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Published: December 3rd 2007
Greetings from beautiful Iceland! (even though I am writing this on Saturday evening, I am quite certain it won't get sent out till at least Monday, when I am back home)
We arrived yesterday (Friday), mid-afternoon. As I mentioned earlier, it was a blustery, windy afternoon in Iceland. I could have used more hairspray, had I known what was awaiting us outside the airport terminal!
The views of Iceland from the airplane were so interesting. I got a few good shots. We should have anticipated the fierce winds because we could see huge white caps on the waves below! We were greeted at the terminal by some of the Icelandic Air crew who flew the Southern tour last year. Always nice to be welcomed with smiles and chocolates!
Transition from airport to hotel was smooth, and check-in was very quick. The hotel rooms are quaint! They remind me of European hotel rooms! I was a bit surprised to find the toilet area in one part of the room and then, around the corner, was the shower in another little room. I have a great view from the window, and I do love my room. The windows open!!!!!! Hooray!!!!!
Our stewardesses........
Heading home to Iceland.......Fresh air!!!!!! And I love the bed. The pillows are great and the duvets are cozy!
We had dinner in the hotel last night. We were serenaded by a children's choir and it was most enjoyable. It was nice to sit back, relax, enjoy a nice meal and listen to the melodic voices of the young people. Then, off to bed. It was a long day again.
Today, we had breakfast at the hotel. Lots of kudos re the breakfast..........especially when the peanut butter was spotted! It's been a while since we've had that option. On the buses (which were large and very comfortable) and off on a tour of the Golden Circle. That included stops at the 200 meter wide Kerid crater, the Gullfoss waterfall and the geysers (that spit water and steam 20 meters in the air). Lunch was at the Geyser hotel. There is limited daylight in Iceland right now so when we started out on our tour this morning, it was still dark. Daylight arrived at about 9:30 a.m. It was the first time for many to experience both sunrise and sunset in the same day!
The scenery was breath-taking, the air was
crisp but the sun was shining. It was the perfect day for the tour. (some people went out to see the northern lights tonight; I hope they had a good experience) We made a few stops at gift-shops along the way; the prices at the Geyser site were ridiculous, but we also stopped at the wool shop and that was a fun shopping spree.
We arrived back at the hotel later this afternoon. I took the opportunity to sit and chat with some of the people on this tour. Last year, and this year, friends and family have asked me "who are the people who take this kind of trip anyway?" So, I decided it might be interesting to you to meet some of these people and to find out what they had to say about the trip. Some of their comments/pictures will be included in this blog, and the next 2 to come. I tried to find a cross-section of people who represented the "profile" of our group of 82.......a mother/daughter team, a married couple, single people, Americans, Canadians, a group of friends travelling together, etc. I hope you enjoy their comments.
The Bradleys, Williams and Ripleys
(from Alberta):
As a group, we have traveled for the past 14 years. Sandra showed up with the book for this trip; she had a friend who took the trip 2 years ago. Ears perked up! Brochure arrived. Asked the question, and everyone was interested!
Dawn Williams: my breath-taking moment -getting off the plane in Africa and seeing the Accacia trees, and couldn’t believe I was in Africa……not in my wildest dreams!
John Williams: for us, we are not really out-going, so traveling with our friends gave us a comfort zone……so that was an appealing factor on this trip. Africa was also a highlight for me; being a hunter and an outdoorsman, it was a highlight seeing the animals in their natural habitat.
Keith Bradley: my reason for coming (being the most hesitant) was the idea of all the places and adventures…… I still need time to digest this ……all the places you thought you would never see in your life, and then seeing them all in one trip! The Taj Mahal was more than I expected (expected to be disappointed); it was more impressive than I thought (exterior wise). Didn’t expect it to be
Taking time to smell the roses.......
This trip gave us all time to sit back, relax and think about things...... so impressive. As well, the group comfort level makes the trip special.
Jan Bradley: The itinerary was like someone had taken a wish list, ....... where would you like to go in the world, and in the next sentence……your wish has been granted. And now, I’ve been there and done it. It has been very special traveling in a group (even though we’re not together all the time). Loved the start in Japan! Kyoko made it special.
