We don't have lizards in Iceland

I was asked a few days ago if remnants of a lupin (on the mountain) was a lizard and I answered no, we don't have any lizards in Iceland. We don't have any snakes. We have some spiders but we don't have any deadly spiders or dangerous animals.

We only have harmless (farm) animals in Iceland. The sheep go wild in the nature during the summer and the Icelandic horse is genetically the same horse that the first settlers brought to Iceland in 874.

We have some foxes wild in the nature and nowadays we even have some minks but no wolves. We have some wild reindeer in the eastern part of Iceland.

We don't have any bears. A few weeks ago we got a polar bear on a visit to Iceland. It had travelled on an iceberg, probably from Greenland, but that's quite unusual. We usually don't have polar bears in Iceland.

In the ocean we have seals and whales.

Daytours from Reykjavik

Many people want to drive around Iceland. You can do that during spring/summer. But during winter it is not wise. The weather can be unreliable and there might be a lot of snow out in the country. Hotels in bigger towns are open but you cannot count on getting the service you might need.

When travelling to Iceland during winter a better choice is to stay at a hotel in Reykjavik or surroundings and make daytours from Reykjavik.

I recommend:

1 Reykjanes peninsula with the bridge between the two continents, geysers and the famous Blue Lagoon.

2 Snæfellsnes peninsula with villages, glacier and national park on the way.

3 The Golden Circle with visits to Thingvellir where the old parliament used to gather, the golden waterfall Gullfoss and the famous Geysir is something most people don't want to miss.

4 Activity day with hiking, whale watching and/or riding. During winter it is nice to look at the Northern Lights!

5 South Coast of Iceland with national park, great waterfalls and villages.

6 The west coast with historic sights from the Sagas.

During summer it is easier to drive around Iceland but then you would need to stay more than one week in the country.

Busy weeks on mountains

The last weeks have been busy with school vacation in UK and winter vacations in rest of Europe.

The weather has been cold (minus degrees) in Iceland so it has been important to dress warmly, use hiking boots and take hats, gloves and scarves. I myself am always wearing my darkblue woolen underwear and fleece sweater plus my winter jacket.

If you don't dress according to the weather the cold somehow goes into your bones and stays there.

The circumstances on the mountains close to Reykjavik have been good. There has been some ice and snow on Mount Esja (only close to the top) for the last days even though that changes from day to day. On Mount Helgafell the situation has been good, less snow and almost no ice.

The sky has been clear and the view magnificent.

The only "problem" - if there is a problem - is the wind cooling down. But then it is so nice to have some hot herbal tea (Icelandic thyme) at the top or down by the car. It helps against the cold.

The smell of boiled eggs

Some people say that the houses smell in Iceland. When I was 21 a guy on the Finnish national handball team said to me that the hot water in Iceland had a smell. I told him NO! That is NOT true!

Later I had to admit, he was probably right. The hot water smells in Iceland. I cannot smell it but that is because I live in Iceland. But when driving through or close to geothermal areas in Iceland I can feel the smell in the atmosphere from boiling water in the geysers and I realise that the Finn was right.

The hot water smells in Iceland and you can find the smell when you turn on the hot water at your home because in most of the houses (the older ones at least) the hot water comes directly from the geysers/geothermal areas. And the smell from these areas always remind me of boiled eggs.

Importance of dressing right on a glacier

The news in Iceland said this morning that Scottish mother and son that had gone missing on one of the glaciers yesterday and that they were found alive during the night.

The tourists were a part of a bigger group of tourists on snow mobiles. Somehow the two of them went out of the group so the guides had to call a rescue team. Mother and son were OK when they were found on the glacier.

Icelandic nature can be dangerous when the weather is bad. Yesterday there was snow storm on the glacier.

It is important always to take appropriate clothes with you when travelling to Iceland. If you want to go on a glacier during winter you really should take warm clothes with you and winter or hiking shoes. If you want to go hiking during winter you should take hiking shoes and warm clothes. It can be cold.

