Haleakala! Fri, 5/12/23

Wow -- another heckuva drive, from about zero elevation to ten thousand feet, where your ears feel like they're gonna pop out of your head, times ten.  We climbed the switchbacks, driving through luxuriant green countryside with clouds ringed 'round the mountain above our heads, into the foggy grayness and out again, to the sunny top of the world.  To the barren Haleakala Crater.  All in a short hour, plus/minus.  So amazing.

Yup, up there!

Gosh, at this point, we'd climbed a couple of thousand feet, and now could see Kihei and the ocean below.  We'd read and heard that the mountain could be capricious -- sun one minute, clouds the next, it could be chilly (we brought jackets and had long sleeved shirts with us) or it could be raining.

I zoomed wayyy in and found the crescent-shaped crater, Molokini, where we snorkeled the other day, and the island beyond ... the one called Kaho'olawe which the government bombed into smithereens for years and years, practicing, doncha know.  It's obviously off limits to the public.  Probably forever.

We snaked up the mountain, till we arrived at the national park and pulled in to the Park Headquarters V/C.  The ranger there gave us some info and we were grateful for the restrooms!  The VC is at 7,000', but it wasn't cold and the sun was shining brightly.

The route was full of twists and turns.  You can see where we began at Kihei (red check mark).  From there it looked like the mountain top was covered in clouds, we couldn't tell for sure, but we sure hoped not!

We stopped at the Leleiwi Overlook, elevation 8840', and decided to take a short hike to the crater viewpoint.  Below us is the ring of clouds we passed through.

See Jimmy above the yellow x?

On our way up to the overlook.

And, oh heck, nothing to see but water vapor.  Clouds.  Fog.  Whatever.

We spotted a group of Hawaiian native geese (Nene) as we continued toward the Haleakala V/C at 9,740', but the only pic I got was this one from the car.  Two geese looking for all the world like snorkels or periscopes!

Lookee here, we've arrived, and it's warm and sunny!  Behind Jimmy and higher up is Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site, Hawaii's first astronomical research observatory.

What's the first thing we see?  That greets us?  A "singing" Chukar (partridge).  Really!

And then we peered down into the caldera.  I wish I could convey how deep, how sweeping the landscape!  The clouds didn't interfere, they just added more drama.  We stood and stared.  Mesmerized.

And then we walked around to get different views of the caldera.  What did we see?  Two more Chukars, stooging around the rocks right in front of us!  I love the top left picture.  "Do what?"

Haleakala crater looms 10,023' above the ocean, and it takes up a whopping three-quarters of Maui's 727 square miles.  This crater looks other worldly, or maybe like Mars would.  Ethereal with the wispy, drifting clouds.  If you could enlarge this pic enough, you'd see people (tiny ants!) on the trail that goes down into the crater bowl.  Not only did we not do this, we didn't even consider it!

I was surprised to see a snowy-capped mountain way off in the distance.  Look closely, you'll see it dead center, Mauna Kea on the Big Island, 13,796 ft.  How incredible is that?

The observatory isn't open to the public.

Tom and Diane at the summit.

Thin air up here!

On the drive up, we'd pass the occasional biker, also on the way up.  Dude!  How can you?  All the guys above rode their bikes (not electric, either) to the 10,023' VC.  We spoke with one single rider, a young woman, who rode her bike up in five hours (that included stops to breathe and intake energy bars or drinks).  You'd have to be in really good shape to do this!  More power to them, but no, thanks.

Here's the endemic 'Āhinahina -- Silversword, a gorgeous silver-leafed plant that grows here and nowhere else on earth!  The brochure says this plant can grow for several decades before sending up an enormous stalk of purple flowers, signaling the end of its life cycle. 

Crazy!  On our way down the mountain (which took a lot less time), we came across this pheasant!  Never expected to see this guy in Hawaii, or the Chukars, either.  Both are nonnative species, and they're the only two birds we saw!  Before returning home, we stopped at Kula Lodge Garden Terrace for lunch, but that's for another post.  Yowza, what a day!

