Page 196 - 2022 & 2023 Adventures by Land & Sea

Itinerary the iconic Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, situated along DAY 6 • Burial Rites monument • A Day in the
Iceland’s Ring Road. Life of an Icelandic horse farm
B,L — Hotel Selfoss or similar After breakfast, we’ll depart Borgarnes to the Burial
DAY 1 • Depart U.S. Rites monument to hear the haunting story of Agnes
You’ll fly overnight from the U.S. to Reykjavik, Iceland. DAY 4 • Explore the Golden Circle • Overland Magnusdottir, the alleged murderess of her lover
to Borgarnes Natan Ketilsson and the last person to be executed
DAY 2 • Arrive Reykjavik, Iceland • Overland Today, we’ll visit a local wool studio for an interactive in Iceland during a double beheading in 1830. Then,
to Selfoss session on wool-dying, spinning, and knitting. we’ll travel to a family-run farm in Hofsstadir (or a
Velkomin! Welcome to Iceland. You’ll arrive in the early Then, we’ll discover more of Iceland’s marvels as we similar farm at another locale) for our NEW A Day in
morning hours. An O.A.T. representative will meet you circumnavigate the Golden Circle, a ring of natural the Life overnight experience. During our stay, we’ll
at the airport and help you transfer to Selfoss. Enjoy highlights: Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir hot spring area, meet members of the owner’s family and learn about
a free day to settle in and meet your fellow travelers and Thingvellir National Park. This afternoon, we’ll their small businesses, including a visit to the stables
who took our Westman Islands: Volcanic Landscapes continue to Borgarnes, situated right outside the where we’ll meet Icelandic horses first brought to the
& Puffins or New! East Iceland’s Secluded Beauty: scenic Snaefellsnes Peninsula, our home for the next country by Viking settlers.
Waterfalls, Glaciers & Hot Springs pre-trip extensions. two nights. B,L,D — Hofsstadir Country Hotel or similar
This evening we’ll gather for a Welcome Dinner at B,D — B59 Hotel or similar
the hotel. DAY • Siglufjordur • Travel overland to
B,D — Hotel Selfoss or similar DAY 5 • Discover Snaefellsnes Peninsula • Akureyri • Controversial Topic: The impact
Arnarstapi lava field • Conversation about
DAY 3 • Explore South Iceland • the banking crisis of 2008 with local expert
Controversial Topic: Iceland’s disappearing This morning, we’ll explore the Snaefellsnes
glaciers and the effects of climate change • Peninsula, the area that marks the entry point to
Super Truck tour • Seljalandsfoss Waterfall Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. In the Watch this independent video to learn
This morning, we’ll engage in a Controversial fishing village of Arnarstapi, we’ll hike along the more about this adventure
Topic with a Stefan Michel, a local mountaineer rocky coastline followed by lunch in Samkomuhusid.
and climate change activist, on the detrimental We’ll later discover another side of Icelandic culture
effects of climate change on Iceland’s glaciers. As at Bjarnarhofn Shark Museum with an introduction
10% of Iceland’s land mass is covered in glaciers, to a regional delicacy, hakarl, made from shark
the continued warming of the planet threatens to meat. Then, we’ll meet with a local expert to discuss
radically alter this delicate environment—perhaps Iceland’s financial crisis from 2008 to 2011. During
permanently. After lunch, we’ll travel to Vik Village this turbulent period, the nation’s three major
where we’ll get a true taste of the rugged Icelandic commercial banks collapsed, leaving a wake of
landscape with a Super Jeep Tour, an off-road driving economic depression and political turmoil.
experience led by a local guide. Then, we’ll visit B,L — B59 Hotel or similar
watch video

Meet the people who call
Iceland home

Local at the Shark Museum : We’ll visit the
Bjarnarhofn Shark Museum on Day 5 to learn
about the Icelandic legacy of processing shark meat (and try a taste for
ourselves).
Icelandic Horse Farmers : Icelandic horses are descended from the ponies that
Viking settlers brought over in the first millennia. During our overnight A Day in
the Life experience at a horse farm on Day 6, we’ll hear about the role Icelandic
horses play in local culture from the family who owns the farm.

Fishermen :As we set out on a whale watching excursion along with the locals
on Day 9, we’ll hear from the experts—the onboard staff members—as they
teach us about local marine life.

Search and Rescue Volunteers : Because Iceland doesn’t have its own army
or National Guard, search and rescue missions are performed by teams of
volunteers. On Day 12, we will meet some of these volunteers.

Learn about daily life on an Icelandic horse farm on Day 6.

196 Untamed Iceland www.oattravel.com/ice2022

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