An arctic rimmy.

With the trip looming we were as usual at our disorganised best and two members of a full party short. With some last minute wrangling we managed to coax a Fin and a Frenchy to join myself, the Italiano/German and the Merican (unfortunately even in Iceland you can’t escape Americans) in completing the complement. 

The morning came and with it a “cheap jeap”, courtesy of our only organised member Erik “Rabb”. We stuffed the jeep full to the brim and set sail to the north. Our venture took us first to the town of Stykkishólmur on the Snaefellnes peninsula where we boarded a ferry that was to take us to the south-west of the West Fjords.

The ferry across was expensive, freeeezing cold and took just as much time as driving around would have, and yet all the same, it was great experiencing some real Icelandic wilderness. Beers on the uppermost deck in god knows how much below temperature, with some of the strongest winds I’ve ever encountered is something I won’t forget in a hurry. With some smooth talking we were also allowed into the wheelhouse to see the captain. As we neared the end of the trip and night closed in, the towering, snow covered fjords emerged from the gloom.

We decided to head west to find somewhere to hunker down for the night. As we drove over the first pass, the snow began falling and the ice thickened.  A hair raising trip ensued, enhanced by some fantastically awful driving from the Frenchmen (who insisted he was a “great driver”). Fortunately his driving skills were sufficient to get us to our destination town of Talknafjordhur. We managed to find a nice guesthouse for the night and the luigi (Johannes “Giovani”) set about preparing the pasta. Raab and myself were keen to try and find an Icelandic man willing to take us out on his boat for a fish/sight-see so we headed down to the harbour. We struck up a conversation with a hardened Icelandic fisherman who was hard at work preparing for a night at sea on a commercial fishing boat. After talking for a little while he offered us a place on the boat that was heading to sea for an 18 hour fish (not quite what we were intending). Unfortunately with time at a minimum we had to turn down his offer, to which he answered “well do you want some fish?”. He slapped two large (I believe they were called Haddock) fish in our hands and wandered off.

We spent the night at Talknafjordhur in a hotpot just a couple of kilometres out of town, halfway up a hill with a magnificent view over the fjord. A truly amazing experience.

The next day we continued north encountering some of the most truly spectacular scenery I have ever seen. The mountains aren’t as sharpe/steep or rugged as the mountains of Fjordland, nor do they contain any vegetation whatsoever, this however takes nothing away from the sheer natural beauty of the waterfalls, ice-lakes or snow covered lava flows that cover the area.  Fjallfoss, a huuuuge set of waterfalls was the highlight of the day.

We continued north passing through a 4.5km tunnel that included a brilliant car surfing performance by Raab and Frenchy (Louis), before Finnish pessimism/sense prevailed. We emerged from the incredible man-made structure in the town of Isafjordur. A town surrounded in every directions by steep, snow covered cliffs with an amazingly still inner harbour which provided the opportunity for some truly spectacular photos. We were kindly invited to couch surf at an Australian girls flat, providing some much needed sarcastic and monetary relief.

We then travelled a short way to the remote town of Sudureyri, where once again we soaked for several hours in the town hotpot before travelling back to Isafordur. Another awesome display of northern lights, and beers on the roof of the four story flat, capped off a great days adventuring.

The next day we kayaked the fjord. The reflections of the mountains on the crystal clear water and the tranquility were mind boggling.

Unfortunately time was limited and we had to begin our journey home. We stopped off to see some arctic foxes and yet another hotpot by the seaside, capping off what was an awesome trip. 

BTW YEEEEEEESSSSSS ALLLLLLLLLLLL BLAAAAAAAAAACKS!

No one else here truly understood why I was screaming and running around semi naked. God the 10am champagne shower felt good though. Hopefully you all partied your pants off for me.

Unusual Suspect to win the Melbourne Cup…

Life in Reykjavik - The journey roles on.

So I’ve been a bit slack on my blog the past month. Things were a bit hectic getting school sorted and actually getting “officially” accepted into the country (for about the 3^rd time) but alas, things have come right and I’ve had a good chance to experience some cool stuff around Reykjavik.

The first week after Snaefellsnes brought three nights of mayhem, that being Oktoberfest. The first night featured the act Of Monsters And Men. I’m sure most of you have heard the song “Little Talks” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dw8qdmT_aY) this was definitely the highlight of the three nights. The second night was all about the traditional German drinking culture. The woman were all in their bar maid outfits and a brass band played virtually all night. The final night was a compilation of Icelandic bands and DJ’s that were all awesome as well.

On the topic of music concerts, just yesterday I purchased my ticket to the Iceland Airwaves festival coming up in a week or so. The event in the past has attracted names such as Fatboy Slim (I wish) and Ratatat. This year there aren’t any huuuge names (that I know of) but I’m sure it will be 5 awesome days of Icelandic music. Here’s a list of the bands, just in case you were curious http://airwaves.pronasty.com/. I don’t know too many of them, so if you know of any you think I should see (looking at you Hamish Anderson) then let me know! I have also booked a ticket to see Bjork play in early November.

The Fjallid group (They’re kind’ve like Ensoc/Ocom but much cooler) are a soc/group that I’ve just recently joined here in Reykjavik. Every Friday they organize “science trips” to various business’ around the city. The business aims to recruit students to work for them by offering up a short presentation (in Icelandic), followed by excessive amounts of beer and pizza. I don’t understand the Icelandic, but the beer and pizza communicates in a language we can all understand. This is a really cool way to meet the locals as the trips I’ve been on so far have been very much Icelander dominated, with just a few internationals.

For those of you that keep asking if it’s cold here; it’s getting colder by the day, it’s rained every day for the last 15 or so days straight, I can’t remember what blue sky looks like and we’ve lost about 5 hours of daylight since I first got here about a month and a half ago. Stop talking to me about how warm it’s getting in NZ. I don’t want to hear it.

Earthquakes under the Katla volcano just to the south-east of Reykjavik signify (in my view) an imminent eruption in the next month or so. Keep an eye out on your kiwi TV for “Icelandic geological correspondent” Jack Ensor with exclusive, up-close, breaking footage as the crisis unfolds. If you want to see me standing on the volcano as the eruption happens here’s a live stream for your viewing pleasure http://live.mila.is/katla/

In other important news, supplies of marmite are dwindling, the heinz baked beans just aren’t cutting the watties mustard and ketchup just has nothing on tomato sauce (sorry Americans but you suck), especially the watties.

I understand everything’s pretty all go with the footy world cup and I’ve been watching every All Blacks live on Icelandic TV, I’m pretty sure even without Dan Carter we still look like eaaaasily the best team in the tournament. Wales is our biggest contender I personally think and I’m guessing that’s who we will meet in the grand-final after dispatching of Argentina (comfortably) and Australia (slightly less comfortably).

PS. If you're in America from mid December - end of January get in touch with me about where you will be and when you will be there. AT ALL TIMES.

I’m going on a trip this weekend to the north of Iceland so I’ll endeavour to get my next blog entry up (with plenty of photos) in the next week or so.

Stay tuned.