So it begins

Counting down

Published Date : May 17, 2013

It’s now less than a month until I leave for Iceland.  Let the countdown begin!

Everything is pretty much organized.  There are a couple of activities I’d like to pre-book in the next couple of weeks, otherwise it’s just a waiting game.  Work has been enormously stressful lately, so I’m really looking forward to this break.  Plus it has been far too long since I was last in the backpacker scene.  All of my travels the last couple of years have been either camping or hotels.  Still fun, but it’s just not the same.

In the meantime, I’m headed to Ottawa next week.  It’s a  business trip, but I’m hoping to do a bit of sightseeing while I’m there.  I’ve been to the capital twice before, but only to catch a flight or meet people at the airport.  This time, I’d like to actually see some of it!

Final days

Published Date : June 6, 2013

Well, the business trip to Ottawa was a success, but the sightseeing just didn’t work out.  Normally I’m not one to let mother nature dictate my activities.  This time, though, I simply wasn’t prepared for the weather.  I had packed for sun and warmth, not cold and rain.  The sightseeing will have to wait for next time…

Work has been kicking my butt the last few months.  You’ll likely have noticed that I haven’t been updating my old travel journals as often.  That’s why.  I just have nothing left when I get home at the end of the day.  This vacation is going to be a very much needed opportunity for me to shut my brain off and relax.

Speaking of vacation – it is now less than a week until Iceland.  Insert happy dance here ��

Everything is pretty much organized.  Now it’s just a matter of getting there and enjoying myself!

Flying with friends

Published Date : June 12, 2013

I ducked out of work early this afternoon to pack and tidy up my place.  Darting around for some last minute shopping, I was organized at last.  The drive to the airport was surprisingly smooth for rush hour in Canada’s biggest city.  I dropped my car at the lot, caught the shuttle into the departures terminal and joined the giant queue for Icelandair.

I was people watching, as I always do when I’m stuck in crowds, when I saw a familiar face standing in line several spaces behind me.  “No. WAY!”  Both of us let out the same exclamation at the same time.  About 10 people back, there stood one of my co-workers waiting to check in for the same flight!   Mike works at a different site and we only see each other a couple of times per year, but we have always gotten along well.   Surprised, but happy to have the company, the normally interminable wait before boarding passed quickly as we caught up over dinner and a beer in one of the airport pubs.

We were sitting at opposite ends of the plane and Mike was meeting friends in Reykjavik, so we said our goodbyes when the plane started to board.  We’re both doing a loop around the country, but in different directions, so we may cross paths somewhere in the middle.

The 5-hour flight was exceedingly uncomfortable.  It was full and my entertainment console wasn’t working.  Plus there was a child with a cold coughing the entire time two rows behind me.  I managed to catch a couple of hours sleep on the crossing though.  I knew I was going to need it.

Selatangar, Steam vents and Silfra!

Published Date : June 13, 2013

Selatangar – 18th Century Fishing Village

We landed on time in Keflavik at 06:30.  For some unknown reason we were directed through security screening as we left the plane.  I guess they thought we had arranged for Scotty beam us some weapons mid-flight.  So an hour later, we finally made it to passport control.

After the insane wait to go through security, I wasn’t surprised to find my backpack waiting for me on the luggage carousel.  Gearing up, I stopped at an ATM to withdraw some Icelandic Kroners (ISK) then headed over to Hertz to pick up my rental car – a brand new RAV4 AWD.  Nice!

I took my time to settle in and figure out my plan for the rest of the day.  I couldn’t check in to my hostel until 14:00, so I had most of the day to fill.  I headed for the parking lot exit only to be hit with my first obstacle of the trip.  The ticket they had given me at the Hertz counter was expired so I couldn’t get out!  I hit the call button and spoke to security, relieved to discover that yes everybody does in fact speak English here.  Out of the gate it was time to drive.

I immediately figured out that the road signage wasn’t going to be much help.  I ended up going in circles around Garður and Keflavik for a while.  Finally, between a map and my GPS I worked out where I was going and I was on my way.  I had hoped to grab some breakfast in Grindavik, but nothing was really open yet when I passed through.

About 10km past Grindavik, there is a rough dirt track that heads off into the barren volcanic slab.  You don’t need a 4×4 to make the drive, but it was definitely useful to have a bit more ground clearance crawling over some of the rocks and potholes.  My destination was Selatangar, the ruins of an old fishing village that had been abandoned in the late 1800s.

