Husavik, Iceland

We’ve arrived as far north in Iceland as we will go, nearly as far as it’s possible to go and very close to the Arctic Circle. The trip has been amazing, so amazing that it will not be possible to update this blog. It would take hours, plus I haven’t had time to take notes along the way because if I look down I might miss something. At night, we arrive late usually and get settled, then have happy hour, and I sure don’t want to miss that!

Iceland has so far exceeded our expectations that it is not possible to describe – we have walked on a glacier, behind a waterfall, cruised a lagoon full of icebergs, travelled through moonscapes and thermal areas, driven very remote dirt roads and stood in awe at massive waterfalls. Today we ended up driving alongside the Arctic Ocean (or one of the seas it contains anyway), and are sitting here now in short sleeves with the sun streaming through the windows – what a glorious day! When we left Myvatn this morning, it was a bit overcast and very windy, but not cold. Our cameras have not stopped, the views are just never-ending and it’s hard to do justice to them.

Our accommodation has been varied, but all comfortable and interesting (except possibly the first, which only qualified as interesting). Breakfasts have been included, and without exception are healthy, consisting of various cereals including a muesli that Deb has become addicted to, preserves, yoghurt which comes in a milk carton and is pouring consistency, in various flavours, breads and crispbreads, oatmeal biscuits, cut up fruit, and cold meats, cheeses, tomatoes and cucumber.

All beds are single, very comfortable, and come with a covered comforter and very flat pillow, but very clean and surprisingly adequate. In fact the buildings are so well insulated that we often wake up sweating. Most places are not well signed, and it requires several directions to get the right one. Addresses don’t help because street signs are non-existent. But everyone is so helpful, not effusive, but friendly and with perfect English without exception. As soon as you say hello, they switch seamlessly to colloquial English.

Tonight we are in the oldest house in Husavik, owned by the same family for 60 years and being renovated, so it’s very old-fashioned, but again clean, open and more than adequate. With a washer and dryer, which we’ve found hard to access. So I’m cooking dinner for the first time since we left home – omelettes and salad. We’re all kicking back, catching up on emails, regrouping and repacking – so nice to have room to move. We have the whole house to ourselves.

We still have a few days left before we return to Reykjavik, no guarantees that I will be able to do any more updates after we leave here, wi-fi access is hit and miss. Just think of us being absolutely blown away by the most gorgeous country imagineable!

 

Dingle to Reykjavik

Bit of a broad base to cover this time – some of us have had very bad colds (including me) and the internet connections have been so flaky it just wasn’t worth bothering with. Now we’re finally in Iceland, recovering (hopefully in time for the race next Saturday), and have a strong internet connection.

Pax House, Dingle was just gorgeous – the breakfast was so quaint, little toast racks, a birdcage tea-strainer, everything made to order and most beautifully cooked, it was all like something out of a designer shabby chic book. Mine host, John, was busy cooking, so he suggested we load up the cars and head off on the self-guided tour, then come back and check out – how trusting is that? So that’s what we did.

When we first woke up, it was pouring rain – the bright sunshine that had greeted us the afternoon before was totally hidden – so Lisa and I didn’t bother running. As we set off on our tour, it was still misty rain but the islands and headlands were starting to poke through, and the weather improved along the way. It was spectacular scenery, winding around the cliff faces, and once going on a winding track right down to the beach which gave Chad the opportunity to give the BMW some stick going back up – he was in his element. We stopped and walked through a few ruins, and saw the oldest remaining Christian church in the world, called an Oratory. It was free to enter, just walk up the lane, but a National Parks employee at the gate handed us each a ticket – don’t know why. All the ruins are touchable, you can freely walk through, climb around and photograph anything.

We set off for Kilkenny along a combo of winding country roads, secondary roads and highway. It was too late to visit the Castle by the time we arrived, but we had a good view of the outside from our hotel window – right across the river. The fine dining restaurant was a bit stuffy when we arrived, by the time we left the waitress had all the Australian sayings down pat.  Food was very yummy, also the next morning’s breakfast. An early morning walk through the town and around the castle as usual, set us up for the day.

