Jul 20, 2018 - July 20th

On the road again, isn't that a Willy Nelson song??? After a very nice breakfast of freshly scrambled eggs, juice, coffee and an assortment of breads, cheese, meat and Nutella, we headed for an old Volcanic Crater at Kerio. What a beautiful sight. We paid our 400 Isk and walked around the perimeter. It is amazing the variety of flowers that grow on these rocky grounds. As it is a wee bit cooler today, 9 degrees, windy and rainy we passed by the opportunity to walk down many steps to the lake below. We both have a natural hot spring pool...

Jul 19, 2018 - July 19th

You have a new journaller, Pam. Linda has returned home as her mother will be undergoing an unplanned surgery. She will update everyobne. Her sister , Bev and family are with her. So two strangers in the night are travelling together, Linda's friend and Linda's cousin. Darlene loves to cook and I enjoy writing the journal. We started off heading towards the Glacier Lagoons, a 2 hour drive. We passed through 3 different types of landscapes. Little farms were nestled back against green cliffs that were often dotted with white little blobs,...

Jul 18, 2018 - July 18th

We were up early to be ready by 8:30 to get our car, a VW Golf. It is at this point that I realize I am missing my black bag, so back to the hotel to pick it up. It really sucks sometimes getting old, ok a lot of the time. My memory is good, just really short. We pass by jets of steam spouting from the sides of the hills. Our first stop is the lava center in Hvolsvollur, a walk through large interactive center. At one point, you went through a tunnel where you experience the noise and movement underfoot during an earthquake. The movie...

Jul 17, 2018 - July 17th

Darlene told us that she doesn't drink anything but decaffinated coffee which she had brought with her. So last night she had a cup in the early evening. She was the first one to bed and out like a light at 9:30. We followed suit around 11. A couple hours later she is wide awake, and finally moved to the couch in the front room, where she realized that she had grabbed the wrong coffee and had left the decaffinated at home. In the morning we found her curled up on the very short couch. We had a buffet style breakfast, from a variety of...

Jul 16, 2018 - Flight and Reykjavik

Sunday, July 15 Pam and I were on the road at at eight o’clock heading for Darlene’s In Port Coquitlam. No adventures along the way other than spotting a woman, who is apparently well known in Maple Ridge for walking and biking topless, striding briskly along. At Darlene’s, we transferred our luggage to her car and drove to her friend Maureen’s in Richmond. Maureen, who lives only fifteen minutes from the airport, had offered to keep the car in her second parking spot. She drove us to the airport and will pick us up when we return. Very...

Jun 6, 2018 - Last Day in Iceland

We got up, packed, and checked out, then left our bags at the desk. We took a city bus to Perlan, which is built on top of water tanks up on a hill. BIG hot water tanks for storing geothermally heated water. It was very interesting. Perlan had exhibits, some interactive, on volcanoes, earthquakes, and plate tectonics. They were pretty good. There were some spectacular photos. The volcano picture is a picture of a picture; Larry said he really wished he had taken that. Probably the best part from my view was the ice cave. We walked...

Jun 5, 2018 - Exploring Reykjavik

As a result, we slept really late the next morning. I didn’t even wake up until 10:30. By the time we got breakfast and got organized, it was about 1:30. I bought city cards for us—free bus, free swimming, some free museums, discounts at others. Not a good deal, I am afraid. We used a few buses, didn’t make it to a swimming pool, and at most of the museums, we would have gotten a senior discount. Oh, well. Today was the day we planned to explore Reykjavik. We took a city bus to the tourist office at City Hall. I wanted to find out if...

Jun 4, 2018 - Snaefellsnes Peninsula

Up early, ate breakfast and caught our tour bus for a tour of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, to the northwest of Reykjavik. It was a really good tour. Our driver/guide was Pieter. Our first stop was at a beach where we saw gray seals, eider ducks, and arctic terns. Our next stop was at Arnarstapi, where we walked along the tops of coastal cliffs of columnar basalt, with nesting colonies of kittiwakes and other birds. We saw a natural stone arch and window and a statue of a giant. This was also our lunch stop—we bought dessert—rhubarb...

Jun 3, 2018 - Off to Iceland!

Darren (and Sebastian) got us to Kennedy airport by 6:30 pm the night before, for an ‘exciting’ night of flying. We breezed through security, got to our gate, and waited. And waited. Seems like Delta put the wrong plane at our gate, and eventually decided it was easier to move the passengers than the plane. So we went to a new gate and finally boarded a plane that was bound for Iceland. And waited – because luggage had been loaded for one or more passengers who had not boarded, and that luggage had to be found and removed. Actual departure...

Jan 15, 2018 - Southern Iceland in 7 Days

When my BF presented me with his dream of being in Iceland for New Years Eve I immediately said yes. To be fair, I say yes to him way more than I say no because he's generally full of good, fun ideas and I like to see him smile. But, regardless, I said Sure! Sounds like fun! and I began the research part of our adventure. Thankfully we live close enough to Montreal that flying direct into Reykjavik was an option for us. WOW Airlines,which I'd never heard of and thought sounded pretty suspicious, turned out to be a really decent budget...

Nov 6, 2017 - Notes from the Frozen Tundra

Welcome - On the way to Iceland here were pleasant stops in Swabisch Gmund, Germany and Stockholm to visit friends. Catching up with old and new friends I wish were closer. I've included a few photos. The first of a lovely Romanesque Cathedral In Swabisch Gmund that was far more interesting than several churches on the WHS list. And a few pics from the Royal Park in Stockholm, a city I'll always love especially the bookstore and food hall:) Iceland is cold. It's also raining. And the third windiest country just got hit with near hurricane...

Oct 29, 2017 - Iceland Oct 2017

5 day Iceland trip from Oct 20th to Oct 24th Oct 20th: Day 1- Reykjavik and Blue Lagoon - Landed in KEF around 3:00 PM - Picked up rental car and drove to Reykjavik (accommodation near Hverfisgata and Frakkastigur) - Dinner at Hraðlestin (Indian restaurant- good food) - Drove to Blue Lagoon (reached 8:00 PM, till it closed at 9:30) - Back to Reykjavik to explore some bars - Lebowskibar (try white russian), Den Danske Kro (live band, good music both English (90s)and Icelandic; try whiskey sour) Oct 21st: Day 2- Golden circle - Thingvellir...