Whale of a day.

I was the first one up on this day. And the sun was OUT!  I tried to remain as quiet as I could because Andrea still had jet lag, I had been up in the middle of the night coughing and waking everyone up, and Libby-well she's a twenty something. I had my morning coffee, took my rotten egg smell shower and got dressed.  I was ready to get out in that sun!  My travel mates were awake by this time so I waited for them to dress, eat and off we went to see the city of Rekyivek.  It is a quirky, graffiti bathed, eastern block functionality meets western freedom clash of a city.  Most buildings are square and unadorned with any architectural detail. And are concrete.  The most beauty an average building will get will come from its paint job.  The Icelandic people will paint the housing in blues, yellows, greens, and pinks.  And when the sun is out, the colors shine! 

We toured the city on foot and found the parliament building and the prime ministers office.  The day before, there had been a huge demonstration there, but all was quiet when we arrived.  We walked down by the little lake and the old harbor.  The swans and other birds there were very friendly, and one duck in particular took a great liking to me and my crazy curly hair. 

 I was squatted low to take pictures and pretty soon, I heard Libby say, " mom you have a friend."  I peeked out from my camera and I was looking at duck teeth-the bird was that close to me! Andrea called him my spirit animal.  

Our afternoon plan was to go whale watching, so we headed back to grab some lunch and put on our winter wind proof gear to rush back to the harbor to get on the boat to watch us some whales.  This is something I have always wanted to do.  It's been a huge bucket list item of mine for years and years but hasn't ever really worked out for various reasons.  

Until now.  We saw several hump back whales feeding in the cold waters of Iceland and that was a thrill!  I wasn't thrilled with the captain, but it was very exciting to be out on the water looking back into the harbor and seeing whales.  

That evening we were supposed to go on a tour to see the northern lights but the country was socked in with clouds and rain.  The northern lights are the reason I wanted to come to Iceland.  Everything else we do while we are here is just a time filler.  I really want to see the northern lights and to capture it on my camera.  The northern lights require some pretty specific factors 1) cold weather, 2) clear sky-no cloud cover, 3) dark sky-no moon 4) solar activity and 5)luck.  I had organized the trip for 1 and 3, anticipated 4 based on the time of year and prayed for 2 and 5.  

But tonight was not going to be my night.  Just as well, I had come down with a raging cold virus that was making me tired so I went to bed early.  My travel mates researched the happy hours in town, but opted for an early night too.