Chittering December 2006

Thought I would add some photos of the area I live in and some of my house. I live north of the city of Perth in a wine and orange growing area. I don't have any farming activites on my land, but the locals do... So one rainy day in December I took some photos. My land is remnent bush and is doing just fine with out any intervention from me...

As for my house... its straw bale, solar passive and i generate all my electricity with a 1kW PV system and battery storage.

Donnerly River Ride

So what have i been up too? Well apart from riding to work 25kms (one way) 3 times a week, swimming or at least trying to twice a week, kyaking on Saturdays actually again this is trying to and my usual Sunday bike ride with mates, i go to work... Lucky for me in the past 3 months i have managed to travel for work... I'll be loading some photos on my works trips soon once i work out how to use iPhoto....

Yes in my spare time I have upgraded the PC to an Apple iMac... Its a big change but apparently learning new skills at my age it good for me... I just hope i don't have a major mental meltdown through the process of learning new things...

So when did i get the time to go to Donnerly River? On the 18-19 November... jumped in the car, loaded the bike, had dinner with Al Gore the night before - dinkum! And aarrived at the loverly Donnerlly River camp at around 8.30am....

My cycling mates had taken off for a walk along the walk trail. Now to tell you how capable Patience is I took off after them.. Nothing could stop her... even with slicks... ok the 1 metre diamiter tree across the track did... but one huge lift and I had the bike over the log with only minor bruses....

A group dinner was prepared... and as you can see from the photos we had some local visitors to the dinner...

The next day the group road into the local town of Nanup for breakie and coffee. The usual splinter group formed, with those on mountain bikes opting for the mountain bike track and those on bents taking the road.. It was a great ride, little traffic and cool ish.... but it got hotter and the ride back up a hill around 8% was a lot of work, even without touring luggage...

But alas it was now sunday arvo and time to drive the 4 hours home... It was a great weekend and must happen again soon...

There's no place like home

There is no place like home... and i have been home for around 10 weeks... back at work for 9 of these. its taken a bit to get back in to going to work each day and noticing i only have weekends to do things like sort out my photos, read, clean a house (and not my tent) catch up with friends and pay bills.

I have found that i'm too fit now to just settle back into riding 12kms to work each day.. so now i ride 25kms through the Swan Valley (photos on the way). I have to contend a bit with a few cars but its not too bad. I also get to ride a bit along the Swan River... this has prompted my enrolment into swimming lessions to improve my ability to do freestyle.. So i'm also swimming twice a week.

The long term plan is to buy a kayak and paddle this on the Swan River after work during summer. I hope to get the kayak b4 Christmas... but finding the time is proving hard...

I have been very lucky with work as in the last 9 weeks i have travelled to our outback twice. My 1st trip was to a town called Onslow via Exmouth. The 2nd trip was to Halls Creek, via Broome, Kununurra, Warmun and back to Kununurra... then to get home i had to spend the weekend in Darwin. This was great as i was able to visit family I haven't seen for some 15-20 years.

I have decided that i'll keep the weblog going. Not sure who is still going to read it now i'm home. perhaps my friends i met overseas. Stories I will write will be about my cycling trips i do at home on weekends and sometimes my trips to work...

One day i'm going to workout how to get my new Ricoh to talk to my new iMac so i can send load up some photos of Perth... Somethings aren't ment to be easy!

soon photos and a short story about cycling in the south west with friends...

Tuscany Touring

(Written 20/10/06 based on diary notes)

The WREN was a hoot! and i needed to make sure i wasn't flat from having all those fantastic people around me 4 a week... so i booked to do a cycle ride tour in the hills around Florence with Tuscany Bike Tours... It was a great day... only 3 people and one was the tour leader. We visited a winery and oil maker in an 11 century castle. From here road the bikes through the hills of Chianti for few hours... stopping to have lunch at a charming Ristorante before cycling some more...up hill back to the castle..

I worked out i think it had been 5 years since i had last riden a mountain anywhere, least of all up a hill. I can say that i prefer my bent.

I returned to Florence that day very pleased i had sean some of the countryside by bike.. one day determined to return with my bike.

The next day i ot ready to visit the island of Elba on the west coast of Italy. I spent my last day in Florence visiting shops, having a meal and taking in the artwork of the buildings.

I was up bright and early for my drive to Elba. I managed to get out of Florence by following signs to Siena... i tryed to avoid using the motorway because i wanted to see the countryside and if i found something very nice would stop.. but this is not so easy to do by yourself when you have to drive, remember to stay on the right and read the map.... But i had a great drive south ish and managed to find the coast... I was given great help by a local who got me to follow him in his car for around 10ksm so i would end up on the right road to get to Elba.... The world is such a friendly place

I spent 3 days on the Island of Elba reading, eating, suning myself and swimming.... It was a short freshing holiday

But it was soon time to head north and return Mini and get ready for coming home

WREN highlights

You know you´re in Italy when u get to Florence... and when you get to the conference u know u are really in Italy and things take time and you need patience!

Sunday 20th August
i was in a great mood... Florence does this to you. I had managed to buy 2 dresses before i left Berlin to ware at the conf no way once can spend a week in Florence in cycling shorts! So sunday i set out to find the Conf... i started out well, with coffee standing at the counter of the the local coffee shop... Thanks mum for this tip! Its only around $1.80Euro for coffee if you stand, if you sit you pay for the table and service!

I then set out to find the venue, but i had to do a bit of window shopping on the way... the leather, gold, underware, shoes and large and small statues of naked men everywhere, plus the narrow laneways all add to Florence charm.

Now the venue should have been the Centro Congressi... but no one there... lucky for me there was another lost person from South America so with his grasp of Spanish and a bit of Italian we set out to find the uni! some 4 sets of conflicting instructions, a pre-purchased bus ticket and a hellish bus ride at breakneck speeds through the narrow lanes we arrived at the uni! I decided to walk everywhere after this...

once at uni i registered... what a confused place... but i got my bag and book of adstracts and disk and then set of the join a group discussing Gender and Energy.

Now the WREN is a entity that is focused on RE in both the developed and undeveloped world. At this conf there were over 100 countries represented it was a bit like United Nations... i was just in awe of all the people here and what they had done or are trying to do... I went to lunch on sunday with some women and we discussed all the issues that women in developing countries have to deal with in getting engery... it was a real eye opener and it was so amazing listening to these women on what they have achieved... thoughts of home and what is happening on our remote communites was ever present in my mind... we have a lot to learn from these women on RE and Energy.

in the arvo i went shopping for a dress to wear to the Banquet on Wednesday night... didn't find anything i could afford, though the $800euro number was very chic! just could find shoes to match it! No drama I have 3 more days!

In the early everning drinks were held at the uni to officially launch the Congress. It was a great show drinking wine and chatting to fellow Australian´s...and others from across the world.

I didn't get back to camping until late as i spend so much of the night looking at the markets and getting myself very lost!

Monday 21 August
I was up early from the camping... its very warm in Florance, such a change from everywhere i´ve been todate... I take the walk down to Centro Congressi, past the green David, along the river and across the Ponte Vecchio (Bridge with lots of gold shops)... The early morning mist or cloud is over the hills in the distance was magic, with the Duomo and its bell tower dominating the vista and if u have ever seen a photo of Tuscany or Florence then this is exactly what it looks like. The photos don´t lie

I found a coffee shop near the Centro Congressi and got my morning expresso and then waited in the grounds of Centro Congressi in the morning sun. Now this building is old... so to use it at a conference centre they dung underneath it and build a 500 seat theater room... very well done..

Today the guest speakers discussed the world strategy for RE, the doom and gloom of what we are doing with carbon emmission and how little RE is on the ground. This was interspersed with comments on what great countries Germany and Denmark are, and then refuted as to how poorly they have been since the mid 1990´s and despite all their RE efforts, their CO2 emissions have still increased!.... It followed on with graphs on how much fossel fuel we are all using and how much RE (biofuels) would be needed and the likelyhood of reducing our consumption. The forecasts where generally focused around 2050 and we, the world that is has a long way to go on changing our behaviour towards energy.

At times i cringed when i saw where Oz was inrelation to the world RE and how much we contrubute to the world CO2.... The whole day was inspiring and saddening all at the same time.

The lowlight followed by the highlight was discovering that the $600euro didn´t include lunch! and then followed by going out with some of the attendies for lunch at a local cafe!

The whole day was spent in this one location and one room....but it was so very interesting policy thinking.

