Flowers and Foxes

As we start to wind down this expedition, we had earned a low-impact day.  When I say low-impact, I'm not referring to how Carrie felt traversing the several tunnels we did today.  We started off with a nice breakfast, then left Þingeyri, to circle the fjord and cross to the other side.  We drove to the oldest botanical garden in Iceland, Skrudur Gardens.  It was founded in 1909 by the local reverend, who ran the school nearby.  Our host told us it was a project for the school children to learn about plants and vegetables.  It featured an arch made from the bones of a blue whale.  These bones were replaced a few years ago and placed in a museum and replaced with the bones of a less-massive whale.  It was super quiet and beautiful there.  Carrie loves taking pictures of flowers, so she was in heaven.We left there and drove to Ísafjörður, requiring the traversing of a 6 kilometer tunnel.  This was another one-lane tunnel, but this time we had the right of way, so oncoming cars had to pull over when we approached.  I felt a bit Royal, watching the peasants have to yield their travels to my retinue.  We were going to come back to Ísafjörður, so we didn't stop there yet.  We drove on to Melrakkasetur, where there was a center for the Arctic Fox.  We learned that this is the only native animal to Iceland, having traveled there from Siberia when the ice cap was able for them to do so.  I've wondered if there were any native animals, as it was pretty barren when the Vikings settled, and the main animals here now were brought here by them and their descendants.  There were 2 little ones in an enclosure, and they were super "awwww", but the little guys were all tuckered out (maybe from a long squawk, perhaps?), so we took some pictures of them napping.Leaving there we drove around the town a bit, then left to drive through Ísafjörður to reach Bolungarvík.  There was a great example of pre-industrial fishing life at Ósvör.  We had a guide who was dressed in oiled lambskin clothes with wool underneath (can you say "itchy"?).  He showed us the huts that the fishermen would have lived in and all the tools and accoutrements of their hard life.  It was super interesting, even though we only understood 1 of every 4 words from this Icelandic farmer.  We got some great pics, then drove into town to look around.  Bolungarvik (the "Vik" means port - now you know some Icelandic!) is a nice little town, and we walked around by the harbor taking pictures and looking in their overpriced craft shops.Driving back to Ísafjörður, we thought we would take an alternate road to the tunnel.  It was marked on the map, and looked to be gravel, but would probably be ok.  On the way we got some lighthouse pics.  In the middle of the road was a fallen bolder with a sign in Icelandic.  Google Translate, which had not failed me so far, gave me utter gibberish when translating it.  Carrie pulled up her helpful interwebs, and found the symbol on the sign meant "No Passable Road."  So, since the bolder wasn't a big enough hint, the internet saved us from who knows what.Back in the tunnel, Carrie shot video to share her experience, and to try to ease her mind about the tons of rock and soil above us.  We made it back to Ísafjörður, and we stopped and did a self-guided walking tour of the old homes in the area.  Carrie was so enthralled with the old houses that she was observing how old they were - they apparently had the year the home was built posted above the door.  It was interesting that one home was built in 1862, the next one 1863, the next one 1894.  Notice a pattern?  She was reading the address number :). This led to MAJOR ribbing from the rest of us.  :)Of course, we found some craft purchases.  At the end of our route, we also found kryptonite in the form of a bakery.  Carrie had been enticed by the massive cinnamon rolls in the window.  I found a cream puff that looked good.  The clerk said we had to try this pink-iced rectangle.  She said the President of Iceland comes to their bakery explicitly for this item, and so we had to try it.  If you happen to be in the area, check out Gamla Bakaríið.It was getting late in the afternoon, and since we had skipped lunch, we were looking for an early dinner, before retiring to the apartment.  The place we had been referred to didn't start serving dinner until 7pm, so we thought we would drive to a nearby town to check out their cafe.  Suðureyri was a small, remote town.  There were several children riding bikes, and it looked like a nice place to live.  The cafe had a few options :  Fish Soup, Fish Stew, and Fish Sandwich.  After the limited choices last night, everyone took pity on me, and we drove back to Ísafjörður, where Carrie had found a place serving food, with lots of options.  We made it back through the tunnels again, and sat down for dinner...and it was good.Filled to the brim, we drove back to Þingeyri to import pics and write notes.  It's still early, so I think a game of Spades is in the cards.  Man, that was weak.  I apologize for the remark being far below my personal standards for wittiness.  Enjoy the pics!