"On the Road" with Nancy Cutter & Betty Cowles
Follow our agents as they travel around the world
Coming Soon! Nancy Cutter's 2010 trip to Portugal, Crossing on the WindSpirit and St Martin
Wednesday Nov 17
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- Casa Chanceleros
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010
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- Bryant at Casa Mateus
Things were looking up this morning. BW’s knee was benefiting from the ice packs and the heat baths, so full of hope and Ibuprophen, we departed the hotel and now drove south. Next stop the Continente in Vila Real to replenish my food stash. I have no idea what the dining options might be once we reach the Douro, but I want to be prepared!Driving was much easier today so we decided to make a visit to the famous Casa da Mateus. Probably the only Portuguese wine most people are familiar with, with its short fat bottle, filled with a light rose wine. The house was really not the site of the vineyards and used in a marketing program to give the wine an elegant image. The home and its gardens were really quite liveable and very delightful and retain almost all of the period furnishings. All in all a very worthwhile stop! Continuing south we soon found ourselves in Pinhao and following a gorgeous drive along the Douro to the well marked Casa Do Chanceleros. A cheery looking Portuguese woman speaking excellent English greeted us with a rather imposing looking bull dog at the front door.Once inside what lay before us was truly beautiful. A restored large home with a 180 degree view of the Douro vineyards. Cascading down from the rear were cobbled stone terraces and casitia with little sitting areas under arbors or palm trees. Centered around a large swimming pool , the paved paths continued 3 -4 levels further ending with a large clay tennis court. Everywhere were rose bushes, lavender and olive trees, a little paradise. We were shown to our casita room, , bright, airy, with a king bed and sitting area and a large terra cotta bathroom, fully fitted out and all spotlessly clean. We were tickled pink. Soon BW was down for a nap while I explored the property, but not before she uttered those magical words: will you be dining with us tonight? You are our only guests, but we have a lovely pork loin for tonight. Know we might be miles from any restaurants. We said we’d love to!
Monday, Nov 15, 2010
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This morning we could see that with the ice and the heat, we were on the right track, but he was far from out of the woods. After breakfast we went to the front desk and asked if the could get us into see a local dr. A few call and we were booked into an appt at 5pm in Chaves. This actually worked out with our now modified plans to abort the drive to Braganza. Even at this close distance, Braganza was still quite a trip, at least an 1.5 hr drive on another twisty road. No way now. To take advantage of the property, BW went back to the spa and I went for a bike ride along the property and the golf course edge. We finally left for Chaves around 130pm. Chaves was a straight shot about 20minutes north of Vidago, so by 2 we were parked and walking (under protest from BW that I was out to do him in) up a hill to one of their medieval towers. Chaves the city of keys, has always been an important town and numerous forts dot the city. After we had seen the eastern section, we returned back to the car to drive over to the Fort of San Francisco now a hotel on the other side of town (walking there was out of the question). This visit worked out well, we parked just opposite and entered the fort, now a 78 room hotel. Most of the medieval walls have been preserved and exposed to present them to their best advantage.The rooms, though not overly large, had pleasing traditional furniture and modern baths. After my tour, we retired to the hotel bar for a couple of beers and to kill the time until his appt.Following our directions, we arrived at the Dr’s office situated beside the hospital in a rather non-descript, rather bleak look building by 430pm. The waiting room was packed wall to wall with patients. Thank goodness, the receptionist was expecting us directed us to wait for “oh not more than 20 minutes” by my rough Portuguese translation. We opted to wait outside in the plaza area, in the quickly ensuing night. 30 minutes later, there was still no movement in the waiting patients. As I looked around, I noticed a variety of other orthopedic patients, but a surprising number of children as well. The office was obviously shared with a pediatrician, so I was a bit more hopefully 530, we asked again. 20minutes? BW and I both said we’ll wait until 6 but then we are out of here. At 6 we were still 2 patients away, and we stuck to our guns and left. By 630 we were back at the hotel and at 7 were in the spa.Since I knew we would not be out again, back in the room I reached into my goodie bag and whipped out our dinner of bread, salami, cheese, olives and fruit. Tom Cruise in Top Gun was on the sky channel and we were in for the night!
