Arrival in Iceland

Brian and Clare left Denver on an IcelandAir 757 late afternoon Thursday, arriving in Keflavik at dawn. EU immigration was easy at that early hour. Briefly talked with an agent and had our pictures taken and fingerprints recorded.

Iceland is apparently known for its many gins, as seen on the menu. Brian tried the Lundey puffin-style blue gin, which turns pink when tonic is added! Perhaps the colors are from the clitoria flower?

After getting a few hours of sleep, the sunrise woke us up just prior to the announcement that we would be landing in 30 minutes.

Sun rising beneath the cloud deck over the ocean

After croissants at the airport, we hired a taxi to get us to our hotel in Keflavik. We had to pay extra for early check-in, but it was good to relax and shower!

Iceland and France Plan

In May, Brian and Clare will be traveling to France to tour Normandy with our friends and attend the wedding of their daughter near Paris. On the way, we will stop in Iceland to see the recent volcanism on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

Some of the places that we will stay in France

Fredericksted

Last day in the Virgin Islands. We packed up and headed to Fredericksted, the other main town on St. Croix. Our plane departed in midafternoon, so we had time for more exploring.

The town is set up for cruise ship tourism, but no ships were docked this day. The town was deserted. It was also a holiday, MLK Jr. Day, which might also account for the shops being closed.

Tide pools without much life and the long cruise ship dock

We walked along the shore a bit, somewhat laboriously, hauling our luggage. It looked like a nice town. We found an open hotel with restaurant, called Fred, and stopped. The heat and humidity were tiring, and Fred’s looked nice.

We stayed at the outdoor bar for a while, mostly cooling down and rehydrating. Angela, the bartender recommended the food there, so we stayed for an early lunch. We hadn’t seen any other place that was open!

Known as a Frangipani worm, this 3-inch long caterpillar is the larva of a sphinx moth.

The caterpillar was near the restroom at Fred’s. Angela knew right away what we had seen, so they must be fairly common. Then another taxi ride to the airport.

As we flew north toward Denver (from Dallas), we enjoyed a clear view of Pikes Peak.

We had three flights to get back to Denver, connecting in Charlotte, and staying overnight at Dallas-Fort Worth airport prior to the last leg of our journey.

Buck Island

Yesterday, we couldn’t go to Buck Island, so we signed up to go today. We didn’t know that the winds that forced the cancellation were expected to last all week, and the trip was a bit disappointing.

The sea at Carambola Beach at sunrise

We got up for early breakfast, got our taxi and were off again. The taxi dropped us at the same spot in Christiansted as yesterday.

Here’s our boat, the same one we would have ridden yesterday. About 40 passengers were aboard, more than any other snorkeling adventure we had participated in.

Looking back at the fort we toured yesterday

After about 45 minutes, using the engine against the wind, we arrived at Buck Island. Two other boats from the same company were anchored at the beach where we stopped, which made the captain believe that the waves were too big to go to the reefs on the windward side of the island. This ended up being true.

90% of the national monument is under water

Getting off the boat onto the steep beach was a challenge! But all the passengers made it safely, with the help from crew members. About half chose to take a guided hike on the island rather than brave the waves to try snorkeling. But not us.