I’ve been drawing the long straw every time on accommodations. Statistics were mounting in my disfavor, and true to form, I drew the short one last night. Not because of the place itself, although it felt more hotel-like than the last two which were homey. But because of some jack weasel somewhere (not in the hotel, but in a nearby house I think) was playing loud music all. night. long. Finally, it stopped at 5am. I’m not joking. I slept until 6,then was up for good. I decided to just hang in my room and relax instead of going down for breakfast. I had a blueberry muffin and a banana from my pack, got my stuff together, and met the sheep wagon at 9. I’m glad this is the last day. I’m tiring of the bus, and you can feel that the others are as well. Five days of fast travel is tough- even worse when you have no control.
The night’s accommodations.
It was sprinkling, but just barely a breeze. And I could see patches of blue in the distance. The driver put on “Here Comes the Sun”, and as the first few notes started, everyone was laughing and joking that they hoped so! We made one little scenic stop. Then, we made a 30 minute stop at the Falls of Foyers. There was a perfect little sun-dappled path through the most magnificent trees. The kind of path that leads to something magical. I was 6th off the bus, so I had people ahead of me. We got to a T in the trail. They all headed left. I stopped to ponder- follow my herd, or stray? And while I pondered, I heard a cat. Not just any cat, a cat in distress! It was the same mournful/frantic sound my cat made when he was stuck in a tree for three days. I heard it again. The sound was coming from the right. And again. I had to see if I could find him! There was no one going that way (everyone passing me was going left). I took off to the right. I crossed a bridge (that I’m quite certain is the home of a troll) and walked down the path, ears alert for meows. I didn’t go very far, until a saw a darling little cat running down the trail frantically meowing at me! His tone changed when he saw me and he started rubbing on my legs as I petted him and asked if he was lost. He didn’t feel skinny, and he was sooooo friendly! It’s almost like he was expecting me, and made that distress call knowing it would get my attention. As I petted and talked to him, some other people started walking toward us. The little cat ran up the trail and looked back. The lady bent down to coax him over, but he just turned his tail and ran away. Do fairy kings ever take on the form of a cat??
I’m sure they do, and that was the fairy King answering my prayers about the weather from day 4! The skies were blue, the sun was out, and the air was just crisp enough to make your skin feel alive. I headed off down the trail to see the Falls of Foyers. Snapped a few shots, then headed off down the other way. The cat was no where in sight, but this place, for me, had felt the most magical by far. I can’t explain it. The waterfall, the trees, the cliffs, the paths. I don’t know. Some feelings you never have an answer to “why” for.
The drive through the countryside was wonderful!! Super narrow, winding roads through trees and hills, past dark lochs and hidden magic. You could feel it. Next stop, a scenic view of Loch Ness from the opposite side! I was THRILLED, because I forgot to take a video about it for my class yesterday! I almost picked up a rock as a souvenir, but decided against it.
These cows were running as fast as they could down this hillside! I like to think it was for the sheer joy of this place. I’m guessing food may have played a role, however. 😉
Then, we went somewhere I knew nothing about. The Culloden battlefield. It’s where the Jacobites (remember, they’re the followers of the disposed King James VII of Scotland, II of England who was replaced by Mary and William in the history lesson on day 3. 🙂 ) There was an AMAZING museum, and I don’t say that lightly, about what led up to the battle, the battle itself, the aftermath, and relics. The story was so fascinating, although I didn’t have time to give it justice. I did take pictures of every single sign though (I’m not kidding- EVERY sign- dozens of them), so I can go back and read all of the information. There was a letter that Bonnie Prince Charles wrote to his uncle… Louis XV of France (I got tears in my eyes!) …asking him for help. From what I could read, it looks like Louis XV promised help, and did send supplies. But he never invaded England and sent troops as promised. I was disappointed in Louis about that… The battlefield itself was very somber and quite emotional for me. The only other place in the world where I’ve ever felt a real “connection” on some primal level to the history is France. I cry all the time there when I see certain things (like how I teared up when I saw that letter to Louis). Can’t explain it. This battlefield now marks the 2nd country where I’ve felt this strong connection. The history there was palpable. The red flags represented the English lines. The blue, the Jacobites. No big history lesson, because without a ton of proper research I would not do this story justice. So I’m just going to tell you this- the Jacobites were practically massacred. 1500-2000 were killed, versus 300 British in the battle that lasted less than an hour. Scotland had fallen to the English, and I seriously can not tell you the anger I felt toward England. Look, if you’re English, my apologies. But there is something inside of me that just does NOT like England in a historical sense. Again, it’s a feeling that makes zero sense and I can’t explain it. It’s like I have some pent up grudge against them. I don’t know… Anyway, the wearing of kilts was banned, which ties in with the house we saw by the bridge in Day 2 where the Jacobites would change into their trousers before they left the Isle of Seil, and back into their kilts when they came back home. It tied up the loose ends of seeing the Flora MacDonald monument on Skye from Day 4- she was the lady who helped Bonnie Prince Charles (leader of the Jacobite army) escape Scotland and get to the safety of France. And it tied up the cairn and grave of another Scottish hero, Roderick Mackenzie, from Day 5- who looked so much like Bonnie Prince Charles, that he basically sacrificed himself to the English so the real Prince Charles would have more time to escape. I could have easily spent 2-3 hours there, but I only had an hour and 15 minutes. I really needed this history lesson. It’s been too many days since I really learned something. MY GOD. The entire trip just clicked for me on this battlefield. Scenery and such is nice. But HISTORY is alive!! For me, the 5 day bus tour ended here. The rest, was fluff.
Bonnie Prince Charlie. The collection of items here was wonderful!
So emotional for me. A handwritten letter from Prince Charles to King Louis XV of France, requesting much needed aid from France to fight off the English.
They were having a weapons demonstration. I NEEDED MORE TIME!!!
Blue flag for the Jacobites. Even the wind was blowing the flag in a defeated kind of position. 🙁 I tried and tried to get a shot of it flowing freely, and couldn’t.
The red flag is for the English. Even the flag is waving victoriously, almost 300 years later.
The engraving on this bench broke. my. heart. Translated from Gaelic, it reads “We followed you, prince, to this ocean of flatness and bullets.” The red flag in the background…gutted.
Stones representing the various clans that fought in the battle are placed throughout the battlefield.
A cairn to the memory of the lost Jacobite soldiers.
Then it was lunch time in Aviemore. A little over an hour here, and no museum or anything. I didn’t even take a picture. Went and paid 50p to use the bathroom, then sat on the bench by the bus stop, blogging, chatting with Brian, and eating my picnic lunch. I’m seriously ready to be off the bus and in control of my own destiny again.
It was an hour drive to the next stop. On the way, we passed gorgeous green hills covered in dark colored Heather plants. They bloom twice a year (not in June!). My middle name is Heather, after that flower. We did make a quick photo stop at Blair castle. Queen Victoria and Albert spent their honeymoon here!
Next stop, the charming little town of Pitlochry. We had an hour here, and I spent every bit of it at the Pitlochry Dam visitor center (which is very well done and tells the history of the dam and electricity production) and, the highlight- the fish ladder they built for salmon so they could get over the dam! And the best part?? I SAW A REAL WILD SALMON!! I’ve never seen one in the wild, and I’m a total fish geek (marine biology degree), so my excitement and squeal of delight could be lost on you. 🙂
A real, live SALMON in the fish ladder!!
The last stop of our trip was to some bridges that go across some river and are apparently important somehow. Anything after 1800 bores me to tears, so I snapped a couple of pics out of a sense of obligation, but quickly reboarded the bus. Soon, we were pulling in to Edinburgh. I got my bag out of the back of the bus, and walked the .6 miles to my AirBNB- the same one I stayed at on my first night here. It was nice to walk into something familiar.
As tired as I was, this was one of the best days for me. I’m writing this a couple of days after the fact, and the feelings of connection to that battlefield still haven’t left me. A few months ago, I did one of those DNA tests (I’m adopted, long story, read the El Salvador journal if you want more information). I didn’t even pay much attention to the ancestor countries at the time, because that wasn’t what I was looking for. However, I felt compelled to go back and look. I already knew that I have French bloodlines (I found this out long, long after my love affair with French History began). And there it was. 12% Irish/Scottish/Wales. I’m going to Ireland next (funny thing, I grew up thinking I was a lot more Irish than I really am!), and it will be interesting to see if I feel any connection there.
For people who have put in their 2 cents about me being on a 5 day bus tour, and how you can’t expect to experience anything that way, um, yeah. Have a seat, please. Experiences are based on connections, emotions, attitude…not transportation. I had plenty of wonderful experiences that I would never had had if not for this bus tour! Is it my preferred mode of transport? No. Not by a longshot. I’ve never traveled like this before. But it is one I can utilize when necessary, and I won’t be made to feel guilty for that. That said, I was happy when we pulled into Edinburgh. The girl from Turkey that I sat next to on the bus for 5 days, ate lunch with once, and had a few conversations with….yeah, I don’t even know her name. If you knew me, that wouldn’t surprise you. (Brian was like, “Yeah, that’s you!”). I wasn’t there for companionship. I travel solo because I am comfortable and confident with myself. I value my “me” time to soak in the things I am seeing and learning with minimal distractions. Of course, I love traveling with Brian as well and can’t wait until we are in Malta together next month! But it’s different when you’re solo. And different isn’t bad.
It was nice to not have to wake up and get ready to meet the bus. It was nice to just be able to spend the morning sitting in bed, working, blogging, and drinking a cold Diet Dr. Pepper. This is the life! 🙂 Oh, and to do some laundry. In Iceland, the washer was set to this 15 minute express thing. The clothes got clean-ER, but I wouldn’t call them super clean. Two weeks of that. Then, 5 days on the bus. Keep in mind, I’m traveling for 2.5 months to varied climates such as Iceland and Malta (in July!). That is a huge difference of wardrobe to pack into a carry on bag. Which means I only have a few outfits for each climate. Let’s just say my cold weather clothes got a workout on a bus with no access to laundry for 5 days… I was waiting to be voted off the bus by my fellow passengers around day 3… Anyway, glorious laundry!! That went for like an hour!! I kept walking in, looking at it all sudsy and twisty and saying out loud, “Those clothes are going to smell SO good!”. And they did. 🙂 Sometimes, it’s the little things…
The forecast predicted serious rain for Edinburgh today, so when I got in last night, I decided I better do a bit of grocery shopping so I wouldn’t have to lug groceries 2 blocks in the rain tomorrow. I’m not really sure how I’ve survived almost half a century on Earth without knowing the glories of the clearance section at Tesco!! They always have those little refrigerated (not frozen) pre-made microwavable meals SUPER CHEAP. I got two of them- one was Scottish Stovies. I figured what the hell did I have to lose for 75p (that’s $1. Yes, a whole meal for $1- pay attention, Iceland!). It is ground beef, potatoes, and onions kind of blenderized smooth. It was really good! Great warm breakfast to start the day with!
Today I was going on the Witches of Edinburgh tour. The hourly forecast (which, in Scotland, is a joke played on tourists!) said that it was going to be pouring at 1pm- not just pouring, but a thunderstorm as well! I had to walk about a 1/2 mile to get to the tour. I figured that if I drowned in the torrential downpour, at least I was not a witch. If I didn’t drown….well, at least I’d be toasty warm for a few minutes! 🔥☠ Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to….sunshine! 🌞 Witchery, indeed! I got to the meeting point at the National Museum about 20 minutes early (which for me, is right on time and bordering on late!). And I saw rainbows everywhere!! Rainbows in a sunny sky? No! Rainbows on the streets! Remember on Day 1 here when I walked off the bus into the Women’s March? Well, I was in the middle of another march! The Pride March! THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of people!! Want to know the funny thing? Back in ‘mericuh, I have never been anywhere near any march ever. I’ve spent two days in Edinburgh, and both days I’ve been caught up in one! It’s like they throw a parade every time I step on to the street! 😉
I love, love, LOVE this picture. In my mind, these two women are this little rainbow angel’s mommies. Raising her with love and life and fun! People who don’t think LGBTQ people should raise children make me SICK. And if you’re one of them, there’s a little X in the upper right hand corner of this page. Use it, and go back to your ignorant, hate-filled life. I was raised by heterosexuals. No rainbow wings, rainbow tutus, pink leggings, and balloons (or parents who seem to be in complete bliss!) in that childhood. I only wish I had been as fortunate as this little girl appears to be. All children deserve a childhood. And that can only be provided by loving people- gay, straight, purple…it doesn’t matter. #offsoapbox #loveislove
So now, let me tell you the definition of awkward…having your witch’s tour meeting point on the very corner with this massive pride parade going on. Why? Because so many of the marchers were in costume, and my email said “Look for your costumed guide”!! Bwah ha ha ha ha!!! 😝 Any way, I managed to find him. We went into the museum and discussed how witchcraft is basically any ritual you do, expecting some kind of outcome (real or for fun). Throw a coin in a fountain and make a wish? Witchcraft. You don’t have to have a cauldron and a long, crooked nose. 😉 We went through the Picts section of the museum- the ancient peoples of Scotland- and discussed their rituals. We went into a room with some carvings and I saw this one and thought, “Oh, we must be in the Egyptian section now.”, just based on the carvings at the bottom of the stone. Nope, Picts. Isn’t it odd how much their god looks like Horus of Egypt????
We then moved into the torture room, where the guide described some of the methods in gruesome detail. How did they know you were a witch back then? Well, being a woman was a pretty sure sign. And if you were accused, you were as good as dead. He didn’t mention it, but it was the church’s way of keeping women under strict control. Oh, the church…spreading love, acceptance, and independent thinking for 2000+ years. #puke By the way, that little comment would have gotten me KILLED back in the day. 🔥 ☠ Blasphemers, if they weren’t killed outright, would have their tongues split in half…marking them for life as a blasphemers. They would basically be outcast from society. OMG, can you believe that?? Uh oh, I’m dead again. 🔥☠ OMG is blasphemy- lord’s name in vain.
Ok, I have to say, I wasn’t exactly 100% thrilled with the tour. There really wasn’t as much focus on witches as I wanted. I really wanted a story with a bit more continuity and flow. But I will say, the guy was super passionate about the topics he presented! They just weren’t all directly related to witches (at least my perception of them). After about 2 hours, we reached the end of the tour. He said we could go outside with him and practice divination, or end the tour here. We had about 20 people. 6 of us went with him. And OMG (#deadagain 🔥☠), I am SO glad I did!! This was the best part of the whole damn tour!
So we went out into the courtyard of some old college, and Frank, the guide, pulled out these divination rods. I’m familiar enough with them to know that they’re also called dowsing rods, and people have been using them for forever to find water. That was the extent of my knowledge. Well, that and the fact that I don’t believe in them. In case you didn’t read the Elf School journal, I DO believe in spirits. But I am very scientific and logical, and know that generally there is a scientific and logical explanation for everything- including divination rods and such other “tools”. So Frank pulls out this metal, L-shaped rod, and starts showing us how he can flex his hands to make them turn the way he wants. It was really obvious. Then, he does it again and it’s not obvious at all, but he tells us he’s manipulating it. So, he says, to counteract this flaw, divining rods should be sheathed. He pulls out one that has a copper sheath around it that you hold on to. The rod can spin freely within this sheath, but your hands are not in direct contact with it. He then tells it out loud what he wants it to do- turn left, turn right, point to this person, that person, point straight…and the rod does it every time. Interesting, but I’m just staring at his hands the entire time, trying to figure out how he’s manipulating it…. I can’t, but slight of hand is almost undetectable to an untrained eye. Then, he hands us a rod to try. People…people… I was blown away… It’s times like this that I wish my camera man Brian was here! Had I done this hundreds of years ago…yeah, DEAD.🔥☠
Then he brings out a pendulum. It’s hanging from a metal rod with a chain. He explains how you can make it move by telling it where you want it to go, just like the rods. I tried it. And I tried to be PERFECTLY still. I didn’t say it out loud this time. I just thought it. And damned if that thing didn’t move in a circle when I mentally told it to, stop when I mentally told it to, and move back and forth when I mentally told it to. CREEPY. He then put the pendulum over a paper that had a bunch of words on it like Yes, No, Maybe, etc… He told us to put the pendulum over it, think about an important question, and our subconscious would move the pendulum to the answer. I thought of my question. It moved to No. Weird thing, I was thinking Yes for the answer! Time will tell if it’s right. I’ll report back (could be years!). Oh, and again…DEAD.🔥 ☠
Last, we got to use two divination rods. The goal here was to make them cross and uncross using just our mind. AND DAMN IF IT DIDN’T WORK AGAIN!! Seriously, I can not tell you how logical and scientific I am about things. And I just couldn’t figure out how it was working because I was trying to be super still and do everything possible to not influence them. I didn’t want it to work! But it did. And I’m not going to lie, it kinda freaked me the fuck out! Oh, and by the way, hundreds of years ago, I’d be DEAD.🔥☠
Of course, I immediately came back to the apartment and started researching. Everything I could find was about how they have been debunked for finding water- that they worked about the same as just random chance at finding it. But I wasn’t trying to find water. I did find this one article, but I want more information! I know there is a reasonable explanation. Again, I DO believe in spirits, but I do NOT think they are controlling these tools in any way. But even my scientific mind had some doubt creeping in- it was that freaky! I can’t even imagine people hundreds of years ago before science and logical thought and everything was superstitious in some way…If someone has any information, please comment below! I’ll reply if I’m not DEAD. 🔥☠
Oh, and all of those thousands upon thousands of pride marchers? Yeah, if today was a few hundred years ago and we were behaving like this, we’d all be DEAD. 🔥☠
On Day 8, I went on a free walking tour of Edinburgh with City Explorers. Every city I go to, I like to do these free walks. It really gives you an excellent lay of the land, some history, and a great idea of places you’d like to go back and explore more. And this is where I feel I have to always point out this fact. The tour is free. Yes. But don’t be a cheap ass!! Tip your guide! They work on tips. Most of them these days even have a credit card machine with them, so you have no excuse!
The group was an international one, that’s for sure! We represented the US, Malaysia, Hungary, India, Canada, Czech Republic, and France! The guide, and I hate myself for not remembering his name, was fantastic. He was so passionate about the stories, so just “into” the whole experience. Literally, it was the best walking tour I’ve ever done, hands down. Plus, (Brian, skip to the next paragraph), he wasn’t tough on the eyes… 😉
The walk was 2 hours long, and I wasn’t bored for a second of it. I took a TON of video for class, and not a lot of pictures. I’m just going to share a few of the highlights here, as I’ll be going back and visiting a lot of these places again later and don’t want to “double journal” about them. I mainly want to focus on the stories and interesting facts I learned…believe me, there was WAY more to this tour than is in the journal, and I HIGHLY recommend it! (Ask for the cute young guide with the blue eyes! #sorrybrian) Settle in for some learnin’… 🙂
I learned what a close is. Before I teach you though, we have to have a little history/geography lesson. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland (2nd biggest city, though- Glasgow is bigger). People have been living in this area since at least 8500BCE- that’s 10,000 years!! But the city itself was set apart as “special” when King David I set up shop here in the 1100s. Every king has to have a castle, and King David I was no different. This was the first building of the castle. Now, the thing that really blew me away was that it’s built on top of a VOLCANO! You don’t really think about volcanoes when you think of Scotland! It’s the highest point, with these steep basalt cliffs all around. Only one entrance. Perfect for defense. So this “backbone” of lava runs underneath what is called the Royal Mile. The castle on one end, and 1 1/8 mile down the road (that was the measure of a Scotland mile back in the day. The English standardized it later.) is the palace- Holyrood- where the queen stays when she’s visiting. All along this main street are cathedrals and shops and amazing buildings (and about 9 zuadzillion tourists). It’s basically the backbone of the city. From the backbone, run the ribs. Extremely narrow pedestrian “alley ways” of sorts, called closes or wynds. Back in the day (1400s, 1500s, 1600s, 1700s), the tenement buildings were so close to each other that you could literally reach across the close and touch your neighbor. They’re pretty cool and unique- I’ve never seen a city design like it. Here’s one.