Sunday, Nov 14, 2010
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- Vidago Palace Hotel
We awoke this morning to a fog, all of the wind and rain, had blown in a crisper air but had left a dense fog filling the valleys. After breakfast, we packed up the car, paid our bill and said our goodbyes. By this time the fog was thinning and I was planning our route to the east. Once again back on the N101, the way was slow and twisty on the mountain roads, but at Braga we were able to pick up the AP 11 and the AP 7 at Guimares. Sometimes you just don’t care what a toll road costs, to have a straight course to your destination. And by 1230pm to took the exit to Vidago. But now with some time on our hands we decided to delay our arrival a detour to Montelegre about 25 k to the north. We had both read about the border town and it well preserved castle, so we pressed on. The road was torture. Actually it was not so much the road but the constant downshifting on the turns. Sometime yesterday, BW knee started to swell and it was not looking good this morning. Actually, it looked pretty bad and I was having serious doubts on our decision to drive on. By the time we reached Montelegre, it was not good and BW could hardly get out of the car, much less walk up the slope to the castle. On a sunny warm day, this could have been worth it, but grey skies had followed us and a stiff breeze and misting rain dampened even my enthusiasm. It took me about 8 minutes to run up, look around (all of the tower doors were closed- obviously for the season) then to gingerly pick my way back down the hillside to our car. BW had opted out of the visit and was visibly grimacing. So it was back in the car and down the hill. We did take a few minutes out to fill up before driving our of the town. The trip back was horrendous. We opted for a shorter route, but it was filled with a hairpin turn every 10 feet. BW was now moaning with every turn as his knee was getting more inflamed by the second. We pulled in to the town of Vidago by 3pm. Was the trip to Montelegre worth it- no not in this situation, but now we don’t have to return to see what we missed.Vidago sits in the cradle of a small valley, home of a posh spa built over 100 years ago for the King of Portugal. The water here sparkling similar to Perrier.The hotel once the height of fashion, hosted European nobility for years, but gradually declined with age. Several years ago it was shut down, sold and has now reopened totally renovated from the pavers to the rafters. It was stripped to the studs and is now armed with every modern convenience including 800 thread count sheets and with a state of the art spa facility this was the right place for us at the right time. Nestled amongst chestnut trees and a luscious 18 hole golf course the Vidago Palace hotel sits stately in all of pink glory.Within minutes we were whisked into our suite. Yup, the biggest one in the place right over the front door. BW went immedialty to bed and we ordered a large bag of ice – for his knee, and I set off to explore the hotel and grounds. I returned after an hour and even I could see BW knee now throbbing from across the room, I whipped out our swimsuits and marched us down to the spa.For the next hour we soaked in the outdoor thermal hot pool and the chilly indoor pool. The special treats were the sauna and steam room all completely lined in marble. By 6pm we were back in the room, and BW was feeling much better. We chilled out until 7 and then decided to venture forth (with our car ) into the village for a restaurant. After a few drive bys, we settled on a little Pizza place. As it was Sunday, we didn’t have a lot of choice. I opted for the Margarita and BW went for fish. I came out the winner.After dinner we made a quick return to the hotel and by 830 we were snugged in bed with a plasma tv and the sky channel. Sweet dreams.
Saturday, Nov 13, 2010
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We awoke this morning around 9am to a bit of sunlight streamlining in the window, but with clouds on the valley. We took our breakfast up on the 2nd floor- a large dining room with a fantastic view looking out on the front lawn. The colors of the trees and the lush grass below made for a colorful pastoral sight- I could have sat there for hours. The housekeeper’s granddaughter soon followed us up and poured our Portuguese coffees with a steaming pot of hot milk. We breakfasted on breads, a bit of fruit and jams. Eager to get a start, we set off to visit the count’s property “Paco da Cavalerhos”. It was located just a short distance away and in about 15 minutes and after a few wrong turns, we found ourselves on the long drive entering the property, just as he was departing. He mentioned the evening before that he had a luncheon so we caught him just in time. He immediately turned around and led us up the grand stone steps to tour his ancestral home. Each of the quest rooms was immaculate and well planned with updated baths and period furniture. As we followed him outside the weather began to change and we scurried under umbrellas to view his newly constructed pool and the terraced gardens that fell down the slope before us.. Not to delay him any further from his luncheon, we said our goodbyes and soon found ourselves on the motorway north to Valenca It was a quick trip up the motorway under the sheeting rain that was all around us. Luckily the rain stopped just as we approached the town.