Up, up, and away, Mon, 8/15/22

 

Iceland lived up to our expectations, it did not disappoint!  Small island country, big with scenery ... all sort of picturesque sights.  Even an erupting volcano.  I captured the real-time photo below from our hotel TV.  At no time was our little foursome threatened.  We couldn't even see it from anywhere we traveled, but we did see a brownish haze to the southern sky as we returned to Reykjavik from Snæfellsnes peninsula yesterday.  If we'd had the right gear, the time and, let's face it, the energy, we could've hiked two (strenuous) hours up to the volcano, but we had none of the above.  No matter, Jimmy and I, Nannie and Bubba, we had a wonderful stay in Iceland.  Now we were flying to Boston for the third phase of our trip.

As we rode on the shuttle bus to Keflavik airport 6:30ish Monday morning, I saw the smoke plume from Fagradalsfjall's eruption.  This was as close as we got to the volcano.  Speaking of buses, did you know Iceland has no trains?  True.  Big yellow buses are well-used in Reykjavik, smaller ones, as well.  I'm not sure about towns or wee villages.  No trains.  Interesting. 

Island people were friendly.  Seemed as though everyone spoke English.  Talking to a young man, he told me that learning English in school is mandatory beginning at age 12.  Two years later, all young folks must take yet another language in school.  I wish that was an option when I was growing up, or 40 years later, when Matt started school.

The Kroner was 10-1 (or 1-10?).  If an item cost 7990 Kroner, it translates to roughly $79 USD, which made pricing something fairly easy.  Just not cheap by any stretch of the imagination!

So, we were off, back to the US.  The four of us were seated randomly on Icelandair.  Bubba was lucky to be in a window seat; the rest of us were in aisle seats.  Me?  I was stuck in the back by the toilet.  I hope to never be that unlucky again!

Much of the airspace was clear, and -- wonder of wonders -- we flew over southern Greenland with no cloud cover!  Bubba shared his pics with me.  So awesome.  Check 'em out, below.

Icebergs.

Glacier.

Glacier and pack ice.

Nannie rented a car, and we jammed eight good-sized bags in it plus us four!  She ferried us to Westwood, MA (near Boston), no problems, and our family reunion began.  Brother, Rus, and his wife, Anne; nephew Jon, wife, Lauren and two kids, Will and Lizzie; niece, Kristen, husband Rob, two big kids, Kyle and Anna.  Oh, it was grand to see the family -- it had been six years since we were last together!  Sorry Matt and Jen and Evie couldn't attend, since Evie's first day of Kindergarten was today!

A hamburger/hot dog cookout was held at Kristen's home that first night.  Random photos below.

Rus and Nannie.  Rus is the oldest.  He's the guy who was at death's door six years ago.  Glad he slammed the door in death's face!  I'm two years younger than Rus.  Nannie is seven years younger'n me.

One of two big dogs.  This one is Maggie.

Kyle's dog.

Bubba petting the other dog, "Rusty."

Jon's dog.

 Will and Lizzie (10 and 8, I think).

Jon, Anne, Kris (with her back to camera), Rus and Lizzie.

Family visiting. 💗💗

Haha, Jon hoisting this 80-lb dog!  Maggie.

The next day the six retired people went for a hike on Fuller Brook Trail in Wellsley.  We enjoyed a very pleasant walk on an ADA-compliant, stone-dust path along the shallow, drought-stricken Fuller and Caroline Brooks.  Yes, Massachusetts (at least this part) is experiencing a drought.  For me and Jimmy, that meant it was like home.  Sorry.

"The Three Studs" 😉

Jimmy, Rus, Bubba.

Posies along the way.

Anne, Jimmy and I continued on to the Sudbury Aqueduct path ... kinda like a rails-to-trails path, only this carried water, not trains, for almost 100 years.  It was constructed between 1875 and 1878 and now serves as a continuation of the Wellsley trail system.  The others stayed behind in the shade.  I did NOT need my overshirt.

