As promised, this post is about the wonderful water in Iceland, and a few other things about this awesome island in the north atlantic ocean!

As you will remember, we (my companion Terry, and I) made a mad dash back to Utah last month for a little medical situation (ouch, a big fat kidney stone removed from Terry that was stuck). We had not been in our home for more than two minutes when I turned to the faucet in the kitchen and got a glass of water. YUCK!!!!  Oh.my.goodness. The water tasted HORRIBLE and even SMELLED worse (of chlorine). 

WOW, we didn't realize how quickly spoiled we had become to drink Iceland's PURE, YUMMY, COLD, and WONDERFUL water right from the faucet. Any faucet, in Iceland.

So WHERE does that wonderful water come from?

Snow, ice, and glaciers . . . that turns in to . . . 

 Waterfalls (blue dots) . . . then rivers . . and then drinking water  

The quality of the drinking water in Iceland is also exceptionally good due to a wealth of fresh water rivers that stream down from the mountains and glaciers. In fact, it’s perfectly safe and highly recommended to drink this water straight from the source. Otherwise, it’s still just a pipe away to your tap. Quoted from www.visiticeland.com


On a side note, on a clear day, you can see one of the glaciers from Reykjavik. I took this picture with my phone camera just two days ago.

The blue arrow above is pointing to the glacier. Click on the photo and you will be able to see the white peak (a little better). The blue arrow below is showing you where the glacier is. Yes, it is the green spot on the far left tip of the island. The other green areas on the map show the other glaciers. The blue circle on the map below by the capital of Reykjavik, is where we live. On a clear day, like this weekend, we can see the glacier from the favorite spot in our apartment, the kitchen window. 

Below is a picture showing the 13 BIGGER glaciers or ice caps in Iceland. As a side note, the country of Iceland is covered a little more than 11% by glaciers. 

Did you notice all of the glacier names end in with the letters: Jökull . . that´s actually the Icelandic word for glacier. There, now you have had your Icelandic lesson for the week :)

One last comment regarding glaciers . . they are beautiful and sometimes look like a waterfall rushing down from the mountains.

Now let's talk about the HOT water in Iceland. Did you get the HOT part of that? The picture above looks a little blury . . . that's because of the steam coming from the water, right out of the faucet, in our kitchen sink. We were warned to be careful because the water comes out at 180 fahrenheit or 82 celsius. THAT IS HOT!

So where does all of the HOT water come from?

Yes, you guessed right :)  Mother nature, or in other words, volcanoes. Iceland has many active and inactive volcanoes (about 130 all together!) due to it being situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Basically, the country is in the middle of or on top of two tectonic plates and has 30 active volcanic systems running through the island. If you go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_volcanoes_in_Iceland there is a list of all the volcanoes in Iceland which includes the 130 active and extinct volcanic mountains, of which 18 have erupted since human settlement of Iceland began circa 900 CE. Also when they erupted last, if at all. I'm not sure why, but this fascinates me.

From what I understand, the earth below is hot from the volcanic activity. In some areas of Iceland, holes are drilled and steam is captured. As you drive around, you see steam plants (I'm not sure if that is what they are called) and BIG FAT PIPES coming from them, on top of the ground. The big fat pipes can be seen as you travel.

Here you see one of the big pipes running along the side of the road as well as one of the steam plants.

If you have been following my blog, you will remember me talking about the wonderful warm and comfortable heat that comes from the nice looking radiators in our apartment. Hence, this is where the water/heat comes from.

Then the question is, where does all of that hot water go, before it gets to the many homes and business . .

Large water tanks, like the three above, can be seen all over Iceland. They are usually painted with bright and happy colors. I took the picture above as we were driving today, headed towards Keflivik.

This is a picture of the Perlan, a beautiful landmark in Reykjavik. There are five water tanks holding up a few gift shops, cafeteria, and rotating fine dining restaurant on the very top. Three of the tanks were left in Iceland after World War II, and were an eye sore. In the late 1980's, the mayor of Reykjavik had the idea to use them for hot water storage as well as add two more and build the nice facilities on top of them. INGENIOUS! 

So, bottom line:
1. The drinking water is wonderful
2. The hot water is awesome
3. The homes are heated very inexpensively
4. We don't have a hot water heater nor a furnace in our apartment
5. The Icelanders are very resourceful and we love every aspect of their water.
6. On a side note, there is a slight 'rotten egg' or 'sulfur' smell that does come with the hot water. For the first two months or so when we first got to Iceland, if I was running the HOT water, Terry would come in the kitchen and say, "hon, did you let a little stinker?". Ha, I can't believe I'm sharing this . . . but every time I was happy to announce "NO, it's the water :)" 

This is not all the amazing facts about the water in Iceland, there's even MORE TO COME. Hint, Blue Lagoon, cooking, fun, and relaxation.

And here 'we' are, just outside of the Perlan. We being, Gugga, her hubby Kristjan, and Terry. Gugga just happens to be THE BEST tour guide in all of Iceland. Her hubby, Kristian is the driver. Together they make an awesome team.

This little guy sits inside of the Perlan, on top of the gift shop entrance.

So here is my special friend, Gugga. Her real name is Gudbjorg Bragdottir. Several years ago when I started to bring Western Icelanders to visit their father's homeland, Gugga was 'assigned' to be our tour guide. WOW, what a treasure we found. Gugga not only loves and knows everything about her precious Iceland (I'm talking centuries of history), but she loves genealogy too. 

Before we ever leave home, I collect from the Western Icelanders traveling the names of their family members who left Iceland, where they were born before they left for Utah, their parents, etc. I give that information to Gugga, and she begins her research. 

