Horses and hot pots

2.12.15
We survived the storm - it was quite intense and I'm glad we weren't driving in it. It was gale force winds and although it didn't snow any more the winds blew the snow into huge drifts.

We were safe and warm in our lovely cottage, one of a group of 6 built around a natural hot spring "hot pot" or Icelandic hot tub.

The hot pot has boiling hot volcanic water bubbling up into it and it has cold water added to it to make it a comfortable 40 degrees.

Today we went  riding on Icelandic horses. It was absolutely fabulous, beautiful horses, inspiring scenery, part frozen waterfalls awesome in the true sense of the word.

In case you can't make it out we are in the group of 3 riders just visible in the centre of that photo.

After 2 hours on a horse I was grateful for the hot pot back at the cottage - hopefully I won't be too stiff tomorrow!

Late night tonight - we're sitting up on aurora watch - the forecast is quite good tonight.

I don't think I'll be able to take any photo's - my camera isn't good enough - but I'll be able to say I've seen them.

Fingers crossed :-) 

Whales and Icelandic weather warnings

Went Whale watching today.
We woke up to 6" of snow and a rather dramatic weather warning (more about that later) but the trip was going ahead. We came prepared for all this cold weather and have heeded other people's advice so got dressed in layers. It's not glamorous but here's what I wore: obviously I started with the essential bra, knickers and socks. I then added a base layer of thermal long sleeved top and leggings (I'm trying not to use the term "long John's" but that is basically what they are. I then added another pair of socks - thick walking ones, then the top layer was a long sleeved fleecy top and a pair of fleece lined walking trousers. On top of this - yes there's more - I put on a scarf, hat, ski gloves and a puffy jacket.

Note to self - don't put the final layer on until you are about to set foot outside or you will melt!

Once we got to the boat we were given a thermal onesie to put on over all the rest.
Believe me none of this was overkill. We were about to venture onto the Atlantic for 2 hours in the open air looking for whales - which we found by the way!

Successes of the day -

• 2 Orcas's seen
• I was toasty warm for the whole trip

On arrival back to the harbour we were met with the news that the Icelandic weather bureau had issued a "No travel warning" for the next day  - the day we were due to drive to Varmahlid. This was because of a storm passing across the whole of Iceland. This left us with quite a dilemma and some decisions to be made. Our options were 

• to stay on at Grundarfjordur until the storm passed, totally missing out our stay in Varmahlid and horse riding.
• leave Grundarfjordur immediately and head for Varmahlid a day early, hopefully beating the storm.

I was open to suggestions and recommendations from the staff who, let's be honest, have more experience about the weather and road conditions in Iceland than I do. My priority was staying safe.

Everyone was super helpful. The staff at Framnes rang Hestasport Cottages for us and asked what the weather conditions were like there. They all effectively made the decision for us so we threw our belongings into our bag, made a quick stop at a supermarket to get some food supplies and drove up the west coast of Iceland to get to Varmahlid.

The words of the young man in the car rental firm came to mind and I did question myself as to whether or not we were mad but then I reflected that these changes to our plans were dealt with calmly and efficiently by a group of people who are used to dealing with these extreme weather conditions and by travellers (ie me and hubby) who are open to suggestions, respectful of other people's knowledge and expertise and, perhaps most importantly, are flexible.

The drive to Varmahlid was quite uneventful although it was difficult driving and navigating in the dark. We did it though and were glad we did.

I'll tell you all about it in the next blog

Snaefellsnes and Grundarfjordur

Left Hotel Laxnes today and drove 160 kms to Grundarfjordur on the Snaefellsnes peninsula. 

Stunning scenery along the way and some challenging driving conditions.

 Made it safe and sound to The Hotel Framnes www.hotelframnes.is just in time for the Liverpool vs Swansea game. How lucky was that?

Exceptionally happy with our hotel room - especially the view. 

Today I learned some more things:

1. In Icelandic the days of the week and months of the year do not start with a capital letter.

2. A heated front seat in a car is a wonderous thing, especially when it's -8 outside

Alafoss, Reykjavik and birthday no. 1 (0r 51 to be precise)

 28.11.15

Today we celebrated hubby's birthday with a bracing walk into the town of Alafoss. This town was used as a site for a British army camp after we invaded Iceland in 1940. We did this to stop Germany invading them first! It was all about protecting the Atlantic shipping lanes. Britain couldn't maintain the invasion force as our troops were needed on the front lines so the US took over the invasion on our behalf, and bizarrely, at Icelands invitation. 

After our walk we got the bus into Reykjavik. I didn't take any photos there. To be honest I was a little disappointed. There were a lot of very touristy shops which all sold hats, jumpers and socks, of varying quality, all made from Icelandic wool. It felt a bit like being in a very large Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop back home! 

By the way - we found Sven the reindeer from Frozen - oops!

2 weeks and 2 birthdays in Iceland - are we mad?

26.11.15
We arrived in Iceland after an uneventful flight from Manchester with Easyjet.

Picked up our 4x4, complete with snow tyres, from Thrifty only to be asked by the lad on the desk
 "Are you mad - 2 weeks in Iceland, in winter- why?" I wasn't sure how to answer him really but hopefully, after I've shared our adventures in Iceland with you, you'll understand why.

