Jokulsarlon, The Glacier Lagoon

We were very lucky the day we stopped here. The weather cooperated and the sunlight really set off the cobalt blue of the water.

This lagoon is filled with ice that has calved off of a glacier, into a river that flows out from under the glacier. It is really quite beautiful. Boat rides are offered on the lagoon and we decided to spring for it (2800 ISK pp). We thoroughly enjoyed it.

We next did something we hadn't planned. Based upon the suggestion of some hitchhikers we gave a ride to, we crossed the bridge to the west side, and turned down a road leading to the ocean shore. We walked to the shore and there, as far as we could see, were the remains of the ice that had flowed the rest of the way down the river and now lay melting into the ocean. Pretty neat.

Follow up on 'How much does it cost to ship baby items by air'

I recently wrote on this topic based upon information I had from a friend of my daughter.

A regular reader of Travel Snippets just sent me this information: her son and DIL had to pay an extra bag free for their baby since she was a free passenger. AND they had to pay for the stroller and car seat. This was with American airlines, going coach, to Hawaii.

So definitely check your airline's policy for baggage when flying with an infant. You might be pleasantly surprised or you might be in for a rude awakening.

Seydisfjordur, Iceland

(Figured it was time I got back to writing about Iceland. A VERY busy couple of weeks have really kept me going.)

Seydisfjordur is a small, sleepy town at the end of a fjord on Iceland's east coast. The eastern coastline of Iceland has many of these fjords and small towns.

Seydisfjordur has two claims to fame. It is promoted as the most picturesque coastal town in Iceland. And it is where the once a week ferry, from Europe, docks.

We booked two nights at the Hotel Aldan. This was a chance to have an easy day, sleep late, and re-energize for the rest of the trip.

The Hotel Aldan is actually made up of three historic buildings. The check in and dining room is in an old apothecary. Our accommodations in Hotel Snæfell, a former post office, were very bare but comfortable.

Breakfast was included in our rates and were more than adequate. We ate dinner at the hotel the first night and it was pricey and an average meal. For the next night we hit the supermarket which was right across the street.

We drove up each side of the scenic fjord. We took an easy hike to a waterfall. We strolled around town and shopped, once the gift shops opened at 2 PM. As I said, a very sleepy town.

How much does it cost to ship baby items by air

Well, if the baby stuff and the baby is traveling with you, it might very well cost you absolutely NOTHING.

Friends of my daughter are heading to England for two years. They left today with about a dozen suitcases. They envisioned a pretty big 'extra luggage' fee, even though there are 5 of them, with the baby.

At the airport, the desk agent told them that baby items went free. WOW! After pointing out which bags were baby items, the agent did unzip them and glance into the bags just to confirm.

And, yes, all of the bags containing baby items went at no additional charge.

If you'll be flying with a baby, be sure to check with your airline. I don't know if all airlines do this. But it might be smart to pack all baby items in their own bags if you'll be traveling with a lot of luggage. Could save you some money.

Jökulsárgljúfur National Park, Iceland

After backtracking from viewing the Ásbyrgi formations, we now planned on seeing as much of Jökulsárgljúfur National Park as we could. There are two roads in the park, one down the east side of the canyon and one down the west.

I had read that the road down the east side was better maintained. Also, the western road would have to be a round trip drive as the road becomes an 'F' road and we could not take our rental sedan on it. However, the woman at the visitor's center said that the formations at the end of that road were worth seeing. So off we went down the western road.

It was a washboard dirt road but we made it to the end and hiked around the formations. These were also basalt but on their side and really strange looking. (And for those that need to know, in the parking lot, even at this location in the middle of nowhere, was a bathroom.)

Retracing our route, we headed south on the eastern 'better maintained' road. No way! This road was worse: dirt, rocky, washboard, potholed. But it was also the way back to the Ring Road so we kept going. Our plan was to stop and see three waterfalls: Dettifoss, Selfoss and Hafragilsfoss.

We managed to see two of the three. We stopped at Dettifoss and Hafragilsfoss. Dettifoss is billed as the most powerful waterfall in Europe. It was impressive but a little note here that I live within 1 1/2 hours of Niagara Falls so I do have something very powerful to compare it to. That said, it was impressive.



To see Selfoss would have meant an additional hike beyond Dettifoss. Having already done a bunch of hiking, and still having a long drive ahead of us on a lousy road, we decided to cancel that and continue on our drive. Finally, finally, finally, we were back to the paved Ring Road, on our way to Seydisfjordur.

More on Iceland Coming Up

I've got a lot more to write about Iceland. But just finished up with 10 days of a visit from our grandchildren. So, yes, I'm a bit behind on everything.

Hope to have a new Iceland post out in a couple of days. Thanks for subscribing and being a regular reader of Travel Snippets and More.

Ásbyrgi, Iceland

We departed Husavik, heading north around the cape, planning on approaching Jökulsárgljúfur National Park from the north side. The north side is where the visitors' center is located and, also located nearby, is the entrance to the Ásbyrgi canyon.

The Ásbyrgi canyon is a horseshoe-shaped depression and is, officially, part of Jökulsárgljúfur National Park. There is one road in (south) that takes you between incredible basalt formations. At the end of the road is a parking lot, with signs pointing to several hiking trails. We picked the one heading to 'the pond'.

The trail was not very long and was a very easy walk. Finally, it lead down to the pond. And what a treat. This pond was absolutely beautiful, backed by a tall basalt foundation, surrounded by lush greenery, with clear water and ducks and ducklings. There were benches along the edge and we sat and enjoyed the view and the quiet.

Protocol Rules For Public Pools In Iceland

There is a very specific protocol to follow if one will be using any of the town pools in Iceland. I was very happy that I had come across a list of 'rules'. Otherwise I would have made some very significant faux pas.

Two things are very important. Outside shoes are never worn in the locker room. And one never enters the locker room wet.

So, with your bathing suit and towel in hand, check out this How To I wrote for eHow.