Iceland 2014

We have been in Iceland for 16 days and this is the first opportunity to put anything on the blog as the wifi at campsites, if it exists, is unreliable. We are now, however, taking refuge from the awful weather in a B&B that has a good connection to the internet so heres the update.

Our trip here was fairly uneventful. The ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg was good and the sea was kind. We drove through Denmark to the port at Hirtshals for the ferry to Seydisfjordur in Iceland. Campsites were excellent everywhere and hundreds to choose from. We had a couple of days to make the journey so took the long way round via the coast road and very beautiful it was too (if not a little flat!!!).

Arriving at the ferry port early in the morning we joined the organised chaos that accompanies boarding the ferry. Hundreds of campers and 4x4s crushed onto a makeshift car park awaiting instructions for boarding. It appears we are all in the hands of the Captain of the vessel who will decide when we start. That decision wasn't made for several hours (even though we all appear to be here!). When we received our invitation to board we inched forward and once on the dock there was a surprise for us all. Boarding staff came round all the vehicles with the instruction that all passengers in vehicles must board the ferry on foot, with their luggage. Only the drivers could stay with their vehicles! When we asked why, staff just shrugged their shoulders and said "it's the Captains instructions." Now this seemed a strange anti-terrorism measure to me, if indeed that is what it is. I think it more likely that this Captain has a psychotically perverse sense of humour because within a few minutes the dock resembled a scene of desperation as holidaying refugees exited vehicles, kissing loved ones farewell and carrying suitcases, bags and children onto a bus. The bus then drove a few hundred yards, disgorging the refugees onto the ferry via the foot passenger entry point. The only people missing from the scene were the Red Cross and the United Nations! Once reunited with Looby on the vessel we found our cabin and the facilities on board were excellent.

Our trip to Iceland was a little more exciting with a bit more rocking and rolling on the sea, especially  after the Faroe Islands.

The wildlife here is amazing. Birds that are harder to find in the UK are here in large numbers. And the landscapes are pretty amazing too.....even in the bad weather. Hopefully we'll get a chance for more of an update but here are my favourite birdy pics so far. I've put the landscapes on a seperate page.

Greece 2014

I'm ashamed to say that we had too much fun in Greece to find time to update our blog. The photos can be viewed at Steve Horsted Photography.com. I still have a few to sort through so there will be more to view shortly.

So, Greece. To me there definitely seemed to be a 'hangover' atmosphere with the battering that they have had in their financial crisis. In fact almost everyone we came into contact with mentioned it at some point in our conversation. However, one thing that hasn't been affected by those snivelling greedy bankers and incompetent politicians is the welcome that travellers get everywhere in Greece. The warmth and generosity displayed is at times overwhelming. Part of our trip was to experience the celebration of Easter and for this we stayed in the village of Vlasio in the mountains south of Patra. After attending the local church to experience the Greek Orthodox celebrations on the Saturday evening, on Sunday morning we went for a walk around the village to enhance our appetite for the forthcoming feast (bbq) that was being cooked up at the hotel. Everywhere we walked people were celebrating with their own bbq's and without exception we were invited into their yards or houses to join in. Our Greek guide explained people would be offended if we refused so our initial plan to work up an appetite backfired somewhat. With generous portions being cut off the whole sheep that was turning on the spit and the compulsory glass of local vino that accompanied it we returned to the hotel some 3 hrs later...........ooh....just in time for some more bbq'd lamb and.....locally produced vino. It was clear the Greek spirit is alive and kicking and wherever we went (and we covered about 2,500 miles in Greece) we received the same warm welcome. Can't wait to return.

  

The Spanish Pyrenees

Apologies to anyone following us as there hasn't been an update for a while. We have met up with a fine group of overlanders to travel the Pyrenees and there hasn't been much time to update the blog. Initially we feared that our fuel leak would prevent us from joining the trip but our guide, Paul Blackburn of Onelife Adventure reassured us that our issue was minor and the dust and mud we were about to encounter would probably seal the leak. That's my kind of solution.

The other folk on the trip are a pleasure to travel with and the tracks we have encountered have been magnificent. The only draw back has been that I suffer from vertigo and some of these routes have tested my bowel control to its limit.  Apologies to my co-pilot. The air in the cab was often blue! but we survived.  If you have a 4x4 vehicle and never travelled the Pyrenees it comes highly recommended.....just don't look down!