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Published: November 30th 2006
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Hi everyone,
(Note: I am editing this; it is Thursday morning already, just before breakfast. I should have posted this yesterday already......but time flies......A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM, HELEN FORTIN!!!!!)
Wow! I really felt like I was "coming home" as we flew over Iceland and into Reykjavik!!! What scenery! Snow, and chilly air.........yah hoo! This is my kind of living!
We arrived yesterday afternoon, after having left Prague in the morning. We were sad to leave as Prague has so much to offer. I highly recommend it to people as a travel destination (have I told you that already? well, it's worth repeating!). We were happy to see the familiar plane and the crew, smiling and welcoming as usual! This is a bit of a sad flight also in that the crew leaves us in Reykjavik. This is their home. We get a new crew to take us home to Canada! We will miss them!!!!! (and we know they will miss us too!)
So, up, up and away again. Lots of coughing going on in this flight today! Lots of people with colds and coughs. Yuk. I ran, but I couldn't hide.........it got me,
Farewell to the crew
Stella and John were fabulous! and got me good! Oh well. Interesting study in group dynamics also (many of you know that's what I love to do........watch and study people, figure out what they are thinking about, how they think, why they do what they do........). Perhaps we've been chatting a bit too much about the fun at the back of the plane. Well, 2 new people showed up at the back, and settled into a row of seats each. Hmmmmmmmm......that threw off our "set up" and some of my buddies found themselves in different seats closer to the front. Interesting. I knew that it would change the dynamics somewhat, but..........well........the effect was more than I anticipated. It was a bit disappointing because we (me and my buddies) had plans on celebrating the crew, sharing our stories of Prague, and so on. None of that happened. It was quiet. It was different. I didn't really like it. Once we were in the air, others came back to visit and stick around, but it just wasn't the same. It'll make for a good story in one of my workshops!
We flew in over Iceland and could see the different topography. Very interesting. I know that
Lynn and I in comfort!
We decided to check out the front of the planet, since Bonnie and Tom were visiting at the back! many of the pictures I take will be appreciated by my geologist brother-in-law Ron in Edmonton!
We arrived mid-afternoon and the sun was setting already. Another different experience. For me, however, I was feeling pretty crappy by the time the plane arrived. We were met at the bottom of the escalator by Carl (our senior tour guide) and some Icelandic Air crew (turns out they were the crew from the October Southern tour). And they greeted us with chocolates! Got my attention!!!!!!
All went smoothly, and we were on buses again and off to the city (about an hour away). Couldn't see much from the bus because the windows were wet and dirty so it was a challenge to get some good photos. We had some free time once we reached the hotel; I laid down for a bit (which is very unusual for me), and then decided that I needed to get to a medi-center. My cold just didn't feel like a normal cold anymore and I didn't want to risk anything. So Leona (bless her heart) hopped in a cab with me and off we go to a medi-center in Reykjavik. Leona is a retired nurse
so she also had an interest in the health care system here! The cab driver was most helpful. The Medi-centers here are no different than in Canada.........we sat and waited for almost 2 hours with all the other people who were hacking and coughing! Leona, in the meantime, gets the receptionist to give her a tour of the Center, along with an explanation on how things work here! Very effective use of time! I was feeling bad because we were missing the dinner and Christmas concert performance. Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE Christmas "anything", so that was tough. I finally saw a doctor; they have different "styles" here too as he kept asking me what I wanted as a solution. Anyway, turns out I have bronchitis and he gave me a prescription; back in the cab, over to a Pharmacy and we are on our way back to the hotel. We stopped in to see if dinner was still underway. We missed most of the performance unfortunately, but joined the group for a very short while. I headed to bed because I wanted to be in great shape for our tour of Iceland today. Nothing like a few
drugs, a cup of tea and a comfy bed!!!! We have a lovely little room with a great view of the mountains. Nice city!
This morning, we were up and on the bus and ready to explore. We headed out in the dark (because it's winter here, and it's dark for most of the day!). We headed out on the Golden Circle tour. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any great pictures because it was too dark for my camera; it was ok to see the sights with the naked eye. And it was a wonder to see. On the road again, and heading to see the Geysers! We had lunch at a hotel at that site, visited the gift shop, toured around and had a fun time. The landscape was magnificent and some of the magical colors did show up in my pictures. From there, we went to Gulifoss Waterfall and the Kerid crater. It's all so magnificent. Ron, you would have loved today!!!!!!
Heading back into the city, some people hopped off the bus downtown and enjoyed some shopping. I came back to the hotel for some "down time". I want to be rested and perky for our
Gala Farewell Banquet tonight! Tomorrow, we go to the Blue Lagoon. I've always wanted to see/experience that! (yes, even though it's water!!!!).
So, for now, enjoy some of the pictures from today (Thursday morning note: there are many more pictures from our adventure on Wednesday. I'll be back after breakfast to do Part 2 of Iceland Stay tuned)
There'll be lots more to share from this evening's event, the Blue Lagoon, the flight back to Toronto and so on. I'll be back...........you won't want to miss the Blog Finale!
Happy Pat
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