Finally arriving at the parking lot, I had about a 1km trek through sand and hills of volcanic rock before reaching the beach.  Surprisingly, there were patches of clover and heather scattered throughout the desolate landscape.  I could just make out their subtle perfume beneath the more obvious stench of the volcanoes and the sea.  Located right on the windswept shoreline, the foggy gloom of the day added to the mysterious feel of the place.   I found myself a sheltered patch of grass to sit and soak it all in.  I hadn’t realized just how much I had been missing the ocean since moving to Ontario.  It was great to breathe the sea air again.

Krysuvik Geothermal Area

I stayed in the ruins of the old village until I started to feel chilled in the damp air.  After hiking back to my car, I slowly wove my way back through the lava field to the main road.  Everything I have seen so far today looks like another planet.  With nothing but crumbling old lava fields as far as the eye can see. It’s a wonder that anybody could live here.

Only a couple of kilometres further along the main road, I reached the turn off for Kleifarvatn, a large volcanic lake in the Reykjanes Peninsula.  After a large earthquake in 2000, the lake started to drain through a large fissure, but it has since stabilized and started to refill.  Surrounded by black earth and the bubbling geothermal hot pots of Krýsuvík, the large lake is still very geologically active.

I took some time to take a walk around the hot pots and climb to the top of Syðristapi to enjoy a panoramic view.  By the time I returned to the car, I was hungry and tired.  After all the driving around this morning, I was surprised to find that I was only about 20 minutes away from my hostel in Reykjavik.

I still had an hour until I could check-in, so I stopped off in Hafnarfjörður along the way.  I had been hoping to catch the annual Viking Festival, but alas it starts tomorrow and I’ll be driving north.  Finally in civilization again, I took the opportunity to pick up some water and snacks to tide me over.

On to the hostel, I curled up in the backseat of the car and enjoyed a nap while I waited until I could check-in.  With my dive out at Silfra tonight, I needed to top up on my energy levels!

Finally gaining access to a room, I showered and changed and enjoyed a few minutes of downtime while I waited for my ride to Silfra.  Frankie, a petite blonde girl from Norway and my dive master for the night, found me in the lounge.   It was just the two of us on the drive out to Þingvellir.  There was only one other person diving in our group, Søren from Denmark, and he would be meeting us at the site.

Frankie was recently returned from Thailand and we enjoyed the drive comparing travel notes.  She also explained some of the finer details of Icelandic driving to me.  Specifically, the fact that vehicles in the inside lane have the right of way on roundabouts.  So if you’re travelling in the outside lane you need to watch for vehicles merging into the roundabout from the right AND keep an eye out for vehicles that may be trying to exit on your left.  Luckily it’s something I’ll only have to worry about in Reykjavik!

Silfra

After arriving in the park, we went through the arduous process of gearing up.  Since this was my first dry suit dive, it was a bit of a process getting set up.  I had originally wanted to complete my dry suit certification course while I was here, but the timing for the course didn’t work out.  Instead I would be going through a crash course of the basics just to do the dive.  Finally outfitted and ready to go, in the end I was wearing about 50-60lbs of gear and weights.  Oy!

It was a short walk up to the start of our dive, then a climb down some metal stairs into the icy cold water.  We took a few minutes to do a weight check and get comfortable in the water.  Our suits did their jobs well and kept us suitable warm.   After a few minutes of sorting out some buoyancy issues, it was time to descend.

From the surface, the water looked dark and forbidding.  As soon as we dropped below the surface though, it changed to a magnificent and vivid blue.  We followed the uneven terrain, rising into shallow lagoons then descending back into deep chasms.  The stunning blues and greens were spectacular in the evening light.  We even saw a tiny little arctic char feeding on some algae.

I never would have thought of SCUBA diving in Iceland if not for seeing it on the TV show, Descending.  Since deciding to visit Iceland 6 months ago, this dive has been something that I have been eagerly awaiting.  It absolutely did not disappoint.  New to the technology, I struggled with my buoyancy the entire dive.  I didn’t let that detract from the fact that I was actually diving in between two continents!!!

We reached the shore of the lagoon and began the painful process of climbing out of the water to hike back to our starting point.  Over-weighted, jet-lagged and exhausted from a long day, it took all three of us to get me back to my feet on dry land.  By the time we made it back to the trucks, I was done.

Søren was also not feeling too well, so we decided to forgo our second dive and just enjoy the evening while we savoured some hot chocolate and cookies.  Day 1 of my Iceland adventure was most definitely a resounding success!

Back at the hostel, I made a beeline for my bed.  I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.