Then we discussed something that I had passed by several times and love. This weird column thing with a unicorn on top. You’ll remember from previous blogs that the unicorn is the national animal of Scotland (because they are so freaking cool like that!!). Anyway, I learned that this is called Mercat Cross. The first one was built in the mid-1300s (damn, Scotland, can you get any cooler??!). Of course, this isn’t it. This one was built in the late 1800s. It’s been used for executions and royal proclamations- the latter only happening still (thank goodness after my antics on Day 7!! 😉 ).
This was a cool coat of arms I saw on a building. The lion represents England.
Then we heard the story of the oldest statue in Edinburgh- that of Charles II, who’s been riding this same horse since 1685!! So the story goes that the statue is hollow. And it was kind of falling down and water was getting in it from holes in the head. So to fix the problem, they drilled a hole in the bottom of the horse so the water would flow through. Except then it looked like the king was riding an incontinent horse every time it rained, so they had to fix that!
We then walked around to St. Giles Cathedral. We didn’t go in, but it’s beautiful from the outside.
On the other side of the street, there were street performers. Guys playing the pipes in full kilt regalia. And some wizard who looked like he was levitating next to a unicorn. Don’t ask me, I just take the pictures…
We then crossed the street and heard the tale of Deacon Brodie (namesake of the tavern). Here’s the Cliff Notes version. So DB as we’ll call him was a cabinet maker for the wealthy people of Edinburgh in the mid 1700s. He was well to do himself, coming from a wealthy family and having established himself in town- he was on the town council and such. Now, wealthy people who are buying fine cabinets want to put fine things in them. And they don’t want the poors to be able to get to their fine things, so they want a fine lock. So DB was not just a cabinet maker, but a lock maker as well. And not just a cabinet maker and a lock maker, but a gambler and womanizer, too. The latter of those “jobs” took quite a bit of money- more than the former were bringing in. So DB decided to not just deal with locks on cabinets, but locks on the front doors of his wealthy clientele as well. He would make keys and let himself in and help himself. No one could figure out how people were being robbed without a window being broken or a door being forced! In fact, the dilemma was so odd, that the city came to Deacon Brodie himself to see if he could solve the case (spoiler alert: he didn’t). But, like most criminals, he wasn’t content with what he was nicking on his own. No, he needed a crime ring!! So he got some other yahoos in on the gig, who ended up ratting him out. But when the cops came a knocking, DB was gone. He was captured in the Netherlands and sent back, found guilty, and sentenced to hang. Interesting note: He had been involved in the invention of the trap door underneath gallows. Said trap door was used on him… If you look at the sign hanging outside the pub, it shows the two sides of Deacon Brodie. These two completely opposite sides of this one man inspired a writer in Edinburgh by the name of Robert Louis Stevenson to pen a story….Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Fascinating!
We talked a lot about the Enlightenment as it pertained to Edinburgh. Very interesting, and I encourage you to take the tour or do some research on your own. But I’m going for the “Horrible Histories” tone in this blog, so I’ll skim over the intellectual crap. 😉 #yourluckyday
We worked our way down to the castle, which is surrounded by construction because the Military Tattoo will be held here next month. No, it’s not some drunken sailor getting a naked woman tattooed on his arm (Shout out to ya, dad!). It’s kind of like a military showcase performance from militaries all over the world. Sounds cool! Stands screwed up my shots, though! I’ll be going to the castle later this week.
Then it got cray-cray! We overlooked what is supposed to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley! Whether it is or isn’t doesn’t really matter- it’s very quaint! There’s a Boy Wizard shop (that I’ll go in another day), and something even better. A place called Oink. That has a roasted pig in the window every day. And apparently makes amazing pulled pork sandwiches on delicious rolls. Oh god, it took all my will power not to lick that window! I’m going to try to go there for lunch one day (yeah, right!).
Next “what will you think of next, Edinburgh?” story is of a woman named Maggie Dickson. There’s a pub named after her. (Seriously, I think if you sneeze around here, someone will name a pub after you! Any excuse for a pub!). Ok, so quick history lesson about dear old Maggie Dickson. She was a fish wife. Her husband would catch the fish, and Maggie’s job was to sell those fish. Then, her husband up and disappeared on her. No husband, no fish, no job, no way to support herself. So she ended up working in a local pub (I’m telling ya, life revolves around the pubs!), where she got into a rather scandalous secret relationship with the pub owner’s son. Scandalous, because even though her man up and abandoned her, she was still married in the eyes of God, and adultery was a big fat N.O. back then (especially being female!). Well, Maggie ends up pregnant. Uh oh. She hides the pregnancy for 6 months. Then, the baby was born. Obviously 6 months doesn’t result in a fully cooked baby, and since you were lucky to live if you were grown and healthy back then (we’re talking early 1700s), you can imagine premature babies didn’t have any chance at all. Maggie took her dead child down to the banks of the Nor Loch to leave it there in secret. But someone saw her. And reported her. And Maggie was tried, convicted, and sentenced to hang. And hang her they did. Right on the Grassmarket where we were standing, where public executions were fairly common.
So you’re like, “Ok, and…? What’s the big deal?”. Oh, let me tell you what the big deal was. Maggie was hanged, put in her coffin, loaded onto a cart, and driven out toward the cemetery. The drivers decided to stop in to a local pub (see!!) and have a drink. Maggie wasn’t in any rush to get where she was going anyway. Then, they hear a commotion outside. They go out to see what’s going on, and the commotion is coming from INSIDE the coffin! They crack that puppy open, and up pops Mary! Who proceeds to climb out of said coffin. You can only imagine!!!
Well, what becomes of Maggie now? She had already been tried, convicted, and executed. Obviously this was a miracle! She was not punished further. She was given a full pardon, and lived another 25 years, running…you guessed it…a local pub! She’s known all as “Half-Hangit Maggie”….and her story is quite possibly the basis for Nearly Headless Nick of Harry Potter fame!
We went into Greyfriar’s Kirk, saw some graves, and talked about Greyfriar’s Bobby. But I’ll save that story for another day- a day when I actually take pictures and not videos! The tour was over, and about half of the cheap asses walked off without giving this guy a dime (pence?). Seriously, people? How trashy can you be? I went up and gave him some money and told him that of all the city tours I had been on, this was the best by far, and he did an awesome job. I meant it. He said he really appreciated it. I asked for his phone number. Ok, that part is a lie! 😜
Day 9. Can I get a do over? Seriously. Sometimes, the universe speaks to you in a whisper. Sometimes it shouts. And sometimes it knocks you smack upside the head, and when you STILL don’t listen, it throws up its arms and says, “Fine, bitch, don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.” Yeah, that’s what happened today. See, the internet here has been kind of wanky (which has made blogging and working super enjoyable…). Yesterday, I tried and tried to book my tickets online for The Real Mary King’s Close. The internet would just spin on my credit card until it timed out. Over and over. That was the universe whispering. So I thought, well, I’ll just get up and be there for the first tour- I should be able to get in without a booking. Gathered my belongings at 10am and headed down for the 10:45 tour. Which was already fully booked. The first time they could get me in would be 11:30. Well, that was a problem because I was going to do a Harry Potter walking tour at 12. The universe was shouting… It was over at 1, so I said, “How about 1:30?”. Perfect. Paid, walked out the door, then got to thinking. Was that Harry Potter tour just 1 hour, or was it more??? Pulled up my spreadsheet and damn if it wasn’t 1.5 hours! That means it would be over at 1:30. Not gonna work! I turned around to go in and change it to 1:45, and the line was out the damn door. Fuck it, I’ll just do the 4pm Harry Potter tour. The universe had smacked me right upside the head, and I just kept on going, oblivious.
Came back to the apartment, worked, worked, and worked some more, and headed back over at 1:15. Went in, started taking pictures, and was immediately informed “NO PHOTOGRAPHY”. I seriously have no idea why. Well, I have an idea- I’ll share it at the end. And it just went downhill from there. I just paid $20 to be served cheese. And not even something good like smoked gouda. More like processed American cheese- like generic Kraft singles in the plastic wrapper. Yeah. That bad. The guide was so damn bored, I didn’t know who was going to fall asleep first- me or him. The mannequins were cheesy. The videos were cheesy. There was no flow, no continuity, no real history being discussed. This was tourist sheep herding at its finest. There was a tour every 15 minutes all damn day, and they were all full. Get ’em in, grab their money, get ’em out. A grind. And this guide was ground down…
You basically go through a lot of the single room “houses”. There are mannequins, props, there’s something about Mary Queen of Scots spending a night here. They talk about throwing your shit pot out on the street, and just in case you can’t envision the entire process from start to finish, they act it out (it was the most animated this guy ever got). There’s a room with these big video pictures that you watch. Poorly done. One is Mary King, one is some doctor drinking urine to test for diabetes (the “yuck” factor to gross out tourists was just dumb and unnecessary), and I couldn’t even figure out the relation of the last guy was to the whole thing. Then, the ghost story. We sat on a bench and listened to a recording. First off, the acoustics are AWFUL. They are playing two tracks at the same time out of two different speakers. The speaker I was near had all of the background noise- cats meowing, people groaning and talking, blah blah blah. The other speaker was the guy telling the story. But I couldn’t hear it because of the background speaker. Jesus. If you can’t hire a guide that can TELL us a good ghost story, then what’s the damn point? We went into some room where some little girl supposedly died of the plague and her ghost haunts the room looking for a doll. So people have left a stack of dolls. The whole thing is supposed to be super haunted. I felt nothing. If I were a ghost, I’d ditch this place, too, just to not have to listen to this guide drone on about nothing. At the end, they’ll take your picture. So we can’t take our own pictures because either a) they want to make even more money off this lame ass tour or b) they don’t want us showing the world how lame ass this tour is. My money is on c- all of the above. I snapped one anyway. I deserved it after suffering through that tripe for an hour. The guy across from me said to his wife, “This place is way over hyped.” I piped up with “Agreed.” We nodded at each other. Solidarity.
Ok, here’s the deal with this place. It has the potential to be AMAZING. It is literally a slice of history. And it makes me SICK how they utilize it. The close (remember, that’s one of those super narrow streets) is named after a woman, Mary King, who was kind of a big deal in Edinburgh in the 1600s. Some kind of businesswoman or something, and her husband left her a lot of money and a house on the close, and she squandered it. I don’t know. The whole thing was impossible to follow. Anyway, the plague swept through this area, a bunch of people died. In the late 1700s, the close was covered up and partially destroyed to build the huge Royal Exchange building on top of it. It was uncovered at some point, and now tours are given. If I could come down here with a true historian, I know I’d be captivated. I don’t know what this guide was, but he wasn’t a historian… Anyway…
The wind picked up, the Harry Potter tour is outside and I want to film, so wind and video don’t go together. I just stayed home and worked. Oh, and picked up Diet Dr. Pepper at Tesco on my way back. I needed some kind of comfort after that mess…
The wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round…. Here we go again…
Yep, it’s another bus tour. Same company, Highland Experience, but this time, their Rosslyn Chapel, Stirling Castle & Dunfermline Abbey tour. I wanted to go on this tour specifically for history, and especially to see Robert the Bruce’s burial place at Dunfermline Abbey. Got my stuff together and met the bus at 8:45. I shit thee not, the kind of annoying dude from my 5 day bus trip (the one that fell in the aisle when the driver had to slam on his brakes) was on this trip. Oy. What are the chances?! I went toward the back of the bus and sat down in an empty row. It didn’t stay empty for long. 🙁
Our guide was Steven (Stephen?) B. And he was REALLY good! He had a passion for the history, and told us all of the stories as we drove. It was awesome. I’m quite happy with the guides through Highland Experience. He announced that our first stop would be to see the three bridges over that river from the last day of the 5 day bus tour! Oh, man! Blah. I didn’t even get off. Get me to some history, man!! As we drove to our next stop, Steven (ph?) told us all about William Wallace and then Robert the Bruce. I loved it!! I’m not going to detail it all here, but definitely worth a read if you search online.
Soon, we were pulling up to Dunfermline Abbey. YESSSSSSSSS! This is the place I was super excited about!! My favorite place in (just outside of) Paris is St. Denis’ Basilica- where the vast majority of all of the kings of France are buried. This is kind of Scotland’s version of that… We get out and hear the sound of bagpipes wafting over the old rock wall of the abbey…ah, Scotland, you are so charming! Our guide leads us behind the walls, up to St. Margaret’s shrine. Margaret was a queen of Scotland in….are you sitting down?…1073!!! Yeah, that’s a 0. Not a typo. Holy crap. Speaking of holy crap, Margaret was a super duper pious Catholic. That river I don’t care about that has all those bridges across it that I don’t care about? Yeah, she had a ferry built across that river (it’s massively wide) so pilgrims trying to get to St. Andrew’s (which was obviously on the other side of the river!), could get across. Well, she died in Edinburgh Castle in 1093, and was canonized as a saint in 1250 and her remains placed at Dunfermline. When Scotland decided that Catholicism sucked and Protestantism was the way to the pearly gates, she kinda got dug up and “redistributed”. For example, Mary Queen of Scots wound up with sole custody of Margaret’s head. This head over the next couple of centuries made its way to France, where- I swear to god I can’t make this shit up- her HEAD WAS LOST IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION!!! LOL. 😂 I so cracked up when I read that! Poor Saint Margaret, the only 800 year old person to lose her head in the revolution!!! (Yeah, piety ain’t my thing…)
So enough about Margaret- let’s get to Robert the Bruce! But our guide told us to wait a minute, he’d be right back. And when he came back, he said there was a funeral going on and the abbey was CLOSED! That’s what the bagpipes were that we heard- piping for a funeral procession. Ok, look, I’m not pious, but I’m not a total bitch either. Someone died. I get why we couldn’t go in. Sucks, but what are you going to do? We then had an hour and 15 minutes to wander around the graveyard- which was about an hour longer than was needed…. I walked around and snapped some shots, trying to be respectful of the mourners and not be taking pictures where they could see me (and definitely not of them).
So…history lesson time. The abbey was built in 1128, but there was churchy stuff here before that, because Saint Margaret got married here in the 9th century. In 1303, Edward I of England (who, in my time in Scotland, I have learned was a total asshole and I kinda hate him…), held court here and then burned most of it down. It was rebuilt, then the reformation happened in the 1500’s, and the church was sacked. This is when Margaret’s remains got “redistributed”. But the thing I had come here for was Robert the Bruce! King of Scotland! His body was interred here in 1329- except for his heart. You know that movie “Braveheart” (I love it). Yeah, bunch of rubbish. William Wallace is NOT Braveheart. That was a name for Robert the Bruce. And Robert the Bruce NEVER fought with England against Scotland and betrayed Wallace! And the kilt wasn’t even invented for like 300 years AFTER this movie happened! And….well, google it. Rubbish. But still a great movie! Anyway, here’s a cool fact. The tomb was down there all those centuries, and we didn’t even know it until 1818 when some workers discovered it! The descriptions of the burial matched the historical records, and wa-la…it was Robert the Bruce. Fascinating. And I love that the tower of the Abbey says King Robert the Bruce. Awesomesauce. 🙂
St. Margaret’s shrine. Not so impressive, because apparently “Thou shalt not steal” didn’t quite get through to the Christians, and they each took little pieces of her shrine as a souvenir until it was….well…this.
Burial site of William Wallace’s mother
No lie, people were pretty disappointed about not being able to go in, since it was one of the 3 main things we were paying to see. But everyone took it well. Steven (ph?) said that since we didn’t get to go in, he was going to give us an extra stop- something we normally see from the road only. The Bannockburn battlefield!! I was so excited!! Honestly, I had no freaking clue what it was…but I was excited anyway!! On the way, he told us more stories of Robert the Bruce and the battle. This was a 2 day battle- quite long for the early 1300s. Not going to go too much into it, but bottom line, Robert the Bruce and the Scottish army kicked some English ass, and the result was that England finally formally recognized Scotland as independent, and Robert the Bruce the rightful king. Yay!!! 😍 (Spoiler alert: That didn’t last.) Oh! And on the way, I got to see the kelpie statues at 60mph on the bus!!
This is really what Robert the Bruce looked like! How do we know? Because when they found him in the 1800s, they made a cast of his skull before they reburied him. New technology took that skull and used it to recreate his face! That rendition was used on this statue.
Next stop, Stirling Castle. We had an hour and a half here, and I could see from the outside that this place needed waaaaaay more time than that! Despite being almost at the back of the bus, I made my way to the front of the line and was first to get my tickets! My goal was to jump in on the guided tour, so I could get a history lesson of this place. The tour was good, but a little too long winded. It was right at an hour, and we didn’t even go into the royal chambers of the palace!! I finally had to ditch out at the end of the tour, with my apologies, but explained that the bus was coming soon and I needed to make a quick run through the rest of the place. The guide understood and pointed me in the direction of the royal apartments. I practically had to run through there. Super quick history lesson: Most people think Edinburgh Castle is the most important castle in Scotland. Arguably, it’s probably Stirling. Rising imposingly above the landscape below, with cliffs on 3 sides, it was a defensive force to be reckoned with. It was a royal place since the 1100s. Look, a lot went on here over the centuries…at least 8 sieges, changing of hands as different countries and forces took control, building and remodeling….more than I can go into. But I seriously HIGHLY recommend this castle. I recommend that you do the guided tour to get the history, and then give yourself at least an hour after that to wander around and explore the things that aren’t shown on the tour (which is quite a bit).
William Wallace is famous for his decisive victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. His monument is on the left, on top of that hill. The river (that the bridge the battle was named for was over) on the right.
Why I love my mega zoom camera. 🙂 The William Wallace monument as seen from Stirling Castle.
Beautiful gardens. And check out all of the renaissance statues lined the castle wall. So unusual!
That yellow building looks so weird and out of place, and honestly I didn’t like it. But apparently the whole damn castle used to be this color, called ochre- basically gold to show wealth! They restored it to its original color based on paint fragments they found.
With all the sieges, not all of the statues made it out with their lives! Look at the one with its head missing. You can see the bullet holes in the wall behind it.
Inside the great hall
Queen’s chambers. I’m shocked this wasn’t blurred, as fast as I was running through there and snapping pics!
Check out this ceiling! Beautiful!
Back on the bus to the last stop- Rosslyn Chapel. This was another one of those places, like Real Mary King’s Closeitdown (that’s my new nickname for that place….), where you couldn’t take any pictures. Ok, seriously people. The freaking POPE couldn’t stop me from taking pics on the sly of the Sistine Chapel, so uh, yeah. If I’m not using flash and not harming anything AND paying to see it….shush it. There was a talk when we arrived. Everyone entered the chapel, which is freaking magnificently intricate and stunning by the way, and sat on the pews to listen. Construction started in 1456, and it was never completed. But damn, what they managed to finish is out of this world! The stonework is second to none that I’ve ever seen anywhere. You could stare at this thing for a year and still not see all of the details. Breathtaking. Seriously. Not being much for pew warming, I got up and wandered around during the talk (the talker guy said we could- I wasn’t being disrespectful). It was like having the place to myself! Got great shots outside without people in them. And…well….yeah….inside, too. Shhhhhhhhh. 🤐 And FYI, if you’re going to let some Hollywood yahoos come in and film the freaking Da Vinci Code in here, me and my Samsung Galaxy 7 (because I’m too cheap to upgrade to the 9!), should be just fine. I used the phone instead of the big camera. A wee bit less obvious. 🙂 If you have a chance, go to this. Seeing pictures in NO WAY does it justice. You can’t get any concept of the intricacy and elaborateness of the carvings.
