The Roads to Stykkishólmur and Akureyri

Growing up, I remember watching  an old Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movie entitled “The Road to Morocco”.  It may have been the first “buddy” road trip movie ever made.  It was a comedy that got its laughs from the strange costumes and mishaps that the two “buddies”encountered during their travel.

You’re probably thinking “yeah, so what’s the point?  Well, unlike my usual digressions, there actually IS a point, that point being that at times I FEEL like I’m in a buddy movie.  Perhaps that’s what happens when you travel with 14 of your friends.

We haven’t had as many mishaps as Bing and Bob, but we HAVE had our share of comedic moments.

Those of us who didn’t feast on fermented shark were greatly entertained by the facial expressions of Sam and Nancy.   Believe me, they definitely weren’t acting.

SOME of us hiked to a nature reserve in a volcanic crater, on the coast.  The hard part was SUPPOSED to be the climb down to the “flat”area, except the FLAT area was actually a bed of mud with rocks poking up haphazardly.

We, however, were undaunted.  A bit muddy, a bit wet, but definitely undaunted.

Odd  costumes? Yep, we had a few of those.

If YOU had been experiencing misty, windy weather, would you want to get on a boat to go chasing after whales?  Neither did 10 of us.  Instead, we elected to have a leisurely breakfast, a stroll through the botanical garden, and lunch in town.  No mishaps and no funny costumes for us.

 

The whale watchers, on the other hand, had both.  Sorry.  No photos of them in their bright blue jump suits.  All we got were very vivid descriptions of the experience from our participants.  Sharmon reported sighting “two whales and nineteen puking passengers”.  Fortunately none of our five were in her head count.  Even more fortunate, the sea sick whale watchers had the foresight to come equipped with plastic bags.  That presents another question.  If you thought you were going to need them, would YOU get on the boat?

In the afternoon, eleven of us (including four from the morning adventure) decided to try our luck riding Icelandic horses.  I’m happy to say that there was not a single incidence of motion sickness.  We DID manage to model some pretty funky outfits.

Is it my imagination, or do some of us look like we are on our way to fight a fire?

Our ride took us through magnificent scenery.  The air was clear and fresh smelling, unless you happened to be riding behind Diane.  HER horse was desperately in need of the equine version of bean-o, emitting noises that would have had most third graders in hysterics.  (Okay, so WE laughed too. )

Because we took so long getting fitted with helmets, choosing our trusty steeds, mounting and dismounting, we were running late for our dinner reservation.  Modern technology came to the rescue.  A google search for the restaurant phone number and a quick call via cell phone, and voila, problem solved.

We ended our “buddy movie” on a high note, having a great dinner at Strikiò Restaurant.