Puffins! And back home safe and sound

Ah, it's wonderful to be back home safe and sound, in the glorious Seattle sunshine, though my heart still yearns for Iceland! Our last day was the perfect end to the adventure. A relatively early morning on the farm, we were charmed by the sheep dog whose Icelandic name was unpronouncable, but translated to Tail (because of her happy disposition). Tail supervised our loading the car, and we made our way to the coast of Vik one last time to spot the elusive Puffin. We wandered along the black sand beach, windy and chilly, with dramatic skies and huge waves. The cliffs above the beach reached to the sky, and the rocks formed strange vertical columns we climbed on for cute pics. And tiny, tiny, in the nooks and crannies, we spotted them! Puffins! They were small but distinctive, and we were so happy to finally catch a sight. After the beach, we white knuckled the 3 hour drive back to the airport, overland in dense fog and rain, back toward civilization. The countryside had been so big and so remote, we encountered cars only once in a while, even on the major road. The Ring Road around wasn't even paved for the whole way, and we had spent many miles on gravel roads, and navagating countless single lane bridges. We hadn't been through a stop light in days. It was crazy being back in traffic again, however light. But, back in the city, all began to resemble normal again and we reveled in the abundance of grocery stores and restaurants, so few and far between in the north. All told we put around 2,200 glorious kilometers on our Ford rental car. My GPS was the only thing that could pronounce the names of the towns; we surely couldn't! Much as we would have loved to linger, we made it just in time for our uneventful flight home. My sweet boys, Gobi and the Turk, were happy to see me and very interested to sniff the slight volcano smell in my battered blue jeans. Sending my love! Love T

Vik, Iceland -- puffins??

Greetings friends and family! Robert and I are safely settled in an Icelandic farm which rents rooms, the surrounding fields filled with scruffy Icelandic sheep milling about and making charming sheep baaa sounds. We're about 15 minutes outside the town of Vik, pop 300 (and surprisingly, one of the larger towns we've encountered today). Leaving the lake district in the north, we detoured to the geologically active (read: smells like sulfur) park where we played amongst the earth cones spewing hot steam and frothing mud. It was really cool, but made our clothes stinky, stinky!! Arriving in the wonderful Egilsstaðir, we drove a short way along the nearby lake for a wonderfully satisfying hike -- straight up! -- to a series of spectacular waterfalls. Seriously proud of our accomplishment, we made our tired way to the Shell gas station for pizza dinner (we've eaten at quite a few gas stations recently...) This morning we were up early, early for the long trek overland through some rugged and unpopulated land, in the shadow of a gigantic glacier and volcano. Spectacular vistas were ours to be had, but regretfully we could see barely a thing due to the heavy mist, rain, fog, sandstorms, and blustery winds! Fortunately, even the stuff within 50 feet or so of the car was pretty amazing to our untutored eyes, though the Puffin bird has proved frustratingly elusive, visible only on local menus :-( Tomorrow morning, before our 4pm flight home, we hope to take one last dash to the coast to view the elusive bird. Wish us luck! Next post from home. Sending my love! Love T

Hello friends and family! Greetings from Lake Myvatn in northern Iceland! We still haven't been able to figure out how to pronounce the name, but we are settled nicely in the charming (small) town of Reykjahlid, right on the lake (though our view is of the parking lot...) We intended to camp tonight but the weather outside is frightful, and we have had an action packed couple of days, so this hotel was a welcome warm spot to rest. Day before yesterday, Robert and I departed Reykjavik in glorious sunny weather, and wandered up the Ring Road toward the Snaefellsnes Penninsula. Ambitious, we first drove a rugged gravel track through an ancient lava field once occupied by the Berzerkers (from hence the name). It was crazy! Later we explored the fishing village Grundarfjordour, which we thought was tiny, but had pleasing hamburgers. The towns of Olafsvik and Rif were even tinier, as we followed the road around the penninsula. We found a fun and lively hike outside Olafsvik thanks to the excellent guidance of the strange but sweet old man who ran the tourist information center in town. The afternoon was incredibly picturesque as we visited the lighthouse and basalt cliffs in the shadow of Snaefellsnes, snapped funny pics at the stone troll (inhabited by the spirit of the mountain), and the 19th century church on the sea in Budir. We barely made it back to Grundarfjodur before we were too tired to proceed, only to discover the campground had not opened for the season. Grump. Fortunatley, a nice hotel on the water in town was more than accomodating! We got an early(ish) start to Akureyri in the north, but it took us forever to drive there, since someone (me) decided to direct Robert onto a secondary road (gravel, potholes, singlelane bridges) because it looked more "efficient" than the highway, when viewed from the safety of the map. Sigh. Fortunatley, we made it just in time to meet a guide who took us riding across the northern plains on a pair of tiny, shaggy, and altogether charming Icelandic horses. Though Robert claims never to have been horseback riding before, he was a natural, and I was graceful enough to keep up with him and snap fun pics. The cheapo hostel in Akureyri was disappointing, and we're both shocked at how terribly expensive everything is, so today at Lake Myvatn we're taking in the free sights -- huge fields of molten lava flows, and a quick hike to the caldera of a local volcano. Tomorrow we're off to Egilsstadir, but hope to take in the bubbling mud and sulfur pits on the way :-) Sending our love! Love T

