ÍSAFJÖRDUR, ICELAND

Well, it's getting colder! So we bundle up with long underwear, clothing layers, scarves, hats, and gloves and explore this astounding landscape around Ísafjörður The snow falls sideways here; it makes clicking noises when it lands because it is formed in little balls (like tiny hail), not flakes. The land is covered in ICE not snow. The fjords are loooong; the natural setting looks black and white, but the structures are painted bright bright colors. In a little cluster of three well-preservedhouses, all circa-1780, The Maritime Museum holds relics of a harsh lifestyle. After looking at a fire pit and pots and a narrow bed, we were served typical Icelandic refreshments, including schnapps, dried fish and preserved shark which smells so bad we weren't even tempted to taste it. Next we drove along a narrow coastal road to Bolungarvik, and its Holskirkja Church where a young Icelander sang bar ballads about biting someone. The guide "translated" this as "searching for meaning in life."

Then to some grass-roofed fishermen's huts along the rocky shore and some fish drying sheds. And finally to the Tungudalur Valley waterfall to drink pure Icelandic water. It was cold!