Cat photo bomb! 🙂
I love all of the gargoyles! This one looks part octopus!
I don’t know what in the hell this is depicting, but I love it!
A bus ride back to Edinburgh. This was a 7.5 hour tour, I had packed a pepperoni stick and a granola bar for lunch, but I was hungry for something different. What to do, what to do…OINK!! 🐷 That was the restaurant I saw on Victoria Street (Diagon Alley) on Day 8 with the pig in the window! Hating to sit down in a restaurant, I figured I could just get something to go. I walked in and looked at the menu. It was in 4 parts:
1. What size? You had 3 choices- piglet, oinker, or grunter.
2. What bread? 2 choices- white or brown
3. What stuffing? 2 choices- haggis or sage and onion
4. What sauce? There were like 5 choices, applesauce, mustard, bbq, etc…
Ok, took me about a minute to figure out my combination. I stepped up to the counter and said the following, “I would like an oinker on white bread with sage and onion and applesauce.” The young guy behind the counter looked at me and said, “Do you know how nice it is for someone to tell me exactly what they want?” I leaned over, put my hand to my mouth and pretend whispered, “I’m a traveler, not a tourist.” He grinned and said, “Ohhhh! That’s what it is!” We laughed. He said he understands menu questions/problems when people don’t speak English, but most DO speak English and can’t figure it out. I said, “Well, to be fair, not everyone who speaks English speaks Scottish!” He and the other kid behind the counter almost died! We had a good chuckle at that, I got my pig sammy, and headed back to the apartment. Damn, I love Scottish people. 🙂
When I got back to the apartment last night, I told my host about my trip to Stirling, and how I was planning on going to Edinburgh Castle tomorrow. She said don’t do it. Not worth the 20 pounds. Oh no!! Always one to seek out a second opinion, I went to one of my favorite facebook groups since I’ve been in Scotland- Scottish Travel Society. I asked what they thought, and the overwhelming advice was GO! And tucked into all of the responses was a wee gem of information….queues to see the Crown Jewels are 30-45 minutes long, go early. Go early, ye say?? Early is my specialty!! I immediately went online to buy my tickets for 9:30 entry- when they open.
Woke up and heard the rain outside. No worries, I was expecting it. Did some work, wrapped my camera in a plastic bag and put it in my day pack along with water and snacks, and left at 840. Goal: to be first in line at Edinburgh Castle! By the time I got outside, the rain was a misty drizzle. My foggy breaths in the chilly air added to the low white-gray skies. Zero wind. It was nice! Only locals on the streets, and that made it even better. Once I reached the royal mile, there were a few neon flashing tourists, but not a lot. Worked my way up to the castle, and I’m proud to announce… GOAL ACHIEVED! First in line at 855! There’s a method to this madness. Yes, I have to wait in line for 35 minutes until it opens. This is so I don’t have to wait in line to see the crown jewels. So Mary, you’re waiting in line so you don’t have to wait in line? Yes. I don’t mind waiting in line IF I’m first in line! 🙂
The line was steadily building with <insert dramatic doom music>….tourists. There was a sign at the front of the line (I know, because I was standing in front of it!). This is it. I know it’s complicated, but see if you can decipher it…
Now, I wasn’t blocking this sign. It was in plain sight. I shit you not, a line formed BEHIND that sign and a dozen people asked the extremely nice man who was letting people in to go to work at the castle, the same question in succession- “when can we go in and where do we get tickets?” He patiently explained every. single. time…The castle opens at 9:30 (freaking DUH!). Get your tickets at the castle. Next person steps up and asks the same question practically word for word! Can’t they hear the person directly in front of them being answered? JESUS! I asked the guy, “How many times a day do you answer that?” he laughed, rolled his eyes, and said, “If I had a pound for every time…” After that, every time someone would ask that (I’m not kidding, dozens of times over the next 20 minutes- it was far beyond ridiculous), we’d exchange a glance and grin. I guess the sign is in Scottish (day 10 joke!). The line to get in was getting insane. Both sides of the sidewalk covered for quite a ways by 9:20.
Now, here’s where it gets good. It’s 9:26- I know because I was blogging this while waiting 🙂 . He walks up to me and says, “Do you have your ticket?”. I explained that I bought it online and needed to pick it up. He explained that I would go behind the little guard shack and there was a kiosk there. Put in my confirmation number, no dashes, and print my ticket. I told him thank you. He said, “Go.” I asked, “Now?”- it was still a little early. He nodded. I figured the whole line was going to get to go. Um, no. VIP, baby!! I went to the kiosk. It took me about a minute to dig out my info, enter, it and print the ticket. He STILL hadn’t let anyone it! Here I am, ticket in hand, no one at the kiosk next to me!!
It says ADULT…don’t be fooled. 😉
So I go to the little walkway that leads up to the castle, give the guy a huge smile. He sees me, and starts to let the others in. I had to snap a picture of it!! The guy literally gave me a head start!! Today’s lesson. Don’t be a fucking idiot. Take responsibility for yourself and what you are doing. Don’t expect the world to hold your wee hand and guide you through everything. Be nice to people. Have I mentioned I LOVE Scottish people!!! 🙂
So I walk up to the castle- fast. The herd of sheep were approaching! I see bag search in the distance, pull off my day pack, unzip everything so it’s ready (because I’m not an idiot and take responsibility for myself and what I am doing!). Breeze through. Walk in through the castle gates. No one but employees. 🙂
I get through the gate and ask the guy that was in the yellow vest in that picture where the crown jewels are. People, I do not have time to stop for a map. I do not have time to dick around with an audio guide. I sure as hell don’t have time for a browse through the gift shop (I NEVER have time for that!). I am a woman on a mission!! He gives me super complicated directions. I just followed his hand gesture for the first step- go right. Went right and up an incline. There were people there to scan my ticket. There was NO ONE behind me. The last 10 feet or so to these people, I ran, flailing my arms and grinning like an idiot saying “FIRST ONE IN!!!!!!”. They laughed, scanned my ticket, and gave me my next set of directions to the crown jewels. When I went around the next turn. I was in here completely by myself- I couldn’t see another soul (except for a few employees scattered about). The streets were empty. It was amazing! Along the way, I hastily snapped shots, knowing that there was no way I would be able to take them devoid of people in a few minutes from now. I asked for my next set of directions. Up the hill and through the gap and it would be across from me. Perfect. Found the gap.
The ticket scanners. They either thought I was an insane American or just hilarious….or both. 😉
The gap. 🙂
Huffing and puffing from a fast walk up a hill, I came to the gap. And when I passed through it… WOW. I was all alone in a massive courtyard surrounded by massive buildings on every side. And sure enough, across the courtyard was the door to the crown jewels!
Crown jewels are through that door at the bottom of the tower and up the stairs.
I triumphantly (I swear, no king or queen that ever lived here in over a thousand years was ever prouder or more full of themselves!!) marched up the stairs and walked into a darkened room.. There was just me, two guards, and the crown jewels. I joked and said, “Man! I thought that if I got here early enough I could just pocket them and be on my way!”. They laughed and said it didn’t exactly work that way. 😉 Wow. Just wow. It was all so beautiful. The crown, the scepter, the sword, the jewelry- all from the late 1400s-1500s!! And while those things were dazzling, I’m not much of a flashy kind of girl. What I had really come to see was a block of stone that looked like some old piece of cement. Not flashy, and not royal looking in the least. But oh……the history! The Stone of Destiny! It’s ancient, making the crown jewels look like some modern idea! And this stone has been present at the coronation of all kings of Scotland!! Now, if you remember that rat bastard English King from Day 10, Edward I, he took the stone back to England after he conquered Scotland and had it built into the English throne- showing that the king of England was also the king of Scotland (in case anyone was confused!). It was STOLEN from England in the 1950s by some Scottish students, who brought it back to Scotland. They kinda broke it in the process, but it’s been restored- both as a stone AND to Scotland!! YAY!! Of course, since English monarchs also rule Scotland, when there is a coronation, it is taken back to England for the ceremony, then returned to its place in the tower. Amazing. This isn’t my picture, but here’s what I saw.
I went through the exit and saw that the royal chambers were closed for renovation! How disappointing! I stepped into the courtyard, fully expecting it to be full of people by now. Nothing. No one. I couldn’t believe it! How was that even possible?! And then I knew how it was possible. The droves of tourists were still running around like drunken ants at the bottom of the hill. No idea where to go, what to do. Trying to figure out how to get their tickets, how to get an audio guide, going to the potty, having a turn around the gift shop. And that left me all alone. Still. A queen for a few moments in Edinburgh Castle. Queen Mary. 👑 A queen who didn’t have to hear anyone’s spoiled brats screaming and whining. A queen who didn’t have to fight off the urge to grab a selfie stick from someone fluffing their hair and making duck lips and beat them to death with it (if I were queen, that would so be the punishment for selfie sticks!! HEAR YE, HEAR YE!! DAILY SELFIE STICK FLOGGINGS AT THE MERCAT CROSS- IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY EXECUTIONS OF THOSE FOUND GUILTY OF FIXING THEIR HAIR AND POSING OBNOXIOUSLY!!).
Peace. Solitude. Silence. History. All mine for a few precious moments. I went into the War Memorial. Silence, completely alone except for 3 employees. I then wandered out through the other side of the courtyard and saw a sign that said, “Crown Jewels History”. I’M THERE! I went in, and it was a wonderfully done museum of sorts about the history of the crown jewels! And I had it all to myself. It was in here, when I saw the model of Robert the Bruce being crowned, that it really hit me. I had this to myself. I got emotional. Not “I feel a connection” emotional like on the Culloden Battlefield, but emotion that stemmed from the fact that I was having an experience very, very few people ever get to have in this place. And I was grateful and appreciative for it. In this place it dawned on me…I’m not on holiday. I’m on adventure.
By the time I got out of this area, people were slowly filing into the courtyard. I wandered around through the several different museums (mainly dedicated to war relics, which I’m not really terribly interested in, but I did a fair walk though. The Highland Soldiers area I thought was the most interesting of them.) that are on the grounds. I took some pictures of the spectacular views from this hilltop perch. The drunken ants had finally invaded my picnic…
Cannon eye’s view…
Not sure what this area is exactly (I think it’s a hill whose name starts with C, but I’m not sure). Looks fascinating! But I don’t have time to explore it, I fear. 🙁
After all of the museums, I wandered around to see if there was anything I had missed. I found the prisons, they were pretty interesting! They had been used for a few centuries… By the time I got out of there, the line for the crown jewels was all the way across the courtyard. All this within about an hour and 15 minutes of opening at 9:30 on a Thursday…
Prisoners from the American War of Independence were held here! This carving shows a very, very early “stars and stripes” flag on a prison door!
The prison was more like a barracks instead of individual cells. Hammocks hung up.
The ants falling in line… I took this from the door to the crown jewels.
I then went into the great hall which was pretty packed with people. I don’t know why, because god knows I’m not a “home decor” kind of person, but the lamps really intrigued me for some reason!
Lastly, I went into St. Margaret’s Chapel (you’ll remember her from such renowned and acclaimed works like…Day 10 😉 ). This is the oldest building of the castle, built in 1130! St. Margaret lived at the castle until her death in the late 1000’s. Wow.
And really, that was it. I had spent an hour and 45 minutes in here with basically no lines into anything. If I had been more interested in the war museums, I probably could have spent 2.5-3.5 hours in here. With lines for tickets, crown jewels, etc… 4. Plan accordingly. I headed out, completely pleased with myself in every way imaginable. I am SO glad I went!!
I had about 30 minutes before my Harry Potter tour started at noon. I slowly walked the Royal Mile, just soaking in the experience I had just had, and enjoying the beauty of Edinburgh. It really is a stunning city…
Next, I went on a free Harry Potter Walking Tour with Potter Trail. I told the guide (a wonderful young lady from Los Angeles, actually!) that I own an online school, that I teach Harry Potter Genetics, and that my students were going to go CRAZY for this!! She was so happy to be doing a talk for “academic purposes”! 🙂 In other words, this is another time where I did a lot of filming and not a lot of picture taking. But let me tell you, this tour was GREAT!! So much fun, so much information. I really, really enjoyed the heck out of it, and my tip at the end reflected my appreciation. 🙂 #notalwaysacheapass
The school Hogwarts is based on- just on the other side of Greyfriar’s Kirkyard (cemetery). #creepy
Thomas Riddle (Voldemort’s!) grave- the inspiration for the name
The Elephant House- where JK Rowling wrote some of the books
Here’s a quiz…how do wizard’s communicate in the wizarding world? OWLS! And a lady on another Scottish facebook group that I love, The Land Called Scotland, told me that I should look for the owls on the Royal Mile, and tell “her” owl, Hazel, that she had met on a trip, hello. I found the place, Gladstone’s Land, which just so happens to be one of the oldest buildings on the Royal Mile, dating back to the 1500s. And I found the owls! Oh, but they were beautiful, majestic creatures! I didn’t hold one, but I did snap some shots.
Wise indeed.
I had been at it since 8:40 am. It was now after 2. I was hungry! And decided now was the time….to….SIT DOWN IN A REAL RESTAURANT!! 😱 If you read this blog, you know I freaking hate to a) eat alone b) spend money on food. So restaurants are generally a big nope when I’m traveling. However, I do like to try local food at least once. And what is the local food of Scotland? Haggis, of course!! And not just haggis. But something called neeps and tatties that go with it. Look, I had a fair inkling about what is in haggis (sheep intestines). But I had zero clue what neeps and tatties were. I was afraid they were words for something too heinous to even call by their real names. I was afraid to google it for fear of being put off by the entire scenario. Ok, I’m going to pull up my slip and let my ignorance show here….I honestly thought neeps were probably sheep nuts and tatties might be sheep udders. Ok, ok- all you Scots….get off the floor and compose yourself! I’m a haggis virgin. I didn’t know!! So I confidently (which means I hid my social awkwardness as much as possible, but geeky still shone through 🤓 ) strode into Whiski Bar and Restaurant on the Royal Mile. Ordered haggis with neeps & tatties, expecting the worst. I watched the world cup while I awaited my impending disgust. (Note: I know about as much about the World Cup as I do neeps and tatties- this is literally the only time I’ve seen any of them.). I was served. I took a bite. Mmmmmmm! This isn’t bad at all! In fact, it’s good! I quickly figured out that a neep or a tattie is mashed potato (I’m guessing tattie). I later researched and found out that neeps are yellow turnips! Whew! Nothing to fear there! I ate it all. It was about $18.50 with a coke. Over half my grocery budget for the last week, but hey, I am a haggis virgin no more! (Sorry, fellows 😉 ).
Was I tipsy when I took this? Nah. Only angle I could get the tv, bar, and haggis all in one shot! 😛
Well, the day finally arrived…SUMMER VACATION!! And this one is like nothing I’ve ever done before. Two and a half months of fast travel. Usually I get a housesit in one location and hang there for the majority of the summer, then meet Brian somewhere and we fast travel for 7-10 days. But I wanted to mix it up a bit this year…
It started as all of my travels do, with a housesit. I saw a cat sit in Dublin for 10 days. Easy! Applied, got it, and started looking for other sits to work around it. I landed one on the French Riviera, near Nice, for 4 days with a ferret. Next up, two weeks in Switzerland with a cat. Then, the ICEing on the cake, a two week sit in Reykjavik, Iceland with a cat (sort of- there’s someone else here to take care of it if I want to leave and explore for a couple of days). I will say this- NONE of these were places I was thinking, “Oh! I want to go there this summer!”. A sit pops up in a place I’ve never been, I apply, if I get it, I’m there. 🙂
After I had these 4 sits in place, I started working out my schedule around them. After Iceland, I decided to head to Scotland for a couple of weeks to research and film for a Scottish Mythistory class I want to do. Then I’d go to Dublin, do my sit, head to Cork for a few days after that to explore. Then, back to Dublin to fly to Nice for my sit on the French Riviera. Then off to meet Brian in Malta for a few days of exploring. We’d then fly to Rome (cheaper return flight for him, even though I was there last summer), explore for a couple of days. He’d head home, I’d fly to somewhere to be determined for 10 or so days (I was hoping I could find a sit to fit those dates), then I’d be off to Switzerland for my housesit. From there, I’d fly to Spain to visit a friend for a few days and then fly home. I had everywhere set and booked except for those 10 days after Rome. Then the Dublin lady cancelled the sit. GRRRRRRRR! It happens, gotta roll with it. I already had flights in and out of Dublin, so I just extended my trip to include some time in Belfast and see more of the country and sought out super cheap AirBNBs. And then I finally figured out what to do with those spare 10 days- I’ll do a solo driving tour of Romania! Whew! This will be a summer to remember (and with my crappy memory, a summer to blog as well!!). And packing was a CHALLENGE with all of these varied climates (ski pants to sun dresses!), 2.5 months, budget airlines with serious baggage restrictions, and my obsession with only using carry on…I’m working on a post just about the packing adventure!
Flight to Iceland was on WOW Airlines. CHEAP from LAX. Like $200, plus $50 because I want to carry my luggage on rather than check it. WOW is a bare bones budget airline. They don’t even give you water. No in flight entertainment. You get a seat, a seat belt, a barf bag, and restroom access (which I was happy to see didn’t have a coin slot!). Leg room was really good- better than most flights I’ve been on lately. I was THRILLED when no one sat in my row! The 9 hour flight left at 7pm. I took my ZZZZ quils, and <del>slept</del> changed positions every 20 minutes while dozing. I am convinced that the management at WOW went to whoever made the plane and said, “We’ll pay extra for you to put torture devices in any area that might possibly allow a passenger to get comfortable while sleeping.” Seriously, no matter what position I was in, some hard piece of plastic or metal was jabbing me. I’ll shut up with my complaining now.
Woke up to an announcement that we would be landing in 30 minutes, almost an hour ahead of schedule. I looked outside to see ocean and clouds. A very cold ocean. My least favorite type of ocean. See, I don’t do cold. Cold to me is anything below 70 F. Iceland highs would be in the high 40s, low 50s. Iceland, indeed. A few moments later, I saw land. Wow.
We got off the plane and boarded buses to go to the terminal. It was chilly, gray, and drizzly out, but I was dressed appropriately in thermal layer shirts, a big puffy jacket, and ski pants (yes, i wore ski pants on the plane! Don’t judge! I am all about comfort over fashion!). Easy breezy through customs, they didn’t even look at me. Just stamped and sent me on my way. Found the Grey Line Tour people, walked outside and boarded the bus. I swear to god that the guy who took my ticket is a direct descendant of Erik the Red. This guy looked exactly how you would expect a Viking to look! Except he was in a raincoat and waterproof pants. 😉 I was excited to see the scenery for the next 45 minutes, except I promptly fell asleep and didn’t wake up until we got to Reykjavik and I had to change buses! There were only a few people in the minivan with me, and they all got off first. It was just me and the driver for the last few minutes. He’s from London, been here 40 years, his wife is Icelandic. He said I only need to know 2 things about Iceland: It’s always raining and it’s expensive!! LOL I don’t think the Iceland Tourism Board will be hiring him anytime soon, but he was lovely to talk to and we had a few laughs!