Because we had missed so much in Dublin due to the crowds and public holiday, we needed to get straight back there and couldn’t waste time in Kilkenny unfortunately – seems like most of our time away from Dublin was spent driving. Back in Dublin, checked in to our hotel down near the port, and the girls went to the laundrette while the men took the cars back. Then we finally went to see the Book of Kells, and how amazing is that? There were also several other illuminated books, one of which was so tiny that we couldn’t even see the letters with our glasses on. There was a theory that the monks had used crystals to magnify the page, but it seems that that would distort the work. The Library where the books live is also magnificent, but much more recent, having been renovated over the years. It is filled with millions of leather-bound volumes, all of which are still in use as reference for anyone who needs them. Very tall ladders are used to reach them.

We wandered around the old Georgian section of town for a while, inspecting an old bank which used to be the House of Parliament, once again very accessible, just walk in, sit on the seats, take photos etc. By then those who were sick (i.e. Deb and me) were starting to fail, so we bought tickets for one of the big red buses, sat up the top in the sun (and it was hot) and did the whole circuit.

The ferry terminal wasn’t far away, so next morning a maxi taxi got us there in no time flat. I had a little nap on the waiting room chairs, then found a lovely comfy couch onboard. What a great ship – just like a cruise liner, ultra luxurious and very stable. Not that its stability was at all tested, the crossing was dead flat. After all the warnings we’d had about the Irish Sea! At Holyhead the change to the train was easy, and then again (on the advice of a kindly guard) at another unpronounceable Welsh station along the way. Our Manchester hotel was just around the corner from the hotel, so it all fitted together perfectly.

Back on the train next morning and off to the airport, nice and early to put Chad’s mind at rest – he was freaked out by the situation at Charles de Gaulle! Of course Manchester was calm and quiet, the plane took off on time, and we landed safely in Iceland. Only to find that, being such a small airport, there was no airbridge and we needed to walk across the tarmac. OK, no problem, but it was blowing a howling gale and raining, luckily not too heavily. Out came the coats and umbrellas, what a hoot! Welcome to Iceland! We found the shuttle, bought tickets, and checked into the hotel.

When I made the bookings with Extreme Iceland, I was just judging them by reports on TripAdvisor  and other forums, as well as their own website, so it was difficult to know how genuine they were. We’d paid them about $4000 deposit (2/3 of the total), and until we checked in at the hotel and it all worked seamlessly, then I phoned Bjorn, and yes welcome, we’ll pick you up at 9am – I was reassured that it was all above board!

The hotel is very basic, apparently standard here, but warm and comfortable. We didn’t even need to turn the heater on, and only were supplied with one light doona each (single beds). Of course the openable window was open, but we had to shut the curtains because the sky is too light all night long. Every time I woke up, I had to have a peek to see how light it was – not quite light enough to read by, more like very bright moonlight. Although it was cloudy, so would be brighter if the sky was clear. This morning the rain had stopped, so our walk took us through the Botanical Gardens where we saw a flock of big brown geese, and some Icelandic horses. Breakfast was interesting – cold cuts, different breads and spreads, fresh fruit, and soured milk which I tasted – it wasn’t sour at all, nothing like yoghurt. I can’t wait to try skyr, local yoghurt. Also an urn of hot chocolate, much too sweet, and a bottle of cod liver oil with little disposable cups to drink it. Of course it’s made in Iceland. Anyway, all healthy fare, so we won’t starve.

Hope I can update along the way, but no guarantees. Off we go!

 

Seoul to Dublin via Paris

My crossed fingers didn’t work, but not for the reason I was worried about. The timing in Paris would have been tight, but we would have made it. However the typhoon caused another problem – because of it, Korean Airlines had to make a detour further south through Chinese airspace, and the Chinese were being reluctant to give permission for this. I think that’s the story – the accents of the cabin staff made it a bit hard to get information. The problem for us was that we boarded the aircraft at the normal time, then were told that there would be at least an hour and a half delay. By then of course we had no access to phones or internet, or we could have cancelled accommodation and changed our connecting flight to the next day. All we could do was sit tight until we finally arrived in Paris and see what happened.

We ended up nearly 2 hours late, then were confronted with MASSIVE lines to get through immigration at Charles de Gaulle airport. Finally someone called for passengers with connecting flights to come forward and we sideslipped the lines and got through very quickly. Then it was a very long wait for luggage to come through, followed by conflicting information about how to get to the other terminal. Turned out it was very easy if you knew where to go, there is a little automatic shuttle train which speeds between stations. We arrived at Terminal 1 with our luggage to find the check-in desk closed and our aircraft taxiing away from the gate.