Mother and son were appropriately dressed and they did the right thing while waiting for rescue. They went behind the snow mobile to get a break from the storm and then mother took her son into her lap to give him warmth from her body. That was important in this case.

Sitting in the hot pool in snowstorms

You find outdoor (and some indoor) swimming pools in every community in Iceland. In Reykjavik, the capital, with around 150.000 inhabitants you find several swimming pools. And then you find more swimming pools in the other communities in Greater Reykjavik Area.

Even though Icelanders go as much to the outdoor swimming pools in snow storms as much as in sun and nice weather they don't swim that much. Most of them only swim 200m. The swimming itself is not necessarily the reason for Icelanders attending the swimming pool.

The reason is the hot pots, small pools with hot water that are a part of the swimming pool area. Icelanders love those small pools. That's where they sit and relax and talk to their friends. And that's also the reason why so many families have their own small pool in their garden.

Icelanders like to sit there in the hot water and relax.

Maybe the hot pools are to Icelanders the same as the saunas are to the Finns.

We love to relax in the hot pool after hiking

Fantastic hiking on Mount Esja today. The weather was beautiful and clear when we started the mountain but when we were standing on the top there was a fog. That's how it is, you never know how the weather is going to be at the top.
The climbing took us maybe six hours up and down again. We finished with going to the swimming pool to relax in the hot pool. That's how the Icelanders do it. Icelanders have a lot of pools, usually there is at least one in every community.
We love to relax in the "heitur pottur", hot pool, after hiking.

The beds in St. Petersburg

When I am travelling abroad I always try to get into touch with the locals, e.g. by staying at guest houses or homes, rather than staying at international hotel chains. Sometimes it makes the travels more difficult but usually not. In my family we laugh at our vacation in St. Petersburg 2007. We took the train from Helsinki to Russia and then metro/underground to the hostel we were staying at. Of course we didn't understand one word in Russian and nobody at the railway station understood English so it was a little bit difficult finding out which metro train to take into town but finally we found out and got to our hostel. We didn't realize at that time the difference in standards between Russia and Scandinavia. When you are staying at a guest house or hostel in northern Europe it is extremely nice, very clean and well taken care of and you have hot running water and nice beds. The hostel in St. Petersburg was nice and clean with nice staff but we smile when thinking about the beds in our room. My bed and my daughter's bed were so hard (bad) that we had the feeling we didn't sleep one second those four nights or so we were staying in St. Petersburg. :) But the city was beautiful and we met a lot of nice people. I remember especially the nice young guide we had on our sightseeing around town and the woman who shared cabin with us on the way back to Finland. Vacation memories - the most fantastic memories of all!

Earth quakes in Iceland

We've been having some earth quakes in Iceland since yesterday. Well, usually we have some earth quakes every day but yesterday we had three earth quakes quite big, +3 on richter. That is quite some. I just noticed this on the news this morning but I felt something happening yesterday, the earth shaking. It is just so usual in my part of the country to get some earth quakes that I didn't think much about. But it is always interesting to know how big they are and we had those three more than 3 on richter. That is quite much.

Attending Travel Convention

Attending the Travel Convention in Reykjavik tomorrow and on Sunday. Will be interesting to meet all this people. Have been contacting people today in order to set up some meetings. Will also meet people randomly and tell them about Mountain Climbing's hiking tours in Iceland. Nice!

Northern lights offer

The Northern lights are one of the magnificent wonders in the Icelandic nature. Mountain Climbing has now a special offer: USD 38 or ISK 4.900 per person. The Northern lights tour is available every evening. Pick-up starts at 7pm. Pick-up and drop-off is included in price.

Speed in Iceland

Tourists have been stopped by the police after speeding along route 1 in Iceland the last few days. Maximum speed is usually 90km in Iceland, in the city 50-70km depending on streets. The route around Iceland is narrow and can be very different from what most tourists are used to, maybe even with snow or glazed roads. Too risky, I'd say, to be driving at e.g. 128km speed.

Join Iceland Hiking

Want to try the national hobby of Iceland - hiking? Join Mountain Climbing on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=178771275539