- - At 10:22 AM on August 24,, we took off from Sacramento, CA, International Airport, aboard a Bombardier Turbo Prop, for Portland, Oregon. Flight time: about 90 minutes. After a layover of about three hours, we boarded an Icelandair 757 at 3:35 PM for a 7 1/2 hour non-stop flight to Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik, Iceland. The flight took us over Newfoundland and Greenland. Except for a beautiful sunset at 35,000 feet, the view down from my window seat was a cloud layer. We landed in Keflavik, outside of Reykjavik, about 6:05 AM Iceland time. - -

Our tour guide, Gunnlaugur Olafsson Johnson, was born and raised in Iceland. A speaker of proficient English, he encouraged us to call him Gulli (Gooley) to ease our American unfamiliarity with the pronunciation of the Icelandic language. He is a freelance architect by trade and has been a tour leader on the side for the last five years.

Gulli met us at the airport, where we gathered our luggage to put into a trailer behind a shuttle bus. From Keflavik International Airport, we followed Highway 1 east along the southern coast for a couple of hours to the town of Selfoss, where we had breakfast before continuing on to Landeyjarhofn Harbor to catch a 30-minute ferry bound for the Westman Islands. Along the way, Gulli regaled us with Icelandic history while pointing out specific volcanic mountains which have erupted as recently as 2010.

The ferry ride itself was very crowded on a rare, sunny Saturday. The Westman Islands is a small cluster of 15 volcanic islands and 30 skerries off Iceland's southwestern coast and is sparsely populated. We checked into our hotel in the lone Westman Island town of Heimaey, took a walking tour, and were treated to dinner at the hotel… before turning in early to catch up on seven hours of sleep lost in this different time zone.

Quick Photo Links: Icelandic horses | Urridafoss waterfall | Ferry ride to the Westman Islands