He dropped me off in the aforementioned rain. I had to walk about 10 minutes to my housesit. No problem with Google Maps (which is usually trying to kill me, but somehow managed to take me directly to my destination this time- I think it’s hoping I’ll let down my guard so it can ambush me on car rental day…). The house is just LOVELY!! Simple, clean, cute, with a very friendly cat. I quickly unpacked and got ready to go get groceries. I was STARVING. And I had to prepare myself- I had heard horror stories about just how expensive Iceland is. Like mortgage your house to eat a hamburger in a restaurant expensive. So 99.9% of all of my meals will be homemade, plus I brought along 3 lbs of pepperoni sticks just in case! I walked to Bonus, which is the discount grocery store of Iceland and is about half a mile from here or less. It was still drizzly, but with all of my layers I was warm. I’m in the Old West Side part of town- the very touristy spot. You know it’s touristy when you turn the corner and see Hard Rock Cafe. 😉 The best part is that I’m literally within walking distance of practically everything I want to see in Reykjavik! Easily found the store and started shopping. The store was small (by US standards), but the selection was good. Most things were in Icelandic and I just had to go by the pictures, but that was easy enough. The prices for things like bread and peanut butter and jam and crackers and pasta and such weren’t really all that bad! Very comparable to LA prices. But the meat. Good lord, if I lived here I’d be a vegetarian!! It is SOOOOOOOO expensive! Like a normal size pack of bacon, about a pound of it, was $20!!! Um, no thanks! Same with small packs of chicken breasts and such. Even frozen fish sticks were like $14 for a medium sized bag. I did break down and buy a very small (less than 8oz I’d say) pack of chicken lunch meat for $4. Ouch. So here’s my haul:
2 Salami Frozen Pizzas
1 Big Bag of Penne Pasta (several meals)
1 2-pack Frozen Garlic Baguette
1 Peanut Butter
1 Jam
1 Big loaf of Bread
1 Big bag of frozen veggies
1 Very small Chicken (I think) lunch meat pack
3 cans of tuna (pricey at over $2 a can, but a little bigger than normal cans and good protein)
1 tub of mayonaisse
1 jar of pasta sauce
3 packs of Ramen noodles
2 packs of flavored crackers
1 pack of butter (at least I think it’s butter- it’s all in Icelandic, but the package looks like a butter package…)
1 2-pack of toothpaste (it was cheaper than buying just one tube, go figure)
1 5 pack of chocolate/granola/fruit/nut bars
1 pack of those tasty milk chocolate biscuits (cookies) I always get in Europe
1 3 pack of Cup a Soup
Grand total? 5,685 ISK = $54 US. Honestly, no where near as bad as I was expecting, and this should last me for about a week. Knowing that a fast food hamburger at McDonald’s here is like $15, I’d say I scored.
Came back, made a sandwich, and watched some YouTube while waiting for Brian to video chat. The 13 minute You Tube video wasn’t even over before I fell asleep- for like 4 hours!!!! And I didn’t even move once! I woke up to about a zillion messages from Brian who was convinced I had frozen to death or something. Made myself a dinner of Ramen with some of my frozen veggies in it (hey, I gotta get some kind of nutrition out of that junk!). Sat down to plot out my adventures for tomorrow and blog. I am so far pleasantly surprised that Iceland isn’t as cold as I thought it was (because I actually prepared for Arctic Tundra Death) and food isn’t going to max out my credit cards. 🙂 It’s now 10:30pm. This is the view from my room right now. Yep, sun is still out. Sunset is at 11:15pm and sunrise is at…get this…3:30am!!! Yep, only 4 hours of darkness this time of year. Glad I brought my sleep mask.
Slept until 6:30am, which was about 6 straight hours. You’d think that that, combined with the “sleep” I got on the plane, plus the 4 hour nap I had taken when I arrived would be plenty of sleep for 3 people! Apparently not, because I ate some breakfast, video chatted with Brian, and fell promptly back asleep about 7:30 and woke up to my alarm at 9:30. Why an alarm? Because I had an adventure to attend to at 10!
One of the best ways to get orientated when you land in a new city is to seek out the “free” walking tours. Pretty much every city has them, some have multiple organizations that do it. Now, let me start by clarifying “free”. It doesn’t mean you should be a total cheap ass and suck up the guide’s time and energy and pay nothing. It means you should donate whatever amount you think the tour is worth at the end. Tours are generally about 1.5-2 hours long, and depending on how many stops we make (more stops = more information), the personality of the guide, how much I learned, and the size of the group, I pay anywhere from $10-$20. There were two free walking tours in Reykjavik that I found, and I decided to go with City Walk Reykjavik, mainly because I like the idea of starting at 10am AND they offered the ability to pay online with a credit card. I hate exchanging currency and try to avoid it at all costs! FYI, if you want to do this tour, you MUST book in advance.
The group was about 25 people, which was quite large. People from all over the world, which was cool. We started at a little park called Austurvöllur that is just a couple of blocks from my housesit in front of a statue of this dude, Jón Sigurðsson. Don’t ask me to pronounce any of these names or places. Like the guide said- just try to get the first syllable right and mumble the rest….
I learned that Iceland used to be a colony of Denmark, and that the Danes weren’t very nice to the Icelanders… they wouldn’t allow them to have their own businesses or anything. Denmark had a complete monopoly on the island. Well, it was good old Jón Sigurðsson, who was a native Icelander living in Denmark, who plead the cause of independence for his people in the mid-1800s. However, Iceland didn’t receive independence until 1944 (spoiler alert: Denmark was kinda getting crushed by WW2, so Iceland said, “Yo, Denmark, we’re going to be independent now. Toodles, and good luck with that Nazi thing.” Denmark wasn’t really in a position to argue…). But because Jón had fought the good fight and kinda sparked the whole idea, he is known as their father of independence.
Directly across the street from Jón’s statue is the parliament building. It was built in 1881 out of a type of volcanic rock (I forgot the name), the only natural building material on the island! It isn’t very big, and here’s the crazy thing- it took 1/3 of the entire budget of Iceland to build it!!! Iceland was a super poor country, being under the thumb of Denmark… That crown on top of the building represents Christian IX, king of Denmark at the time. And over each of the four sets of windows, there is an animal. A dragon, an eagle, a bull, and a giant. Each are the spirits that watch over the 4 regions of Iceland. Now, without getting too much into politics, when Icelanders get pissed off at their government, they literally come to this park across from Parliament with pots, pans, and spoons- banging them to make noise that they are unhappy!! This isn’t some protest from generations ago- it still happens today! I couldn’t help but envision millions of Americans on the White House lawn with pots and pans and spoons…
A short walk took us to another statue, that of Skúli Magnússon. He was the first entrepreneur in Iceland. He started out as a young man working for a Danish owned (because there wasn’t any other kind) business. His boss would tell him to charge the poor people more, and Skúli hated this treatment of his people. He became a sheriff, and as sheriff he had connections to the King of Denmark. He was allowed to open a wool factory in this little area of homes that was barely even a settlement. People flocked (god, I crack me up!) to the wool factory for jobs and opportunity- things that were severely lacking in this Danish colony. Over time, the area around the factory grew and grew. That little settlement was Reykjavik, and Skúli is known as the father of Iceland’s capital. Interestingly enough, the little area where his statue is is on one of Iceland’s oldest graveyards. Construction on the hotel next door has to constantly be stopped because they keep finding bones. Remind me not to book lodging there if it ever opens…
Speaking of supernatural construction issues, next on the stop was something I was really excited to see! The Elf Stone! The story goes that the city was building a road in a suburb of Reykjavik. There was a large boulder, and every time a machine was in place to move it, the machine would break down. This happened to FIVE different machines!! So the construction company did the logical thing- called in a woman who can speak to elves. She struck up a conversation, and learned that the elves would be willing to move if they were given one week’s notice and moved to a more central location in the city (even elves hate commutes!). The construction company complied, and the stone was moved to its present location without further problems. Fun fact, polls show that over half of Icelanders believe in elves. 🙂 If you like this story, stay tuned- I have more elvish enlightenment coming next week!! #believer
Next we walked into the oldest part of Reykjavik, a neighborhood called Grjótaþorp. Here you can find the oldest homes in the city, back to the mid 1800s. Yes, by European standards those houses are infants, but Iceland is a different kind of Europe, having been colonized rather than its own country. This is the neighborhood where Skúli set up his wool factory, and people came to live. The houses are built out of timber that was imported from England and Norway (rumor has it that those pesky Vikings cut down every tree practically in Iceland to build ships!). The timber is covered with corrugated sheet metal (also imported) to protect the wood from the elements. The home owners are not allowed to change anything about the houses except for the paint- so many of them paint the homes in bright colors!
We now walked to a park surrounded by a lot of little restaurants. It’s called Ingólfstorg Square, and is a place where locals hang out. In the winter, they turn it into a skating rink! Notice those two pillars toward the back with steam rising out of them? Interesting story… The early history of Iceland (800’s forward) is written in sagas. Of course, these sagas weren’t written until the 1200’s, so take them for what you will. However, here’s what’s really cool. The modern Icelandic language is still EXTREMELY close to the ancient Norwegian language. So these sagas that were written over 800 years ago are still readable by people who speak Icelandic. How cool is that?! Anywho, let’s focus on that “ancient Norwegian” language for a second. Iceland was founded by Norwegians- which is where the language comes from. Quick detour- Icelandic children learn Icelandic, English (from age 6), Danish (from age 13), and then they get to pick another language (generally French, Spanish, or German). So pretty much every Icelander speaks perfect English (for those of you freaking about about all of these words I’m posting that look impossible! btw- they are!). Ok, back to Iceland being founded by ancient Norwegians. The sagas tell the story of Ingólfur Arnarson, a Norwegian nobleman. He got into a feud with the earl, ended up losing, and in the process lost all of his land. With nothing left for him in Norway, he packed up his wife, children, slaves, animals, and the two huge pillars that held up his house, and sailed west. He saw land, threw the two pillars into the water, and prayed to the gods to wash those pillars on the shore of the place where he should settle. The pillars landed ashore in 874 at a place where smoke was rising from the land (thanks to all of the geothermic activity). Ingólfur named this place Reykjavik, which means “steamy bay”. And that is how the first settlement of Iceland came to be! The two pillars with smoke are a symbol of the city, and can be found almost everywhere you look!
Look for the smoking pillars!
We then left the park and walked up a little hill with a statue on top. It’s the statue of Ingólfur Arnarson, who will forever overlook the city he named from his hilltop perch. And the symbolism is just amazing. It’s just so darn….VIKING! Love it!
It was really windy and cold on top of the hill (back when I thought that was windy….see Day 3….yowza). We walked back down into town, down some touristy streets, and toward the tourist information center where the tour ended. Here were some of the sights we saw along the way…. Very nice tour and highly recommended to get some of the backstory of Reykjavik and a feel for the layout of the city.
The harbor
So many different meanings to this one…
After the walk, I came home to get lunch, ate, and promptly took my 2nd nap of the day for 3 hours!! What in the hell is wrong with me? I couldn’t sleep to save my life in South Africa, now all of a sudden I’m a narcoleptic! Anyway, woke up and decided I had time for another adventure. Looked at my nifty little map I’ve created of all the places I want to go, and decided on the Settlement Museum- mainly because it was a) like a 2 minute walk away and b) reviews said it would take about an hour and I was kind short on time since I had already taken 2 naps and one tour today! Paid my $15.50 to get in, and I must say, that although it’s pretty small, this is a very well done, modern museum!
One thing that was really interesting was that the only land mammal in Iceland at the time of settlement in the 800’s was the artic fox. Settlers had to bring all of their animals with them to survive. There was a whole little exhibit room about the animals. Birds that were eaten included puffins and auks- which were large flightless birds. The last of them were killed in 1844. 🙁 Outside that room, there was a really cool area where kids could get hands on with Viking stuff!
The next room was the main attraction. In 2001, construction was started on a new building. As they were digging, they just so happened to have unearthed the oldest known human settlement in all of Iceland!! It’s dated to 871 +/- 2 years. And that was actually the first name of the museum! 871 +/- 2!! See, no one could agree on the EXACT date. Was it 871? Was it 870? Was it 872? Icelanders, not being one for controversy, decided to compromise (insert gasp with an American accent) and make everyone happy by including a range of dates. If this was the US, we would have 5 groups of people, all firmly convicted of their belief of the exact date. They would call each other names, start Twitter wars, refuse to even think about hearing any logic from the other side. There would be Viking deniers, and people screaming that Viking is a racist term- they are Norwegian. Sigh. We suck. Anyway, back to how things should work…the city stopped the construction, excavated the site, and preserved it by building a museum over it. The museum is underground, giving you full access to the preserved site. The site is right in the middle of the large room, and all around the edges are these really cool, interactive information boards. There are also a ton of artifacts that were found at the site. It was seriously very well done, easy to understand, and fun to explore. Three to five longhouses were found, and there is still excavation to be done. How do you say, “I would like to buy a shovel.” in Icelandic? 😉
Silver bracelet. So delicate and gorgeous, and in such great condition!
An axe head. WOW!
I am all about Viking keys. They are SO COOL!
Fish hooks
Look at the detail still on this! They think it’s a gaming piece.
Reconstruction of how it would have look back in the 870s.
Came back, made some dinner, did some work, and went to bed with the sun still shining at 11pm.
Day 3- This’ll be fast…
Woke up at 8:30!! Dang!! Even after two naps the day before! Made breakfast, and promptly took a 2 hour nap! What. The. Hell.???? Brian thinks it’s exhaustion from such an intense spring semester. Could be true. Summer semester starts next week. Ugh. It was windy outside. Like seriously tropical storm force winds. Internet said 33 mph winds, and that was steady, not even including the gusts that would shake this entire 3 story house. What a shame, because it was actually kinda sunny outside! But I know my constitution is not up for such conditions. So I stayed inside and worked all day instead of going to the museum I had planned. No worries, I’ll go tomorrow. It’s 7:30pm now and the wind is already dying down a bit. Supposed to be back to normal tomorrow.
So last night el suckoed. I decided to try a night without my zzzz quils. I tossed and turned and turned and tossed half the night. I got up at 1:30am and snapped this picture. This is smack dab in between what is supposed to be “sundown” at about 11:30pm and “sunrise” at about 3:30am. As you can see, there is no such thing as darkness this time of year. It’s weird. Like really weird. Thank Odin I brought my sleep mask, because there are no curtains in my room! Took my zzzz quils, and dozed off somewhere after 2:30am.
Didn’t wake up until 10am, and that’s because the kitty, Mani (pronounced M-ow-ni) started scratching at the door saying, “Hey, housesitter lady, you better get my food ready or I’m leaving you a craptastic review!”. Glad he woke me up, because I had adventures to attend to!! That is, if the weather was cooperative…Let me tell you something I’ve learned about Iceland weather in the past 4 days. What’s the forecast? ALL the weathers. You pick it, I’ve had it (except warm!). There’s a saying that Iceland is the place where the gods create the weather before they send it out all over the world. I’m sold on that belief system, because it’s the only thing that makes sense! I was beginning to think that I would only get warmish (c’mon, this is ICEland and I know “warm” isn’t really a thing!) sunny weather when unicorns danced through stars and rainbows (that’s the equivalent of “when pigs fly” in Iceland, at least in my mind). Well, well, well….what do we have here??
Yep! The day was GORGEOUS!!! Zero wind, blue skies, sunny, and warmish (low/mid 50’s)!! Ate my pb & j sandwich, layered up, packed my stuff in my daypack, and headed out to meet the free shuttle to the Perlan Museum. The free shuttle says it meets at Bus Stop 5 at the Harpa Center. I was standing at the bus stop. Thank Thor I turned around and saw the shuttle! If you’re coming here, the meeting spot isn’t at the actual bus stop. If you’re facing Harpa, it’s to the right, where the water starts. Quick ride to the museum. I was really looking forward to this, because I plan to create a brand new Earth Science class online in the fall- and the goal is to take full advantage of all of the major Earth Sciencey things Iceland has to offer, like volcanoes and glaciers and geysers and such! The Perlan exhibit called Wonders of Iceland had all of those things in one spot, so I was really excited….and man, it did NOT disappoint!
There were basically four parts to the museum:
–An exhibit on volcanoes and the tectonic timeline of Iceland
–Some animals of Iceland, including a recreated cliff where seabirds nest and a virtual aquarium
–An exhibit on glaciers, including a man made ice cave
–An observation deck
I started off in the volcano section. Oh my gosh!! It was SO. WELL. DONE!!! So much information, great images, and even a really cool movie that I recorded for class! I took pictures of literally every single piece of information there was- it was that good. Basically, the entire exhibit is on my camera! 😉 Seriously, it was the first time I got really excited about this new class, and I am so ready to dig in and teach this stuff. It’s fascinating!!! In an effort to not overwhelm you with the inner workings of plate tectonics, here I present just a few of the pictures I took of the general exhibition area.
Ok. I had to show you ONE sign! There are dozens more. Email me for copies. 😛
You sat on that glacial bench and an awesome movie about tectonics played- sound effects, shaking, the whole deal!
Just part of that cool timeline exhibit
The timeline kind of flowed into the animal section. There was an artic fox- the only indigenous land mammal of Iceland. There was a fossilized walrus skull. Walruses used to live in Iceland, but were hunted to extinction here by 930!! Crazy, isn’t it? And apparently a lot of places in Iceland are named for walrus, because the animal was so important. Practically every part of it was used. I guess not important enough to not hunt to extinction, though. :/ There was talk of the cod fishery, which we discuss in my Marine Zoology: Vertebrates class. Yet another species almost hunted to extinction, but we had sense enough to stop it slow it down. Then there was a huge replica of the Látrabjarg bird cliff, which is the largest sea bird cliff in Europe. Did you know that over 10 MILLION puffins come to Iceland every summer?! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll get to see some next week. The exhibit had these cool viewers that you could look through, zoom in on a bird, and it would show a realistic scene and give you information. So fun and innovative! The last section was a virtual aquarium, where you could sit on a bench and watch a movie of underwater life in Iceland. I had fun naming the phylums and classes in my head. 😛 #sciencegeek
I seriously can not tell you how impressed I was by these first two sections. But little did I know what was next… Guided tours of the ice cave were every half hour, although you could just go in by yourself if you wanted. They were handing out coats at the door. I really didn’t want to use one, because I was already looking like the little brother in A Christmas Story after his mom dresses him to go outside…in my SmartWool leggings underneath my water resistant outdoor pants and my two layers of thermal shirts underneath my puffy winter jacket. (Yes, this is what I was wearing for 50 degree sunny weather!!). The guide was nice enough, but I didn’t feel like she had a strong understanding of the glacial cave and its features. She was telling us about some animal that lives in the glacial moss that starts with a T and she can never remember the name but it’s one of the toughest animals on earth. Of course, I pipe up with “TARDIGRADE!”, and she says, “Yes, that’s it!”. #sciencegeekhermione Anyway, it was COLD in that cave!! -10 C, which is 14 F!! But I was like a kid in a candy store, trying to learn as much as I could! When the tour was over (it was 12 minutes long- it’s not a huge cave), I went back through by myself and shot video explaining everything. I was in there for probably 20 plus minutes and didn’t even feel cold. Until I was done and realized my fingers had kinda gone numb. 🙂 It was a FANTASTIC experience, and almost has me half persuaded to go into the real thing….there is a tour that leaves from Reykjavik…it’ll mean eating PB & J for the entire Scotland trip as well, though….hmmmmmm…. With no further ado, I present to you the pictures inside the ice cave!! It was really an amazing exhibit- I wish there had been more to explore!