Afterwards i went dress shopping, giving up, getting lost again and just wandering around the narrow streets of Florence... it was a warm summer night and the place was alive with street markets and music. At one point i was walking alone long a laneway that at the far end a solo violin was being played... now i don´t know if he was good or bad but i´ll never forget the image


Tuesday 22nd August
Getting into the swing of having my morning coffee of expresso. Today i was early and wandering around the uni when on the way i found an out door market... Its a bit like a flee market with secondhand things and new but out of date or fashion. Needless to say i saw a bargin or two and found a dress or two and shoes that would keep me clothed for part of the week... but alas not the place to be buying a dress for dinner in Palazzo Pitti....

Now the conf was in full swing... there where many consecutive sessions and it would have taken Marvin, the paranod robot, with the brain the size of a planet, from the Hitch Hikers Guild to the Universe, to figger out how to maximise ones time in the greatest number of sessions, covering all the topics.... On top of this you would have need Dr Who and the Tardis to find all the rooms and get there on time. So needless to say i didn´t get to hear everything i wanted too...

The topics were so intersting, Low Energy Buildings (LEB), Gender and Energy, PV, Wave, Wind, Biomas, Transport, Marine, remote applications of RE and others... I was spoilt for choice...

Today was only a 2/3´s day... I had lunch with folks from Adelade and then many of us went off to attend the field trips. The one i chose was on LEB... I was hopeful of seeing a house like mine or better... It was a 2 hour bus trip to Bolloina (not spelt correctly) where we a great seanic drive up a mountain to an architechs house that was very Tuscan and i doubt very LE... but anyway he put on a good show of slides of great buildings and we all enjoyed the view, food and wine that was included.

The meal was outstanding so very Italian so yummy. Living here would be hard for the diet, but one would just have to stop eating, have surgery on the body parts, spend all your spare time getting a tan, fake or real, so u can wear all the wonderful clothes and enjoy the life style.... of course you would have to sell all your current assets to afford it... but it think u might be happy!

We arrived back in Florence around midnight, slightly drunk, very happy and not at all able to shop for a dress... I again walked back up the hill to camping, passed David again and found my tent!

Wednesday 23rd August
Okay i woke up panicing i didn´t have a dress. Now this Banquet was to be something very special...and to be held in a Palace no less... So i checked out the program for the morning and thankfully it was mostly on transport... So i headed out to climb the Tower of the Duomo... What a view...what a climb...over 450stairs and you wouldn't want to be closterphobic or too tall...

The shops don't open until around 10am... but i was ready and waiting. I had to be at uni for the noon sessions and to catch up for a pre-arrange lunch...so with my running shoes on i hit the shops..

Got off to a good start. On my way to buy on the $130euro dress i found a few nights ago and deciding today it was my only option... i spyed a great little number for only $80euro on the way. So grab it, try it on, think it looks okay and then have two girls from Melbourne tell me i look great and i must buy it was an added bonus... Okay the running shoes wont do!

So i'm told to just keep heading towards uni and i'll pass lots of shops selling shoes... no kidding!... So i found a very chic black pair for ouch $90euro... Christ this is expensive and when i turn up to work wearing them (at least in the office and not at a powerstation) any oohs and arhs on how nice they look would be greatly appreciated so i can deal with my buyers remorse...

Its now 11.00am... i still have to get handbag...yep can't really take a blue bumbag!... lipstick, a bra and nickers and perhaps think about doing something, like combing my hair! It was such fun to be so girly after 4 months in the same clothes...whilst i was rushing it was a real hoot too...

Now the bra shopping gets a special mention and at this point in the blog the boys reading may want to skip this bit... your choice... Okay you go into the shop and it sells, bathers, bra's, nickers and stockings. Your size options are not in options of 12, 14, or 16 and cup size of A, B, C, or for the really lucky or unlucky D, E, etc.... No here you have 1, 2 or 3...and do you want pushup or not? I have the feeling the whole idea is to make the boobs just look good... bugger the idea of supporting them, making sure you can play sport and still make the bra look somewhat sexy... no here its just sexy. Now this is the bit that the boys will ignore... You as the girl do not shop alone!.. Nope you don't shop with your girlfriends either... its your man that is in the shop with you helping to choose your perfect underware!... Not only in the bra shops but also in the clothing stores... men running around getting dresses for their girls to try on... Now why with all the Italian influances we have in Oz, like coffee, olive oil, and pizza didn't this bit of the culture transfer to the Ozy male?

A quick stop is now made to the markets to get handbag and on the way to the uni i get the lipgloss!... I've done it its now only 11.50am.... Yippy...

The afternoon sessions i go to are on PV and i'm staggered to find out that in China you can get airconditioners that run using PV...Needless to say i want one and think we should consider installing at work somewhere.... more on this when i get back to work! The final talks for the day are on some of the remote PV and Wind solutions that the developing countries are installing... very exciting stuff..

Okay its time to rush back to camping, shower, shave the legs (yep its a Palace remember), lucky for me the sunscreen can act as a moisterisor...i comb the hair, realise getting it cut might have been a better idea and in my tight little, red and black 50's style chic dress and heals...may my way past the green naked David, again to the Ponte Vecchio and up the lane to Plazzo Pitti. I find a few of the other mingling outside and i'm introduced to Jenny from Sweden... Our 1st goal after waiting for more than 1/2 hour to be let in is a glass of wine or something with bubbles.. This we find... but it is the only one we find for the next two hours....

Someone had this bright idea that we may all drink too much and not pay attention to the speaches.... Struth it was almost a matter of life and death when i finally got my next drink... And thanks heeps to the gentlemen at our table that ensured that the right amount of wine was at all times on the table... The speaches were about an award created between Iceland and NZ on which country has contrubuted to RE the most in the last 2 years.... The palace was very Tuscan... it was a large court yard with wonderful paintings..

The meal was very nice, but not as wonderful as last night... Everyone chatted about RE.. god these people are focused! I have been invited to so many countries and likewise i have invited folk to visit Perth... at 11.30pm wandered back to my tent very happy and excited by all the chatter about RE and by the potential contacts i now have found

Thursday 24th August
I wake up early and do my usual coffee trip on the way to uni. Once here i realise that i can slack off again until 10.30am as the sessions are not my cup of tea! Too much maths!... So take of to see the real David.... Its only a short walk to the Acadermy Museum and with a bit of luck it will open early and the line will be short... Both happened.. its around $10euro to enter. 1stly you enter a room with Renaissance paintings. I have to admit i am not painting buff, but boy these were very nice. I now understand why this period in the history of man was such a significant change...the painters decovered two things..colours so rich that they make every image real and perspective... they painted people and backgounds in perspective... i stayed in this room longer than i thought i would...then i decided to find David...

Now i was not at all ready for this. you walk into a long hall type room, at the far end is dome, with natural light i think or so it seamed to me... and standing under the dome is David..it is so impressive.. it is so real... it is one of the best works of art i have ever seen.... you just have to be impressed with the detail. you are able to walk righ up to David walk around him and you can see the veins in his hands, the youthfulness of his face, and feel that this is actually a 3d photo of a modern sportsman....i stayed a while just looking.. i think you have too... i was lucky the room was not too full... but soon the tour groups arrived and i had to go...

The rest of the day i stayed listening to policy issues on RE, PV things and got a much better understanding of what you can do with waves to get energy... all wonderful stuff. In the everning i had dinner with some folk for the uk...this was great fun but the cost of the meal was a joke! $35euro for bbq chicken, a beer and fruit! ouch

Friday 25th August
AGain it was time to hold the conf in a different location and why not another Palace! This time Palzzo Vecchio. I did forget to mention that you have to be x-rayed to get into these Palaces... Today was the closing speaches and some were very good and made a fitting final summery to the the conf... one was just out of place. Then more awards to wonderful people.

Then it was time to catch the bus to Sennia... some 80kms away for a tour and dinner. What a city. This place still has its fortifications intacked somewhat. It also has an amazing church... Whislt the Doumo is Florance is something to see and is from the outside very impressive...Sennia church is some what striking, at black and white marble, but where it leaves an impression is its inside... Stuth it is detailed and very colourful... if the surman was borring you would only need to look around the room to keep yourself entertained...so much detail.

As soon as i could i climbed the tower to get a view of the city. I was not disappointed... the climb some 400 stairs and very narrow! was much fun, but getting to the top and seeing the true Tuscan hills and fortorfied city was a real treat!