So, regroup and decide what to do. One of the stations on the shuttle train was for airport hotels so we went back there and found the Novotel right outside the door. Checked in about 10pm, quickly had dinner before the restaurant closed – it had been many hours since the last meal on the plane and we were all starving. Chad had his iPad with him, and used it to book flights for the next morning, and Al phoned the hotel in Dublin to notify them that we weren’t coming. They hadn’t expected us until midnight anyway, so not too bad. At this stage we’re out of pocket for the extra airfares, last minute so top dollar, but hopefully we can arrange something with Korean and our travel insurance to get at least some of it back.

The trip to Dublin was great, lovely sunny day as we came in over the city. Immigration was friendly, and there was no customs as such. Just like the French and Koreans, they don’t care what you bring in – seems so strange after our stringent quarantine and America’s strict immigration. The shuttle bus to the hotel was efficient, the hotel very central, old but comfortable and interesting. We decided to stay another night in Dublin or there would be no time for sightseeing, with the hope that the hotel would not charge us for the night we cancelled. As it turned out, Deb and Chad got away with it but the rest had to pay. However Chad was ripped off for parking the hire car, while we were charged correctly, so it all came out in the wash.

By now it’s Saturday, off to see the sights, with a walk through the city streets, over the River Liffey and through a demonstration/parade of zombies! Seems to be an annual event, but it totally stopped the traffic and for the rest of the day we saw blood-soaked, fanged creatures at every corner. It was also a huge Irish football weekend, not a good choice for a visit really, because in the evening every pub was overflowing with drunks. Very vibrant atmosphere though! Some had Guiness pie for lunch.

On Sunday morning, Lisa, Deb and I set off for a run, the others walking. Deb, a squash player not a runner, planned to turn back after a couple of kms, but ended up doing the whole 5km with us. We ran down around St Stephens Green, a lovely park which was locked and you could see why – every street corner had been used as a urinal and there was rubbish everywhere from the celebrations the night before. It was easy to imagine how wrecked the park would be if drunks could access it during the night. Quite a few celebrants still roamed the streets, one of them giving Lisa a solid slap on the backside as she ran past – she was so shocked she didn’t react and Deb and I hadn’t seen it happen! We told her it was a compliment – he obviously chose hers as the best backside. The area also contains the university and library where the Book of Kells is kept, and Dublin Castle. It is a very beautiful Georgian area, with many important historic buildings and narrow cobbled lanes.

Later in the morning we set off to visit the sights, but the bad luck continued. The Castle didn’t open until midday, when we needed to pick up the hire cars and go out to Newgrange. Only to discover that being a long weekend, all the tours at Newgrange were totally booked, and that is the only way to see it. We did visit the information centre and viewed it through a telescope from a distance of a kilometre or so. What a disappointment, it was on the must-do list, and we won’t have time to revisit it. So back to Dublin late in the afternoon, to the Guiness Storehouse where we had pre-purchased tickets. Once again it was packed with visitors, but is a very large attraction and can cope well. It is so varied and interesting, and a place where you could spend a lot of time. The lift to the top and the bar reveals a view right out over the rooftops of Dublin, with a glassed in viewing platform.

The Book of Kells exhibit also didn’t open until late morning, so it will have to wait until we return to Dublin on Wednesday, along with the Castle. The Bank Holiday weekend was a real pain, nothing that we’d planned was open. Driving out to Newgrange was a pain too, because the GPS took us right through the area of another huge football match where the traffic was at a standstill. Our track record at this stage is not good.

Lisa and I did a 6km run along the River Liffey on Monday morning, then we checked out and headed out along the motorway to Dingle. We chose this option because by now we were a day behind and even on the motorway it’s over 5 hours to Dingle, and we had pre-booked some lovely accommodation here.

 

Brisbane to Seoul

Finally we’re on our way – not such a good start, an hour late leaving, who knows why. We were in a lineup of 8 planes waiting to takeoff. The plane is clean and tidy, lovely polite cabin crew, but brunch has just been served and the vegetarian option was nothing to write home about. The omelette was leathery and veges watery. Fruit and yoghurt nice though. Al’s choice of Korean chicken was much more interesting – three dishes to be combined, one of chopped sautéed vegetables and chicken, another of rice and a third of seaweed soup. Add a tube of hot chilli paste and a sachet of sesame oil, and it smelled very savoury.

ONLY 7 hours to go – lots of movies to watch, trips to the toilet to be made, and a remaining half egg sandwich to be eaten. Yes that’s right, we packed sandwiches and fruit cake and fruit for breakfast at the airport to avoid the dreaded takeaway food. There are still some bananas and mandarins to eat before we get to Seoul.

