I sit in the Icelandic Air Lounge, having bypassed yet another check in queue that brought water to my eyes as I entered the departure hall. One elderly couple confirmed that they still had fond memories of the last volcanic eruption which was around the time they had joined the queue. 

Yet again I question why we are encouraged, indeed forced, to check in either on-line or at the ATM-like machines that will very rapidly print luggage tag and boarding pass, only to then be herded into the same inevitable queue, to hand over passport and boarding pass to a living human, seated in front of a computer monitor, who checks all your details for the third if not fourth time.  I hasten to explain that I actually do prefer human contact, but not having to wait so long that by the time I get to the counter, I need to shave.

It is one of the many advantages if not the most useful, of flying Business Class, as the queue melts away, unless, perchance , you have in front of you a young German family with 5 children including twins at the toddle age, grandparents, nanny  and luggage which includes a twin pram, 2 pushers, and ski equipment for every adult and child. 

I am in seat 5F – Icelandic Air “Economy Comfort”. If I had the advertising/marketing account for Icelandic Air, I would NOT have called it “comfort” as it implies that their basic Economy class (coach – for the American readers) is thus “uncomfortable”! 

Last night I attended a delightful concert of Icelandic Folk Songs in the very modern Concert Hall in Reykjavik. A soprano, contralto and pianist. I went with Lena from our Backroads group. It lasted an hour and was very polished and slanted towards the tourist as the songs were all surtitled in English.  

We were supposed to meet up after with some of the Backroads group at a local wine bar, but we were stood up! Mind you it was standing room only when Lena and I arrived around 7:15, …… not my usual “cup of tea”! 

I am now sitting on the fly bus at Bergen, Norway, and about to start another Backroads holiday. If the members of the group I join tomorrow are half as friendly as the Iceland travellers, I will almost certainly have a memorable time! I miss them all already 

Every day has been unique and today was indeed extraordinary. We climbed into 2 huge off road vehicles- a strange behemoth, a  sort of cross between Humber, jeep and moon vehicle, which if it were any higher off the ground would require passengers to don oxygen masks! We crashed and bumped our way along rocky roads, crossing several fast running glacial rivers, to a delightful hiking centre nestled in the mountains and proceeded hike several kilometres and ascend almost a thousand metres.

A long arduous hike between two glaciers  in the Vatnajokull National Park was spectacular and unique. The immense size of the glaciers and mountains is almost impossible to convey even if the photos are taken with an iPhone! In one or two shots if you look carefully, a human figure can be discerned- that will help demonstrate the enormity. 

The weather was as changeable as any day in Ireland! So far God has been good, crisp sunny start to the day, at altitude mist and clouds descended in the afternoon with a few spots of rain and condensation. 

The first three pictures are of abandoned huts and homes of an original settlement village perched high on the side of the mountain with an awesome view over the glacial landscape and looking down towards the  Skeioararsandur alluvial plains and the sea.

This is the Svartifoss waterfall. – Black Falls. The black balsic rock columns are recreated by the architect who designed the Cathedral of Reykjavik 

 

This is one of the most popular day trips for the almost two million tourists that will visit Iceland in 2017. Thankfully today my group was boutique – 4 youngsters and one geriatric.  There were two Americans and the young woman from Australia came from Coolaman! Why the exclamation mark? Coolaman is a village less than 40 km ftom Temora! 

The triangle visits a geyser field- interesting  but New Zealand does it better – a breathtaking waterfall (pictured) named the Golden Falls and finally a national park.

The biggest waterfall in Europe

The last photo is a panorama in the National Park and is the site of the original Viking parliament- our guide assured us Iceland has the oldest parliament system. The panorama shows an immense lava field where the two continental plates meet and are migrating apart by 2cm a year! So rest assured it’s quite safe to picnic on the laval mossy fields without fear of falling into the abyss.

For those of you interested, my luggage arrived after a detour to Copenhagen! 

Today I start the Backroads Iceland Multisport tour. The weather forecast seems optimistic.