Tag: iceland

Seven Days Trekking in Iceland

15 April 2020 / author

Feel the need to trim down a bit? Try this hike. I went in weighing 74kg. Seven days later, I was 62kg. In between, I’d lugged 30 kg up and down mountains, through rivers, across snow fields and volcanic plains. I’d eaten anything I could lay my hands on, including fish served through my tent window by an Icelandic child in the middle of a downpour. We saw sun, wind, rain and snow, just on the first day. And in all that time, I only had one shower. It was three minutes long and cost about five bucks. Welcome to the Laugavegur – Iceland’s famous and awesome trek.

Eastern Iceland

19 August 2019 / author

I don’t think we’ve ever been as wet as we were in Iceland. Or as cold. Or hungrier, more tired, or dirtier. I formed this judgement only two weeks in to a six week trip on a day it rained so hard for so long that I thought I would never be wetter than this. Late next night, as we moved our tent from a pool of water, beside a lagoon full of icebergs, I realised I was completely wrong in assuming that was the wettest as I’d ever be. No. With every new day, I was going to be wetter yet.

Even our Gore-tex wasn’t keeping the rain at bay. Would I ever be dry again?

Flying with kids under two

18 June 2019 / author

Paris 2015: transit stop from Beijing en route to Hamburg via Copenhagen. Kid aged five months.

Flying with babies, zero to two. They fly free. How hard can it be?

The first thing to remember when you board a plane with your child is this: She has Every. Right. To be there. If they let her board, she’s as legitimate as anyone on the plane. Do your best to be a considerate passenger, for sure. But talkative aunties and loudsnorers are no more entitled to anything on that plane than you and your little kid. They don’t feel guilty, and nor should you. You’re not a selfish, anti-social monster. Your kid is not the Devil’s Spawn! You’re a travelling parent. That’s perfectly normal.

Northern Iceland

12 June 2019 / author

“Eight bells and all’s well, ha-haargh…”

Dolphin watching is really cool – when you’re looking for dolphins. But when you go whale watching, you’re really after something bigger. You know, like a whale. These guys had a great guarantee – see a whale or your money back*. Being (back then, in 2005) smart lawyers, we checked the small print under that asterisk. “Whales includes dolphins”. Hmmm. Well, we’re here now, we thought. It’s the last day of the season. Maybe we’ll get lucky.

Reykjavik and the Westman Islands

21 May 2019 / author

The burgers are pricey in Reykjavik (and film, oh how it glows).

August 2005. We’d left government office jobs in search of adventure. How did we end up back in government office jobs? After a few months doing that in London, we remembered why we’d left Australia and what we wanted. So on August 12th 2005, after some serious decisions, we took the train to Stansted and embarked on the journey that would ultimately deliver us to Beijing in February 2006. But that was still some way off. Our first stop: Iceland.

We soon discovered it was lucky we’d brought camping equipment and a whisperlite stove. Two burgers and fries at a rustic burger hut on the Reykjavik docks set us back over $60. Remember the days before the GFC wiped out Iceland’s banking sector and demolished its currency? We do. They were expensive! But it was a great place to travel. Read on to find out why.

Åland Autumn: Wind Jammers & Windbreakers

18 September 2018 / author

Åland is one of those great places one’s never heard of, and doesn’t know how to pronounce. Tiny, clean, and not much to do but enjoy the fresh air and beautiful autumn. Home to the Flying P-Liners, glorious tall ships of the turn of the century grain trade, it was a lovely stopover between our touristy, but satisfying, visits to Oslo and Stockholm in 2005.

Tag: iceland

Seven Days Trekking in Iceland

Eastern Iceland

Flying with kids under two

Northern Iceland

Reykjavik and the Westman Islands

Åland Autumn: Wind Jammers & Windbreakers

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