Just one of the many ice tunnels! Some you had to stoop to walk through.
This is a glacial mouse. It’s not a mouse. It’s a rock covered in moss that looks like a mouse. And tardigrades live in it. 🙂
This was a simulation of a cravasse- a deep crack in a glacier that can be 100s of meters deep. The effect was with mirrors, and I didn’t even realize it until the 2nd time I went through!
This showed how the glaciers are layered with ice and ash. Scientists can date the layers because they know when the eruptions happened.
I exited out into the warmth of the museum, thinking my glacier adventure was over. Not by a longshot! There was an entire exhibit all about glaciers!! It took a while for my camera to defog itself, but once it did, I took so many pictures and videos. I swear, the people in there must have thought I was crazy. The exhibits told all about the different types of glaciers, organisms found in the glaciers (using these cool microscopes- I videoed all of them for the class, about 8 in total!), seriously anything you ever wanted to know about glaciers. Who knew they were so cool (pun SO intended!!)?? And to top it off, this HUGE interactive screen exhibit. There were three different topics about glaciers, then 3-4 sub topics for each of those- things like geology, people, organisms, etc… You stood on the footprints for each sub topic, pointed to the wall, and information would come up! I was in science geek heaven, and kids would have a BLAST with this thing! Of course, I videoed a lot of it. Again, so innovative, creative, educational, and FUN!! At the end, there was a wall of little plastic disks, where you could write stuff and hang it up. 🙂
That interactive wall.
These little simulation microscopes were so cool! You turned the knob and information and pictures appeared.
I had spent over 2.5 hours in this museum so far, and loved every second of it! Now it was time for the last part, the observation deck. And man, were the views amazing….
It was time to catch the shuttle back. But damn, it was SO nice out!! I google mapped it, and it was only 2 miles back to the house. Why not! I actually took off my puffy coat, stuffed it in my backpack, and headed off into the unknown parts of Reykjavik! There was a beautiful little hiking trail from the museum down to the main highway.
Tell me an elf doesn’t live in there, and I’ll call you a damned liar!
The hiking trail soon met with the main highway, and I was really concerned about there being a safe place to walk (I’m looking at YOU with a side eye, Malaysia!!!). No need for concern! This is Iceland!! There was a perfectly lovely walking/bike path literally the entire way from the hiking trail to the tourist center by my house!
What? You don’t have to play frogger to cross the freeway in Iceland??
I spent a lot of time watching these birds hover over the water, dive in, and come back out with something to eat. They were beautiful!
This picture, with these red tulips, kinda captures the day. 🙂
I then took a quick detour. Someone on the Iceland Facebook Group told me that Dr. Pepper could be found at a store just a block or so from my house! I headed over there. No Dr. Pepper, but I did find this little guy! Oh! And remember the story of the two pillars from Day 2? Here are some. 🙂
Oh my Meili, I am in full travel mode, now! I admit, it’s been a weird past few days. The sleep thing, some anxiousness about the intensity and logistics of the next 2.5 months, and probably the gray skies (seasonal affective disorder…it’s a real thing, people) and 24 hour sunlight. But all that changed today! Adventurous solo traveler (that’s ME!) is back and ready to explore, discover, and learn! And speaking of adventurous….you’re going to fall over D. E. A. D. DEAD when you see where I’m going tomorrow!!!!
I slept from 11:30 to 6:30! Yes, with the help of zzz quils, but at least since I had no nap yesterday, I feel like I’m finally getting on track with sleep. What’s on the schedule for today? The usual. Working tirelessly for all of these students of mine, striving to spark creativity, passion, and knowledge in today’s youth, research, research, and more research… Yep. Just another day at the office. Except that today, my office is INSIDE OF THE MAGMA CHAMBER OF A FREAKING VOLCANO!!!!!!! People, my job does not suck. 🙂
So Mary, you’re probably saying to yourself, how in the world are you going into a magma chamber of a volcano? Everyone knows that magma chambers either solidify rock solid or collapse into themselves after an eruption (duh, right?!). Well yes, well educated reader, you are correct about that! However, as I always tell my students, there is ALWAYS an exception in science! And the Þríhnúkagígur volcano (pronounced Thrihnukagigur…yeah, that doesn’t help me either) is the exception. It is one of the very few volcanoes in the entire world where the eruption didn’t either fill or destroy the magma chamber. The magma just kind of ran back down into the earth they think- like pulling the plug on the end of a pipe. And it left a glorious, intact magma chamber in place. And not only is Thrihnukagigur one of the few volcanoes in the world where this has happened, it is the ONLY one in the world that you can go into!! Hell yeahz! I’m all about doing something super unique! Which is why I coughed up $100 more than I paid for my plane ticket from Los Angeles to Reykjavik for this tour… That’s ok. I’m living fine on PB & J and ramen. Seriously, my cupboard looks like I’m 19 again and in college! 🙂 Dear waistline: Follow suit.
Trying to figure out how to dress for this thing was a bit challenging. Did I want to go with my heavy winter clothes and break out the ski pants? It was cold outside (it didn’t get over 45ish today). On the other hand, we did have to hike 2 miles to the volcano and 2 miles back, and I didn’t want to be overheated…. decisions, decisions. I finally decided to go lighter- my wool tights under my water resistant hiking pants, knee high thermal ski socks, two layers of thermal shirts, and my puffy jacket (yes, that’s light. don’t judge). I stuffed my raincoat in my daypack as well, because like I said yesterday, Iceland has ALL the weathers, and you never really know when or which one is going to pop up! This combination turned out to be perfect, and luckily I never needed the raincoat.
I researched several companies that offer this tour. It’s all the same exact thing, so I went with the cheapest. That was Grey Line, using my SEE5 code for a 5% discount. Same company I’m using for my airport transfers. They picked me up promptly at 9:30 and we went to their main terminal, where I got on a bus that was not subtle about where we were going! I was excited- this was going to be my first time out of the city and into the natural wonders of Iceland!! It was cloudy, grey, and cold out, but I enjoyed seeing the snowpack on the Blue Mountains in the distance get closer and closer.
Soon we were at a ski resort, where we were dropped off. We went inside the ski lodge for a bit, then our group of about 18 people headed off down the trail with our guide for the day- Stainay. I know I just butchered however that is spelled in Icelandic, but she told us it’s like “Stain” on your shirt and the letter a. 🙂 I wish everyone would break down Icelandic like that! It was cold, I ain’t gonna lie, and I was seriously starting to regret my decision to not put on the ski pants.
Along the way, Stainay gave us information about the volcano, all of which I videoed for class! She said that she would have at least put on some mascara if she knew I was coming! 🙂 It was really interesting that the volcano wasn’t even discovered until 1974. The guy who found it was lowered down 120 m (400 feet) on a rope with a flashlight. He stated there was nothing there but a big ugly black hole- basically because the immense darkness just swallowed all of the light in his sad little 1974 flashlight. In the 1990s, the rescue teams of Iceland used it to practice rappelling, because there’s no wind inside. They explored a bit and saw that there were some colors and formations inside. Eh. National Geographic contacted these guys when they were doing a documentary on volcanoes in 2010 (only 8 years ago!!). They used window washing lifts to lower all of their gear inside, and this is the first time the magma chamber was properly lit up. They were amazed at what they saw! Tours only started in 2012.
The trail was easy. And I’m not saying that as some fit Angeleno…let’s just say that on a couch potato scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “there’s somewhere to exist other than the couch?”, I’m a 4.5. Seriously. The only time I’m active is when I’m traveling, and the last time I did that was at the end of March. Otherwise, I’m either creating a lesson plan or grading on the couch- upwards of 10 hours a day. Oh, and I have a rebellious knee that goes rogue every once in a while. I say all of that to say this- if you think you aren’t fit enough for this hike, you’re probably wrong. It’s flat 95% of the way, with only 2 little climbs at the end- one to the base camp and one to the volcano. If I can do it with zero problem, chances are you can too. At one point, we crossed a metal bridge over a pretty deep gorge, several meters deep. This was a rift where the Eurasian and North American plates are pulling apart!! They’re spreading at a rate of about 2.5cm (1 inch) per year. Before we crossed the bridge, we were on the Eurasian plate. After the bridge, the North American plate. SO COOL! I plan on seeing this phenomenon in another spot next week as well. Fascinating stuff! And then, in the distance, the misty clouds cleared just enough for us to see the volcano! It’s actually a series of 3 volcanoes. The one we were going in is on the far right. It’s the youngest, having erupted 4,500 years ago. The middle peak formed about 5,000 years ago. And those two are infants compared to the one on the left! That one formed during the last throws of the Ice Age, about 50,000 years ago! When it erupted, it was covered by several hundred meters of ice. Wow. Soon the trail started its first climb- toward base camp.
It was a short climb (which definitely warmed me up!) to the cozy little camp. It was basically 3 rooms- we entered in through a gear room with helmets and harnesses, then went to sit in another room where there was hot coffee, tea, and water. Here we were split into 3 groups because only about 7 people can go on the lift at once. I was in group three. We kind of just sat there waiting for our turn, which finally came in about 30 minutes or so. I recommend trying to get in the first groups, because then you have longer to spend at base camp when you get back! You’ll see why later. 🙂 We had to put on a harness, which I ain’t gonna lie, freaked me out. If you’ve read my blog before, you know I am TERRIFIED of heights. What in the hell did I need a harness for? I was too scared to ask, because if they had said something like, “You have to rappel 10 m down to the lift.” or something, I would have just wasted $350. I kept my mouth shut and put on my harness. Then they gave us super cool bandannas (that we got to keep!) that we were to put on under our helmets. All geared up, we were ready for the final climb to the crater of Thri*mumble mumble mumble*!!
A very short, steep climb brought us to the crater, where a bridge (god dammit, why is there ALWAYS a sketch ass bridge high above some deadly drop that I have to traverse on EVERY freaking vacation!!!!!! I’m going to have a word with my travel agent…) led out over the nothingness below. Soon, the lift arrived! And much to my relief, I learned what the harnesses were for. We were clipped in to cross the bridge, and then clipped on to the lift. No diaper required. 🙂
I videoed the entire 6 minute ride down. I was so captivated by what I was seeing, I didn’t even consider the fact that I was dangling in a metal death trap 400 feet above the unforgiving floor of a 4,500 year old volcano! The colors! The formations! It was like a cave on crack! Seriously, they could have lowered me half way to China and I wouldn’t have been bored for one second. Plus, it would have been warmer! It’s always about 5 C (41 F) in the chamber. Brrrr. But I survived -10 C yesterday for 20+ minutes in the same clothes, so I wasn’t too concerned. Plus, just like yesterday, when I got to the bottom I was so excited about everything around me I forgot about being cold. The floor of the chamber measures about 50×70 m (160×220 ft). Large lights are strategically placed, lighting up the gorgeous formations. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. I took about 80… It’s hard to understand the scale with nothing to compare it to. Let’s just say “Huge” and leave it at that. Water was falling from above, like thousands of constantly streaming diamonds. The water takes 6 months to filter through the rock- so we were seeing water from Christmas. 🙂 It then filters through the floor of the cave to a huge underground lake, which supplies much of Reykjavik’s drinking water. The colors in this place were unbelievable. Reds for oxidized iron, yellows for sulfur, and greens for copper. Like an underground rainbow of rock.
The opening to the crater is up there somewhere.
The lift coming down
All too soon it was time to go back up. We got to spend about 25 minutes on the floor of the cave. This time, I took pictures as we ascended… There was white stuff covering the rock in patches in certain places. Stainay said this was bacteria. Apparently there are about 20 species of bacteria that live in the chamber, 5 of which have only been found in this one volcano!! No insects or other critters live in the chamber. In what seemed like seconds, we were back to the top, and our exploration of Thri *mumble* *mumble* *mumble* was over. 🙁
White bacteria
We had only been down there for a total of about 40 minutes, but in true Iceland form, the weather had changed! Not to warm, but to clear! The clouds had left, and we had a view of Reykjavik! When we came up, we couldn’t even see the other two volcanoes that are right next to this one! We took some pictures and descended to base camp, where we were met with a DELICIOUS bowl of hot lamb (or veggie if you’re so inclined) soup!! YES!! A meal that did not consist of peanut or ramen and had MEAT in it! Real meat! And this is why I say be in one of the first groups- because we kinda got rushed out of there and I didn’t finish my soup. 🙁 We headed back on the trail toward the ski lodge. With the clouds gone, the views were just out of this world- which is exactly what the lava field we were crossing felt like. This tour was amazing. Like seriously, amazing. It is so worth the money if you are a science geek or adventure geek (I’m both!). Because seriously, who do you know that can say they’ve been inside of the magma chamber of a volcano?? Not counting me. 🙂 Do it. It’s a once in a lifetime thing. And who knows, some earthquake could cave it in at some point or it could become active again and it’ll be gone…
Reykjavik
Reykjavik zoomed in
Base camp
Lamb soup and a little light reading!
Got back to the house and was beat. I managed to whip myself up a brand new dinner concoction though!! Penne pasta with butter and cup o’ soup mix with tuna. 4 whole ingredients!! That’s a record so far! And it was reaaaaaaallly good. Not lamb soup good, but fancy tuna helper good. 🙂 And I need that nutrition…because tomorrow, the teacher goes to school….
There are two things I only do when I travel: exercise (walk) and take medications. Sleep medications, specifically. I used to use Nyquil, but for this trip I learned that they also make a sleep aid that doesn’t have all of the cold meds in it called zzzz quil. That’s been my go to for the past 5 days. It doesn’t make me as groggy in the mornings as Nyquil. Last night, I hoped that the hike from yesterday would have sufficiently worn me out to the point that zzzz quils would be unnecessary (fun fact: I have this completely irrational fear of becoming addicted to medication). I mean, I could easily have dozed off on the bus ride back from the volcano and had to force myself to stay awake. Well, here it was, 11:30, and I was still up. Since I didn’t have anything planned for early, I decided to ditch the meds and try to sleep on my own. Sleep mask firmly in place, I laid down in the gloomy daylight (cloudy all day yesterday) at almost midnight. One thing I’ve learned, even when I’m jacked up on the zzzz quil, is that sleep in Iceland is mind over matter. If you wake up and your sleep mask has moved and is allowing light in, you seriously have to convince yourself it’s 2am. I don’t care what time it really is, it’s 2am. Because 2am is the time when all middle aged teachers with a loving boyfriend at home should be soundly asleep. I woke up probably half a dozen times, quickly adjusted the mask, reminded myself that it was 2am and no I did NOT need to look at my phone to confirm (that would be the end of any sleep), and dozed back off. I managed to do this until 5:15am. Which by that time I was firmly convinced had to be at least 8am and time to start work. Yeah, not so much. But I am pretty pleased that my almost 5 hours of sleep was drug free! That said, I worked until 9, then my brain started fogging up, so I napped until 11. Well, 5 + 2= 7 which is pretty close to the 8 hours I require, so I’ll call it even!
The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent working. Then, it was time to head out on the day’s adventure! Basically, I was going from teaching school all day (well, grading projects), to being the student. Because today is the day I attend ELF SCHOOL!! Again, like yesterday’s trip inside the volcano, this isn’t for my personal entertainment. No, no, no! This is research for classes I am going to teach- mythology and folklore (I’ll be researching in Scotland, Ireland, and Romania as well this summer- yeah I know….).
It was a 2.5 mile walk to Elf School. I am FAR to cheap to take the bus. It’s like almost $5 one way!!! I’ll hoof it, thank you very much. But one stop I had to make before I went was to the bank to change money. This is something I hate, hate, hate doing, and try to avoid whenever possible. I prefer credit card, because I don’t have the energy to figure out what all those damn coins and bills are. I’m old and grouchy. Hell, I never even use cash at home. I hate it. I lose it. Plus, I then end up with this mountain of random currencies from all over the world stuffed into various drawers and bins at home. Hate it. But the banks here are closed on the weekends and I’m renting a car Sunday. Just in case I was in the middle of no where and wanted a snack and they didn’t take credit cards, I figured I better change $100. Of course, that might get me a pack of gum, a water, and some chips. 😕 Landsbankinn bank was just a couple minutes from the house, and on the route to Elf School, so off I went. Here’s how it worked…you go in and take a number. Watch the big screen for your number to pop up, and see which teller number desk you are supposed to go to. Seriously, that simple. No guns, no hermetically sealed double doors, no “one person at a time in the bank” rule. Civilized banking, at your service! She did try to give me two huge bills and a bunch of change, but I asked for smaller ones for the bus. Just in case I decided I didn’t want to walk back- I know the buses require exact change (and a kidney). When I got back home after the day and looked at the money, I literally squealed with delight! MARINE LIFE!!! Also, I did the exchange rate online. I got back $96 for my $100, which is about $40 more than what I got back from a $100 in Rome (side eye to Italy).
Bank only took about 10 minutes, and I had allotted 30 to be safe. Started the walk toward Elf School, and had a little extra time to explore anything that caught my eye. I walked by a convenience store to look for Dr. Pepper. And elves be praised!! Look what I found! Almost $3 a can, though. YEE-OUCH!! I can almost get a case for that back home!! I did pay $2 a can in Belize, but that was black market Dr. Pepper! Plus, I could eat a meal like a normal person for about $3-$4!! I passed on the Dr. Pepper, even though I was intrigued by that Dr. Pepper Zero, which must be like my beloved Diet Dr. Pepper. I’ll probably cave in tomorrow and get some. I just didn’t want to haul it in my back pack 5 miles roundtrip.
Then I saw a sign for a tattoo convention. I had an INGENIOUS idea for a traveling tattoo sleeve right before I left. I’m not brave enough, but Brian has one extra bare arm!! I told him about it and he got that look on his face…. Had he been here, we would so be there! And no, I’m not telling you my idea until we implement it! Cause we’re selfish like that! Here are a couple of other random things I saw along the walk…
Um, ok.
I’m convinced that that black glove is the one I lost in Paris!!
Want a decent meal? Take out a home equity loan. $60 for 3 courses. This isn’t a fancy restaurant. Just a regular one
I looked at the GPS and was still way ahead of schedule. Saw a Kronon on the side of the road, so decided to stop in. This is another grocery store chain. I must say, it is MUCH nicer than the Bonus by me, with a much better selection. Prices honestly didn’t look too much more than what I spent at Bonus. If it wasn’t so far from me, I’d rather shop there. I wasn’t comfortable being “that tourist” on day one in the grocery store, but I had nothing to lose at this point (hell, it’s day 6!), so snapped some pics of random things so you can see the outrageous prices.
$6 dollars for a bag with about 5 avocados- each one about the size of a toddler’s fist. Like all of those put together would make one of our big Haas avocados at home. $6!!
Want one of those pre-roasted chickens to take home? That’ll be almost $14!!
$22 for a pre packaged grocery store kit of sushi. HOLY CRAP!
Kept walking. Definitely wasn’t in the touristy area any more. This was “local” Iceland. Businesses and such that tourists wouldn’t be interested in. Home decor, electronics, etc… Very “Main Street USA” before the big box stores came along- except more upscale looking. I soon arrived at my destination….ELF SCHOOL!!