Then it was time for dinner and merryment with happy smileling people.... Just so much fun.. and yet they chatted about RE and a like. Bus back to Florence and hugs good bye all around... it was like saying goodbye to school friends, though somewhat drunker! i did my usual walk back to camping...and just looked a Florence by night... what a wonderful city.

WREN Conference xi 2006

World Renewable Energy Conference 9 Florence 2006

So what does a girl do when she has a Mini Cooper, a road map or two, three weeks and a HUGE interest in RE? She drives to Florence, pays $680 Euro (i'm still in shock over this) to attend the WREN Conference.....

So with Judith's car and BH driving instructions on Friday the 18th August i drove out of Berlin on the A something motorway heading to Florence some 1200kms away... It took me over 300 kms to stop shaking... who's bright idea was this! have you any idea how hard it is to drive on the right side of the road with the gearshifter on my right?

Now i manged to get onto all the right motorways and was doing really well i thought for my 1st day... I manged to get within 50kms of Munchen in the 1st day and stayed at a roadside hotel for the night... the next day i wanted to get to Florence...

What a day.. it started out reasonable well, with a good breaky at the hotel and once pasted Munchen and somewhere near Salzburg the view was Awsome... i had to stop to take some photos... Mountains everywhere just magic... Things slowed down a lot when i got near Innsbruck and once in Italy near Trento the traffic stopped.... it was something like 20kms in 3 hours! Everyone was on holidays and going south...

I kept at it to make Florence I didn't have any other plans on where i was going to stay and the conf had some events happening on sunday that i wanted to go too... I kept going... I nealy passed out at the $25Euro charge for the motor way... so this is what happend when you are in a traffic jam here...u pay for the time u are on the road not the time u are moving on the road.. it includes the time u are stationary!!

Once in Bologna i knew i would make it but it would be late ish... once in Bologna i knew i was in Tuscany.. the rolling hills, the light, the yellow ish plants and warm air, the grapes, olives and the straw coloured house... the houses on the hill tops. what a place! The drive from Bologna to Florence is a hoot... Its a twisty drive along a mountian pass that everyone is driving at 130kms/hour or faster... I stayed in the right lane and followed the red combi in front at only 100kms/hour!

Now the signs for Florence were very confusing... which exit do i need? so i took one not sure which one... i then stopped to get a town map so i could find my camping spot above the city... the map didn't help i was very tired it was 8pm so the guy at the garage draw a map... this helped a lot.. but i still managed to get lost getting back onto the motor way... i manged to get into the wrong lane for the motorway ticket and i manged not to find the exit he told me to get off at... i then drove around the city block for a bit always turning right until i was back where i started.. i then drove through the city for a bit... its now 9.30pm, i'm very tired i have no idea where i am or where the camping ground is... i decide to stop at the 1st hotel and just stay there....

Its the 3rd hotel i stop at because i couldn't find parking at the 1st two... Its $80euro a night (double ouch) I'm about to pay when i tell the guy that i couldn't find the place i was looking for... he asks where i want to go and then says don't give up your almost there only 10 minutes more... He then gives me a great map and draws on the map where i need to go.... I'm almost crying as he bundles me out of his hotel into the car to drive up to camping...

I arrive at Camping Michelangiolo at 10.30pm... I had to get lost 1st at the Bronze statue of David on the hill... this is a city of very large naked men, sadly they are all either Bronze or marble... sigh!

this statue is a copy made in the 1800's or so and stand above the city of Florence its is in such a wonderful location and the view from here is outstanding!

the camping ground is great... i'm staying in one of their tents that have two bed only and you get to share like a doom... so far i have only had one girl with me for two nights out of the 8nights i have been here...

buggered in Berlin

What a ferry trip from Oslo to Kiel! i Was on a floating 5 star hotel... complete with my own room, shopping mall and casino. The trip out of Oslo was just a hoot... sitting on the deck of the ferry as it slowly sailing past all the small island in the calm waters,with the sunshine on my back and face reading or trying to read my book... I was in the lap of luxuary for the 1st in weeks...what I'm i saying the 1st time in my life this ship was so not like any other ferry i have ever caught! The Germans were buzy buying up the duty free shopping and looking chic... I was however was still wearing my brown cycling shorts and blue or red top and not at all looking chic... needless to say i didn't go the the 'a la cart' resturant on the ship...

i arrive in Kiel around midmorning and find a place to camp around 20kms from town on the beach... well more like a skinny strip of land wedged between the clifts and ocean that in summer becomes a beach of sorts... Here i read my book from cover to cover and soaked up the sun whilst i wondered what it was i was going to do next!

So how did i end up back in Berlin... well the best made plans sometimes don't work... I was planning to head south and go cycling with friends in France but this, sadly fell through... so i was still in need of friends and made my way with the help of the trains to Berlin...

I arrived in Berlin on a hot sunny day... it was just wonderful to be back i felt like i was home. There is something so very speical about Berlin... some people would not like it but i could live here or at least i could in summer... winter would be a bit hard.. though could be made bearable by the wonderful coats, hats and boots one can buy... Alas not for Perth!

Now i must have been more tired and stressed than i thought as i got sick on the night i arrived... head pain... So bad i had to see a Dr... now its hard enough telling a Dr at home i have pain in my head, but add a bit of a language barrier and its becomes more fun... but the Dr was great... spend 30 minutes chatting to me about the pain and my inability to take morphine based drugs and came up with something to give me... I had to increase the dossage to keep the pain at bay, but they were the best drugs i have ever been given for this kind of pain.... even with the drugs i did have a couple of nights of being up at 3am distressed, but i manged to get through this... I'm so glad i was in the unit alone... whislt it would have been great to have my friends there, having a house guest getting up and walking around the unit at 3am moaning is not much fun for anyone...

needless to say i didn't get much planning done on what or how i was going to spend my last 3weeks in Europe... well not until my firends came home and came up with a great plan....

i did manged to drug myself so well i was able to go and see Blue Man Group in Potdama Pl... It was loud music mostly made by pvc tubes and made funny and colourful with paint. The 1st 10 rows of people have to ware plastic bags... its also very interactive... it was great and i can't even read German... the actors don't talk at all... if it come to Oz or Perth Go!

Now the plan for my last few weeks would be without my best friend Patience and would be with Cooper....

Oslo

The train trip over the mountain is just wonderful, but sad, as all the time i can see where i should be riding my bike... I guess i could have just tried, but with the mountains and lots of tonnels its just not that much fun riding all day to find yourself on the wrong side of a tonnel that you can't ride through or at the end of a big day having to ride over a mountain....

Now if i thought Bergen was busy Oslo was a whole new ballgame... gees it was busy and sunny. I again end up spending so much time in info waiting to get info that by the time i find out that there is a realy great bike network shop, its shut for the day. I also didn't know where to stay and i'm so greatful to my friends in Denmark that offered options for me. End the end i'm told to go over to this island and camp there as it's free and you can swim and there are loos but now showers... Its really nice. So i go, but late in the day as i spent some time riding around the cycle path i found in the city. I catch the 7.30pm ferry to the island, only to be told that i'm not ment to take the bike onto the island. Great... Once on the island I findout that there is going to be a big fair on the island the for the next 3 days... Because of this the ferry operator recommends i catch the 1st ferry back at 10am with bike otherwise i'll be stuck on the island for 3 days - not really a great idea once i meet the 1st few locals who are so sunburnt and drunk the eyes are bearly open, bloodshot and the only smell is of beer....

So i'm wondering if this is such a great idea, when a young lady says come with me and i'll show u where to hide...oops i mean camp! This was great and i do have a very nice spot... i meet a family with young kids and i feel a lot more relaxed, i also meet the hired security guards when they shine their torch in my eyes to see if i'm okay! Very interesting place to stay... i choose to catch the ferry back to the mainland, i really don't want to be on an island with loads of drunk folk.

so the next day i'm back in Oslo and i decide that what i really need is the company of friends... so its time to head south. I find out i can catch a ferry from Oslo to Kiel (Germany)... so this is what i do!

Nigled in Norway

Yes i know your asking why anyone would not be happy in Norway when its sunny and u haven't seen sun, real hot sunburning sun for months, when the country is just wonderful with its Fjords and lakes and i have a great bike to go riding...