With a few quick turns we soon were in the “old” city” center. Which fortunately had a fantastically positioned “free “ car park. We spent about about an hour wandering thru the narrow medieval streets and finally settled into a small café filled with ladies eating pastries and I enjoyed a coffee while BW had a beer. Now with a second wind we headed back to the car and headed out of town, now towards Moncao. Moncao, about 20 minutes to the east was cute but after 2 drives thru the town proved not really work stopping for. Now we turned back south along the N101 for 35 torturous twisting miles to Arcos de Valdevez. It was slooow going and took us over an hour. Once in Arcos, we started scoping out potential dinner options, but they proved hard to find.It gets dark here just after 5 and its so much easier of you have at least one or two places in mind before you venture out in the dark, especially it you have to drive to a town for dinner.Our return to Paco de Gloria was now from the east and locating Jolda from this direction was a real challenge, Even with my trusty 1:250000 map, we were on roads way too small to be listed. But we held our course and kept asking every 50 ft. One wrong turn here and you could find yourself up a road with no turnaround and a tricky reverse down a steep slope for a ¼ of a mile is not my idea of fun! But we pulled in just a 5pm which is when BW had advised the housekeeper we would return. After unloading our gear we discovered that she had lit a fire in the lounge, just a few steps from our room.Soon BW had poured himself a scotch and I treated myself to a beer. All was perfect, except that the view to the fireplace was blocked by on oversized pool table. Shortly after we heard loud wind and rain whipping all around us.To round out our cocktail time I read several chapters from a few of the books I brought for the cruise. Soon we realized that going out was not going to be a good option with the storm, so I went to gather a few items for a “picnic” dinner. I had the good foresight to pick up a container of vegetable soup yesterday, and this now came in handy for our dinner tonight. The housekeeper and her granddaughter were in the kitchen and so I asked if I could borrow a pot and a few bowls. Soon we were enjoying a dinner of steaming soup, bread, cheese, olives and fruit and by 8pm we were done for the night and retired to our room.Friday, Nov 12, 2010
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- The 15th c manor home of Paco da Gloria
It was dark and raining when we arrived in Porto. We took a shuttle van to the Hertz location and pickup up our car. We noticed that the tank was not really full, so I took a photo of the gauge. We pulled out of the airport in a fine misty cool rain and drove about an hour north towards Viana do Castillo. I was keen to visit a grocery, as I was not sure what our options for snaking would bee in the wilds of the north. We located a small grocery in the small mall which was just behind a hotel we stayed in back in 2005. Only we arrived just a bit too early and had to wait for them to open, Once there , it really was not what we wanted, so we left and took endless turns to reach the Continente a few miles out of town., Here we loaded up on a variety of cheeses, breads, soda, water and fruit. Then we set off along the country roads towards Ponte de Lima, These are slow going roads. Paco da Gloria was listed at Arco de Valdevez, so we headed for that town, hoping to see directional signs, but none appeared, we did several loops, then finally out of frustration, I pulled out my iphone and let Google earth find me and my destination. I worked pretty well. With no real address for this place, I started with the next village listed and it pointed us in the right direction. Creeping along, when we reached the village, no Paco da Gloria, so we started asking. Eventually, we saw a sign up a road a donkey would be hard pressed to traverse. But we pressed on. Then we saw the arched stone gates and pulled in to find the owner milling about. He confessed that he thought we were coming on the 14th, I said no my email said the 12th and shoed him his reply confirmation. No matter we were the only ones there so all was prepared. We were shown around a charming but slightly crumbling grand Portuguese manor house. Could see that great care had been taken several years back to update and modernize, and some of the furniture items were quite nice. We took the twin room as our choice, with a bright sunny window and a large stone bath. I was very cold and laid down for a quick nap.
When I awoke, I was even colder and headed off for a hot shower. The shower was fine, just not hot enough to cast off the chill. With darkness ensuing we were off by 415 on our way to Ponte de Lima to look around and settle on a restaurant for dinner.Getting out was easier than arriving and we found ourselves in PDL in about 15 minutes. We parked and began walking around the town. I spied the tourist office and ducked in. Up a flight of stairs, I asked a fellow behind the desk for a map.. He said he didn’t have a map, as they were not the tourist office but the home office of Solares de Portugal; I was very surprised and said I’ve done business with your company, and I mentioned a few names. He said Maria was in the next office and introduced me. Then the director of the company walked in and I recognized them from the books fly leaf. We said we were at Paco da Gloria and they insisted that we tour the counts property the next day. With times set, we departed now onto the cold dark streets of PDL. Looking for restaurants was a bit hard as they were all closed, finally after wandering, we chose a less smoky bar to bide our time with a beer until the restaurants opened. Promptly at 7pm we set back off and chose one up on a 2nd floor in a prime spot overlooking the bridge. Bright and cheery we were seated by a woman who had a very bad cold. But had a lovely dinner of fresh fish and sautéed kale, with luck the owner ended up serving us and we didn’t see the woman again.Returning back to our hotel was a snap and soon we were snugged into our beds. With no TV in the room, BW dozed off immediately, but I opted to view a film on my phone. It was an early night.Nov 11, 2010 - Thursday
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Arrived in Newark with plenty of time, decided to take the tram shuttle to the terminal 1. Had to check in with TAP, tried to waste a bit of time before clearing security, but there really was no place to go, so we went thru security and took a front row seat next to the gate. 2 hrs dragged on a bit, but was worth the wait. The flight proved to be really only about half full and the rear of the plane was empty, so BW moved to the row behind me and we each had a 3 seater to our selves. The food was awful, luckily we stopped at Arbys on our way to the airport and I had half of my sandwich left, for breakfast they served a ridiculous white bread sandwich of ham and a slice of cheese. Good thing I had my bananas as well!
