This morning I packed and caught the shuttle bus to Ísafjörður's small airport. Travelling down the runway, the steep, valley side, its slight curve towards the base artistically picked out by lines of scree, emerged in front of me as the plane headed for it. Fortunately the pilot banked the plane slightly as the wheels left the ground and we gradually gained height as we flew down the fjord below the mountain tops. The landing at Reykjavik was not quite so exciting. I was only there to change planes for the Akureyri flight (in truth it was the same plane, just heading in a different direction). The approach to Akureyri also meant dropping below mountain tops as the turboprop plane landed at the water side airstrip, using only half the runway.
I walked the short distance into town and after dropping off my bags at the hotel, visited the northern most Botanic Gardens. They were very well kept, I saw no weeds instead some beautiful flowers. Of most interest was not the massed blooms, but the section of Icelandic flora, where I attempted to put a name to the plants and flowers I had seen on my hikes. Not entirely successful as the names were in Icelandic and Latin, but not English. I visited the tourist information office which was in a large hall on the water front, only to find it had closed a little earlier at 4:00 pm, but in an adjacent area I listened to a couple singing in front of tables beside a bar where you could buy drinks. I would have liked to have sat down for a beer and enjoyed the music but as so often I have found, there was no space, all the tables were occupied. Considering I was visiting Iceland in the midst of a pandemic, many restaurants and venues seem to be full. It must be very overcrowded with tourists at other times. I consoled myself with a beer at the Backpackers Hostel, sharing a table with some fellow focused on the football playing on the big screen.
As I would be on camping rations for the next few days, I decided I needed a healthy salad tonight with fresh leaves etc.. Google directed me into an industrial estate, where I almost gave up as it was far from the main drag. However, Google was right, "Salatsjoppan" just sold flavoursome salads. It was not that busy, its location was probably why I was the only one dining in.
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