Reykjavik Zoo

A Nice Quiet Day at the Reykjavik Zoo.

The zoo had maybe a dozen species of animals (not including the aquatic life) that are all currently residing in Iceland (whether they are indiginous or not). It was a very small, almost farm-like place. It was kept very well, and all the animals seemed content.

The seals were adorable. They had surprisingly furry bodies (fur of a sort--it was more spikey and sparse than lush and furry), the sweetest little faces, and big white whiskers. They loved swimming upside down. (I think they were bored though.)

The Arctic Foxes were a really odd mix (looks and behaviour) of a cat and a dog. They were very skittish, which I was glad to see. I hate to see wild animals too aclimated to human presence.

The reindeer were a lot smaller than I expected--I think because they were young. I got to see them right at feeding time, and the window was right over their food. They were also a bit skittish, so I only stayed a minute so they could eat in peace.

The aquarium was very interesting. Lots of extremely weird creatures. If you look in the photos carefully, you can even see a sea cucumber. There were many very weird looking fish, including flounder, starfish, and many other fish native to the North Atlantic.

The pigs, goats, sheep and cows were the same as you can see at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. I can't imagine how many cows they had to bring over on ships hundreds of years ago before they could get them to survive the journey, and the Icelandic climate.

More Icelandic Horses--they were very pretty and well-groomed, unlike the ones I've previously encountered, who were definitely not kept as show pets. The zoo horses even seemed more sleek and taller than the previous ones.

I met Max, a Papillion dog who belonged to one of the zoo keepers. He really liked the way I smelled. There was a cat at the zoo, who was a very typical example of a Reykjavik cat--smaller, more compact, plumper, and very thick fur. He had an especially squishy face, like many of the cats have on Toronto's Kensington Market.


Then I hopped on a bus, and just went for a ride around the suburbs of Reykjavik. A lot of the housing developments have groups of 2-4 story apartment-style homes, and the backyards are certainly not the manicured and polished looking ones we have in Toronto. They have long natural grasses, and many of tem are corwded with lava rocks. Very young kids are playing outside (alone or in groups) with no adult supervision. (Thanks to the nearly non-existant crime rate I'm guessing.) A lot of the concrete homes have many cracks, probably due to the many earthquakes Iceland has. There is a cool looking outdoor pool I'm going to have to check out. The steam rising from the water could be seen kilometers away, and it had a really big tube slide. I went to McDonalds, and it was extremely expensive. A "value meal" cost about 12$ cdn. The McChicken was different; the meat was sweeter, and the breading was very peppery. The fries tasted the same. They did not have fountain carbonated drinks, but boxed juice and milk-type products. It was very crowded, with families, young couples, older business men, and lots of kids. Most of the young children were running around, preferring the revolving door to the playland. I've been told that Icelanders are very liberal with their kids, and let them do pretty much as they please, and hardly ever say no to them, unless they are bothering others or getting into harm. The kids were nowhere near as loud as North American kids were, and they were thoroughly enjoying themselves, so whatever the parents are doing seems to work. Iceland is rated as one of the most happy places in the world (read The Geography of Bliss), and I guess happy kids make happy adults.

Nothing too exciting today; I'm going caving tomorrow afternoon, and then the Blue Lagoon in the late afternoon...Sunday I have a surprise Tour in the interior and southern shore, as my Northern Lights tour failed to pick me up twice in a row (so they gave me a free 150 Euro $ tour). It has been too cloudy to see the lights anyways, but they have me on a waiting list for the first clear night (for another free tour!)

I've been getting a lot of positive feedback about my blogs and photos; thanks!