You know photos are required when family gets together.  L-R:  Bubba, Nannie, Jimmy, Rus, and me on their farmer's porch.  Anne took the pic.  The other one with Rus taking the pic turned out fuzzy.

Tuesday evening's picture!  I used the self timer on a tripod.  You should see the outtakes, but the family would kill me if I posted them.  Back row:  Rob, Anna, Jimmy, Kyle, Jon, Kris, and Bubba.  Front row:  Rus, Nannie, me, and Anne.  Maggie the photo-bomber!

Plenty of hugs, lots of laughter, and back-and-forth yakkety-yak as we played catch-up, filling in the blanks for the past six years.  Kyle and Anna both have summer jobs.  He'll be a senior this year, Anna in tenth grade.  They were little kids when we last saw them.  Dang.

We have two more days to spend with each other.  We will fill them happily.

Snæfellsnes, Sun, 8/14/22

 

Sunday!  Our final full day in this magical land ... and our last private tour.  We were picked up by Andres of Mercury Grail Travel as scheduled at 10am (wish it had been earlier), for the fairly long drive into the heart of the Snæfellsnes peninsula -- not Snuffleupagus as we initially called it, haha --  on Iceland's West Coast.  We'd heard such good things about this area of Iceland, its dramatic landscapes, moss-covered lava fields, waterfalls, sheer cliffs, all crowned by Snæfellsjökull -- the glacier-topped volcano.

We thought the drive through the peninsula was pretty neat with its varied landscapes, as you can see in my pictures.  The ever-changing scenery kept us glued to the car windows.

And sometimes we'd come upon these moonscapes of solidified lava.

Cotton grass in the foreground, a farmhouse in the back, lorded over by a red cinder cone.

Pinnacles and Peaks,

blue skies peeking out.

Everywhere in Iceland we saw fields of marshmallows!

Or perhaps they're hay bales?

Check out this waterfall!  Cars in the parking lot mean people are stopping by to walk up to a bridge over the water.  Each cascade is prettier than the last.

We've arrived at the tiny Black Church in Búðir, aka the very photogenic Búðakirkja!  As we were getting out of the car, a busload of tourists followed us in.  The church and a hotel is all that remains of a village ... there's history if you want to Google it.  Búðir sits within the Búðahraun lava field, where we four migrated after taking church pics.  Here was an expansive environment of torn-up earth grown over with grassy flora.

It's a very unique place with jagged rock formations and sinkholes, a jumbled mess of rocks.  130 different plant species can be found and we saw many.  Birds, too.  We walked lightly over the paths, such as they were, minding our feet that we didn't slip into a sinkhole.  Was there water at the bottom?  How deep?  This place was just a ... hard to find the adjective, but I guess the closest I can get is, wonder.  We could've hiked oer these grassy fields all day. 

We heard its call before we saw it.  I'd describe it if I could, but it was strange sound.  We saw two adults, one obviously a mama with a few young'uns.  Ptarmigan!  A first for me, I think.  Very cool.

Brown sand and black rocks make for darker camera shading, but this is Nannie's "I am here!" photo.  As we neared the ocean, sand appeared and flora disappeared. 

Lots of elements in this pic!  Yes, there's a cemetery beside the church.  What you can't see is the wind whipping through our hair. 

Andres recommended a lunch stop at Samkomhusid in Arnarstapi for some yummy Icelandic home cooking. We enjoyed our meat soup (lamb, it's served all over the country), with warm bread straight from the oven, and served by smiling women.  Nice stop.  I sat near a window, too bad about the spider in the window (outside) spoiling my view! 

If you stood on this side of the statue, the wind took your breath away.  If you stood on the lee side, you missed the face of Bárður Snæfellsás - the Protector of the Snæfellsnes peninsula.  You know there's a saga about this, too, if you choose to Google it.