Betty Cowles - Trip to Israel - February 2010
ISRAEL - A Life Changing Experience
Nancy Cutter's Trip to Iceland
- Click the animation to see a detailed map of Iceland!
Nov 11, 2010 - Thursday
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Arrived in Newark with plenty of time, decided to take the tram shuttle to the terminal 1. Had to check in with TAP, tried to waste a bit of time before clearing security, but there really was no place to go, so we went thru security and took a front row seat next to the gate. 2 hrs dragged on a bit, but was worth the wait. The flight proved to be really only about half full and the rear of the plane was empty, so BW moved to the row behind me and we each had a 3 seater to our selves. The food was awful, luckily we stopped at Arbys on our way to the airport and I had half of my sandwich left, for breakfast they served a ridiculous white bread sandwich of ham and a slice of cheese. Good thing I had my bananas as well!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
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Tuesday- Vatnjokull.No time to waste as we awoke with the early morning dawn- we were down for a quick breakfast and a hurried checkout as we make our way to the meeting point a 30 minute drive down highway One. Pulling into the dirt parking lot we jointed a cluster of other assorted cars and mini-SUVs who were to be our companions for the day. Healthy looking tall and sturdy Icelandic boys were organizing us in to the massive super jeeps that were to be our rides up to the glaciers edge. Without delay we were off, with dust blowing from our tracks up t One. Pulling into the dirt parking lot we jointed a cluster of other assorted cars and mini-SUVs who were to be our companions for the day. Healthy looking tall and sturdy Icelandic boys were organizing us in to the massive super jeeps that were to be our rides up to the glaciers edge. Without delay we were off, with dust blowing from our tracks up the rough gravel road. Soon we were leaving the valley floor far below. With no shoulder to speak of, with each turn our stomachs twisted a bit tighter. As a back country road this was a true taste of “off roading- Icelandic style”. It’s amazing our breathtaking the scenery can become when a drop of 3000 feet lie just inches from your tires edge. I managed to comfort myself; by rationalizing that they did this every day and that I was behind the wheel with an experienced driver. The trip up the glaciers edge took well over 40 minutes and I felt that just that portion alone was worth the price we were paying for the entire snow mobile trip. We off loaded glad to have our feet back on terra firma- at a small wooden chalet building as the edge of the enormous glacier Vatnjokull. Soon they had us fitted out in our snow suits, helmets, boots and goggles. The night before I had packed a bag in prep for this excursion with some ski underwear- leggings and quarter zip top and thick socks. Feeling like Michelin tire dough boys we trudged off down the hill to our awaiting snow mobiles. After a quick set of hand signal instructions and strict orders not to stray from the pack line (for fear of crashing thru the ice to a cold death in a crevasse, we set off. Speeding over the glacier following our guide into the wild white unchartable glac believeable gas fumes ier in haling un I must note that each year not just one, but at least a dozen or so die out on these inhospitable snowy wildernesses. Vatnjokull is about the size of the state of Rhode Island and the weather can change in an instant. As ground zero for extreme adventure sports, the Icelanders are renown for their knowledge of how to survive in these hostile environments. After progressing along at a fairly steady pace we make several stops allowing the way for photos before we actually disembarked our smoking beasts to rest under the cornice of a snow ridge. Our red suits gave a great contrast to the white of the snow and the bright blue sky over our heads. But when you are in the middle of nowhere with nothing around your for miles but white, it doesn’t take long to get all of the photos you need, “kneeling, standing and jumping off the snowmobile before you are readier to get back on and return to the chalet for a warm-up. Now we had taken time to pack a few sandwiches, culled from the items off the breakfast buffet, but once we had returned our suites, we opted for one of the first SUV’s to return us to our car. The trip down the from the glacier was even more thrilling than the trip up! Each turn was met with a slight skid and a sharp inward breath as we realized just how high we had climbed to meet the glaciers edge. Slowly we make our way down- and all was well until we met an oncoming super jeep, then it became a bit of an Icelandic showdown, but their manners prevailed and we met on a straight stretch inches past each other millimeters from the edge. But soon we were back at the parking lot and made our way back to our car. As opting out of lunch at the glacier lodge had put us now ahead of schedule, we continued down the road on a more leisurely pace towards our next destination.Now cruising down the