Once upon a time this was about Me and The Boy. The it was Me, The Boy, The Cat and The Cat's Mother. And now, I'm not sure who it's about. How life changes when you least expect it!
Tara chose to make August 29th her 'one day' to take a picture. That was the last day of our holiday - see here. The previous day had been bright and sunny, but Sunday was cold wet and damp in Reykjavik...a suitable way to finish a holiday. I took this photo as we waited for the coach to take us across the lava fields, past the Blue Lagoon to Keflavik airport. We'd had a brilliant, but exhausting week...and it probably shows...
But as we headed towards Britain, the flight forty minutes ahead of schedule, the clouds cleared enabling us to see the islands off the coast of Scotland...most seemed to have just one or two buildings on them...what a different life to the one we lead in London - and how much must they appreciate the sun when it comes.
Not many people seem to know the size of Iceland. When The Boy and I went there a decade ago, I'd guessed it at around about the same area as the Isle of Wight..and many of our current friends seem to think that's about right. In fact it's just slightly smaller than England. We spent three days driving east from Reykjavik at about 200 miles a day.
Some things we didn't see:
THAT volcano...well we sort of did, but it wasn't smoking so it was difficult to work out which peak it was. The ash was every where though.
Puffins...they took flight a week before we arrived, much to our disappointment. We were reassured the two things were not related.
Wales. I mean Whales...we'd done this the last time we went, and everyone on the boat spent the whole time being or trying to throw up. The Cat and The Cat's Mum refused point blank. They were right, and we shall wait for one to swim up the Thames again.
Northern Lights. I guess some one hadn't paid the electricity bill.
Things we did see:
Big skies. Yes, the there were big skies...difficult to explain, but the sky seemed bigger...perhaps it was the wide open spaces...
Glaciers. Yep all over the place...and one of our number managed to mistake one for the sea, even though it had a curve on top...I shan't mention who that was, but it wasn't me or the teenagers
Glacial lake...we got to go on an amphibious truck to see icebergs on the lake...spectacular
Black sand...even more beautiful when decorated with little icebergs glistening in the sun
Bouncy land...not sure we were supposed to be bouncing on it...but an amazing landscape which we tripped over...
Seriously amazing waterfalls...and two daft Norwegians who thought it a good idea to shower underneath one of them
Land so desolate that you can understand why they used it to train for the first moon landings
A Penis Museum. Yep. Ummm.
We hated:
Shark meat...it must have been drowned in ammonia we think
There's an epidemic amongst the horse population, so we didn't get a ride
Icelandic maps...no wonder the Vikings came to Britain, they were probably just following an Icelandic map, and ended up several hundred miles adrift...our guide book maps sometimes had north at the top, sometimes south, sometimes east and sometimes west. We had a 25% chance of getting it right...
We loved:
The warm, friendly, welcoming nature of the Icelanders...everywhere we went. And they have a great sense of humour too - when I said I felt guilty about claiming back the tax on some purchase, the woman said, not to worry...it was our money anyway...
The coffee...not sure why, but they make a great cup of coffee
The Grey Cat cafe...great for breakfast
Hotel 101...so trendy it hurts...
The fact that the language means that a place name will be spelled one way on the map, another in the guide book, and yet another when you get there
The sheer beauty of the place...mostly awe-inspiring, never dull, always unexpected...
We loved our week. The Boy and I are glad to have gone back, The Cat and The Cat's Mum delighted to have gone somewhere they would never have otherwise made the journey to...and so the sun set on our holiday:
...is a big brand over here. We didn't get lost on our long trek...and have spent the last day or so luxuriating in the Hotel 101 in Reykyavik...back tomorrow...