After picking up our car we found our way to the main road in Iceland, called The One, and easily found our way to the Hotel Laxnes (it helps that it is opposite the biggest KFC I have ever seen in my life).

We are in the Hotel Laxnes for 3 nights. It is warm, the staff are friendly and helpful, the beds are comfy, and you can make your own waffles at breakfast! www.hotellaxnes.is

27.11.15
The Golden Triangle

After a leisurely breakfast of coffee and waffles we waited until the sun came up (at 10.30am) before we set off on our drive.
The Golden Triangle takes in the key sights of Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss.

Thingvellir is a National Park and has breathtaking scenery

Geysir is - well - it's one big Geysir really and lots of little ones that just seem to belch and hiccup

Gullfoss (Foss is waterfall in Icelandic) is staggeringly beautiful. Apparently it part freezes in Winter. It was -14 today but that's not cold enough (!)

We were out for about 6 hours. Hubby did all the driving and I did all the navigating. Both were quite challenging at times. Lots of concentration needed for the snowy conditions and icy roads, difficult to know where you are when all the road signs are covered in snow. We survived though and we've learned a few things:

• Always take a coat out with you - somehow we forgot to today. Let's just say we won't be doing that again! We had waterproofs but they were pretty inadequate.
• Anti freeze in windscreen washer bottles doesn't work in -14 degrees. Carry bottles of water for cleaning windscreens.
• The boot of the car is perfect for storing leftover pizza (in the box) when you don't have a fridge in your room.
• 6" of snow is only classed as "light snow" - hate to think what "heavy snow" looks like.
• Sightseeing from the warmth of your car works just fine.

Tomorrow we're walking around the local town and then catching a bus into Reykjavik. 

The garden

So far I've blogged mostly about my travels. Today I'd like to show you my garden. I have never really had much interest in growing things and always used to view the garden as a space for the niece and nephew to play or for partying (our bonoween party used to be the stuff of legend - duck apple and pumpkins alongside a bonfire and fire works). My dad was the gardener in the family and he used to grow the same things every year. His borders had dahlias, chrysanthemums and marigolds and he grew tomatoes and cucumbers in his greenhouse. When he died I inherited his greenhouse and I took on the gardener role. Initially it was a way of still feeling close to my dad but over the years I have grown to love planting all the fruit and veg and then cooking with it. Nothing gives me more pleasure than serving up a pasta sauce that is made entirely from ingredients grown in my own garden. Tomatoes, onions, garlic and the basil all straight from soil to pan in half an hour. Here's a couple of before and after photos. The first was taken in May at the start of the growing season, the second in August all ready to harvest. It's not that difficult really. Nature wants to grow.

I've learned a few things about gardening and myself over the past few years. I now only grow what I like to eat. I grew runner beans for the first two years, they're a doddle to grow and look really pretty - pity I hate their taste! I filled the freezer with bags of them until I realised I was never going to eat them and threw them away - I hate waste too. I had to learn to be patient ( very difficult for me). In the first few years I was pulling carrots and onions out of the ground when I felt they should be ready resulting in a harvest of small carrots and onions. I now leave them as long as possible and the results are much more satisfying although I do still get the occasional comedy vegetable.........

Travel Guides

It's already been established that I love books so it's only natural that when I'm planning a trip I turn to travel guides. I generally go to our local library to check out if there are any guides for where I am going but sadly - with local funding cuts- our libraries seem to have fewer and fewer such books and any they have are quite old editions. They can still be useful though.

I also enjoy a good old mooch around a book shop - and if it's got a coffee shop attached then all the better. Near where I live there is a book shop called Linghams that also has a coffee shop attached. It's a fantastic local resource and frequently has guest authors, a book club, story time for kids and it sells the tickets for the local amateur dramatic productions. Check it out www.linghams.co.uk

Back to travel guides....

As can be seen from my bookshelf I have quite a collection of travel books.

I thought I had a preference for Rough Guides but actually the collection is split 50/50 between Rough Guides and Lonely Planet books. The books are useful not only for planning a trip but also while you are there. We were in Paris once and I had the Rough Guide to France with me. I read in it about the Catacombs, the underground store of human bones and we decided to visit - fabulous (if macabre) afternoon out. I had never heard of it before and it was thanks to the guide that I found it that visit. http://www.catacombes.paris.fr/

 I also like AA City Packs for the following reason. Years ago hubby and I went on a weekend city break to Madrid - it was our first city break and we didn't plan it at all really - just hopped on the plane, found our hotel and then wandered the streets. When we got back people were asking me "did you see, visit, try etc etc?" and I was quite disappointed that we had seen hardly anything. Next time we did a city break it was to Barcelona and I bought the AA City Pack and took it with us - soooo much better. Using their recommended Top 10 we decided what we wanted to see as a priority and what we'd see if we could fit it in. Worked out brilliantly. We never go on a city break without one now and the books get passed around friends and family so are well used.

I know with all our portable technology it is easy to google a destination and check out what's around but I like the fact that with the books I only need some light (and sadly these days my glasses!) and I have instant access to the information without worrying about battery life, signal, roaming charges etc etc.

Jo x