road, on our right we had the glacier runs and on left a flat marshy open areas- stretched out to meet the sea. This section of Highway one was equally devoid of traffic, so we were able to just stop in the middle of the road to take photos of the numerous colonies of beautiful white swans that filled the marshes. After about an hours drive we reached our next stop the glacier lake of Jokulsarlon. Now this is a pretty bizarre place. Created only about 50 years ago, its where the glacier runoff has created a lake right up to the glaciers edge, and huge chunks of ice break off. But the lake is so close to the sea that there is a mixing of fresh and salt water, So these mini icebergs sail thru the lake on their way out to sea. Now if the whole situation is not strange enough- the combination of ice, salt and water, produce an unbelievable shade of milky blue which seems to “glow”. We pulled in to the “huge’ parking lot and I saw more cars in one place than I had for days-where had these people come from? In stark contrast to the ethereal setting, the parking lot was all business. A small building with picnic tables seemed to be the nerve center. Inside was a small café, souvenier ship and ticket office. The thing to do here is to take a combination land rover/ boat for a cruise around the lake to see the ice up close and personal. So I ponyed up the fare for us- received a “departure time” for our cruise and returned to the car. BW had parked us in a prime spot right at the lakes edge, so with a little time to kill, we laid out our lunch feast and got to making our sandwiches. Have I told you how good the bread is here? Well, its wonderful. A few days back I just bought a full loaf. A crunchy mix of an Icelandic version of a 7 grain. It wen’t perfectly whether we were having cheese, ham, or turkey. Also they like coleslaw and potato salad here, nicely portioned into small 1 and 2 cup containers- perfect for pickniking. They also had a few other items that I decided to pass on- their tuna fish salad, really didn’t look like anything I was familiar with. But we were getting very comfortable with hitting the mini supermarkets here and really didn’t pass one by without a quick stop.With lunch over, and still more time before our “cruise” we hit the lakes edge, trekking just close enough to avoid getting our shoes wet. And pausing here and there for photo ops. The beautiful blue sky was now gone as dark clouds began to roll in. I glanced at my watch and decided that we needed to hike over the hill to meet our boat. Now this boat has wheels. Bright yellow with wheels, it goes from cruising thru the water, straight onto the sand where the wheels ride it around like a mini bus. We piled on with the others and reached out to receive our neon orange life jackets- designed I might add by Helly Hansen. This was the first time I’ve ever had a designer life jacket on, and I have to say it still didn’t do anything for me. After a quick safety briefing we turned and plowed into the lake. Everyone jockeying for a stragic seat. A fellow in a zodiac was ahead of us and made a dramatic show of pushing the icebergs out of our way with the nose of craft. We wound our way thru small and large chucks of ice, in water so clear- you could not tell exactly where the water line was. After about 20 minutes of slowing picking our path. One of the guides, who had been giving us a “geo” history lesson, reached over and took a chunk of ice from the zodiac and proceeded to chop it up for us. Its not often you get to suck on an ice cube that’s been in the fridge for 50 thousand years! With our “tasting’ over, we began our cruise back to land. All in all we were out there for about 30 minutes—As one of the things they say you just have to do--a bit over hyped? Perhaps yes, but I’m glad we did it. And we reached out car, just as big thick raindrops began to fall.August 29, 2009 Eastern Iceland
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We woke this morning to a cool rain as we said our goodbye to Husavik and we headed towards
Highway 1 now stretched before us as straight arrow ahead- a solid ribbon of lava blacktop carved straight from the surrounding lava fields.. As I knew we had a long days drive ahead of us – at least 6 hrs—I hopes we could use the road thru
**Funny note.
On arrival in Egilsstadir we pulled into a grocery for lunch provisions and a fillup- While in the grocery we spied to trooper munching down on a hot dog—somehow I didn’t fee the urge to say “hi”.
Highway One now not only changed direction ( we were heading south) but it also changed it personality. Gone was the long straight stretch of smooth road by a crunch mix of lava gravel. (this is the only section of the highway that is still not paved) As we began our climb and our lengthy descent into the first of 5 fjords on our way to our final destination for the night Hopf
Our decent into the first fjord was a 3000 ft switchback gravel road that had me hanging on for dear life with each turn, It took 30 minutes to make it to the bottom—the views however were worth the effort. With only one or two farms dotting the hillside- just us and the sheep to obstruct the view.
