The Golden Circle !

This is turning out to be a hell of a tough "gig" combining daylight sensory overload with night time sleep deprivation !

After snatching a couple of hours sleep early evening we were on northern lights duty in Pingvellir National Park till near midnight last night before crashing back at the appt and again rising early this mrning to fit in the "heavy load" of day time activities planned ! First off the rank was our journey to the nearby Geysir Geo thermal park where Monika in her Antartic survival jacket stood posed against the bubbling and explosive Strokkur Geysir while my fingers poised frozen over the camera trying to capture that "right moment !

With awe and sulphur still embedded upon our senses we journeyed 10 or more kms along the road to the super impressive Gulfoss Waterfall with conditions about 10 degrees colder than the freezing Geysir Park ! Here though at least the sun provided some suggestion of impending warmth while highlighting a magnificent collage of ice, snow and thundering water ! This was the Iceland that we'd come for - rugged natural beauty at its best !

After Gulfoss we "refuelled" back at the appartment before heading out this time on a secret mission to discover the supposed off the beaten path gem Bruafoss Waterfall. Off the beaten path it certainly was as we traipsed along ill defined muddy paths heading thru swamp like terrain but secret it was not as we plodded and splashed our way with a number of other internet savy tourists ! The effort though was worth it as the river with its aqua blue vein providdd a beautiful setting against the snowy hillside background.

Back in the car we headed back in reverse past our appartment to Pingvellir National park by this time bathed in a beautiful afternoon sun. Pingvellir is a place of significance to Iceland being not only of geographical interest with its head banging tetonic plates but also a place of histroical importance given its 1, 000 + year old connection with Icelands political history and law making.

Once done and a million photos taken, it was back to the appartment with a lot less swagger than this morning thanks to cumulative physical weariness and a huge sensory overload following seeing so many amazing sights !

Somehow though we once again dragged ourselves out at night time for yet another memorable Northern Lights display. This was even more impressive than last night as the lights danced across the sky highlighting a rapidly setting moon ! Again it was bloody freezing requiring us to open the car doors in an effort to shield ourseleves from the biting ice cold winds as we stood in tge open viewing the spectacle ! 

We are so far batting 2 for 2 on our Icelandic Northern Lights adventure !

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Day 2

Day 2

The Lights Appear !

I must admit it's been a few decades since I remember last being horizontal on a car seat in the dark out in the middle of nowhere but here we where in the Pingvellir national park waiting for the next episode of the Nortern Lights performance !

After having reluctantly agreed to have Monika set her alarm for a 3 hour rest after having arrived in Largavatyn we found ourselves up and instantly awake in 2 when a quick glimpse outside of our darkened appartment windows showed a cloud like light appearance in the distance.

Having excitedly packed the car with cameras we drove back some 20+kms to the Pingvellir National Park an ideal setting should the lights choose to reveal themselves which is difficult to predict given the vagaries required to set up the show e.g. Sun flare activity, darkness of night, absence of clouds etc etc.

On our way along the pot holed darkened roads though we'd passed a number of kerbside parked cars and even a waiting tourist coach thus heightening our anticipation of a possible performance.

Sure enough we didnt have to wait long before an eretheral like curtain of glowing lights started appearing across the clear skies. The apparition while not in full colour or spectacle was still amazing to see as it unravelled itself as if knowingly performing before taking a bow and finally dissapearing !

We watched in the cold conditions for a good 30 minutes with both Monika and self excitedly pointing out each new light apparition which in terms of show performance might have only rated 4/10 but for us was one of lifes memorable moments !

As quickly as the lights appeared they retired leaving us feeling well satisfied and me looking forward to heading back to bed and getting the rest of those 34 hours of sleep that I'd somewhere missed out on en route !

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En Route

En route to Largavatyn in Iceland by way of an icy landscape and Pingvellir !

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Arrival Iceland !

Well its not everday that you can easily refute a myth but on day 1 of our 2017 OS adventure I can catergorically say "up yours Flat Earthers" after having travelled 36 long &" painful" hours from one end of the planet to the other (without falling off the edge of the world) to Iceland !

 I say "painful" because Airline travel these days (exception Business Class) is about as enjoyable as a double root canal without anesthetic - the luxury of dished up 1/2 star food , the spectacle of adults fighting each other for an extra inch of seat space and the joy of of suffering ruptured ear drums from uncontrolled pre pubescent screeching makes you wish for a teleportation device !

As far as " experiences" this one got off to a horror start with the row behind me having such prescribed ear piercing children (lucky to make adults if I had my way) and an on board electrical fault that required a return from the taxi way to the loading area for what the Captain described as a simple computer reset (i thought they used pilots !) and a 90 minute delay !

Despite these early setbacks the journey continued rather uneventfully to Largavatyn in Iceland over 36 hours (26 flying, 8 waiting + 2 driving like a drunken Zombie from Reykjavik!). En route I gratefully met up with Monika at Heathrow (coincidentally on our 37th wedding anniversaty!) who'd been spening time with family in UK for 3 weeks previous ! 

From Reykjavik it was 2 hours of part peak hour driving not a problem normally but driving a manual, on the wrong side of the road being dog tired made it a tad more challenging ! We arrived at our accommodation in the famed Golden Circle area at Largavatyn having crossed  an amazing landscape of reteating winter snow where for me at least it was time to have a quick bight before finally crashing on empty into bed to kick start what should be a fantastic trip ! 

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Itinerary

Itinerary -

Iceland

Fly London Heathrow - Reykjavik - 29 March

Largavtyn - 2 n's
Staffafell - 2n's
Keflavik - 1n

Fly Reykjavik - London Gatwick - 1n
Fly London Gatwick - Rome - 1n

Mediterranean Cruise

Depart Rome -
Genoa -
Barcelona -
At sea -
Cassablanca -
At sea -
Teneriffe -
Madiera -
At sea -
Malaga -
At sea -
Arr Rome

Italy

Rome - 3 n's

Fly Rome - Bristol

UK

Devon 8 n's

Fly London Heathrow - Melbourne - 27 April
 

Iceland

Mikes Word !

Well Monika could have chosen cycling up the Mountains of Wales or trekking the peaks of the Himalayas but strangely instead opted for the slightly "cruzier" option of sailing the Med to the exotic locations of Tenerife and Madiera and chasing the Northern Lights in Iceland. While disappointed i decided to go along with her knowing full well what will confront us having toured here in 2015. While the chances of seeing the lights are only 50/50 there's no doubt we will be hit with an astonishing array of spectacular scenery. Our arrival this time coincides with Spring where snow is still around and temps can range from a biting -5c to a "warmish" 10c ! It should be a blast !!!