Week in Reykjavik

We spent a week in Reykjavik, Iceland, in July ’06. Reykjavik was a most pleasant adventure and surprise. We walked up and down and all over the town — lots of steep hills!

Iceland is VERY expensive for U.S. citizens. We learned that their economy is excellent and people are paid well.

English is spoken there (similar to all other Scandinavian countries), and people were very friendly and welcoming.

I also met several Spanish-only speaking folks. They turned out to be immigrant workers who hadn’t been in Iceland long enough to learn any other language. My command of Spanish was good enough that I could hold a simple conversation with two ladies. They were from Venezuela and were in Iceland to work in hotels or restaurants.

We took the “Golden Circle” tour with Reykjavik Excursions (BSI Bus terminal, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland; phone [+354] 562 1011 or visit www.re.is) at ISK6,500 (near $109) each. All of their tours are very good.

There was also a 45-passenger boat from Puffin Express (Serferdir ehf., Sunnuveg 17, IS-104 Reykjavik, Iceland; phone +[354] 892-0099, fax +[354] 581-1030, e-mail ferja@ferja.is or visit www.ferja.is) taking “puffin fans” out to a small island for ISK2,500 ($42). The ticket office is on Sudurbugt at Reykjavík’s old harbor.

It took 15 minutes to cruise to or from the island, with 30 minutes there. We saw hundreds of puffins — wonderful fun!

ALICE D. COSS

Battle Ground, WA