After lunch, we made our way to Hellnar (not far from Arnarstapi).  Hellnar was among the largest of ancient fishing villages beneath the Snæfellsjökull ice cap, and there's not much left of Hellnar today. After a short walk down a hill, we were rewarded with this view of the remarkable basalt rock formation known as Valasnös ... and caves.  We didn't walk down into the caves, but others have (above).  Using binocs, we watched birds fly into the big  cave on the right.

It wasn't a far piece to get to Djúpalónssandur Black Beach with its muddled piles of lava and fantastic huge mossy towers.  We clambered down the footpath to the rocky beach, admiring all that we saw.   I wish I could show you a long shot -- the entire area was wild.

At the arch was a marvelous view of Snæfellsjökull.  I could see it from my perch, but camera man wasn't in the correct spot to capture me, the arch and the glacier.  So, just trust me on this one.

But you CAN see Snæfellsjökull above!  It's a 700,000-year-old glacier atop a volcano at the tip of the peninsula, and it's famous for being featured in Jules Verne's novel "Journey to the Center of the Earth."  We had quite a view of the glacier from the Black Beach.  The mountain is actually called 'Snæfell' (Snowy Mountain), though the 'jökull' (glacier) is often added to help distinguish it from other mountains of the same name.

I'm sorry to say that for the first time in recorded history, Snæfellsjökull had no snow or ice at its peak in August 2012, causing concern among locals that climate change is threatening the nature of the mountain.  By now, I'm sure everyone is convinced climate change is threatening our planet.

(Many rock formations on and around Snæfellsjökull are said to be trolls petrified by sunlight or else homes of the hidden people.  Hmmmm ....)

Icelanders dote on elves and trolls -- probably because they live with so many outlandish sights like these. Only an elf or a troll could live in these rocks.

One of two freshwater lagoons -- these lagoons are held in high esteem by locals because they're thought to possess healing properties. 

 

Imagine yourself standing close to the water, but not too close, and hearing the soft clackety-clack whoosh as the waves sweep in over the rocks and then retreat, over and over.  It's a good sound, maybe even a healing sound.  These glistening pebbles that make up the beach are known as Djúpalónsperlur, or “pearls of the deep lagoon.”

We left Djúpalónssandur Black Beach reluctantly.  I swear we could've spent all afternoon cruising the beach and rocks.  Nannie and Bubba hiking up the hill.

Iceland has so many waterfalls, most of them named and all of them grand, so here's another one, but I'm not sure of its name.  That might not matter.

These dudes were standing by the edge of the road.

Waiting for the cars to pass so they could cross?

As the afternoon wore on and we started looking at our watches, we ended our tour with Kirkjufell, or "Church Mountain." Standing tall above the small fishing town of Grundarfjörður, this is apparently the most photographed mountain in Iceland, one of the top 10 most beautiful mountains in the world, and yet most recognized as being “Arrow Head Mountain” on Game of Thrones. Search me, I don't remember seeing it in the series, so maybe I need to rewatch it? 😀 Maybe not.

At its base is Kirkjufellsfoss (waterfall), a really pretty cascade.  You wouldn't believe how many people were milling around with cameras and phones and tripods, all aiming to get a pic of the falls and the mountain, like I did in the pic above this one.  I wasn't aware of any special significance, I just really liked what I saw.

I'll end the long day with Nannie and me filling our water bottles from the side of a mountain.  Mind you, this was not as easy as it looks.  The rocks beneath our feet were slick and the cascading drops did not fall in a straight line!  Nannie got a soaking.  I'll tell you true, Iceland has the purest, best drinking water in the world.

Positively.  Wonderful.  Day.  We didn't get back to our hotel till (can't recall exactly) seven or so in the evening.  Dinner was Skyr yogurt and popcorn again, delicious and nutritious.  Jimmy and I eyeballed our luggage and said, "whew, okay, let's do this."  Our flights out of Reykjavik on Icelandair tomorrow are early, we'll catch a 6am shuttle.  See you tomorrow.