Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Iceland March 2012


The geography of Iceland is absolutely amazing. Iceland’s interior is uninhabited; it is covered with glaciers, mountains and high plateaus which makes the support of any life impossible. Iceland is about the size of Ohio and populated by 293,577 people or 3 people per square mile.  Reykjavik is the capital and home for 80% of Icelanders.
Fishing and fish processing, aluminum smelting and tourism are the main economic activities in Iceland. 




During winter, pavements near Reykjavk and Akureyri are heated by geothermal steam.



Favorite Icelandic fast foods are the bacon wrapped lamb hot dog and lamb soup. The kronur, Iceland money, comes in 1, 5, 10, 50 and 
100 bills amounts along with numerous coins.




Great view of Reykjavik from this 12 story Lutheran Church. Below, typical apartments in the city.







The Icelandic breed of horses are treasured for their intelligence, strength and ability to learn five different kinds of gait. 




The oldest geysers have been active 10,000 years. The largest geyser erupts to heights of 70 feet every 4 minutes. 





Fault line between the North American and Eurasian. 



Beauty at every turn in Iceland! 






Blue Lagoon




Situated in the middle of a large lava field and created by geothermal sea water mixed with a high level of silica. The Blue Lagoon is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. The water temperature is 92-104 F.



Glacier Hike      

Myrdalsjokull is the fourth largest glacier in Iceland and is located about 96miles southeast of Reykjavik. It rests on the very active volcano, Heka, which powerfully erupted in 1918.  Travelers on the glacier are warned to be extremely careful about crevasses. The blue ice formations are breath taking.









Northern Lights
The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are a spectacle of colors that seem to dance across the arctic sky on clear Icelandic nights. Thousands of solar particle collisions occurring high up in the atmosphere, producing different colors depending on altitude. The result is a breathtaking, once in a lifetime experience.




                      
 View from the plane on the way home.



Final words... if you can read them!








Thursday, February 16, 2012

Death Valley & Valley of Fire



Zabriskie Point









Valley of Fire







Death Valley






Mesquite sand dunes





Saturday, February 04, 2012

Friday, December 09, 2011

Caribbean Cruise and New Orleans

 Norwegian Cruise Lines ship 
2,000 passengers and 980 staff members


 one of two pools on the ship


 8 wonderful dinning rooms


 elevators in the atrium of the ship


 87 degrees at Belize City


swimming in the warm Caribbean


dancing with the dolphins.


 Everything is for sale at local pharmacies.


 beautiful island children


At 300 feet above the Island of Roatan, Honduras, we got a 
wonderful view of the island.


 Reefs in the Caribbean are 10-15 million years old.


The largest barrier reef in the Western hemisphere is located 
10-40 miles off the Belize mainland. 


 Remember, don't befriend the monkeys. This one took Ken's soda.


 slow moving iguana


 Beignets and coffee for breakfast at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans.


 Doreen's jazz band was fantastic!


 We saw many restored houses on The Katrina Tour.


Louis Armstrong park 


The damage from the 2005 Katrina disaster still remains.


 Brad Pitt designed this home and many others for homeless Katrina families. 
All homes are eco-friendly. He and his family have a home have a 
home in the French Quarter.

 Near Burbon Street


 St. Louis Cemetery where all graves are above the ground. This practice was started when the French settled the area in the lat 1700's.


 10-50 bodies are entombed in each drawer of this tomb. The film Easy Rider included this statue in a scene in the film. 


 Marie Laveau, aka The Voodoo Queen, is buried here.  1782-1881 
Hers is the second most visited tomb following Jim Morrison of the Doors.


 the muddy MississippiCaribbean Cruise and New Orleans