaks. What a view from the top–the ocean was very angry!!
Back to the B&B where we read till we fell asleep. About two and a half minutes. We’ll get our groove on yet!!