World Cruise 2024 Part 29 Reykjavik 1

Day 65 Reykjavik Iceland We take a coach tour to visit Hot Springs, and then continue along the coast to a small village, where we have a delicious Langoustine feast. This was probably one of the best meals I had on our whole cruise. A langoustine is a small slim coral coloured lobster that grows up to 25cm long . The ones we had were very small, & served in a delicious sauce. Other passengers went to the Blue Lagoon, or to a glacier, or to the lava fields, or to the site where the tectonic plates meet. Iceland is one of two places in the world where you can see tectonic plates separate above sea level. Reykjavik is the northernmost capital in the world Reykjavik as a city is not much more than 100 years old. The modern city has evolved sine the early 1900s and is probably the newest city globally. No high rise buildings, good roads, a manufacturing sector with cheap power, free domestic electricity and a well honed tourism industry explain a country with per capita GDP of $US 79000 and excellent living standards. Iceland is considered one of the world’s first democracies. Althing (national parliament of Iceland) is the oldest legislature in the world still existing. It’s one of only three European countries without a McDonald’s. Iceland has a volcanic eruption approx. every 3 years. In total, it has over 130 active and inactive volcanoes. Iceland has the largest glacier in Europe (Vatnajokull). Iceland had the first democratically elected female President and the first openly gay Prime Minister in the world. Iceland is the most eco-friendly country in the world. About 85% of Iceland’s energy production is from renewable sources (hydropower and geothermal) Iceland has a population of only 337,000 people. The country is about 11% larger than the state of Indiana but only has 5% of the population. There are no dangerous animals in Iceland Most importantly, there are no mosquitoes in Iceland. Forests covered about 25-40% of Iceland at the time of settlement 1150 years ago. Despite some impressive reforestation efforts, today it’s down to less than 2%. A large portion of Icelanders believe in the “Hidden People”, or elves. A small part of Iceland (Grimsey island) actually lies within the arctic circle. The sun never sets there during the summer solstice. Icelanders don’t use family names. People are either the “son” or “dottir” of their father. For example, Maria Thorsdottir is the daughter of Thor and Marius Thorsson is the son of Thor. Tourism recently overtook fish processing as Iceland most important industry and the country’s largest export Music: we were entertained by an Icelandic folk group, & this is their music. Six Seasons: Unicorn Heads from UA-cam Audio Library