I walked in and headed upstairs. The door was locked, and there was a couple sitting outside. I started talking to them. Now, if you know ANYTHING about me as a traveler, when I see or hear an American, I run the other direction. Literally. If I can’t run, I stare at the ground, stare at my phone, try to blend into the background and not make contact. But something about them was a really cool vibe. I have traveled to 4 continents in the past few years. I have run into a lot of Americans. These are the only ones I actually felt drawn to converse with. It’s a big deal for me, people. (Yes, I’m Ameriophobic, so sue me.). Anyway, we started talking about where we were from (they’re from Minnesota), what we were doing in Iceland, what we were doing in Elf School…I told them about the Elf Stone I saw on Day 2. A father and daughter from New Jersey showed up, and a couple from Quebec. Then, we were ready to begin. We met Magnus, the headmaster of Elf School. (Side note: How cool is it that he’s been married to his husband for 30 years and adopted two little girls from Africa!!) We paid ($65 each) and he gave us a nice sized book about elves! I sat next to the lady from Minnesota (Connie). I took a couple of pics of our classroom, which was more of a study room in their home. I didn’t feel comfortable filming or taking pictures during class.
Let me begin with this. Elf School is not for everyone. Neither is medical school, law school, or high school (god, I hated high school!!). If you’re going there with the idea that this is some slick tourist operation and there’s some high tech, well rehearsed and regurgitated lecture about elves, you will be sadly disappointed. If you want to sit in a room with a man whose passion in life is all of the unseen things, a man who is kind of like an eccentric grandfather who will tell you rambling stories about elves in between going off on decidedly non-elf tangents, and quite possibly tease you often (the lady from Quebec was on the receiving end of that, thank goodness!), then you will be quite pleased. I was quite pleased. 🙂 He started by telling us how humans with psychic abilities are the only ones who can see the elves and hidden people. Then he started talking about how psychic ability is inherited. It must have been all over my face (or he’s psychic! Except he’s never seen an elf…), because he looked right at me and said, “Are you psychic?”. I said yes, and told him the story about how I was the black sheep (had to explain that analogy!) in my family for a lot of reasons, but my ability to see and feel and know things others couldn’t was one reason. And how when I learned I was adopted at age 36 and met my birthmother and half sister, I learned that it ran in the family. 🙂 Not something I talk about very much, especially because I have so much conflict with it because of this darn scientific, logical brain of mine, but I felt comfortable enough sharing there. Because if you can’t talk about your weird 6th sense in Elf School, where can you discuss it?!
Over the next hour or so, Magnus told us various stories of encounters people have had with elves and hidden people. You’re probably thinking, what’s the difference. Well, there are about 14 known types of elves. Anywhere from a couple of inches tall, to almost a meter tall. And elves are kinda what you think- flower elves, tree elves, nature elves, house elves (shout out, Dobby!), etc… The hidden people though are unique to Iceland. These are human looking, just like you and me. You’d never know the difference if you saw one walking down the street. But for the most part, they are hidden unless you have the ability to see them. They live in rocks and cliffs and things. The story goes that Adam and Eve had a lot of children. God came to visit one day, and said he wanted to meet all of them. Eve brought out some of them, but there were others that she hadn’t washed yet, and she was embarrassed for God to see them. Of course God, being God, knew there were more children that had been hidden from him. And he said that from then on those children would be hidden from all mankind. Hence, the hidden people. Fun fact, I believe more in hidden people than I do in God… Like seriously. Weird, huh?
After a few stories (and several tangents and teasings of the poor woman from Quebec- but it was all in fun and harmless…he’s not mean), it was break time. Magnus’ husband brought us WONDERFUL bread, butter, and Icelandic pancakes, that were made from a recipe given to someone by an elf!! 🙂 The pancakes are more like crepes, and filled with whipped cream and some kind of berries. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. There was tea or coffee as well. During the break, Connie turned to me and said I didn’t have to be afraid of dead people. Come to find out, she’s a medium and paranormal investigator!! I’ve never met such a person, and I immediately understood why I felt comfortable with them from the very beginning.
More stories, and being the Hermione I am, I asked a lot of serious questions (of which there really were no answers, thus is the nature of this stuff). After about 3.5 hours it was time to say goodbye. Seriously, I could have stayed another few hours. I really wanted to talk more about various hypotheses and explanations and such. He did say I asked clever questions. 🙂 We got our Elf School diplomas and took a group photo. I’m hoping he’ll send me a copy of that.
After class, I offered to take Connie and her husband to see the Elf Stone by my house….my fee would be one car ride to said Elf Stone! They agreed, and we all got in the car and headed downtown. As we walked to the stone, I told them a little history of the neighborhood that I had learned (and felt like a proper tour guide with all my names and dates and such!), then showed them the stone. We exchanged information, hugged, parted ways, and I was happy to have made a new friend. 🙂 It was a short 2-3 minute walk to the house. Fed the cat, ate a sandwich, worked, blogged, did some research on my road trips that will start in a couple of days, and stared at the light pouring into my room at 10pm, 11pm, 12am, 1am…..fine zzzz quils. You win. But maybe I better research zzzz quil rehab centers in Los Angeles before I doze off! 🤔
Oh, my lovely little zzzz pills. Why do I fear you so?? When all you want to do is love me. And let me sleep until 10:30am!!!!! Yep, that’s right. I went to sleep around 1:30, so that’s a full 9 hours of sleep!! Woo-hoo!! Got up, made some breakfast (ramen with some frozen veggies in it- gotta ward off the scurvy), and packed up for my day out.
Today I was going to wander down to the harbor for the first time. It’s a little less than a mile from the house, so a nice walk. Cloudy and cold, but weather wasn’t calling for rain, so I decided to just layer up and leave the raincoat. Nice little walk on streets I haven’t been on before, and quickly reached the harbor. You think I’m crazy for eating PB & J and ramen every day? That I’m shitting you about the food prices here? Here’s another example…just a burger, fries and soda- almost $19!!!
This is literally 1/3 of the budget I’ve spent on food in one WEEK here by buying groceries and being frugal.
The day was gray, but the boats were lovely!! I saw a little dock that had some shallow areas on the side of it. Marine Biology Girl (yes, that’s my superhero name) couldn’t resist sneaking down there for a peek! Not a single animal to be seen. 🙁 But lots of kelp. I couldn’t help to think about how damn cold that water must be. God. Worst nightmare- being in cold water. I won’t even get in the hot water pools around here because at some point I have to get out and the air will hit my skin!! It’s a major faux pas, because Icelanders are ALL ABOUT their thermal pools. Well, until they scoot this island down closer to the equator, there’s one less tourist they have to worry about crowding them for space!
Free things in Iceland are tough to find. Festival of the Sea was FREE!! The 2nd Sunday of June is Fisherman’s Day, and the Saturday before is usually a day of celebration as well (as today was). It’s a celebration of the sea- including fisherman, vessels, fish, even mermaids (although I didn’t see any, much to my chagrin). They had several boats open for you to tour for FREE! I’m not much of a boat person, so I chose one of them- the Coast Guard Ship Óðinn. It was put into service in 1960 and decommissioned in 2006. It’s still operable, but now serves as a part of the Maritime Museum. It was involved mainly in patrol and rescue, but also in the Cod Wars! You could explore the entire thing- except for the narrow, steep sketch ass stairs, it was really interesting!
The next thing I saw, I would have gladly paid for!! An exhibition of frozen fish!! (For those of you who don’t know, I have a degree in Marine Biology, teach Marine Biology and Marine Zoology, and am a self proclaimed fish freak!!). I named it “Bizarro World Alien Fish of Iceland”. Catchy, I think. Considering trademarking it… People, there were fish in these tubs that you couldn’t even imagine dreaming up, no matter what kind of drugs you were on! Just insane!! Damn, someone really needs to put an aquarium in this harbor… And without further ado, I present to you, Bizarro World Alien Fish of Iceland!!
A type of angler
Sharks
OMG!! They had THREE different types of chimera- the most primitive of the jawed fish!! I almost died of excitement!! #fishgeek
Squid, sea stars, and super cool basket stars
This is the fugly fish.
An AMAZING angler
Hello, lamprey, you cute little parasitic primitive jawless fish you…. open up and say ahhhhh!!
They were having a strongman contest. Apparently strongwomen were allowed as well! Damn, girl! I can barely lift my 10kg carry on over my head to put it in the overhead compartment! 😛 #noodlearms
There was a whole area for kids. Kids were trying out stilts, using nets to scoop out balls from tubs of water, sliding down slides, throwing sea buoys into big bins…just having a grand old time doing SIMPLE things!! No screens involved! There was a big area where kids were building their own little wooden boats. I shit you not, there were real nails, real hammers, real saws, real drills- and kids from about 5-15 were working away on their creations. They were not wrapped in bubble wrap and did not have mothers helicoptering over them. I did not see a single child lose an eye, finger, or limb. Shocking by American standards….
In another area, there was food. Food? Like real food? Hmmmmm….lemme look. Turned out to be pieces of fish on bread. Bite sized, with toothpicks. Hmmmmm….let me watch for a minute and see if anyone is exchanging money. No?? Free food!! Ok. I’m in. I tried two of the types. Eh. Not “spit out out” material, but I’m glad I didn’t pay! 😛
Now whale watching is a big ta-do in Iceland. There are a lot of tours that leave from this very harbor. But I don’t have enough layers in my entire suitcase to keep me warm out on the water. I know me, and I would be miserably cold. Plus, honestly, it’s hard for me to even look at that water knowing how cold it is. So I decided to go whale watching INSIDE!! Next stop, the Whales of Iceland Museum.
Ok…as mentioned above, I have a degree in marine biology and teach that and marine zoology. I even do a 4 week workshop on marine mammals. That said, marine mammals really aren’t my favorite (taste like chicken!). I’m more of a fish and invertebrates kind of girl. Sticker shock on this place was a little shocking for sure- $28!! That’s $10 more than the super impressive Perlan! I better be super impressed! I was given an audio guide, and went inside. It’s dark. There are life size replicas of all of the whale species (about 25) that are found in Icelandic waters hung from the ceiling. There are little displays at each species with text and audio information. The first room was all of the toothed whales (dolphins, orca, narwhal, sperm, etc…). Eh. Really, just eh. The second room was all of the baleen whales (the big boys). The only cool thing about it was to really be able to understand just how large these animals are in comparison to scrawny little humans. Other than that, another big “Eh”. Look, I am probably not the best person to review this place, because I already know all of the stuff they were talking about. So I didn’t really learn anything. If you are someone who loves marine mammals and want to learn more and see life size models, then you’ll probably enjoy it. But I was in and out of there in less than 30 minutes- before the audio guide was even finished for the first room. $1 a minute. I would have rather had 10 Dr. Peppers….
Narwhal
Sperm Whale
Blue Whale- largest animal that has ever lived on earth!
Started walking back toward the house, and there was a Kronon! The grocery store from yesterday! I went in. This one was much bigger. Wandered around and got a bottle of shampoo for $2 and a pack of cookies (of COURSE that was the first of my groceries from last week to run out!!) for another $2. There’s a Bonus and another store right on this intersection as well.
Reykjavik is SO unbelievably easy to navigate. Lord knows I am the worst navigator EVER, because I never pay close enough attention to my surroundings. But here, no problemo. I use google maps to navigate to where I’m going if I’ve never been there, but I can so easily find my way back without turn by turn guidance! I walked through town and came to Ingólfstorg Square- the place with the steaming pillars from Day 2. There was a crowd gathered around. What was happening? DRAGONS WERE HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😮 🐉 Oh my god, they were FANTASTIC!!! I could barely see over the mob of people. There were 5 of them…huge….and a guy on super high stilts that was like the “dragon master” or something. Before I could even get a decent shot without someone’s head in it, they started walking out of the park and down the street. The crowd followed, but I stuck to my original goal- to find the Dr. Pepper store.
Found the 10-11 store, the same one I was in yesterday. Those bastages had marked it up an extra 30 krona!! Yesterday it was 299…today, 329! Well, the guide for the city tour on Day 2 warned us that the prices are jacked up on the weekends. Note to other people: Buy things Monday-Friday, because it’s expensive enough as it is here without paying extra on the weekends!!! I bought two- one for today and one for tomorrow. That’ll be $6, thank you very much. 🤑 I’ll come back Monday to stock up for the rest of the week.
Started heading back toward the house, and what in the world was that in Austurvöllur Park, across from the Parliament building?? THE DRAGONS!!!! Oh, but they were stunning!! They even made dragon sounds!! Made the price of admission to the whales exhibit worth it, because if I hadn’t of gone in there I wouldn’t have been in the right place at the right time to see this amazing sight!! I’m working on figuring out exactly what this is. Will report back if I do! Tomorrow, watch out Iceland!! I’m going to be behind the wheel!!
I live in Los Angeles. There are more cars there than any other place in the United States. I wouldn’t list driving as one of my top 10 skills, in fact probably not top 20. I hate to drive and I kinda suck at it. I’m good enough to prevent major accidents (most of the time), but my judging of distances sucks pretty hard. My car has a name. Pinball. Why? Because it’s small, silver, and bounces off of everything! But the freedom a car provides is second to none! And since Iceland has the common sense to drive on the right side of the road, not the wrong side (like Scotland and Ireland where I’ll be the rest of the month), I figured I would give it a whirl! So buckle up, Icelanders! And avoid the Reykjanes Peninsula today! Because that is my destination!
I researched the heck out of car rentals. I always hear these horror stories about how they wind up finding some .005mm scratch under the front bumper when you come back and retroactively charge your credit card like a zillion dollars. Brian and I have managed to avoid that scam in Panama, Cuba, El Salvador, Malaysia, France, and South Africa so far, mainly because I’m super anal about taking pictures of EVERYTHING before we leave. I make sure the guy marks down EVERY scratch, dent, piece of dirt- no matter how small it is. I don’t take, “Oh, that’s so small it’s not a problem” for an answer. Mark it on the sheet. And I research, research, research. I read tons of reviews. If there’s any kind of a track record of scamming from a company, I steer clear. If they all have a track record of it (side eye at you, El Salvador), I just go by price and get a car from one of the big chains. In Iceland, the best reviews I found where Blue Car Rental. A local company that includes ALL of the insurance in your quote (except sand and ash). Knowing how much gravel and such there is on the road here (and my penchant for bouncing off of things), I figured maximum insurance was the best bet. Yes, my credit card has rental coverage, but I’m traveling for 2.5 months and I don’t want to deal with that. $185 for 3 days, full insurance, automatic transmission. Not terrible! And a hell of a lot cheaper and more flexible than if I took tours to the areas I wanted to go….
Packed up (including my lunch and water- I ain’t buying no meals on a road trip!) and headed out at 7:45 for the 15 minute walk to Blue Car’s office at the harbor. The reason I booked the car for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday is because the forecast showed partly cloudy and no rain for those days. I stepped outside into misty sprinkles. Let me do you a favor and give you the weather forecast for Iceland. It doesn’t matter where in the country you’re going or when. Unpredictable. With a chance of being the exact opposite that you’ve prepared for. You’re welcome. As I walked, the mist turned to full on sprinkles. Grrrrrrrr! Got to the office at 8:01 and waited about 10 minutes for an agent. Declined the sand and ash protection. Why? Because all the research said that unless you were driving a lot in or past Vik and the wind was blowing hard, you didn’t need it. Not driving past Vik and no wind in the forecast. Cue epic windstorm…. Out the door and in the car at 8:25. Had to install my fancy windshield mount I got! I didn’t want to be driving and trying to manually navigate with my phone. Omg, how have I lived without this thing my whole life??? It’s awesome. Highly recommended if you are solo. The sprinkles were pretty heavy at this point. I made sure I turned on my headlights (it’s the law!) and figured out how the wipers worked before I pulled out. Off I went!
Wow. Easy driving! Hardly anyone on the roads this early on a Sunday. Seriously, the biggest problems driving here are a) the center divider line and lane divider is like the equator in most places…imaginary. Just stay to the right. b) Don’t stay too far to the right, because you have like 6″ of shoulder and that’s it. What you’re supposed to do if you have a flat, I have no idea… Navigation was set to the geothermal park. Scheduled arrival, 9:06. It was 12 minutes from the lava tunnel, so I’d have about 30 min there. I was kicking myself, because I could have gotten a 10% discount if I booked online. I had planned to do it this morning, but forgot! Ugh! Oh well… As I drove, periodically I’d see smoke billowing out of the ground, and occasionally catch a whiff of sulphur. So cool! Followed Google maps and turned into the parking lot at precisely 9:06. Um, this didn’t look like a tour kind of place… I pulled up my itinerary. %/#&$@* this was the wrong place! I had passed the geothermal EXHIBITION (not park) about five minutes ago! I didn’t have time to go back, so headed straight to the lava tube. This is when I was happy I didn’t book the geothermal exhibit online! Everything happens for a reason…
The sprinkles had stopped. Didn’t take long to reach the Raufarhólshellir Lava Tunnel. Got there at 9:25, sat in the car to confirm the rest of today’s navigation, then went in about 9:45. Got a helmet and waited with the rest of my group (about 20 people). We went through a doorway that led underground, and stepped into what felt like another dimension. It was a huge “room” with a couple of holes, called skylights, in the roof. Below the holes, were pyramids of snow. Our guide (I didn’t catch his name) was AWESOME. I mean AWESOME. I’m a teacher. I want to learn something every day. And man, did this guy deliver! He explained all about the lava tunnel as we walked through, in ways that were easy to understand and really brought the tunnel to life. I videoed it all for class! There is a lot of information, but I’ll just give you the important part- this lava tunnel was formed during an eruption over 5000 years ago. When you have lava that has a fairly low viscosity (about that of heated up honey), it flows quickly. As the lava flows, the outside that is in contact with the air cools down quicker than the lava inside. The cooled lava hardens to rock, the hot lava continues flowing out of it, and it leaves behind an empty tunnel. Super cool! This one is over 1/2 mile long, and pretty wide and high- in places the ceiling is over 10m (30 feet) high! You aren’t going to get claustrophobic in here! After our introduction lecture, we headed underneath the two huge skylights into the heart of the tunnel. The first little area we came to was full of “upside down” icicles, like stalagmites in a cave! They’re formed from water dripping through the ceiling and then freezing. It literally looked like hundreds of individual ice sculptures, each with a different size and shape. So beautiful!
Once we were inside of the tunnel, I was just amazed at all of the colors and the formations of the rocks. So intricate and beautiful. The reds were just…I don’t even have the words for it! We’d walk for a ways, the guide would then stop and give us a 5-8 minute talk about what we were seeing, then we’d move on. Everything was just so FASCINATING! The information, the tunnel- I was just in awe of the whole thing. At one point, he had us turn our headlamps off and he flipped the switch to the main bulbs. Absolutely, unpenetrable blackness. All too soon we reached “our” end of the tunnel. It continues back quite a ways, but you have to be on the “extreme tour” to do that. A lot of climbing over rock rubble instead of walking on a nicely groomed path, and no fixed lights to show you the features- just your headlamp. Nah. By the time we got to the end, I had kind of worked my way up to the front of the line. I was first to get my picture taken, and that meant I could be the first one back out of the tunnel- with no people interrupting my shots!! Of course, I took so many shots that by the time we reached the entrance again, I was back at the end of the line! Seriously, this tour was fantastic and so much greater than I expected. Honestly, and this is hard to say, if you have to choose either the Into the Volcano tour or this lava tunnel tour because of time or money, do this one. We were inside of the tunnel for a little over an hour (we ran long!), but only inside of the volcano on the other tour for about 25 minutes or so. And there was a lot more to see in here. I seriously could do it again. It was that good. That said, I’m glad I did both. For $64, I feel this tour was the best value I got in Iceland for my tourist dollars. BOOK IN ADVANCE! It fills fast.