Well i arrived in Bergen, Norway early morning it was a magical day. I was up on deck of the ferry early and i just stood and watch the slow arrive to the port, through the clear waters, hills in the distance and trees... its was great to see sun and trees again.. I was so looking forward to riding here. Now Bergen is the wetest town in Norway it rains around 300 days of the year... the whole time i was here no rain... just sunshine.. Once on land it was hot and i was dressed for Iceland... this is not good for decision making. It was also very busy, cars, people, busses, more people, bikes and noise.... After Iceland and even the Shettlands this was a bit of shock to my system.

My aim for this day was to find a camping ground and get cycling info for the town and the rest of Norway. I had been trying to get this info via the net but Norway, whilst it has a great cycling website, in english and you can order the maps to ride anywhere, they don't actually turn up despite trying before, during and once i arrived in Norway.... But i thought no problem, just like everwhere else so far i'll get maps at bookshop... Now i'm very hot, tired and having to take a ticket for info I'm number 89 and the counter is on 8... Great....

Once i finally get info I find they have run out of cycling maps of Bergen with any useful info, but give me a highlevel map... I find that camping is some 20kms out of town along a busy road to boot....I go to bookshops, three in total to get maps, anything would be good. But no one has any maps, let alone heard of the North Sea Cycle Ride, of which Noway is a host country. Now i'm really confused stressed and wondering what am i doing here? and i still don't have a place to sleep yet!

I book into the local hostel which is very nice as i have a small room with its own shower! i share this room with only 2 others and Patience is locked in her own room with a few other bikes to chat to! I relax read all the info i have and decide to give oup on cycling tomorrow, worry about that latter and do a train, bus, ferry, smaller train and bigger train trip around the Fjords... bugger the cost... Ouch

So the only thing i do on my 1st night in Norway is cook my dinner in my room and sit on the roof top with others, enjoying the wonderful warm evening, overlooking the city and its harbour. This was a great night.

Train, bus, ferry, small train & big train trip
This was such a great day. I started the day by having my breaky on the rooftop. The day was shapping up to being warm if not hot and very sunny. Now on the train a met a Korian lady and her neice, plus a fellow Ozzy. It was fun just chatting, getting of and on the trains and not having to think about the bike for the day, just relax and enjoy the view.

The 1st train is the usual train that you can catch from Bergen to Oslo across the mountains. The trip is very special as the train is climbing up the mountains from Bergen and in between tunnels you get some wonderful views of the valley. On this trip i and everyone else get off at a town called Voss. From here we catch a bus that drives us further into the mountains and up to a hotel resturant that has a too die for view of the valley below.... and the road that our bus is planning on driving down... Are this guys made or what? this road is the steepest in Norway so they say. Its winding and i'm so glad the driver does this every day. Its a wonderful drive down, the bus goes so slowly and even stops to let people take in the view or photograph the waterfall.

At the bottom is the village of Guduangen(?) where we board a ferry to sail down the Naeroyfjorden and then sail up the Aurlandsfjorden where we are to get off at Flam. The 1st Fjord is Norways narrowest Fjord. It is just magic, both John (fellow Ozzy) and my other mates are moving aroudnthe ferry taking wonderful photo's and enjoying the sun and relaxing pace of the ferry. We are on the ferry for about 2 hours. It is just the right amount of time for my liking. I think any longer i would get borred...

At Flam we are given about an hour to look around, get lunch and then catch the Flam rail back up the mountain. Flam is just lovery and had i know more about what i was doing i would have bought my camping things and stayed. But then if i had known more about what i could have done i would have brought Patience got of the train at Myrdal, riden down to Flam and then take the Ferry and train in the reverse order... but we live and learn and this is for next time.

The Flam rail is a hoot!.. you get a seat on this old train and it takes you back up the mountain to Myrdal. Its only 20kms, but it takes an hour and its steep, very steep and the view is worth every moment you have to go throught a tonnel... 1/2 way up its stops at a waterfall and everyone gets off for the photo shoot... this great fun watching everyone's excitement. Once in Myrdal its time to catch the train back to Bergen, its a long trip back but again its a wonderfull view.

It was a wonerful day and made all the more special by the great people i met on the day.

I spend the next day wandering around Bergen and then i decide I'll go to Oslo by train with bike...

Shealtering in the Shettland Islands

Well what can i tell u about the Shettland Island.... not much

The ferry arrives at the port of Lerwick at 9pm... Our whole arrival was punctuated by the ferries horn sounding every 3 minutes. This was because no one could see the port of Lerwick, let alone make out the Shettland Islands due to thick fog... This fog had been with the ferry since our departure from the port of Torshaven... it was an erry day to spend on a ferry, I think i watched too much Dr Who when i was a kid!

Finally we port and its time to go to the car decks... but when i get to the bike deck i realise i´m the only one going here... as soon as i open the door i realise that this deck is not going to be cleared. Everyone on this deck is going to Denmark... except me.. I know there is no way i can get Patience off the ferry on my own and i start to think about what i´ll do if i have to stay on board and get off in Denmark, when a crew man sees me and says `let me guess u have a vehicle on this deck` yes, but its only a bike... `no worries think we can work that out to get the bike off for u`

So with the help of one of his fellow crewmen, who carries 4 of my laggage bags as if they were feather pillows, the other crewman, picks a now unloaded Patience up and carries her above his head, over packed in cars, the whole lenght of the ferry, then down a flight a stairs and kindly places her on the deck below where i can reload my luggage.... And guess what? I had packed the camera as i thought what can i take a photo of in thick fog at 9,30pm? SO all i have is my memory of this event

Getting through customs at Lerwick was fun... Must be the Australian passport... have to be sure that i´m not trying to get in to England the back way and stay there working i guess... So about 20 questions later and a stamp and some good cheer i´m allowed to go and find camping.

It was strange driving on the left again and i would have been a lot happier if i had remembered to fix my headlight and repair my taillight for the 3km ride... but i made if safe and sound... The camp gound is also the local swimming pool. Its a nice spot, but i didn´t really know this for a day or so...

The next day i´m in no rush. I ride into town to get some info on cycling and find that there are lots of places to ride here. I then return pack my kit and head out to somewhere on the map that sounded good. I don´t leave Lerwick until 1pm, which is not a good time to start riding for the day... I enjoy my ride, but its cold and looking like rain, i can´t really get a good view of anything due to the cloud. Its great knowing everyone i speak too will understand me though. I soon get to a village called Vik from here i decide to ride towards the lighthouse and camping that i was told in Hillswick. The riding is rolling hills, not hard not easy just there. Its very nice or could be on a sunny day with company and a picnic, but on your own its just hard work. There was nothing to make the ride outstanding. This was because i had only limited visibility.

I don´t arrive at Hillswick until 7pm at night. I´m tired, i had left too late in the day for a 65km ride, its going to rain and there is no camping ground!... Great... I´m told the actual camping ground is about 10kms further on up a big hill... just wonderful!... I´m told this by a guy called Pete who runs a sancuary (okay i can´t spell it but u know what i mean) for seals and otters. They have a vegetarian cafe that runs on donations for what u think the meal is worth. Pete tells me i can camp in the backyard for one night and have a shower using the donation concept.... I accept and decided bugger cooking and i´ll treat myself to a great meal also... and it was a great meal.... I even go to see an otter and touch a seal!

The next day...well it started raining sometime in the night and didn´t stop all day... expect for the time it took me to pack my wet tent and stuff. Now i thought i couldn´t see anything yesterday, well today was a whole new concept of not seeing anything. I road all day with both tail-lights and headlights.... I thought that if it cleared i would ride over to the otherside of the island and take the coast road in a bit... adding to my ride by only 15kms... but when i got to the turn-off to make my decision i was wet, it was still raining and i thought what will i see anyway... so i headed into Lerwick thinking i would find a cafe and go to the movies!

Its Sunday in Lerwick and nothing except the pool is open. Even the library is closed, the coffee shops are closed and the resturants won´t open if i´m lucky until late. Its only 2pm when i arrive. Now the movies well they don´t start until the 15th August! struth and an www cafe... not sure where it is but if the library was open u could go there.... No book either as i had finished that and of course the bookshop was closed.... But the lady at the pool to my rescue... she called her dad to see if he mined if i came up to use his www? no worries i´ll make her a coffee and what kind of bike did you say she had?

So once again dressed in full plastic i wander around the streets to find Sam´s house. Sam was out, but there was a note saying where the pc was and when he would be back. So i was able to do some www searching and to update my blog... Sam´s not so sure about recumbents, but he makes a great coffee! If your reading this Sam, thanks for the coffee and chatt about bikes...