Now driving the fjords is a lengthy process and just cannot be rushed- we followed the contours of each fjord- long fingers that stretched out into the sea. With only one road- we traced each of those fingers out and around- back to the inland side only to wind back out into the sea. Huge sweeping vistas of ocean and amazing mountain landscapes rose and fell before us. This road wend on for 100 miles and traveling at 34-45mpg the time we gained on the flats earlier were lost quickly as we carved our way south. On one particularly spectacular stretch, we were greeted by a small herd of free range horses. Since they appeared to be the only live creatures we had seen for hours- it seemed only right to pullover and meet the greeting committee. Promptly the “gang” rushed over to meet us. At the edge of a low fence. Jostling for position- they crowed in for a nose pat-- immediately it became clear that they each had different personalities. They peered at us thru their long owing manes, that draped seductively over their huge almond shaped big brown eyes. Their small form and size make them very approachable and much less intimidating than the normal sized horses you commonly meet. I only wish that I had had a crunchy snack to make their meet and greet worth their efforts. One by one they came round- each coming in for a scratch. It must get lonely for them. Most of the Icelandic horses are turned out in the summers to roam “free” range on the huge farm steads. They spend their summers munching on bright green grasses and the mountain bilberries that line the mountain slopes. In fall, the farmers will round them up along with the sheep in huge corrals, marked, each owner will identify and then lead his herd home for the long winter ahead.
Now back in our car an on our way, it was close on
Once checked in, I just had to get out and go for a walk, so we decided to stretch our legs and soak in some of the scenery on foot. Once again horses lay to the right and left as we walked the lane from the hotel to the main road. The day had turned cloudless and the 7pmish sun was producing a rosy gold glow the landscape. With a bit of “nip” in the air, we returned back to the hotel to evaluate the hotels restaurant. Offering a predictable fare- we decided to return to the
Aug 27, 2009- Husavik, Iceland
10/27/2009 5:31:17 PM Link | | Add comment
- Mudpits of Namarskard
We are now in Husavik.
On Monday, we left Reykholt and drove thru the most beautiful mountain ranges we have ever seen towards the northern fjords. By noon we made it to Varmahilo and met with the operators of the river-rafting tour Hestasport in Varmhilo. Luckily the rain which had started in the morning cleared to a beautiful sunny warm 65F day. We suited up into drysuits and 8 of us loaded into a large van with our guides (one from South Africa and another from Nepal) 30 minutes down a dirt road.We disembarked and added life vests to our outfits, went to the waters edge and loaded 5 to a raft. The water was actually a bit low, but that was okay as it gave us more time to enjoy the towering cliffs on our way down the west river. 10 minutes into the ride, we hit a stretch of rapids and BW went over in a flip. He was back in in a flash and we carried on. The dry suit had rupper suction grommets at our heads and hands so minimal water comes in. Another 20 minutes and we pulled to shore to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, made with boiling water that was coming up at the river edge. It was too hot to stick your finger into! Totally unreal!Then we set off again for about another hour, before pulling off again. This time our guide said something about a cliff jump. Whoa - I had serious doubts as I found myself climbing up a steep rock face. One by one everyone was jumping off this ledge about 30 feet high onto the swirling river below. When my turn came - I had to do some serious talking to myself and I don’t even remember jumping in, just hitting the water, going under and bobbing up, then swimming to shore. Truly something you could never do in the US.
On our way, they let you even float in your suits down the river! Our trip was about 3 hrs and loads of fun. Luckily one of the girls (BW was the only boy on our trip) said she got me with her camera jumping….After all of the water, we were really dry and so continuing our trip to Dalvik later that afternoon was quite easy.
Dalvik is a very small town on a beautiful fjord Eylajford, with high mountains all around. The town was nothing much, about 600 with our hotel and one pizza restaurant in town. We had - obviously pizza that night and then treated myself to a soft serve ice cream at the local 7/11. But as fate would have it, we were crossing a parking lot just before reaching the hotel and I tripped on the curb and went down on both knees hard. Bounced up, but lost a very deep patch of skin off my left hand, about the size of a quarter. My right knee took it hard too, but didn’t damage my corduroys. Later my knee was pretty messed up as well, so I spent the night with an ice bag on my knee and 3 Motrin on board- praying that the whole thing was just a dream.The next morning I was pretty lame, unable to bend my knee at all. Thank goodness we were touring by car to Sigluford (Siglufjörður). The town by the same name is only accessible by one road in, via tunnel. Before the tunnel, you had to arrive by boat, but it was the herring capital of the world. They had a really cool museum of this industry (now dead) in three buildings, that was worth the $8 admission. But the best was to come. With a sunny day in the harbor, we found a cute little cafe painted blue and so charming on the inside right on the wharf. I was hungry for lunch - BW had eaten leftover pizza earlier in the car. The owner said he had a nice arctic char (similar to a salmon but better) that he would prepare for me. And it was fantastic, served pan fried in garlic butter, with a salad, buttery baked potato with sour cream and little shrimp on top. Seated outside in the sun we spent close to 2 hours chatting with him and another fellow about Iceland, and the world. Then a woman walked up with a big camera and asked to take my picture - she was working on the town’s website and was taking photos of visitors for the site. All in all a really fun afternoon, we had a 2 hr drive to get back to Dalvik. When we returned it was raining in Dalvik and the prospect of the local pizza place combined with my lunch. This is where my goodie bag with granola bars and local yogurt comes in handy for a snack. We decided to just stay in as watch TV and get to bed early.