We used RedAir to get to the airport, for six of us it worked out much more economical and stress-free than the alternatives. Deb and Chad arrived from Cairns yesterday and Al picked John and Lisa up at 4:30 this morning. Of course most of us could not sleep, so up early anyway, but Chad said he had the assistance of Johnny Walker and had no trouble.  Roger and Judy came to visit last night, and joined us for fish and chips as a last supper.

Airline report : Korean Air supplies bottles of water, as well as toothpaste and brush and slippers, plus sterilised (or at least sealed, pretending to be sterilised) pillows and blankets. The seats on this leg (A330 plane) are 2/4/2 configuration, with reasonable leg room for economy. Individual screens with heaps of choices of movies, audio, games and information screens. As comfortable as could be expected in cattle class. The long wait at Brisbane is a worry though – hope it is airport specific, rather than airline specific, because our transit time in Paris is VERY tight and we can’t afford to be arriving late at Charles de Gaulle.

After a little nap, another meal and a couple of movies (Bel Ami and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for me), we arrived in Seoul an hour late. The flight was very bumpy, constant low-level turbulence, but otherwise ok –  a few rounds of drinks got us through. The language problem reared its head in Seoul airport when I tried to find out if it was ok to bring fruit through – as it turned out, we gave the bananas away, then just breezed through quarantine despite my efforts to declare the muesli bars I was carrying. Then another line up to get the transit passenger stickers, yet another to get the hotel vouchers and finally we boarded the shuttle bus. A very long slow line at the hotel finally produced room keys, twin beds all round because the story was that they were booked out – not sure about that, there don’t seem to be many people around, in the foyer, lifts or restaurants.

A helpful someone at the information desk at the airport looked carefully at our flight times and connections in Paris, and assured us that we would make the connection easily – hope he is right. So we haven’t even tried to manually check luggage through just in case it goes missing in the process, and decided against the other alternative of an early flight in the morning.

NEXT DAY : Our rooms are comfortable (Best Western), in an area that appears to be part of the Olympic area – lots of parks, stadiums and high-rise accommodation. Dinner last night (included) was a fairly ordinary buffet with some Western and some Korean food, none of it very interesting, except the little cherry tomatoes and lychees which were delicious. We hit the whiskey (Irish), Bacardi and red wine in Deb and Chad’s room, then hit the sack.

The room lights don’t go off, we solved it by taking the room key card out of the socket, Chad phoned reception and discovered that there is a red button on the radio clock, and John and Lisa slept (sort of) all night with the lights on! The toilet is also interesting, a combo toilet/bidet arrangement with undecipherable buttons. One seems to regulate the temperature of the seat, another is labelled “bowel movement” and yet another “female urine”. Al is terrified to sit down because a threatening pipe slides out of the back of the bowl as soon as you sit.

Al and I slept intermittently, although he seems to be under the illusion that I snored – rubbish! Anyway up bright and early as usual, saw the sun rise in a very pretty sky behind the high-rises across the park, then we went for a walk with Deb and Chad while John and Lisa tried to extend their well-lit rest. The temperature outside was pleasant, although a bit later on it rises to 35 deg. We found exercise equipment in the park, alongside little cubicles like phone boxes, with books on shelves inside. ??? The shuttle bus took us along an incredibly long bridge, which from our window we can see curving away in the distance – it must be at least 10km long.

The buffet breakfast was much more interesting – a huge range of choices, Asians seem to fill a plate with salad, and add some cold, very spicy things to it. Also there was beef porridge, no-one was game to try that, Lisa and I both had miso soup, and plenty of Western choices. We ate healthily, fairly lightly, because we’ll be facing another long-haul flight this afternoon. This one is 12 hours, then a 3 hour transit in Paris, followed by a couple more hours to Ireland. Local time on arrival will be around midnight, but for us it will be mid-Saturday morning. A few hours sleep on the plane seems essential.

 

Woo hoo! We’re all booked to go!

I need to pinch myself to make sure it’s true, but the flights are booked and paid for and the deposit paid on the Iceland sector, plus other bits and pieces along the way. I’ve entered the half-marathon in Reykjavik, and training is progressing well – doing a 25km training run every week, plus other shorter ones.