Bernie Bradley (brother to Keith): Big advantage now is that Sandra is asking me to go to Africa……..I kept telling her that we would be “going to the zoo”! We have other friends who kept asking about traveling to Africa……..got the answer to that question. Looked forward to Dubai: from a business side (as an engineer). One of the most amazing things was the streets of Viet Nam……watching the traffic, with all of the motor bikes, the buses and how the local people managed to make it work. In Canada, it would be a disaster! This exceeded my expectations. There are always intriguing places you’d like to see……Egypt, India, places you think you’d like to go……this trip answered a lot of
those questions. God knows where we will travel to next? The Icelandic Crew made the difference on this charter. The attitude, the costumes, the service, the smiles, the caring, etc.
Sandra Bradley: I thought this is going to be an amazing trip and it has been. I have now been to Africa (top of the list), seen the Taj Mahal, seen Angkor Wat, seen Dubai…..just wonderful to see all the places; didn’t want to go to India on a 2 week holiday (or Egypt)……this itinerary was pefect. As a group of 8, it’s really been fun because the other 6 people are all people that I love……it’s been fun to have them with us. We can go back so many years, we know our kids; we have a history together. Bernie and I were going to come anyhow; this has made it extra special……especially to have his brother and sister-in-law with us and our friends. And I saw Africa! The desert barbeque in Dubai was my favorite. Being on a charter plane made it amazing. You could get up and move around……….. It was most interesting to watch the group dynamics!
One thing for everybody (Keith says), I’ll
be interested to go back to a globe or an Atlas, and ask where exactly was I……..because we were on the move all the time. How did I get there? The post-reflections will be even that much more for all of us!
Jan Bradley: when we first heard the price, we thought it was high. But now that we’ve done it, with all the footwork done, and all the work of the tour leaders, we never would have seen it, ate it, done it……… You’re getting to places that you wouldn’t ordinarily get to, or do things that you wouldn’t have done! Kudos to Travel Guild! Whatever you read in the brochure beforehand, cannot capture the true essence of the trip. The travel blog was a huge help too as we were able to follow along last year.
Herber Schorpp, Vale, CO:
As a single person, I felt like I was at home. The people are friendly; great comraderie. It all exceeded my expectations. The highlight was Viet Nam because of the traffic, and Dubai. The construction and the buildings, the architecture. If you travel on your own, you would never have seen or done this much.
The best thing to do is to do the trip twice, so that everything really sinks in! Loved the people in Cambodia!
Donna Scott, Brockville, ON:
The Taj Mahal was amazing because it was almost mystical (said Donna, with tears in her eyes........and many of us felt the same way!) with its beauty and its airiness! I read about this in The Globe 2 years ago; having been in the travel business, I didn’t want to invest 2 weeks for Egypt, or Cambodia, etc. etc.
Nancy Donnelly (daughter of Donna), Montreal, PQ: Dad backed out, and “I got the pass” on Christmas Day……burst into tears! Having a month with my mom!!!! The monkeys in Africa were the highlight; I was so excited to see them. They woke me up; I didn’t know what I was listening to. All the monkeys were sitting on the ledge. I wrote an e-mail at home saying: I rode a camel in Dubai, and elephant in Cambodia……not bad for a chick from Montreal. It’s like camp for 82 people!....... it’s been a ball. All I can say, having been in the travel business, I truly, truly appreciate the effort behind the
scenes (I know how hard it is to make this work!). Congratulations to Travel Guild. I’d do this again in a heartbeat! A defining moment for me was in Viet Nam because people in the different groups were mixed, and we got to know other people on the tour.
Tomorrow, we head to the Blue Lagoon, one of my favorite spots of all on this world tour. The Blue Lagoon is world famous as a spot (and spa) for people who have skin disorders (psoriasis, being one of them) to come and enjoy the healing waters. I treated myself this year and brought home some of their special cream.
Once again, sit back and enjoy..........
(Hi Mom! It was good to chat with you this morning, and it's good to be home!)
Happy Pat
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