So this brings us to Wednesday. We checked out of our hotel and headed to Akureyi the 2nd largest town in Iceland at 16,000. Wow what a busy place, no not really, but it’s on the water and they had some good tourist shops. BW found a great deal on a polarfleece jacket with a viking helmet on it and I bought a pretty Nordic sweater. We opted for lunch from the supermarket, creamy coleslaw with pineapple, smoked ham sandwiches on like a 15 grain soft bread and drove to here to Husavik.
Now Husavik is the prettiest town we’ve seen, a charming Nordic harbor filled with sailing ships and cute Icelandic buildings. We'd called ahead and booked the 4:45 pm whale cruise and had time to check into our hotel and went to the harbor, it was sunny but brisk wind. On the opposite of the fjord, the mountains line up with tons of snow rimming their tops, - just like a postcard. They warned us that most of the whales had moved on, but we braved the wind and after about an hour, BW was the one who sited a bottlenose whale on the port side. Though our sightings were slim, it was a great cruise and they warmed up us with hot chocolate and doughnuts - cause it was really cold out there!
Took me about an hour to defrost and then we chose a cute restaurant all done up with wood inside, very traditional (they have 3 here) for dinner, Arctic Char again with potatoes and a salad. Very few places in the world have arctic char, so we eat when we can.
Today looked a bit grim so I was happy we’d done the whale cruise yesterday. We looked around town for a bit then drove south to see Lake Myvatn. The topography really changes here and the mountains turn to sand hills then lava fields, huge ones. This is where Neil Armstrong trained for the moon landing. We first stopped at the boiling mud pits, very lunar and very smelly - of sulfur and totally incredible to see up close, some of the fissures were blowing steam that would make a tea kettle at full boil look weak. What a contrast though with the blue skies and bright yellow sand and turquoise water. Then we drove up to the lava fields, they had a 3 mile walk tracked thru the lava fields and around the calderas of the volcanoes. You could put your hand down some of the crates and feel the warm moist air. The walk took about 2 hours and it was amazing to see that much lava in one place and the scope of the lava field with little hills popping up where the lava didn't cover.Then, we continued our drive around the lake. There are huge chunks of lava in the lake, so huge they look like towers. BW wanted a nap, so I did a 3 km walk by myself. Yes my knee is much better now, still weak on stairs, but fine for walking. (The abrasion of my hand will maybe take 2-3 weeks to heal.) My walk by the lake was wonderful, so peaceful and so many birds. And did I mention they have no snakes here? So walking is a dream, actually besides sheep and horses they only have a fox in the wild- so it’s hiking with no worries! This took about 45 minutes and the serenity of the lake was quite relaxing.We drove back here to Husavik and ate again in the same place - once great - why take a chance. Tomorrow we will do another day trip out and return here for a third night, then we head south over the weekend to see the largest glacier in Europe.
So that’s it for now.10/27/2009 3:21:21 PM Link | | Add comment
August 23, 2009
Hi Everyone! Yesterday we were in a bit of a rush, but I have some time to give you an update.