Good morning friends and family! Yesterday Robert and I ventured forth in the sturdy rental car to visit the famous geyser in Iceland that gave geysers their name. We joined a small throng of tourists, cameras at the ready, at a small bubbling depression in the ground. A short wait, anxious with anticipation, and whoa-ho! Thar she blows! Except... well, it was kind of a modest little pouff. Water shot up maybe a couple feet or so. Meh. We were laughing about "expectation setting" in foreign tourist brochures and wandering away when kablowie, the thing blew sky high, water spraying everywhere!! It caught me completely offguard and I screamed a little. Gosh, how embarassing! Anyway, that little humiliation over, we really enjoyed wandering around the geothermic sites and posing for snaps. The famous Gullfoss waterfall was just a few kilometers away. This one was most certainly not overstated in the guidebook. It was magnificent and I can't wait to show you pics! We lunched on pizza slices and dinnered on pub food, over a couple (or so) of excellent Icelandic beers. You'd think we would have trouble sleeping since it never gets dark, but we surely do not. And we awoke this morning to another glorious sunshine filled sky. Yesterday's excursions were precurser to today's activities -- we depart our simple hotel for camping in the wilds of the Snuffles Penninsula! Perhaps we'll journey to the center of the earth! Love T

Greetings from Reykjavik!

Good morning friends and family! Robert and I arrived safe and sound from our long but uneventful flight due east to this northern capital. The skies were overcast and gray, but the vistas are wide open, and volcanic rock is everywhere. The water in the hotel shower smells distinctly of sulfur, which gives it an otherworldly feel. With as much energy as jetlag permitted, I bounded out onto the streets of the quiet city and took myself on a self guided tour courtesy of my guidebook, whose pages are dog-eared from my study and research. The buildings in Reykjavik are remarkable for their color. People have green houses, blue houses, pink apartments, and blue cottages. Windows are sashed with yellow or orange, rooftops shingled in bright red, neon green. In the brilliant sunshine of this morning, it's a cacophony of for the eyes. Robert and I treated ourselves to a nice Italian dinner last night (not cheap -- this place is pricy, pricy) and this morning we plan to hit the road to see the natural sights within easy reach of the city: the Gullfoss waterfall, the Strokkur spouting Geyser, and a bunch of other things that we can't pronounce :-) Sending my love, Tory

Gaucho and EZE

Good morning Friends and Family!

I´m all checked in for my evening flight, and my bags are near max-occupancy as I find nooks and crannies into which to stuff my stuff. I always plan to travel light, but never seem to accomplish it!

In an hour, the tourist bus is scheduled to pick me up for a day at a real(ish) estancia, just outside the city. I´m not sure exactly what to expect, but I'm hoping I can learn more about the gaucho. Plus, I´ve heard the bar-be-que is not to be missed!

I´m schedule to go straight to the airport after the excursion, so my next post should be from my humble living room, with my sweet little kitties on my lap!

Love T

Hangin out at the bus station

Today wasn´t quite the glorious globe trotting day I had imagined... in fact, it was downright dull! Hours of research had assured me the Gaucho Festival in the small town of San Antonio del Agreco was taking place during my time here in Argentina. Further, it was just 2 hours away by public bus, just US$7 or so each way. Fantastic! Adventurous! Wonderful departure from the touristy every-day!

Yep, I should probably stick to the toursty. I arrived at the bus station an hour early for the bus. This is saying something -- the place was massive, and not a little, um, sketchy, at that hour of the morning (note, no town is most beautiful at its bus station). Unfortunately, the friggin 9am bus was already sold out, so I settled for the 11am. Long wait. Then the 11am was delayed an hour. Long wait. Then the bus caught heavier than normal traffic. 30 minute delay.

I arrived in San Antonio after all the morning festivities had ended and siesta had begun. I had yet to eat lunch, and it was already getting late in the afternoon.

I´d met another stranded traveler, an older gentleman from Swiss diplomatic circles, who spoke Spanish and was able to find us a small cafe that was still open even at that hour. Each of us devoured excellent hamburgers. There was no sign of the 10 day "all town" festival, except for some flyers distributed about. Immediately after my hamburger, it was time for me to retreat to the bus station for my return to Buenos Aires.

And yep, no surprise, the return bus was delayed too. This one, 1.5 hours. The sun was nice, though, and I met at the San Antonio bus station a really nice British lady with whom I swapped stories of public transportation woes from around the world (hers were *so* much worse than mine, the poor soul!).

Back in BsAs, I forgot the way to my hotel, and wandered for a long time, needing to use the (ahem) banos quite urgently. Yep. From art gallery princess yesterday to the girl who finally gives in to pay extra for toilet paper. That would be me :-)

My flight out is tomorrow night. I have a day planned at an Estancia not far from the city. I´m a little nervous about making my flight, but determined to make the most of my last precious day in Buenos Aires. Sending my love,

Love T