Got out of the cave at 11:15. I couldn’t believe my luck! I knew from the website that the first Geothermal EXHIBITION (not park!) guided tour was at 1130. I had wanted to do it, but I really wanted to just go there first, even if I had to do it without a guide, then go to the lava tunnel. Well, since I had made that mistake earlier, now I was at perfect timing to get there for the guided tour! I had 15 minutes… Navigation said 12. I’ve got this! Pulled in with a couple of minutes to spare. Here’s what I’ve learned in my travels- everything happens for a reason. It’s why I don’t sweat it when something gets messed up and doesn’t go exactly to my pre-ordained, pre-scheduled, pre-spreadsheeted itinerary!! That said, if you want to go to this, book online in advance. You’ll get 10% off. I paid my $15 and waited for the tour to start. The lady was really nice, and you could tell she was excited about geothermal energy, but I didn’t feel like the explanation was clear enough. I was on this tour for 20 minutes and still really don’t understand what they do, except that they are located on a very geothermally active area at the base of a volcano, and they utilize that heat to create hot water to heat people’s homes and for their taps, and to create electricity. How, I couldn’t even begin to tell you. 🙁 There were a lot of videos you could watch, some various exhibits, etc… I was kinda short on time, so I did a quick run through, snapped some pics of signs, and will figure it all out later to tell my students. Honestly, unless you’re really interested in geothermal energy production, I’d skip this one.
Next top was a little “gem” (pun intended!) of a destination that I heard about on one of the Iceland Facebook groups- the Ljósbrá Stone and Mineral Museum in Hveragerdi. It was on the way to my next stop in the Reykjanes tour, and it was FREE, so why the heck not?? 🙂 Navigation showed that it should be on the left when I exited the “freeway” (I’m from Los Angeles. Any major “freeway” in Iceland will be in quotes!). Um, I didn’t see it. Maybe google maps was wrong (shocking), and it was really in the strip mall on the right. I looked there and didn’t see it. Google maps insisted it was on the left, by the gas station. I entered the gas station area on the right of it, drove around to the back, and to the left, where google said it was. There was no building on the left of the gas station! Argh! Oh well. I drove around the front to leave, and there it was- INSIDE the N1 gas station. Derp. Parked and went in. A really nice collection of minerals and stones and fossils and things. Fun to look around for about 15 minutes. And free, so there’s that!
I just loved this desk and all of the cool things on it!
The next stop was purely for research for an upcoming class on weird creatures around the world. And I had high hopes, because it was kinda out of the way. But no where as near out of the way as the Sorcery and Witchcraft Museum and the Sea Monster museums I really wanted to see waaaaaaaaayy up in the Westfjords. Cue Icelandic Wonders– the Elf and Ghost Museum in Stokkseyri. I walked into the Elf Museum, and paid $25 to do both museums. I was given a headset to walk me through. Ok…..I am going to describe this the best way I can. I think someone with either an a) serious interest in the paranormal or b) serious interest in tourist money or c) serious interest in getting some traffic into Stokkseyri started this museum. Possibly, all of the above. However, it was pretty damn cheesy, I hate to say. You walked into these different areas that had a scene set up with some decor and a mannequin elf, and a story was told over the audio guide. The stories had no continuity, no flow. It’s not a museum, as much as a walking audio “experience” (I’m trying to be polite, here). I was all alone in there. There were a few rooms, then a room with a movie about elves, but the audio didn’t really match the screen. Then, the thing that almost killed me. The Aurora Borealis / Northern Lights room. You sat in a chair and stared at a large screen with a pretty poorly projected image. It was just video images of the northern lights. The audio seemed to be from some kind of movie or documentary about the lights, as you could hear sounds like horse hooves and flowing rivers that weren’t on the screen. And it went. on. and. on. for. ever. Oh my god. I was ready to tear my hair out, but I didn’t know how to fast forward my headset without messing it up. Had I known that the rest of the museum was literally like two more stories, I would have just left. I was in that museum for about 40 minutes. Easily half of it was that lame ass movie that had NOTHING to do with elves. I was not pleased. I literally learned NOTHING. Sigh. Oh well, maybe the ghost museum would be better!
The ghost museum was in the same complex, but around the other side. You got a nice ocean view from there, as it’s literally right on the water. The lady at the front desk was so happy to see me! I was her first customer of the day. Seriously, meeting her was the highlight of this whole stop. She asked me if I was traveling alone, and I said yes. She was very intrigued, and said she wanted to travel alone, but wasn’t sure, and that she had joined the Solo Women Traveler’s facebook page. I told her I was a member there, too! She hugged me and we talked for several minutes. Very, very sweet young lady. She gave me my audio headset, and told me to make sure to lift up the stone in room 19. That sounded ominous…. I will say this, the ghost museum is much more interesting than the elf museum! It’s still kinda cheesy, but there are some pretty interesting stories that are told at each stop (and, some that kinda sucked). You’ll be in this one for almost an hour if you listen to the whole headset. There are 25+ rooms to go through (much bigger than the elf museum). Basically, you go into a room, it’s decorated to represent the story, and you listen to the story. Again, all alone in this place, and I won’t spoil it, but there are some “surprises”! 😉 I didn’t go into room 19- frankly, I didn’t want to be scared! And I kinda skipped past the rest because it was taking so long and I needed to get back on the road. Said goodbye to the nice lady and headed out.
The standing one is a representation of a typical Icelandic male ghost. The sitting one with the weird thing on its head is a female ghost.
I just. I don’t know. So completely weird! The story was something about naked people and ghosts. I didn’t really understand it, but anytime I can insert a penis in my blog (ha!), I will!
The weather was kind gray and not so great, and it drizzled off and on as I drove along the south coast of the Reykjanes Peninsula on the 427. It was all lava fields. A really surreal landscape with weird lava formations rising up through the mossy grass type stuff that covered everything. It was a pretty long drive to get to my next stop- the Brimketill Pool. Legend says that a troll bathed here a little longer than she should have…and got caught by the sunrise, which turned her to stone. The sea has eroded away her body, but the pool is still there. Actually, there are 2 of them- one on the left that you can only see part of, and this one on the right. Very cool, and a fun little story for my students!
Next stop, research for Earth Science (you people think I’m just wandering around on vacation? Heck no, I’m working here!! 🙂 )- the Gunnuhver Geothermal Area. I could see the smoke rising in the distance- this really is the land of fire and ice! I parked at the lot and walked in (FREE!). There’s one extremely active boiling pool, that is the largest in all of Iceland. Water and steam are just constantly boiling out of the ground, with water shooting up a few meters. There’s a really nice boardwalk, and you can walk around the entire area- doesn’t take more than about 20 minutes or so. The oranges and yellows and reds on the ground are so beautiful.
Next stop, more Earth Science! The Bridge Between Two Continents (FREE!). There is a bridge that literally spans the North American and Eurasian plates. I got a lot of video for the class, but didn’t take an actual picture of the bridge (oy). However, here I am standing on it, looking at the sandy rift where the continents are slowly pulling apart almost 1″ per year. Eurasia is on the left and North America on the right. Fun stop- takes 5-10 minutes. There are some other hiking opportunities in the area.
So let’s see- so far I had seen elves and ghosts and trolls. What’s left? A giant!! A giantess, to be exact! This was a fun little detour into the city of Reykjanesbær. I hear word on the street that if you go to the tourist center here, you can get a certificate stating that you had crossed the bridge. I was kinda worn out, still had a ways to go, so didn’t search for the tourist center. Anyway, I came here to visit the giantess (FREE!)! Google maps wants to take you up into a neighborhood. Don’t do that. Park in the marina. You’ll see the footsteps leading to Skessan’s home! The hours said it was open from 10-5, but I guess she had to run out and do giantess errands, because her door was locked. 🙁
The final stop for the day was to the Seltún Geothermal Area. Now this one was REALLY tricky with Google Maps. Google was showing it off of some unnamed road on the right between Vogar and Hafnarfjörður. Fortunately I had posted my proposed itinerary on a facebook group, and someone said it isn’t on that road- it’s off of the 42 out of Hafnarfjörður. Why I didn’t clarify which end of the 42, I don’t know. I just assumed that since google was showing it on the north side of the Peninsula, that’s where it must be. Oh google, always making an ass out of me. I started driving down the 42, looking for signs. Nothing. Nothing. For a really long time, nothing. Then, my pavement turned to gravel! I got a little nervous- I’m back in the middle of no where, 2 wheel drive, no cell signal, hmmmmmm. The only thing I didn’t have to worry about was it getting dark (cuz it never gets dark!)! 😛 In typical throw all caution and common sense to the wind, I decided to go for it. The gravel didn’t last long, and it eventually turned to pavement again. The drive went along what I would assume is a stunningly beautiful lake when it’s not cloaked in cloud cover. Finally I reached Seltun (FREE!)! Where was it? Literally at the very end of the 42- almost all the way down to the coastal road I drove in on from the ghost museum! Ugh! Had I known that, I would have gone here before Brimketill Pool and saved myself a lot of driving. It was gorgeous. Very Yellowstone National Park-like. I had a great time exploring the boardwalks and watching mud boil, water spew, smoke rise, and holes hiss! Much more extensive and beautiful than Gunnuhver in my opinion, although both are worth a stop. I spent a little over 30 minutes here, and there are a lot of additional hiking opportunities.
You’ll notice there is no mention of the Blue Lagoon, even though it’s smack dab in the middle of the Reykjanes Peninsula. Why? Because I’m not interested in it. For one, I’m not one to sit around in water. For two, it’s stupid expensive. For three, it’s super touristy. I kind of liken it to the Eiffel Tower. I went to Paris twice, and really didn’t care to see it. I just kind of stumbled upon it around a corner one evening. It was pretty, but…eh. I’d never pay to go to the top. Same with Blue Lagoon. It’s kind of the national iconic tourist stop of Iceland, but in my opinion….eh. Plus, anything with “spa” or “yoga” or “retreat” or “resort” in the name generally gets a firm NOPE from me. 🙂
I drove back the way I came and headed back to Reykjavik. I had kinda planned to see if I could find the elf garden in Hafnarfjörður (this is the town of the elves, after all!), but was pretty worn out. I had been on the road for almost 12 hours already. I would definitely recommend the Reykjanes Peninsula if you have an interest in geothermal things (which I do). Honestly if you aren’t geothermically driven and have only 3 days with a car (like I have), I’d do the Snæfellsnes peninsula north of Reykjavik instead Reykjanes. I haven’t seen that area, but I hear amazing things about it. Spoiler alert: if it’s anything like the scenery I saw on days 9 and 10, it would be worth it!!
DISCLAIMER:I am a picture taker. Not a photographer. There’s a big difference. Kind of like how I’m a traveler and not a tourist. 🙂 I have a good camera. I put it on auto, frame my shot the best I can (which usually means crooked or from some crappy angle), pray to Odin (or the coolest god of whatever country I’m in), push the button, and hope for the best. Then, push the button a few more times just in case. There is no time in all of my travels that I wished I was a photographer and not a picture taker than today. The scenery is stunning. Mind blowing. Awe inspiring. And I just don’t have the skills to capture it in a way that does it justice. Forgive me. I do the best I can. 🙂 Come see it for yourself.
I took my zzzz pills again last night because I had to make sure I slept. Got another full day of driving planned! This time, to the Golden Circle- kind of the holy of holies of Iceland! 🙂 Packed my lunch and water and got all my gear together (by gear, I mean all the clothes because lord knows what you might run into!) It was cloudy and grey in Reykjavik, but that’s about par for the course. Left about 7:15 in an attempt to beat the crowds (tour buses!).
What’s the first thing you have to do when you have a rental car and just spent 12 hours driving the day before? Get gas!! Ok. No problem! Pulled up to the pump, put in my card- hey, this is just like at home! Until the machine demanded a pin number. I don’t have a pin number on my credit card…. Befuddled, I went inside. I said I needed to fill it up and handed him my credit card. Um, yeah. That’s not how it’s done in Iceland. You had to pay inside with the credit card to buy a prepaid card to use at the pump. And by the way, you better guess how much you need, because it’s non-refundable. I didn’t worry too much about that part, since I knew I would need gas again, but I had no clue how much to even put on it. I had a little less than a half a tank of gas left in a tiny ass Toyota Yaris. The guy told me 5000kr should do it. WHAT?! $50 to fill up HALF a tank in a tiny car??? No one warned me that in order to get gas I had to have a pin number on my credit card, take out a home equity loan, and make sure I brought a defibrillator with me. I took the prepaid card, put it in, and the car took every bit of that 5000kr. Yowza. Side note: When I got back, I did the calculations. Gas is 225kr per liter. 1 liter is about 1/4 of a gallon. So I literally just paid about $9 PER GALLON for gas!! Dear Los Angeles: I will never bitch about your $3.50+ per gallon gas again. As I headed up the 36, I was cloaked in clouds, drizzle, and disappointment. Two days now of this. Sigh. The first stop of the day was a waterfall. If you see the word “foss”, you know you’re about to see water falling off of some cliff somewhere! 😉 This one was Öxarárfoss. I pulled into the parking lot and not another car in sight…yes!! I didn’t hear a river or anything, but there was a path leading away from the parking lot, so I headed down it. In no time, I realized that I was on top of an amazing cliff!! And that there was a fantastic trail in a narrow canyon, with sheer rock walls with really ancient and cool looking formations. As I descended down into it, I literally felt like I was going back in time. That a Viking or an elf or anything unexpected and from a time long past might be hiding behind the next boulder. I don’t know what it was about that place, but it is the most magical feeling I’ve had while in Iceland. And being in there alone greatly enhanced the experience! Soon the rock path ended, and so did that magical feeling. I was on pavement now. The trail branched off in a different direction, and a lot more people were sharing the space with me now. Soon I reached the waterfall. It was beautiful!! On the way back, I read the sign about Gallow’s Rock. It is known that 15 men were hanged here, generally for theft, between 1602 and 1750.
The most magical place in Iceland to me- and that’s saying a lot!
Gallows Rock
I went back through the magical canyon, which had lost some of its mystique with the arrival of other people. Some things you don’t want to share… Back in the car and headed toward Þingvellir (pronounced Thingvellir). This is a national park, and wow but you could see why. The views were stunning!! And the best part? Blue sky was starting to peek out through the clouds!!I stopped at the little visitor center, and then drove down to the old settlement area. Here, I had to pay $5 to park. Got out and did a quick survey. There were little bridges and boardwalks meandering up the hills and over the stream, a church with some other buildings, and it was all surrounded by utter beauty! The sun was coming out! Birds were chirping! Angels were singing! 🙂 I headed up one of the paths, and saw that it also led to the path where I had just been at Öxarárfoss. So if you want a really good walk, the ability to experience that cool little canyon, and to not pay for parking (which I didn’t mind AT ALL, small price to pay for this place!), you could just park at the top of Öxarárfoss and walk down here. As I walked along the stream, there was a group of teens with a guide who was having them fill up their water bottles from the stream. Fun fact: You can drink any of the stream water in Iceland, no worries. However, there were a LOT of geese around. Lots of geese= lots of geese poop. Yeah, I’ll pass. 😉 From the top of the hill I could see that the boardwalk continued down the hill, across the stream, to the church, and from there I could go back to the parking lot. There are quite a few trails in this area to explore, though! I headed down to the church. There were a LOT of people in the area, and getting a picture without them in it was practically impossible. I pulled at the church door- locked. I was kneeling down in front of the church to take a picture (no other reason for me to kneel there! 😝). A guy walks up to the door with a large key!! Oooo! Could he be unlocking the church?? He WAS!! I looked at him with a “Can I go in?” look. He nodded. I was the first one in! But man, the rush of people behind me was crushing. It was ridiculous. I managed to quickly get in a shot before getting elbowed out of the way. The church is TINY and quaint, and there were no less than 30 people in there within seconds. By the time I got back out of the door, there was a line to get in. Oy. Near to the church there was a little graveyard, but you weren’t supposed to go in.
I walked back to the parking lot and up the road for a bit. I wanted to see something I’d seen advertised on tours, but would never do in 900 million years….Silfra. Why wouldn’t I do it? Because it’s snorkeling (or diving) in ice cold, crystal clear water between the tectonic plates! All of that sounds great except the ice cold part. I’m not even interested in getting into the natural hot springs, for fear of having to get out and have the wind touch my wet body, causing me to freeze in place like a troll caught in the sunlight!! So, this gets a big “hell no” from me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they give you a dry suit. Who cares? Parts of your face are still exposed! When they start running glass bottom boats or have some kind of heated human hamster ball contraption they can put you in and toss you in the drink, I’m in. Until then, I’ll watch from the sidelines.
I love seeing weird wildlife signs all over the world. No real wildlife in Iceland, but I found a fun sign anyway!
Walked back to the car and headed out. There’s a ton of hiking and little back roads and such here, so you could probably spend days getting lost in the wilderness and beauty. But I was on a serious schedule!! I had to be in Laugarvatn by 11:15!! What’s Laugarvatn and why the hurry? Well, I’ll tell you….someone on one of the facebook groups had mentioned that they had a lava bread tour- where they would show you how they bake bread in the ground, using the heat from the earth! I am SO there!! But the problem was that I woke up this morning and realized that in my exhaustion yesterday, I had forgotten to book it!! ARGH!!! I emailed them before I left, but hadn’t heard a word. The tour started at 11:30, and I was hoping that if I got there a little early and it was full, that I could charm my way in, since it was only 1 little old person….and….I’m a TEACHER! (people across the world love that!!). As I was driving, I saw a sign pointing to a place called Laugarvatnshellar: The Cave People. How had I missed that in my research??!! Ugh! It sounded cool, but I knew I wanted to do the lava bread thing, so off I went. Upon later research, it does seem pretty interesting and might be a good add on for your Golden Circle trip! Pulled into the parking lot of Laugarvatn Fontana a little after 11. I walked very quickly to the front door and into the restaurant area. I asked the cashier if there was room on the 11:30 tour. YES!! WOO-HOO!! Gladly paid my $15. I had really been looking forward to this, and would have been super mad at myself if I missed it! I had about 20 minutes to walk around the grounds. The sun was out so bright now, that I stripped down to one, count them ONE, layer!! It was 17C (63F) and WONDERFUL!! Laugarvatn Fontana sits on a beautiful lake, and there is steam coming out of the ground everywhere! There are greenhouses over some of the hot springs, utilizing the geothermal energy for heating. So smart! I wish I could have gone in. I saw an AWESOME pair of birds, which later research revealed to be Haematopus ostralegus, an Oystercatcher. The tour guide later told me they are VERY aggressive when they have young. Yikes! It was time for the tour, and I was surprised that it was just me, and a couple from Philadelphia who had just flown in that morning. Our guide grabbed a shovel, and we headed down to the beach by the lake. Water was boiling out of the ground in places. He took us to a little area next to a boiling hole, and said they put the bread in the ground for 24 hours. We were going to dig up yesterday’s batch. It was marked with a little stone on top. He dug it up, and everywhere he put his shovel, boiling water would come to the surface. Crazy! He got the pot out- it was wrapped in some kind of plastic wrap- I assume to keep the water out of it. Using gloves, he unwrapped it, took the lid off, and wa-la!! There was a huge pot of lava rye bread! He then buried another pot for tomorrow’s tour, and we went back to the restaurant. There, he sliced the hot bread for us and gave us some butter to put on it. It was gooooooooood! So moist! Then, he gave us all HUGE pieces to take home!! Yay for tours that provide food!! It was a really interesting process, and I highly recommend it.