The flight up to JFK was good but had to wait 30 minutes for luggage, luckily we were just up the stairs to the Iceland air check-in. Had time for lunch and then boarded the flight. Very nice flight. You have an interactive TV, with even a Berlitz language course, the screen was a touch screen and I learned a bit of Icelandic along the way. Time went by fast and we landed around 1130 their time (730 to us). There is a 4 hr time difference. Crazy, but we had to go thru a security screening when we got off the plane – obviously they don’t trust US x-rays. We found the Duty-Free before going thru customs and bought some Scotch and some beer (been told that its 40% higher in Iceland and it was true). Then we boarded a bus for the trip to town. It took about an hour, but they dropped us off right at the door and as it was almost 2 am we went straight to our room. A bit basic and small but the beds were very soft and comfortable.Woke round 9 and made it at last into the breakfast room by 10 am. Great clear and sunny day but a brisk wind. I'd guess about 55F. We were one block from the main shopping street and worked our way thru town. Cute shops, and most of the buildings seem to date from the 20s or 30s, nothing older, set on a beautiful harbor with mountains looming in the background. We chose what we thought was a vegetarian restaurant for lunch, but they served everything and everything was great. BW had a pulled pork sandwich and I had a Thai chicken salad, very nice. BW decided not to bring a polarfleece vest on the hope of buying one here, but there is virtually nothing, just a few t-shirts, and jackets like the North Face - just their brands 66north - nothing visually outstanding, so we decided to go the large shopping mall. About a 20 minute walk, thru a residential area- it was a nice mall, with lots of nice stores, but no fun "I've been to Iceland" wear. Nursing a small brewing headache, we went back to the hotel for a nap and I conked out at 530 and woke at 830pm - of course sun still fully shining. We dressed to get out for dinner. Despite the daylight they stop serving dinner around 10 pm and by the time we decided on a restaurant, (they were everywhere) we sat down and said we wanted to order - she said sorry -"kitchen closed". I looked a my watch and it was 2 minutes after 10!Reykjavík is a real party town, so the restaurants start serving drinks and the streets were wide open, with tourists and locals ready to party. We settled for a small pizza Turkish place - BW had a pizza and I had a good pita souvlaki. Opting to rest up for tomorrows journey, we skipped the bar scene and went back to the hotel and were in bed by 11pm.Friday morning we had a bit of a drizzle but by the time we packed up it abated and we had a 15 minute walk to the Hertz location by the city center airport. They have 2 airports here the international one which is a good hour from town and the little domestic one, that is so “in town” I’m surprised we didn’t hear the planes buzzing the downtown! Luck was on our side and we actually ended up with a 4-wheel drive station wagon. It was a bit of an upgrade as they were out of the car we reserved, so all has worked out on the car. Drove back to the hotel, picked up our luggage, and we were headed out of town by 1130.Super scenery started immediately as we headed north to Bogarnes. Took about 1.5 hrs and we went to the visit a "saga site". The Egils Saga Exhibition. This was a history museum on some of the local Viking and Icelandic settlers from 1100 AD.Very interesting audio tour on the migration and settlement of Iceland and another tour on the story of the saga of Egils. Afterwards the owners of the property treated us to a lunch. They have a really nice restaurant and everything was excellent - the bread was amazing. BW had an oriental chicken salad (beautiful grilled chicken) well presented and I had the "soup and salad" with was yummy cream of cauliflower and a fresh garden salad with a side of alfredo, smoked ham fettuccine pasta on the side - and no --we didn’t want to leave.We headed to our hotel in the village of Reykholt. More of a hamlet. The hotel is at the site of one of Iceland's greatest history sites, with a large museum just a few steps away. But we are in the middle of nowhere, with rolling hills all around. Our room is large, really more like a junior suite. The hotel has a wing devoted to wellness, aromatherapy rooms, massage chair rooms, and hot tubs filled with locally piped in thermal water. Wait (before we arrived, just a few miles away steam rises from the ground and you can see what looks like a stream, but the water boils at 100C, which is almost 180F from underground geothermal springs. They pipe this water to 3 towns and heat them with this water - truly amazing. The only downside is the slight sulfur-rotten egg smell from the water, which is less than appetizing). We enjoyed the massage chairs and took a dip in the naturally heated pools before dinner. We had to wait for dinner a bit as they had 80 medieval scholars in on a bus tour to serve. But they had a fellow who was a master musician in early Icelandic music play old instruments, so we had a bit of a show -gratis.Today, we slept in a bit as it was raining, but by 10 it slowed and we toured the historic sites around the hotel. The famous Viking Saga writer Snorri Sturlison’s farmstead is beside the hotel and although the house is gone, there is this amazing 11thC stone “hottub”. Perfectly round, it had a seating bench, fed by the natural hot water- life must have been pretty good!By noon we stopped, packed our lunch, and we took off in the car to drive the SnafellesPeninsula. Absolutely stunning scenery, volcano craters everywhere, lava fields coated in green moss, waterfalls - really does look like a storybook and close to New Zealand but has a much older feel, you actually could image dwarves and elves here. J.R.R. Tolkien set Lord of the Rings in Iceland and although it was filmed in New Zealand, I can really see it here. The highlight of today was driving around the Snafelles Glacier which was in the Jules Verne's Journey to the center of the earth. We had periods of wind and rain, but spent most of the day driving a loop of about 150 miles and have now returned to the hotel here for another night. Tomorrow we are off towards Dalvik, with a midday stop for a white-water rafting trip in Valmhilo.
