Today was a relatively light day with only 200 km on the road. First above the beautiful Arctic City of Akeryuri to Hliarfjall Ski . Though there is only 600m ( 1900 ft ) of vertical it looks delightful – fresh powder, no line ( there were only about 8 people on the whole mountain) . All for about $ 30 a day – far less than US ski prices – now over $ 100 a Day !

We then headed west to Hvanneyri, on the way to Westfjords. Once again we encountered wind and snow, though not the blizzard conditions of yesterday.

Typical house of Akeryuri.

An early Prime Minister of Modern Iceland immortalized in Akeryuri’s Lutheran Cathedral.

Oceanic Ice ! Not quite the Arctic Ocean, but the Greenland Sea, which leads from the Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean.

Evening snowfall in Hvanneyri.

2014 was an incredible travel year for ArcticTropic. We explored Myanmar ( Burma), European Russia,Siberia,Mongolia,China,Japan,British Colombia,Canada,Singapore,Philippines and Panama. Here’s 184 clips in 11 minutes. This version is natural sound,a musical version will be uploaded soon.

On October 9th ArcticTropic awoke on the shores of the Pacific, swam, then drove 3 hours to the Caribbean ( Atlantic ) and swam there. Actually the drive is 45 minutes along the highway near the Canal, and 28 minutes to see both. However the beaches near the canal are not swimmable.

Today ArcticTropic accompanied the delegation from Enterprise Florida on a tour of the Panama Canal. The Canal, which just celebrated its’ 100th Anniversary is undergoing a major expansion -PANAMAX – which will triple capacity and allow much larger container ships to traverse between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Ships enter from the Atlantic ( Caribbean ) side at Colon.

PANAMAX construction. Estimated to be finished by late 2015.

Gatun Lake. The total route is 50 miles ( 80 km ) and takes 8 to 10 hours. Only 32 ships a day can pass through – 16 from either side. Reservations are required 547 days in advance, but expedited service is available.

Entering Miraflores Locks.

Clearance of the ;Miraflores completed, the ship sails into the Pacific, about 5 miles away, then on to China.