The next day was magic, the sun came out, there was no rain, blue sky and a warm feel to the air. I couldn´t beleive i was on the same island... Nor could the farther and son I had met the night before also on bikes and trying to ride here. We had all given up the day before and i had decided i would just find a coffee shop and window shop in Lerwick this day, but my new found friends had another idea.... Hire a car and get me to drive them around the island!

Great plan... We picked up the car around midmorning and drove out to Hillswick again. The cafe was shut, but we when up to the lighthouse and go to see what was so special about these islands... The cliffs are very impressive and yes the place is full of the loverable Puffins, but they don´t eat them here... or they don´t tell you if they do. We drove around and got to see all the loverly rolling green hills and tarns that the Shettlands offer and yes i would have to say on a warm sunny day with good friends, food and wine the Shettlands would be a nice place to cycle. We found a cafe with great views of the sea stacks and enjoyed great chips! yummy...

My new found friends had to catch a ferry in the early arvo so we were all back in Lerwick by 4pm ish.... I spend some time in town looking around and then returned to pack my kit. My ferry was due to depart at 21,30 that night. I planned to spend my last 15quid on dinner in an indian cafe... due to wonderful timing i shared my meal with a teacher from the Czech Republic and a young man from Napal. It was great fun.... i handed over all my remaining pound, jumped on my bike and road down to board the ferry...

It was a wonderful night and clear sky to farewell the port of Lerwick... Now bound for Norway

Iceland farewell

I´m sad to say

i´m on my way,

my heart is down,

my head is turning around,

i had to leave little Seydisfjordur in Iceland

My last few days in Iceland were great... I had a great day riding to the fishing town of Hofn, where i battled a side wind and gentle rolling hills... on this day i chatted to other riders heading the other direction and having have a much harder ride than me..or at least this day they were...

Once in Hofe i planned to catch the bus to Egilsstadir the next day. It was only a two-three day ride but i was conerned that it was now Monday and i needed to be in Seydisfjordur Wednesday night, as i wanted to go to the Blue Church concert they hold the night before the ferry departs.. So i took the easy way out and took the bus. I also didn´t want to leave catching a bus until the last day incase they coun´t take the bike.

This was a great drive... the road is not sealed for large sections and it hugs the cliff face, but is on average flat... I thought i would have had to climb a 12% hill if i had riden, but a tonnel had been built some 3kms long through the mountain... so as it was i would have had to catch the bus through this part anyway... 3kms through an unventilated and unlit tunnel is not my idea of fun... having done it once now... As with all Icelandic busses they stop to let you take photos at the best spots... its such a great custom and one we should adopt in Oz...

Once in Egilsstadir i enjoyed a great arvo of sunshine.. the 1st in several weeks. The next day was not so good and i sat in a cafe reading until my bus over the mountain pass to Seydisfjordur at 5pm.. I´m glad i took the bus here... this the same mountain pass i road over when i 1st arrived in Iceland and i decided i didn´t need to do it twice. As it was it would have been very dangerious on the bike...the whiteout conditions on the mountian top were the worse i have ever sean... which may be no measure of worsenessess(?)... but car lights on the bike would not have made me feel safe...the bus was only doing around 30kms/hour so even the driver was concerned...

Once in Seydisfjordur the fishing village is so quant u can loose yourself for a whole day without any trouble... and if your luck the mountains peaks will be cloud free and you can just watch them. So for most of the day i wandered about the town looking a wooden buildings, art shops, drinking coffee (ouch the cost...), getting my tickets, finding a book in English (yes only one in the whole village) and getting some food to take on the ferry and reading about the Shettland islands

The concert is held in the local Blue Church. Each week there is a different touring group... For my last night in Iceland it was French singing and whilst i don´t know what was being sung, i did recognise most of the tunes... It was very special and a nice way to say farewell to an island i loved... After the concert i headed to one of the local cafe´s... did well here as i picked the one the tour goup where going too the atmosphere was really exciting even though i had no idea what anyone, other than the girl on the bar was saying. This is because the girl on the bar was a Kiwi and everone else was from somewhere else... I chatted to a german couple an they gave me a sports booster bar to keep me cycling alone... so very nice...

Seydisfjordur gets very busy with the arrival and pending departure of the ferry. It was also a bit of a reunion... several of the folk that were on the ferry with my arrive were also departing... hugs abound, exchanging of email addresses and great chear was everywhere, as we all chatted about our adventures... it was also a cold but sunny day so everyone´s mood was high... Boarding was fast and hassle free...or at least it appeared that way... but wait until i get to Lerwick

007 and Jokulsarlon

The day after rest day i decide to leave the park... there is more rain coming and low cloud so the planned walk i wanted to do i wont see anything... I'm also keen to get to spend some time at Jokulsarlon. Now i would suggest you hire the last James Bond movie and checkout the ice hotel and floating ice... something like 'to die another day' of some such

Everwhere you go in Iceland you see photos of the floating ice on this lake and think it cant be that good... no way. I leave very early i'm riding by 6.30am - please remember its daylight here at 2.30am. Its going to be a great ride, 85kms of flat land and i get to cycle pass the glacier as it receades from the hyw. Not that long ago it was at the hwy... Just the whole time i'm riding on this day i see the glacier on my left through mountain peaks or it spilling onto the plain. On my right it the black sand beach and the ocean....and to top it of i have a magic tail wind! What a blast riding along at 25kms/hour!


I get to Jokulsarlon just b4 noon. I know i'm near i can feel the cold. On the side of the road are large mounds of sand created by the receading of the glacier. Through these i can see the ice.. i have to stop and take a look... what a place! Iceburgs as big as two story houses just floating in a ice blue lake...yep the postcards are real! very real... Witht he aid of a tripod (thanks BH) i take some photos. I'm keen to do the amphibiours(?) jeep tour on the lake... i arrive just in time for the next trip... what a blast...its only for 40 minutes its around 2000krn but well worth it. Its on the trour i find out that the lake was created in 1934 from an eruptions on the Glacier. The glacier is receeding by 100mtres a year and one can't get too close as its likely an iceburg will fall at any time. As it is you can hear the ice cracking and moving.... I also now know why the iceburgs are white... they have flipped and this cause air to get in and the white is air bubbles...

ITs such a great day so sunny... i keep riding and make my camp at the hostel... I'm told to stay here by a family i meet from Norway travelling the other way.... I spend the arvo sitting in the sun room eating and reading... I have had a top day....

Summit 2119metres and a Glacier

I'm a bit behind in my weblog... Ferry's dont have the www so i can spend 4 days on a ship reading, eating and doing nothing and trying not to be sick.

Vik to Skaftafell National Park
I have calculated the number of days i have left in Iceland and the kms and have worked out i need to catch two more busses. I could actually ride the whole way but that is all i would be doing and i'm very keen to see something of large national park called Skaftafell. I have planned to spend 3 days here, walking on a glacier, doing a long walk that takes in the view and just being... i had a secret hope that i might try to climb the highest mountain in Iceland..but wasn't sure i would be fit enough.

so now bus from Vik. This bus was empty... yippy i can get my bike on easy and it has the cargo hold all to itself... but this is short lived as we take off and stop 2kms down the road to pick up one the French touring groups... 20 people and so much stuff... but the bus drivers are very skilled and it all fits including lots of room for Patience...

Now i must tell you about my encounter with the touring French from last night. There are lots of French in Iceland. I'm told there is some connection of ownership between AirFrance and AirIceland.... of course there are more Germans and loads of Dutch. Anyway... i'm in camp kitchen trying to cook my dinner... its too cold in tent and i thought company would be nice even if no one chats to me or i can't understand what is being said... the atmosphere of a room full of happy chatting people is nice...

But one of the guys from the tour group suggests i can use part of their table to cook my meal... this is so nice. Out of the 15 people at the table only 4 can speak english, but thats fine they are happy to translate and try to include me in their conversations... The best thing is the wine... they insist i must try the wine as its from Australia!.... Yep thats right folks i had dinner with 15 touring French folk, drinking Australian wine in Iceland.... What a spin... More so is that they all agreed that the wine was very nice... i think almost impressed... French wine is just too expensive in Iceland... So if you have shares in a wine company encourage them to get their wine into Iceland.

