This morning we docked in Akureyi which is located in the
Eyjafjordur fjord alongside some other cruise ships. Le Bellot is the smaller cruise ship. I prefer the more personal touch
one gets with the smaller cruise ships.
Akureyi is the second largest town in Iceland but much prettier than Reykjavik.
Our first visit of the day was to see the botanical
garden in Akureyi. The public park in Akureyi
opened in 1912 and the botanic garden area was added in 1957. The aim of the botanical garden is to grow
trees, shrubs and perennials in the demanding climate of Northern Iceland which
is characterized by pronounced seasonality of temperature and day length. Some shelter is provided by the Eyjafjordur
fjord.
The main visit of the day was to the spectacular Godafoss
or ‘Waterfall of the Gods’ located in North Iceland near Akureyri. Glacial water flows over an elegant
semi-circular arc. There is much
folklore in Iceland. Sccording to one
myth, in the year 1,000 chieftain Thorgeir Thorkelsson, returned from the
annual parliament of Iceland with the decision that the nation of Iceland would
convert to Christianity. He
ceremoniously disposed of Norse pagan idols into the falls.
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