When we arrive and begin our journey, she shares each day with the group which family farm of our beloved family member(s) we will be visiting that particular day. It's always an awesome experience to pull up to a little farm house somewhere in the middle of Iceland with a bus of 40+ or so people, and see people from inside the farm house peek out their window with a look of wonder on their faces. 'I wonder why that big bus full of people are staring out the windows, with huge smiles on their faces and sometimes tears running down their cheeks'.  

Gugga then goes to the door, explains why we are there, and immediately we are welcomed to their farm, home, etc. 

Gugga and Kristjan were excited to show us their brand new people mover . . WOW, it seats 19 and it's just beautiful!

 This is their logo - you can take a look at their web page for more information www.icelinetravel.com 

From the top of the Perlan, just as Gugga and I were posing for the picture, she said "LOOK, you can see the Snæfellsjökull glacier so clear today!". (And just as an FYI, there is also a volcano under the glacier.)

Speaking of Gugga, touring Iceland, and seeing where our ancestors came from, a tour will be happening again in 2017. Last May, a year ago, my cousin Muriel Runolfson Cook called me and asked if I would plan/organize one more trip to Iceland. After about two seconds of bending my arm, I said ok. Ha, little did I know Terry and I would be living in Iceland really soon.

However, the two of us, along with my best partner in crime, my sister Vina, got together for lunch. We planned the Runolfson Clan Tour for the end of July early August, 2017. The bus holds 40 people and the map above shows the driving tour we'll be taking, including hoping on a ferry boat and going to Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) and spending the night. 

There are a few spots left, if you're interested to go with us contact Vina at 801-798-7709 ASAP. The cost is approximately $4,200 per person, which includes round trip air fare from SLC, hotel accommodations, entrance fees, breakfast every morning, etc. We will fly from SLC on Wednesday, July 26 (arriving the next morning) and leave Iceland Monday, August 7 (arriving back in Utah late that evening). Your name can not be added to the list until a $300 non-refundable deposit is paid to either Vina or Muriel. The final payment must be paid by April 1, 2017.


Now let's talk about the National Archives of Iceland and our Family Search project. Take a look at the spreadsheet to the right. Can you see all of the checked boxes, and completed information. Yipppeeee! We sent our first shuttle with names and information to the Family Search office in Frankfurt, Germany on Friday. There were 9,648 images with approximately 25 names per image (low estimate) on the shuttle. Do the math, that's well over 241,000 individual names that can now be indexed and added to the web site www.familysearch.org and connected to their family tree. WOW, we feel so INCREDIBLY BLESSED to have this opportunity to serve those who have gone before us, our brothers and sisters, in this way. 

Take a look at this BIG BOOK Terry captured on Friday. WOWSER, it was from the 1700's, had 748 pages, and was an all-day project. He's smiling in the picture above because, "all done Lillie" he said :)  Love my companion. (And don't you love his Family Search name badge hanging sideways - ha!)

Speaking of waterfalls . . . last week I posted about the beautiful Glymur waterfall we hiked to (Kathy Neves Long you were the first one to say the name on the FB post - GOOD JOB!). Our awesome supervisor at the Archives, Benedikt, came to our office and was excited to show us a picture he found of the falls . . . on Pinterest of all places. ENJOY!

The days are getting longer, and warmer. Terry took the picture above last night from our bedroom window, it was after 11:00 p.m. So the sun was not yet set for the day, and by 4 a.m. the next day (five hours later) it's coming back up again. SWEET!!

 We were asked to speak in the Selfoss Branch at Church today. We enjoyed the 45 minute drive there so much. The snow is all but gone, so pretty and peaceful, and the earth is turning green. Selfoss is a farming community, so we felt totally at home there. 

There was an abundance of Icelandic horses in the fields having their morning breakfast. 

 We were a little early so we took a detour to take in more of the beautiful surroundings. Here you can see the ocean, where many of the rivers dump their water in to. Also, even though you can't see it in this picture, we could clearly see Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands), absolutely breathtaking. Many of our relatives were born and raised in this area, I could feel my family near me today :)

Meet Rosa, she is a member of the Selfoss Branch. She is quite sure she knew our son, Tyler, when he served his mission in Iceland 20 years ago. She wasn't a member of the LDS Church then, however, she said was a young single mother, and the young missionaries assisted her greatly with her young children. With a big smile on her face, she said she was grateful for the good memories. She said she especially remembers one of the young missionaries who knitted. That wasn't Tyler, but if you know who it is, please let them know Rosa has fond memories of you making her days better.

This is þórhildur, a special woman here in Iceland and in the Reykjavik Branch. You remember me talking about Auðunn, the young man who has helped us so much here in Iceland and has lived at our home in Utah a few times the past 20 years. This is his mother. She use to give all of the missionaries their hair cuts, not to mention serving them and love them when they were far away from home. Her daughter, Rosa, lived in Spanish Fork with the Laura Jones family and was an exchange student at Spanish Fork High School. þórhildur was a favorite of Byron and Melva Geslison. She is having major health issues, especially with her eyes. She's loosing her eyesight and the doctors here in Iceland can't figure out why. PLEASE, keep þórhildur (pronounced Thorhildur) in your prayers. If you're LDS and have access to calling or visiting an LDS Temple, please add her name to the Prayer Roll. She deserves the blessing of having her health and eyesight restored.

May our Heavenly Father bless and watch over each of you this week. It's wonderful to know we are all brothers and sisters and we have a loving Heavenly Father above, who KNOWS each you by name and my name too. 

Bless, bless,
Elder and Sister Shepherd
AKA - Terry and Lil :)