Okay back to bus trip. The trip was simple and i spend the whole time looking out the window across the Sandur plan (this is a black sand plain) thinking i should have ridden... but then after 2hours of this and realizing i would have had two days of this... i settled back a bit happy to be on bus... Then the Glacier came into view... Struth kids... this is a must see and i so wish i had a video cam to show you. Yes i know my camera can film but i haven't worked that bit out yet..

The mountains here start at 500 metres and the highest is 2119 called Hvannadalshnukur (chocolate if you can say that correctly). I arrive in the arvo... find a spot for tent, its been raining a bit but okay now and once settled i seek out the tour group called Mountain Guilds... yet i'm brand dropping but thats fine they were a good outfit and the guide was a Kiwi anyway... I wanted to do the 5-hours on the Glacier tour but it was fully booked for 3 days, the next tour i could do was in 2 days and this was the 2-hours Glacier tour... but as i appeared most dissapointed and i mentioned to the Kiwi lass that i really wanted to do the Summit tour but didn't know much about snow, ice climbing and was concerned about my fitness.

She laughed... so 14,000kr latter or $250 ish Australian i'm booked to do the climb the next day. Now its a conditional climb on weather and 3 other people who have paid turning up. By 9pm this night no one knows if the walk is on...its a 5am start so i have to get up around 4am and just hope everyone else turns up...

In the arvo of my 1st night here i walk to the Glacier ...so close you could almost touch it but too far to do so... and i'm not keen as there it quicksand at the Glacier and the water is ice cold!

Summit Climb 2119 metres
I wake very excited at 4am... i still don't know if i'm doing the climb but i'm ready to go and very scared. We have to walk with crampons, ice axe and we are roped together. I'm told to drink loads of water and keep drinking all morning. Also eat as much as you can before you start. So i do this... both increase ones need to find a loo and on top of a Glacier covered mountain its a case of everyone turn away whilst i pee...

So i meet the rest of the team. 6 in total including our tour guild, Ben from NZ. So off we go. I have all the gear, waterproof pants, snow gloves, softshell windstopper, raincoat, german walking boots and NZ wool clothes. Several of the others are less prepared but we all manage. Ben has us walking very slowly, he says he want us to think the pace is too slow.. its is too slow but for a very good reason.... Whilst the mountain is only 2kms up we have to walk 12kms to get to the top. Now this is 12kms up and 2/3 are snow covered glacier....

Ben checks our progress by telling us our height. We rest several times. At around 1000mtrs we have now entered the snow line and must rope up and put on the crampons. The view is staggering and we are not at the top. We can't see the summit due to whiteout.. We have to walk through the whiteout and Ben has us doing a wide arc around the cravaces... Struth they are just like what you can see in films about ice climbing. I feel a lot like one of the Drwafs roped together... Its hard work on the snow, but little do we know how hard its going to be when it melts for the decent...

WE climb, we climb some more then we met some others on the mountain that have turned backed as the summit was in cloud and they couldnt see a path up but could hear an ice slide and decided no t to risk it. I understand their concern, but Ben is confident and we keep walking until we are very near the summit... we stop to rest....we are all very tired and thinking whats the point cant see the summit... but then something magic happens... it clears, we can see the summit, can see the valley below or some of it and see some of the mountains behind.. What a motivation boost!... we all stand up and ready to strike out when Ben tells us its a bit steep and he'll have to kick some steps in and stay close keep the tention on the rope as there will be cravaces on the way up....

Is he kidding? its not steep its vertical! I had too major feelings at this point... one of overwhelming excitment followed by sheer terror!.... I also now understand why someone climbs a mountain, and not just any mountain a glacier covered mountain the thrill you get from a perfect summit accent is out of this world... you feel so happy its so rewarding.

The vertical climb is something i'll never forget... i was second last so i go to see the other assend... Just magic. We have to cross two cravices (yep i know its not spelt right but you get the point). Crossing is a bit strange they are not very wide nor deep but the sensation of falling is the great. You just sort of jump across and hope that the other side is firm... it was but i was concerned about going back down...

We still have to climb once we have done the vertical bit but we can see the summit its clear, its a warm day. I'm just wearing wool leggons and a wool top. WE make it take lots of photos, drink loads of water, eat more chocolate and just sit in the sunny quiet. We stay on the summit for around 30minutes then its time to decend... great :(

Ben is at the back for the decent and i have the lead. WE walk very slowly and take our time. I find the vertical decent a hoot... mostly i'm just falling in the snow as i slide down. I have my ice axe in my left hand trying to stop my slid but eventurally i fall into the first creaves. I can get out, its not deep, but you can see that it widens and its a feeling of knowing that they are endless. We keep going and soon we are off the vertical bit... Ben takes over the lead and we then keep walking down.

WE get more whiteout, more rain, less sun and we are getting very tired. The snow has melted a lot and we are no longer walking as sinking knee deep into the snow. its much harder to keep the pace and being at the back you get pulled a long a bit by the others in fround. I have to aske them to slow twice as i'm actually running to keep up... Down we go, further and further. So we are out of snow line and can unrope, remove crampons and just walk at our pace, Ben still has us walking in line as he doesn't want to loose anyone in the whiteout conditions...

We keep walking down... we eventually make out of the cloud and its time to cross the cold fast flowing river again... on the way up we all when to a lot of effort to keep our feet dry, by using a log and balacing across it... but now we are tired and the shoes are wet so we all link arms and walkin... its at this point i realise that what i though was wet shoes was infact just a bit of snow and sweat... They are now very very wet.... and yes Des i have to used the platic bag trick for the next two days!

We are stuffed, excited and ready to get in the bus. its raining again... I do have great photos but no way of getting them up loaded yet... but i'll try soon.

I spend the next day drinking loads of hot water, reading the Lonely Planet book (nothing else to read), playing cards and trying to keep out of the endless rain. Yep the next day was not stop rain and the summit climb was cancelled due to lack of visibility.... i was so lucky to do the walk and to have clear sky when i got to the top!

6 degrees of seperation

So some of you already know about the interviewed for ABC Local Radio 720 for the segment called 6 degrees of seperation... now i have to tell you the url so you can listen and enjoy or laugh....

now with a bit of technical luck the link below will work.... but you need realplayer to listen

http://www.abc.com.au/perth/stories/sixdegrees.htm

now some info on how the interview was done and where i was. I road to a small town on the south coast called Vik. Loverly ride, very flat just rolling along, ocean on my right, large green mountains around 500metres high on my left... but then reality bites! The 1st hill climb only around 10%... i make it up without walking but i did stop.

Mountain climbs are fine but i prefer them 1st thing in the morning not after i have riden 75kms, when i expecting to only ride 60kms for the day and mostly if i have managed to eat some lunch for the day....but not today i climb very hungry... at this point i knew that there would be a 2nd climb just b4 Vik and sure enough i have a 12% climb. Its around 3pm in arvo and i`m shaking from lack of food when i have to do this climb... neqdless to say i don´t make it and have to walk the bike up the 1km climb.

On the positive side of a hill climb like this is the down hill ride and in this case it was a hoot all the way into the small village of Vik. Here i ask tourist info if the ABC could ring me the next day to do an interview on their phone. And it is the responce i get that is one of the things that has made me fall in love with the Icelandic culture and people... I`m without hesitation given the number to the info office and told to get the ABC to call at 10am, they will let me use their main office so its quiet....

I arrive at info the next day and the interview goes well. I have finally found an internet cafe that is tooled to let me hear the interviewand i have decided that Justine Kelly has donea wonderful job of notmaking me sound like a dork....

Now Vik is a loverly village, with black sound beaches, mountians to climb with magistic panarama of a glacier, sea stacks and best of all a bus depot;;; now why a bus?

Bus Blunder

Saga´s are a part of Icelandic folk law. They are usually very long, sung and involve death, near death, love, hate, food, a viking or two and many take a few days to tell.... This is my saga.

Its a really good idea to be in a great mood all day when something is not going to go right... Something so simple can go a bit wrong... The Netherlands tour group i passed on the my morning hill climb invited me to join them on their walk to a waterfall and then onto the icelake. Sounds great, but i have to catch the 3,30pm bus. No worries so do they. They put my luggage with theirs and say their drivers will put it all on the bus and the bus will get us all from the Ice lake. Everything is sweet.

So we catch the bus over one of the glacier rivers to the start of our walk to the waterfall. Dandy. We walk in but soon we have to cross some streams of very cold water and of course i don´t want to get my boots wet and you can´t cross without shoes. But this tour group are well organised with second shoes for getting wet. They loan me a pair and i manage to cross. Just wonderfull. The waterfall is just magic. We have to again walk up the stream and climb over rocks to get to the fall, but once there it is just loverly. I´m under the fall of the waterfall, its only small, but the high mountain walls are covered in green moss...and the water flows through a small opening at the top. Its a great walk and i was so please i was invited...