So, we decided to go via South Korea in the end – and saved about $1000 per couple by doing so. The route is Brisbane/Seoul, overnight in Seoul, on to Paris the following day, with a connection to Dublin. We spend five days in Ireland, then catch the ferry to Holyhead in Wales and a train connection to Manchester (anything to avoid Heathrow with the Olympics on!). From here we catch a flight to Iceland, and next day pick up our HUGE beast of a truck to set off around Iceland.

On the last night we stay in Reykjavik again, and run the race the next morning. Hopefully we can find a shower somewhere to freshen up, then onto a plane for London. Can’t avoid Heathrow this time, but luckily Michael lives right nearby and is planning to meet us with a couple of taxis to his house. We’ll stay with him for a few days, and enjoy his local knowledge tours.

Next step is the Eurostar to Paris, where we stay 5 days, before returning to Brisbane via Seoul again (no stopover this time). All up, 26 days. Can’t wait!

My niece was married near Cairns on the weekend, and it was great fun to catch up with family at the scenic Atherton Tablelands. The ceremony was graced with the backdrop of a gorgeous waterfall, and a glorious afternoon. Family came from all over, including my other niece and her family all the way from Perth, just for one night. We’re off camping next week, for 10 days at Inskip Point.  No doubt there will be some little gems to be published!

 

Iceland trip planning

All is on track for this trip – I’m waiting for the cheaper fares to Europe which will hopefully be announced around or after Easter, to actually book the major flights. Once that is in place, I can slot everything else in around it.

So far I have a tentative booking at a simply gorgeous guesthouse on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. This might be a good place to hire bikes and go for a ride along the clifftops if the weather is kind.

The deposit has been paid for the Iceland sector – car hire and accommodation for 9 days/8 nights. We have a F350 booked – a huge truck with great big thick wheels to traverse the lavafields of the inland. All six of us will fit comfortably in it, and luckily there is very little traffic so navigating won’t be a problem.

Just the opposite in Ireland, where the very narrow rural roads and village streets will make a small car much more convenient. So we’ll get two small cars, and swap around travelling companions. A hotel for John and Lisa in London has been booked. The rest of us will stay with Michael, nice and close by. I’ve also booked a hotel in Paris, just in case there is nothing available later. It’s a good deal anyway and gets very good reviews on TripAdvisor.

So that’s the progress at this stage. In between, we have next weekend on Moreton Island with our good friends Carrie and Malc and their children, my niece’s wedding at Millaa Millaa inland from Cairns in May, followed by a couple of weeks camping at Inskip Point, where many of our friends will be joining us for varying periods. Happy times!

 

Looks like it’s a goer this time!

Earth is spinning fairly reliably on its axis this year, so far, and my plans for our trip are gradually falling into place. Deb and Chad, and Lisa and John, are coming with us – no Lyndy and Joe this time (sob!)

This is what it looks like so far :

• Leave on Aug 2
• 2 nights (1 full day) in Dubai enroute
• Arrive in Dublin, stay the night there
• Next day pick up hire car(s), 5 nights (4 full days) in Ireland, the last one back in Dublin
• Early next morning, get on the ferry to Holyhead in Wales, connects with a train to Manchester. Stay the night in Manchester.
• Next afternoon, fly to Iceland, stay the night in Reykjavik.
• Next day pick up hire car(s), 7 full days travel around Iceland, finishing in Reykjavik for the last night
• On the Saturday, some or all of us will do the race (half-marathon or 10km), then catch the afternoon flight to London
• John and Lisa leave us in Reykjavik to fly to the US
• 4 nights, 3 full days in London – 2 days with Michael as a tour guide. We will be staying with Michael. One day free to do whatever in London.
• Travel to Paris by train through the Chunnel. 4 nights (3 full days) in Paris.
• Fly home via somewhere for a one night stopover, arriving home on or around Aug 28

I have been in contact with a travel agency called Extreme Iceland to organise our car hire and accommodation for the road trip in Iceland. Their quote seems reasonable and contains all we need, so I will probably be going ahead and booking that fairly soon. Summer accommodation in Iceland books out very quickly, and we don’t want to miss out and have to sleep in a flea-pit – not very likely, apparently everything is squeaky-clean.

It’s getting exciting now – next step will be looking for suitable flights with Sharron’s help. Al and I, John and Lisa, have bought our warm jackets – it’s strange to get your head around that in the middle of a Queensland summer, but a good time to buy, especially from the US where they are starting to discount winter stock. They probably won’t be needed on the rest of our trip, but even summer in Iceland will be very cold for us Queenslanders.