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I'm starting to lose track of days now. And I had to think really hard to remember when Day 2a is going live (Co-op peeps only)...work is THAT far from my mind.
I discovered a neat trick on Wednesday - when you are caught speeding and the nice officer asks for your driving licence, just say you don't have it on you. It's in the hotel in your English-money purse hidden in your suitcase. And no, you don't have your passport either. I almost felt sorry for her. She looked so disappointed. She had wanted to write a report and as I had no documents she told me there was nothing she could do. I won't get the extortionate 'tourist' fine - I will just get a warning. With that I flashed my best sympathetic, apologetic and good girl smile. And drove off. At 70km/hr. Way below the speed limit. And I haven't broken the limit since! Day 3: The grand day out. We left Legoland at about 10am - got back at 1.30am the next day. Way past Stu's bedtime. We wanted to see more of the Westfjords - this time heading to the very far west coast. To Latrabjarg bird cliffs. It was a bloody long way - again on unmade, bumpy, potholed dirt tracks. It was another bobble hat day - but only because my hair hadn't been washed since Saturday. The weather was gorgeous. Blue skies and a top temp of 14 degrees. Tropical. Anyway - we saw puffins. Next stop was a cinnamon colour beach. Which to us brits is just a beach. To the Icelandic it is unusual as it isn't black sand. The local Kría (Arctic Tern) make the walk down the beach terrifying. They dive-bomb making a nasty noise with their beaks. I wasn't very brave. But at least I didn't run, waving my arms like a windmill, like some did. The final sight for the day was Dynjandi waterfall. Better than we both expected and well worth the god-knows-how-many-miles in the opposite direction to the hotel to get there. I kind of wished (for a second) that we had a tent with us - I could have stayed there all night. Day 4: taking it easy A lie-in (for me), check-out of Legoland, followed by a leisurely drive to Hvammstangi and Mörk Homestay B&B. Of course we took yet another detour. Down one of the F roads (F in this case stands for Ford crossing - lots of them). Two BMW touring bikes set off down the tiny, unmade, rocky road before us. We caught them up at the first ford crossing. They were emptying their boots of water :). God knows how the rest of their ride was - they never overtook us. But out of the numerous fords - that first one was a piece of cake. My personal favourite was the one where it took us a few minutes to spot the route...and where the road was on the other side of the river. That was pretty much the highlight of today - we caught up on sleep in the early evening, before I dragged Stu out again to add a few more miles to the trip meter. It is now 3.47am. Stu is asleep. I think the sun has come up - but I'm not sure it ever went down. It never actually got dark. Day two, a bobble hat day and a new location (Hotel Legoland). We managed to turn a one hour drive into three as we detoured round the coast - rendering my pre-prepared, printed directions useless.
Once checked-in we headed out to the east coast of the West Fjords. To the town of Djúpavík (pop: approx ten (53 according to Wiki) and a german photography convention) about 80km down a pot-holed dirt track. The town is pretty much deserted with an abandoned herring factory, a rusty fire truck and a hotel (with free tea and coffee and very expensive cake). From there we headed back down the muddy track through Drangsnes which boasts a public hot-tub by the road side. Next stop Hólmavík and a hamburger. It's 00:07am on Wednesday morning - Stu is asleep, the birds are STILL singing and it's still light outside. Arrived at T1 a little early so Stu could indulge in the freebies in the Aspire lounge. I had imagined a smart, quiet lounge where the posh people sip champagne. Wrong. Anyone can pay a few quid to gain access, drink free beer and scoff soggy sandwiches.
It felt good walking straight to the posh people check-in desk and zipping through fast-track security, bypassing two huge queues. Once we had priority-boarded it was straight to the front of the plane and our loads-of-leg room seats. Bit different to the Monarch experience where you get two black eyes if the passenger in front reclines. After some more free food and drink we priority-disembarked, picked up the bags and collected our car. We had under three hours to get to the our first stop, check-in and get settled for the Iceland v England game. Tonight's hotel is Hraunsnef Country Hotel near Borganes. Looks a little scruffy on arrival, but the room is clean and cosy, the food was delicious and they provide hair straighteners in the bathroom. It's 11pm and Stu is fast asleep, the birds are still singing, it's as light as midday and I fancy a dip in the hot tub. Family came round today to help me celebrate (that really is not the right word) my nearly-50 day. I decided at the last minute that I had better invite them round as I will be in Iceland on the 'big' day. As it was so last-minute I figured no one would come. That didn't work. My 'darling' step-daughter Aimee turned up with huge, bloody bright pink, 5 and 0 balloons. I would have been cross but the idea of her, her hubby, Lils and two mahoosive balloons squashed into her Audi TT made me feel like the joke had maybe, just a tad, back-fired on her. And she had the giggles when she arrived. So how could I be cross. But I will get her back. One day. When she least expects it ;) Before I forget...I packed. And I chose my flying outfit (complete with emergency parachute). And...when I started typing this - there were 19 hours and 53 minutes to go before we fly. I really wasn't giving Aimee the finger
I made a birthday cake today - for my nearly-50 birthday lunch.
As I had no clue what to decorate it with I asked Jess to come up with something. She made a list of things I like... Iceland Horses TV Family Candy Crush iPad Naps True crime Sad stories Walks Dogs Photos Camera Yogurt Baking Bagel (with peanut butter) Quiet Tea Quaint Snow Cute Green Routine Neatness Gardens Perfection Safety I'm hoping she didn't write it in what she believes is my preference - there's no way Candy Crush comes before bagels. I also think I need to take a long hard look at myself. I settled on a teapot design for the cake. And I haven't packed yet. I took yesterday off work. An extra day to pack, prepare and tick off some of the to-do list.
I got up early. Saw the others off to work. Put a wash on, took the dogs to the vets (added both of these activities to the to-do list - then promptly crossed them off) and went back to bed. For four hours. And here we are at Saturday - two more sleeps. Though with the mount of Nespresso I'm drinking I don't think sleep is an option (unless it is in the middle of the day - caffeine has no impact on day naps). I am in the middle of baking a carrot cake. It's taken me all morning so far as I keep stopping for another game of Candy Crush to calm my holiday excitement and numb my brain. The big news is Stu has packed his suitcase. The sneaky bastard. I thought he'd nipped upstairs to spend some time in the bathroom. Right - must dash to finish the cake then off to get my hair done. I should be packing. I should have at least made a start. Three week's worth of underwear, base layers, woolly hats, gloves, shorts, flip flops and swimsuit all need finding, washing (not the flip flops - I'm not completely stupid) and putting into a packing pile. And trousers. I will pack some of those too. Instead I have googled blue whales and painted my nails. The last few days in work before a holiday are tough. I can't sit still and drink far too much tea. I have had to resort to listening to music so I stop wittering to the chap opposite me. I feel sorry for him to be honest. I think he might well move desk while I am away. Three working days before I break-up for my 'big birthday' holiday in Iceland and just six sleeps (call it five - who sleeps the night before flying?). I stood in my bedroom before...with every intention of rooting out some clobber and maybe even dragging out at least one suitcase. However, I just tried my hair in a bobble (nope...it doesn't work), got into my PJs and pottered back downstairs for another brew. CTRL C CTRL V for the next few days. |
DebbieMe, my life, my family and my travels Archives
November 2022
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