I´m still having a great day. What could go wrong?

We make our way back and head towards the ice lake . At the rate we are walking I know we´ll not make the lake, but no drama its been a great day... We don´t make the lake, but the bus stops on the road to collect us. There are two busses going back as so many people. The 1st one keeps going and the second one stops. We all climb aboard, happy laughing and please withourselves. I´m stopped. There are two drivers. One for the tour group and one to get them across the glacier rivers. Now the drivers know i´m not part of the tour group and they say i have to get off the bus... I think no problem when the tour group leader gets here she´ll sort this out... She can´t. she is speachless... not good when she is Icelandic and so are the two drivers kicking me of the bus..

Now this might not sound too much like a problem. But I´m and my luggage are removed from the bus and to be left on the side of the road. Great I could walk back to the camping, but i have to cross the Glacier river, its 5kms (the river is about 1/2 wide and ice cold) and i don´t have my luggage in a backpack, but just a duffel bag. I do point out to the driver that its not such a great idea to leave me in the middle of the road with no way of getting across the river. I´m told get the next bus... when is the next bus...don´t know maybe tomorrow... I´m not that fussed about having to stay, but i really do need help in getting across the river... I´m thinking hitching across a river would be novel, but i don´t like my chances...

The reason i'm off the bus is because its full. The fine for the driver to have an extra person in 10,000kn. There are too many people to take back...as it is 6 people have been left at camping due to no room... I say happy to stay, but i can´t get to camping without help... Still the lady tour guide is speachless. One of the drivers is calling his office to find out when the next bus will be... everyone is now on the bus and i´m in the middle of the road,.... There is no way the bus is going to drive me across the river, its running late to met another bus and handover 8 passengers... its engine is running and the 1st driver is trying to get his co-driver on the bus and leave... I´m alone in the middle of the road...

Then someone has a really bright idea...re-count the seats.... can you believe that there is one seat left...What a relief... I´m welcomed on board and off we go...

There is just no way i was going to let the bus drive off... I needed to find a way of making it take me or drive me over the river. In hindsight I know that the best think i could have done was to offer to pay the fine... Ouch $200Aust... but better than being left between two glacier rivers you can´t cross...

We get back safe and sound. I tell the driver i understand his issue with the overloading, he is a bit coy but i think appreciated me speaking to him... I get my bike and ride of to the camping ground... The sun is now out. It´s cold but a nice everning

Porsmork thoughts

What a few days... let me see where do i start. I set off from Claudia´s on Friday 14th July with a short ride to the bus port. Yep bike and i are taking a bus to a place called Porsmork or at least thats what we planned in the morning. Now the P is a Th again here, a second elephant stamp if your saying it right.

The day is wet.. but i´m getting used to being on a bus when its raining. Better than riding i say. Its also cold and windy and the forecast is for a storm in the Landmannalaugar area with 20m/s winds... this is not riding weather

Now Porsmork is due south of Landmannalaugar, via a 3-4 day work. Its 50kms through the painted and volcanic landscape and one of the worlds most aclaimed walks... Were is my backpack and light tent! bugger I have to take bus. Porsmork is a valley with some trees situated between Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull.... And what is a jokull? Its a glacier and from Porsmork you can walk between the two glaciers over a mountain pass over 3 days to Skogar near the south coast... This was killing me not being able to do the walks. But then there is the issue with the weather!

So i take bus. At a small town called Hvolsvollur i´m told i have to change busses. Not a problem i think, but it is. Bike can´t go on second bus... Great, as i was planning on staying the night at Porsmork. Instead i have to store the bike at the Esso and return with the bus. I only get 3 hours in the area. Oh well that can´t be helped. So i get on second bus and we roll off to the 4x4 road. Now this is no normal 4x4 road... there are many river crossings and these are directly flowing off the glaciers so i´m told by the Icelandic folk that you have to be extra careful as the hight of the river can change and does change throughout the day due to melting of the icecaps.

Even through the rain and mud covered windows the view of the area is very special. We have crossed over some rivers that i´m sure the old touring sidecar would have coped with. We round a bend and then I´m godsmacked! The glacier is there in front of the bus along side of the road, complete with iceburges in the small lake. Now this is where using busses in Iceland is a real hoot. When you get to a great spot for a photo you don´t have to try to take it from the bus, the driver stops the bus and says ´do you wan´t to get a photo?... of course everyone does and we all bundle out into the ice wind and rain to get a photo and then wet we climb back into bus... just great.

At this point i don´t care that i only have 3 hours and that its wet and rainy seeing the lake and ice was so special. But then things change. The bus has to cross the large glacier river. The driver is on the phone (mobile phones work nearly everywhere here) checking with other drivers on the condition. Its not good. We are only 5kms from camp, but with the rain the river is too high for the bus to cross. As it is there are two 4x4 stranded on the land between the rivers flows waiting and hoping it will fall so they can cross. Everyone on the bus is dissapointed, except me... I now can get my bike, store is properly and make my way up the next day and stay overnight...

I can´t camp this night as the wind is just too much to attempt to put up a tent, so 8 people who were on the bus with me manage to find a guess house for us all for $2500 per/night/person ... ouch but not much choice... I have great company for the night chatting to everyone... I re-pack my stuff, arrange to leave my bike overnight at the guesthouse and book a spot in one of the huts at Porsmork for the next night... I´m stoked!

Next day... Still wet and windy i catch bus at 10.30am... There are too many people for the bus. This is because of the overflow from yesterday and also there is a marathon in the area. Yes thats right... 150 people are running from Landmannalaugar to Porsmork in a day, that usually takes 3-4 days to walk... its a 50km run... This is not for the fainthearted and to boot there is a storm! To my amazement and others... the Icelandic folk on the bus are asked to give up their seats for the tourists... To my further amazement they do. The driver says he´ll return and collect them on a special bus run.

So we trundle out again. This time we can cross the river. And i see why we had to turnback. Its not that we actually cross it, we have to drive in it for some time before the bus can turn across the flow. Now this crossing would be a bit of a tall order for the old sidecar, but with a few mods I'm sure a way could be found. As for the smaller 4x4... its would be a case of holding your breath as you cross. On the bus, and this is a bus with a lift-kit, the water lever is over the wheels. We all watch the landdrovers and other big 4x4 with oversized tyres attempt the crossing after watching the bus... They make it fine. Its not technically difficuilt once you can follow someone else... you just need to know where the ford is. Its the flow of the current that is daunting...its very fast, very grey and you can´t see the otherside. And i´m told if you stop in the flow thats when you´ll have problems. As the flow is so fast its also carrying a lot of sand, this is why its grey. As soon as you stop the sand builds up around your wheels and you can´t get the car to move. So once you decide to cross you have to keep going.

So i now arrive in Porsmork...yippy its still raining. I find my hut and sleeping bag spot in the loft of my hut...These huts are great they have a kitchen with all the cooking things you need and a loo. You have to use the showerblock, but this is not such a drama as it has a sauna and there is a thermal hotpot in the garden. Remember folks this is a National Park...with a sauna...

I have been chatting to Dori from the USA, her husbane is running in the marathon. She tells me the runners will be starting in around 3pm.. So i have around 3 or so hours to do a walk or longer if the rain stops... as the runners will keep arriving until around 6pm... thats around 8 hours of running! I´m determined to go on a walk even thought its no stop rain and wind and the storm is still in the area...

Now this is what i´m wearing for my walk attempt.. I have my walking boots on and wool sox´s. Over the boots i have my cycling plastic rain covers, they are to act like gatters and to try to keep water out of my laces and not run down the top of my boot. My boots have been sealed with snowseal but this rain finds a way down the top of your boot. Then i have my usual wool thermal leg-on´s you have been seeing in my photos, over the top my u-bute 'The North Face' (have to through in a brand name) gortex walking pants, then on top i have my usual wool clothes, Icebreaker of course, the windstopper and my Gortex jacket. I have a beenie on my head and on my hands i have my now waterproof mittens... Dork yes! Waterproof yes! warm just!

