Today was our last in this beautiful city of Reykjavik. We were up and eating breakfast by 7:30. The Guesthouse is run by Etta and her husband, the communist. Etta was our guide for the Golden Circle and she makes a-killer rhubarb crisp. Today was the arctic rafting trip. We had a 90 minute drive to the outfitter for our frigid excursion. We slept most of the way and learned just how cold this was going to be. They gave us wet suits (pre wet for us), booties, nasty fleece jackets and a water-proof jacket to cover everything. Watching everyone cram into the wetsuits was quite humorous. We got our helmets and paddles and we were off with our guide from Nepal, Lama. Fortunately as happened on our snowmobile tour, we were the only ones on ... read more

So today we left Reykjavik to head down the southern coast with our bike tour guide, Stephan. He picked us up from the Hilton around 9:30 for our 2 day adventure. We were actually glad to be leaving the Hilton as this was not your typical, high end Hilton. Our power went out 3 times in the 3 days we stayed there. Judy was able to finagle a free trip to the spa and hot tub, a $50 value. The hot tub was no hot tub time machine, it was a mold machine. It was hot, but definitely not worth the price if she really had to pay for it. We also were able to procure 4 free drinks out of the Hilton for losing power. We tried for dinner but only got the drinks. At ... read more

Our first night in Iceland and it does not get dark, at all. It’s very weird to see the crack between the curtains and it is totally light outside. Before we went to bed last night, Kirsten was messing with the lights and were flashing them off and on, and then she plugged in her phone for the night and then . . . wait for it . . . she blew the fuse in the room. No biggie, but funny none the less. Chester had taken her favorite little helper, popped in her ear plugs and slipped on the eye mask and was out! Seriously out for the night. Kirsten thought she was going to be out for the night, until there came a pounding on our hotel door. Yes, Gene and Judy finally made ... read more

Well our first full day in Olinda was not a great one and we have decided to call it quits on this vacation. The day started off nicely with a leisurely morning of sleeping in and of course, wait for it . . . it was rainy and overcast. We lounged around a bit and then got the low down from the hotel manager, the only person here who speaks English, on what there is to do. We tried for a few hours to schedule some excursions with absolutely no luck. The only thing available for the rest of the week was a trip to different beaches. But since the weather sucked at our beach, the last thing we wanted to do was spend time and money to go to another beach where it was raining, ... read more

Day 9 started a bit earlier with a trip to the other side of the Iguaza Falls (as they are spelled in Spanish) as we traveled to Argentina. It was about an hour ride including crossing the border to Argentina. 70+% of the falls lie within Argentina, but you can see them more from Brazil. Once we arrived at the national park, we did a short walk to the train that takes you back to the various walkways along the falls. Just as we got under cover it started to downpour. There was not an inch of blue sky in sight. We fortunately were ready with our ponchos, as we anticipated some overspray from the waterfalls. It rained the entire way out on the path to Devil’s Throat. There were definitely no rainbows to be seen ... read more