I set out... i make the 1st minor hill climb. Here i have been protected by the forrest of Birch trees... I must tell you the Icelandic joke about forrests here 'if your lost in an Icelandic forrest, stand up' The trees are small and there are only few, but what they i have is very nice. anyway back to my saga...

okay once over the rise i´m hit by the full force of the wind and rain. I have the hood of my jacket drawn in covering my lower face and touching the top of my glasses, i have to walk with my head down as i can´t see through the rain getting on to my glasses... As i said i´m determined to go for a walk. I have my day pack and i have water and food... no that i can actually stop to eat or drink.. I can´t take photos as my camera i now in a waterproof bag & not that i can see anything to take a photo of. And remember folks 150 people are running in this weather... are they mad! I make it to the other camping ground, this place is situated in a wonderful glacier river valley with soring mountains ranging in height of 500 to 1000mtrs... I guess they are snow covered, but i can´t tell at this point as the rain cloud is at 100mts.. I trudge on.. I manage to cross the 1st foot bridge over the glacier river.. i then wander around the rocks and river and then i stop.... I´m wet, cold, hungry, its 3pm and i´m not going to see much so i return to my camp spot to watch the runners return.

Now the marathon. What a feat of endurance. At the 1/2 way point 30 runners have stopped. Dori husbane Greg is one of the 1st 30 runners in, He describes near hypothermic conditions as he was running. I spend the next few hours listening to the stories of the runners and what the presentations to the winners. I think the 1st man was in at around 5-hours and the 1st girl around 5,30-hours. I am impressed. These folks are fit... This is the 10 year of the marathon and it has an international standing now.

Several of the runners are staying in the hut i´m in and everyone is chatting about the run and cycling in Iceland (yep 3 of the English runners have their bikes here and are riding back to Landmannalaugur!) I met my 1st fellow Aussie in the hut over from Sydney and going to walk to Landmannalaugur... Great!

Now the next day i´m hoping for clear sky. I wake at my usual 2,30am time and check the view... yes i can see blue sky... yippy...I return to sleep... I get up at 7ish... No blue sky, but no wind and no rain either so I set out again. Only this time I´m going to climb the mountain behind camping that will if the sun comes out give me a view of the glacier river valley i was in yesterday but most importantly a view of the glacier... So i set out... wearing less but carrying it just in case... I climb, overtake a tour group from the Netherlands and get to the top...

Iam spellbound... What a view... The cloud has lifted the sun is out, at least over the glacier and i´m on top of a mountain watching it all happen... I wan´t to tell someone i´m here... i want someone to ring me... i wan´t to sing and dance its a wonderful day...

My phone rings...much to my surprise... Its Ron calling to tell me that Justine Kelly from 720 ABC want´s to interview me for 6-degrees of seperation! What a hoot.. Wish we could have done the interview on this mountain! I´m in a buzz all day from my walk.. which is good as it helps me cope with what is about to happen... Something so seaming simple can go very bad....

Reykjavik and around

When i left you i was making my way to Reykjavik with the assistance of Claudia and her car...Well much has happened since then...here goes....

Reykjavik Town
So what does a girl do on her own in a big city? yep same as Berlin... shop! This is a 1st in my life but i have managed to do my christmas shopping in one day. Why now you may ask, it takes 12 weeks to send things home so thats around October before i see anything, so i thought why not just get it done now. I can recomend taking an overseas holiday and combining it with your christmas shopping... (if u see to mmmany ´mmm´s in a word its because the mmm keeps sticking) So i shopped... had a ball trying to find anything at all that i could afford... so if your on my regular christmas shopping list, expect something very small, very Icelandic, know that it cost a fortune (NB: koffee here is $7 Australian) and i had fun in buying it.. if your not on my normal christmas shopping list, you´ll just have to wonder about the things i bought...

Now if you have plenty of money, Reykjavik is a great place to come and shop. Its so Bjork! if you get my drift. The place is full of art stores, great clothing shops, more art shops, lots of wool, koffee shops, North 66 shops and much more. There are some great churches... generally these are very grey with no or limited art. I guess trying to match the landscape but they missed the point somehow.

I also booked a tour or two which i´ll now tell you about in turn... photo´s later.

Landmannalaugar
Elephant stamp for anyone who can say this correctly when i get back. What a place... but from the start. I got picked up from Bjork Hotel (next door to Claudia´s place) at 8,30am. The bus then collected others from the other hotels and then stopped at the busport. By 9,30am we hit the road for the day long trip to Landmannalaugar... by 10am we were stopped in a Esso station waiting for the 3people we forgot to get from a hotel. But then we were off again.

Its a really good idea to book bus trips on wet rainny days. I´m getting very good at this now or its just wet and rainy in Iceland when i choose not to ride. The trip trundles along the route 1 to a place called Selfoss (yes there is a waterfall for those of you who remember the foss conection)... a bit south from here it takes the inland road 32 which is a 4x4 road. Mostly because you have to cross a river or two.

On the way we stop a very nice fall but i have no photo's as at this point in my travels my camera decided it no longer wanted to be wet and cold and spat the dummy. I hoped that if i put the battery in my pocket and tried to dry the camera it would be responsive... it works but is moody for the whole next week... So we rolled on to a place called Stong. Now around 1100ad a volcano in the area called Hekla decided to errupt and bury the farm in ash. In the 70´s the Icelanders uncovered it and have restored part of the home. The farmhouse is a stone and turf construction with a central fireplace, the animals are also housed nearby to added warmth. We leave here and roll over rock road, through black lava sand mountains.

Now rain can be a wonderful thing at times and today was one of those times. I´ll try to describe what i saw in as much detail as i can... picture if you can very black sand mountains, lofty, steep, vertical sides, rocky on top and in shapes that make you swear its a Troll up there. Dust them with red and yellow rust. Then from the top of the mountain have green moss and lichen growing down towards the base of the mountain but not making it. Overlay on the valleys and divits on the mountain side lichen and moss that is so vivid green it radiates, like veins, giving life to the mountain.

From within this valley we climb up to take in the view of a lake and the hills. The lake is called 'ugly pit' in icelandic, but it is far from this. Though the ice cold wind and rain makes it very hard to get a good photo shot and the camera is still a bit niggly about all this rain... Now its the final drive into the Landmannalauga camping spot. What a crowd! Think everyone is here. Our driver encourages us to join him on a walk over the coloured hills to the solphur fields in the rain saying its great. We all go and the walk through the lava field is very special. The rain is not as heavy now and once we reach the solphur field and the sun is trying to come out.. Even in this condition the colours of the mountains is just like a rainbow and just like you see in all the postcards and books on Iceland. There is no trickery in the photos here....

I and others wander back to the camping ground, all the time the sun is getting stronger. Landmannalaugar also has a natural hotpot. So i make a big decision to get into my bathers in near artic conditions, and half naked make the 25meter run along a boardwalk, in rain to the spot you can bath. Now bath is the word. The water is only knee deep and you have to sort of sit in the creek and huddle at the exit where the hot water is flowing. Whilst your doing this your burning your bum on the hot rocks, your back is being washed with ice cold water and all the time your covered in long green slim. Not the best hotpot i´ve been into in iceland or Oz for that matter.

Getting out takes super human effort as its still raining and windy. But i manage to make the run back to the change rooms for a real hot shower. I make my way after this to the old USA school bus parked here for the summer and selling hot coffee and food. As i do this the rain and wind stop and the sun comes out... What a view, what colours, what a great time to be here.

The bus rolls back to Reykjavik, via a view of the volcano, Hekla, but cloud has covered its summit. Its a great day and so glad i got to see Landmannalaugar in sunlight.

Blue Lagoon
Now this is a must do on any itinary to Iceland. Its part of your entry to the country that you go. And its made very easy to do by being conviently located very near the International airport. Or you can take the daily buses from Town the 50kms to the lagoon. Now this is a wonderful resort. Yep its a resort and when i was there it was a bit like being in down town New York as a cruise ship was in town from the states. But despite the accents and loudness, the lagoon is very large and you can find your own spot of hot water to relax in, with your very own pot of white silica mud to smear on your face and let harden... They say its very good for the skin... you don´t feel so much like a dork when everyone is doing the same.

I enjoyed myself here just trying to float and rest in the hot water. Just lovery. When i returned to town, Claudia and i when shopping at the hiking and camping shop in town... What a place. What great stuff they have for the very very cold... I bought some waterproof mittens for riding and some walking pants... Yep after walking around town in wool leg-on´s and shorts for 3 days i thought i needed to look a little bit nazzy! Black helps with this of course.