Headed off down the road again, one layer, window down (and then up, and then down, and then up….) loving the warmish air and sunshine!! Instead of the lava fields of the Reykjanes Peninsula, I was now in lush, green, beautiful farmlands, surrounded by jaw dropping mountains, still holding on to the last bits of winter. Icelandic horses (which in my opinion are the PERFECT horse- short, strong, and friendly!) lazily grazing in fields and rolling in the sunshine. Baby lambs bouncing alongside of their mothers. You seriously can not imagine a more gorgeous setting. And it was in this setting that I pulled into my next stop- another suggestion from a facebook group- Efstidalur II Dairy Farm. There’s a lot going on here. There’s a hotel, a restaurant, horseback riding, and the reason for my visit….and ice cream barn!! I figured I needed a tasty snack treat on a gorgeous day such as this, and ice cream right out of a cow’s teat (yep, it comes out frozen- this is ICEland 😜), was just the thing! I walked into the ice cream barn and saw why it was named that. The windows by the table all looked into the barn, where you could see cows happily munching away on hay and turning it into ice cream! There was a wonderful array of flavors. I chose green apple because I had never heard of such a thing as green apple ice cream! It was soooo good! Just the right amount of tart, sweet, and unusual! And sooooooo creamy. Mmmmmm. Highly recommended at $4.50 for a small scoop.
On the road again, heading toward my one “office” stop for the day- the geysers at Geysir. Geysir, the big geyser at this location, was first named that back in 1700s, and the name has become synonymous with similar features around the world. In it’s hey day, it would erupt several times a day, shooting boiling water 60-170 meters (200-550 feet) into the air! 😮 Now, it rarely erupts, but it’s little brother, Stokkur, puts on a show about every 5-8 minutes- with water shooting up to 30 m (100 ft) high. I pulled into the WAY overcrowded, commercialized, touristy parking lot. Oh boy- it was PACKED. Ugh. I walked around the various steaming hot pools for about 20 minutes, and Stokkur erupted a few times- you’d hear the “whoosh” of water and screams of the crowd, but by the time you’d turn around, it would just be a pool of hot water again!
Inhaling the breath of the earth….
After I looked at everything, I went over and found a prime place to video Stokkur from. Held my camera in place as steady as I could for almost a minute, and then BLAM! Off it went! I got so excited, I hit the button and ended the video before it finished! Ugh! But here are the pics that I pulled from the video.
So it’s this totally flat, hot steaming pool….every once in a while a little wave or something will lap at the edge….
Then, all of a sudden, this huge dome shaped bubble rises up!
And WHOOSH! It erupts!
I stuck the first and third videos together so you can see it. The 2nd eruption was a burp, much to the disappointed crowd who collectively went “awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww”. 🙂
Made a quick bathroom stop in the gift shop area (when in Iceland, see a klósettið, use a klósettið…#Allison). I hadn’t driven very far, when I saw some cars pulled off to the side. That’s better than any informational sign with 37 consonants and 4 vowels that there’s something cool to see here! And oh! It was! People were petting an Icelandic horse!! There was a little parking lot and a sign that said “Icelandic Horses”. I walked up and petted the one who was by the fence and seemed to be enjoying the attention! The mane is sooooooooooooo thick! Oh my gosh! What an awesome creature!
More driving through impossibly beautiful landscapes to the next stop- Gullfoss. Remember what I told you- when you see the word foss, there’s a waterfall! And my oh my, was this a waterfall! But first, let’s talk about me falling in love…. See, as I was driving along, I had a fabulous view of the mountains to my left. And they had this really weird, flat, bright white cloud on them. Not in front of them, but on them. And blue skies above. It was a super weird phenomenon, so I pulled over (for literally the 10,000th time that day. Always add triple the time google maps says, because you will be stopping CONSTANTLY to take pics!). I zoomed in and wait……could this be what I thought it was…….a glacier??
I had myself 94% convinced that that’s what it had to be. Then, I got to a fork in the road. There was a sign pointing to the left saying “Gullfoss Parking”. DON’T FOLLOW THAT SIGN!! Go to the right, unless you enjoy climbing a ton of stairs for no reason. Of course, I tell you this in hindsight. I went left and parked. There were signs, and yes!! This was a glacier I was seeing! It was so amazing and so emotional and visceral for some reason. I was just mesmerized by it, in awe of it. I climbed down the ton of stairs to see Gullfoss– arguably the most famous of Iceland’s waterfalls (and that’s saying a lot because there are waterfalls EVERYWHERE!!). It’s fed by Iceland’s 2nd largest glacier- Langjökull- henceforth known as MY glacier! 🙂 The falls were pretty impressive, I must say. Huge and powerful. The amount of water going over them was almost unfathomable.
I headed back down the road I had come in on (Gullfoss was basically a deadend, because the road into the highlands was closed). My next stop was Faxifoss (I bet you speak enough Icelandic now to know what it is!). I looked at the map and decided to take a detour off the main roads- and take the 30 to the 358 over to the 35. Oh, what an excellent decision! I basically had this gravel road all to myself. Well, me, the Icelandic horses, and the sheep! Gorgeous, gorgeous farmland without a tour bus in sight. I was staring at the views, and noticed someone else staring as well. There was a majestic Icelandic horse, standing in this very “I am king of all I purvey” stance, staring off at the mountains. He seemed as much in awe of the view as I was. Then, there was this very narrow bridge. I was kinda sketched out by it, but it was fun to cross. So….beautiful and perfect.
Soon I reached Faxifloss. What a gorgeous little waterfall! And the coolest thing was that there was a fish ladder for the salmon!! Oh my gosh, I was in heaven! Honestly, I liked this waterfall better than Gullfoss. There were only about 4 other people here. Plus, I was finally able to get a good shot of a Motacilla alba– the White Wagtail!
Last stop of my Golden Circle tour was the Kerid volcanic crater lake. It’s a collapsed magma chamber that filled with water after an eruption about 6000 years ago. You had to pay $4 to park. After that, you could walk around the entire crater, and even take stairs right down to the water. Very nice spot! If you start your rim walk to the right of the office, BE CAREFUL as you descend the hill on the other side! It’s very small, loose gravel, and I slipped and busted my butt! Fortunately I wasn’t at the crater rim when that happened…
And for all intensive purposes that was the end of my Golden Circle tour! But looking at the GPS, I was going to get back to Reykjavik at about 5:15. Free parking on my street starts at 6. What to do, what to do… I looked at google maps and found an alternate route back. Perfect, since I didn’t want to backtrack roads I had been on yesterday anyway. So my new plan was to take the 35 to the 36 to the 350 to the 435 to the 1 and back to Reykjavick. Best. Decision. All. Day!! The roads had so many tour buses and tourists on them. It’s hard enough to just find a place to pull over for a picture. It’s even worse when there are cars and buses on your ass! I saw hardly any cars for the next 40ish minutes. A gorgeous lake. Beautiful mountains. My glacier. What an unexpected delight!! I highly recommend adding this section of road to your golden circle tour!! Most of it is gravel, but easy to drive on and pretty flat. Once you start climbing up into the mountains, it’s paved. Honestly, I can’t even describe this day. The weather. The landscape. The stops- all quadzillon of them! Everything was simply perfect in every way. Now I see why this is the most famous tourist area in all of Iceland! 11 hours after my departure, I arrived back in Reykjavik. Tomorrow would be my last adventure with the car…
Zzz pills again last night, because another LONG day ahead. But I swear this is the last of them! I don’t have any super long days head of me after today, so if I can’t sleep, I’ll nap and deal with it. I woke up to the most AMAZING morning there has been in Reykjavik!! Bright and sunny! Blue skies! YES!!!!!!! Two days in a row of fabulous weather to drive in and see the sights! And oh, but I had sights to see….because today I was doing another famous Iceland driving tour- the south coast to Vík.
Remember how yesterday I taught you that foss means waterfall? Remember that, but BURN this into your brain. Vík is pronounced VEEK, not VICK. VEEK. When Iceland is kind enough to give you a word that has only three letters and one syllable, you should be deported if you screw it up. And I’ve heard practically everyone say it wrong. 🙄 You’re welcome.
Ok…back to my glorious sunshiny morning of wonder and delight!! Packed up my gear, lunch, and water, and headed out a bit before 8. Stopped to fill up the car. I’ve got to spend all of these kronas I changed for $100…I had a little more than 1/2 a tank, so I went in and gave him 2000 ($20) for gas and got my prepaid card. Car took every bit of it. And off I went, into the brilliant sunlight, dreaming of peeling off layers soon and driving with the window down. Oh, silly, silly girl. This is Iceland! No sooner than I hit the last roundabout out of town, I was in a fog bank. Not cloudy skies. Full on fog. Like could barely see the car ahead of me. Which on these extremely narrow roads with a 6″ shoulder and imaginary lines for center dividers, is not a happy place…. The fog turned to drizzle. I drove in that for about an hour and a half through, sorry to say, not very exciting farmland. Possibly because I couldn’t SEE, but even if I could, I don’t think it was too great…
But then I pulled into my first stop. Seljalandsfoss. C’mon, guess what it is??! A waterfall! And a gorgeous one! It was pouring off of a huge, brilliant green (even in the gray skies) cliff. I pulled into the parking lot and there were already a good amount of people there. By this time, the drizzle had turned to full on sprinkles. I pulled on my waterproof ski pants over my hiking pants, and put on my rain jacket. Here you had to pay $7 to park. I walked up toward the waterfall, lamenting the fact that all of my pictures would be super washed out because there was no decent light. I snapped a few pics, and took a video. This is a waterfall that you can actually walk behind. I said on the video that there was no way I was interested in getting soaked. Turned the video off, took a few more pics, and decided what the hell- I only live once and I had good gear on! So I headed up the path to the waterfall. As you got closer, the power of the water made it feel like it was raining pretty hard! Luckily, the wind was blowing slightly in the other direction, so most of the drops and mist went away from me. I see how you could easily be soaked by the time you even got to the waterfall. And there were people doing it in JEANS!! 😲 Taking pictures was a feat in and of itself. I had to keep the camera under my jacket. When I was ready, I’d get the camera steady, take off the lens cap, and start snapping like crazy! Because within milliseconds the lens would be covered with mist and I’d have to wipe it off and start all over! I worked my way around and got behind it. And I was happy that I pushed past my comfort zone and did it.
Behind the falls was like another world! The gray at the bottom is the path.
By the time I got back to the car, my ski pants had water beaded all over them. I peeled them off and kind of spread them out in the trunk area to hopefully dry off a bit. Underneath, my other two layers were perfectly dry. 🙂 Took off down the road again. This cliff structure went on, and on, and on. It was GORGEOUS! I’ve never seen a landscape quite like it. And SO green! I was super angry at the clouds for concealing my view of the top. Here and there you’d see other waterfalls, tumbling through black rock and green moss. Farmhouses. Sheep. Horses. Just idyllic (except for the pesky weather!). I pulled over so. many. times. There was just something to ooo and ahh at about every 1/4 mile! And luckily, there were a lot of spots to easily pull off the road. I reached my next stop, Skogafoss. Spoiler alert: it’s a waterfall!! 🙂 There was another parking lot, full of people, but you didn’t have to pay. All this water was doing a number on my bladder, so i thought I better stop in. $2 to pee??? Oh HELL NO. I’ll hold it, thank you very much. I ain’t paying to piss! This was a campsite (peeing is included with your camping fee 🙂 ), and there were lots of tents around. I seriously could not think of anything more miserable than sleeping out in the cold and rain in a tent in Iceland… The area was next to a pasture, and cute little baby lambs were jumping around having a fine old time, drizzle or no drizzle! I tried to feed them some grass, I even informed them that the grass from my side of the fence was MUCH tastier, but they declined. Or only spoke Icelandic…. The falls were beautiful, and there was a set of CRAZY stairs going to the top. I talked myself into going behind Seljalandsfoss. I didn’t even start the conversation with myself about those stairs. El nope-o. So many people…hard to get good shots. 🙁
I was super excited for my next stop. Sólheimajökull. Yesterday I fell in love with something. It’s name was Langjökull. Remember what it was? See a pattern in the words? I fell in love with a glacier!! When you see jökull, that means it’s a glacier. Look how much I’ve taught you! Waterfall, bathroom, how to pronouce Vík, and now glacier! Consider yourself lucky- I usually charge big bucks for teaching! 😛 Anyway, they do hikes on to Sólheimajökull, but they were 3 hours long and I really didn’t have the time (and possibly the energy/stamina) for that. But you were supposed to be able to TOUCH it from here! YES!! I pulled into the parking lot and hardly anyone was there. Obviously this isn’t a big stop for people, but I don’t know why not…. I walked up the black lava path and got to the top of the hill in a couple of minutes. And from there, I could see her! Oh. My. Goodness!!!!!!!! Beautiful! Actually, Sólheimajökull is a glacial outlet, a tongue so to speak, off of the much larger Mýrdalsjökull glacier. The glacier itself is stunning. But it is pushing into a “bay” of sorts. A calving bay. When pieces of a glacier break off, it’s called calving. And huge chunks of it were floating in the cafe au lait colored water. Mesmerizing. I was even more in love! And I wanted to get to the end of the trail and touch it!!! Then, I saw this…
See the kayakers? That shows you how big these calves are!!
Unstable! All love affairs are unstable! But the instability of this one could kill me. 🙁 Seriously, if a chunk of ice broke off and fell on you…DEAD. If you were standing near the water’s edge and the glacier “calved”, that huge piece of ice could create a wave that would sweep you right off your feet…DEAD. Love isn’t worth dying for. So I stood there, taking pictures, and staring at her longingly. Groups below looked like little ants as they trailed up the glacier…I was a jealous lover! I am going to hike a glacier. Not today, and maybe not in Iceland, but it is now a bucket list item I never knew I had…
How huge is this small little outlet of a glacier? See the guy on the right??
I hated to leave this beauty, but there were other things to see! Pulled back out on to the main road for next stop- Dyrhólaey lighthouse. I turned off the main road and followed google maps. It was leading me up a really, really, REALLY steep gravel hill. I was watching a guy in a SUV, probably 4×4, coming down it, and he did not look happy. He was going super slow and had about 5 cars right behind him. Would this little car even make it up that hill? I pulled over and watched for a bit, basically waiting for that line of cars to get off the hill before I went up, because it was pretty darn narrow. One of the cars was no bigger than mine, so I thought I might as well give it a shot. No one was in front of me and no one was coming. I just needed to keep my momentum going and not stop. Up, up, up I went. I was gripping the steering wheel so hard I think I left some flesh behind, and my palms were sweating like crazy. About 3/4 of the way up I realized I didn’t really want to do this afterall, but too damn bad, missy. No way to turn around. I made it up to the parking lot, and all I could think about was coming back down. Well, that and “Why aren’t there any bathrooms up here???” I texted Brian and asked him if it was low gear you put a car in to go down a steep grade- I was pretty sure, but wanted to double check. That’s boy stuff (yes, I have designated boy things and girl things- boy things tend to be anything I don’t care about or don’t want to do! 😜). He wasn’t going to be awake for at least another 30 minutes, so I got out and walked around. The lighthouse was eh, but the views were magnificent! Facing the freezing cold North Atlantic, on my right was a gorgeous black sand beach. Ahead of me was an fabulous rock arch, like a doorway to another realm. And to my left was another gorgeous black sand beach, with formations in the background. From here there was a trail that went down to the left. I seriously considered abandoning the car, hiking down, and hitchhiking back to Reykjavik!! Got back in the car, still no word from Brian. Off I went. So, so, so super slow. At one point, there was a drop of, I don’t know, 100 feet or probably more, right off the side of the cliff. Thank GOD no one was coming up. I would have had a nervous breakdown. I have never been happier to be off a damn road in all my life! Not because it was particularly dangerous, and I’m not trying to discourage you from doing it, but because I’m just not confident enough with my driving skills in such conditions.
Seriously with this road?? Dear Iceland, Guardrails. Love, Mary.
Next stop was where I had read that I might be able to cross off a bucket list item….PUFFINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a beach called Kirkjufjara. And speaking of buckets, the fact that I didn’t wet myself going down that hill was astonishing. And my luck wasn’t going to hold out much longer. Kirkjufjara was just a few minutes away, and there were BATHROOMS!!! I walked in. That’ll be $2. Gladly!! Happily!! Willingly!! Note to readers: If you have to pee super bad, bring 200kr in coins. If I would have had to wait at the credit card machine for those ladies to figure out what the hell they were doing….well, let’s just say I wouldn’t have needed to pee anymore, and there would be a cleanup on aisle 7… Made peece (not a typo) with my bladder again, and walked down the path, scouring the cliffs for puffins!! Nothing. 🙁 But I did get some decent shots of the cliffs, another rock arch, a sea bird nesting (mega zoom), and from high above, I zoomed in on the white ocean foam lapping at the black sand beach. Why zoom? Because I’m not getting anywhere NEAR that damn water…why?? Read on. It’s important.
A little thing called sneaker waves. I had learned about these before I left, and knew it was something I wanted to avoid at all costs. Seriously, on my “worst effing nightmare” list. THIS video should be required watching in the line at Iceland immigration…
My next stop, Reynisfjara beach, is notorious for these waves. Tourists have died here. See, the ocean is just doin’ its thang…waves crash on to the beach and retreat, generally in the same location. If you’ve been to a beach, you’re familiar. But on occasion, a rogue bit of energy builds up in the ocean. There’s nothing to slow it down between Antarctica and here. It’s silent. It sneaks up on you (hence the name sneaker wave). If you get too close to the water, even if you’re paying attention you could be swept off your feet before you know it and washed out to sea. If you have your back to the ocean, taking a picture, talking, looking at the scenery….you’re being rushed out to sea before you even know what hit you. TERRIFYING!!! The signs said to stay away from the beach- I think it was 30 m (100 feet). They did NOT have to tell me twice!! The tide was pretty low, and I stayed right along the edge of the cliff area. But the people I watched at the water’s edge- some taking their children there- seriously, what IDIOTS. I have zero tolerance for people like that, and if they get washed away it’s a damn shame that an Icelandic rescue team has to put THEIR lives in danger to save an idiot. I’d say buh-bye and good riddance, but I have no tolerance for fools. #darwinawards
Ok, with the warning firmly in place (that I hope you heed because you are a traveler who is respectful of your surroundings and other people and not an idiot tourist), let me show you this stunning black sand beach and its magnificent formations!! There were tons of people here, so almost impossible to get a shot without them.
A gorgeous cave! It’s not deep or anything…more like a carved out sideways bowl.
Hexagonal basalt columns that look like someone made them a thousand years ago and stacked them there to reinforce the mountain or something. So strange!
Another cave a bit further down.
Look at these crazy formations in the cave! So surreal!
The beach had two parts- black sand, and then all of these gray/black perfectly rounded rocks. Zillions of them.
I managed to leave Reynisfjara without incident. Whew!! I give all the credit to Aegir. This was my last stop of the day, but it was still pretty early. I had about a 3 hour drive back to Reykjavik, and I’d be arriving around 5:30. Hmmmmmmm…what to do, what to do. There was nothing left on my list at all. Then, I remembered a post I had read a few weeks ago about turf houses. At the time, I had looked for their location, but the information I had said they didn’t open until June 15 (this was June 5). I thought I remembered that maybe they were along this route. I googled Iceland turf houses south coast and Keldur came up. Found that original post, and yes, they were about 7 miles off the main road on the way back to Reykjavik. Perfect! Because frankly, I wanted to break up that long drive as well… I figured I’d just stop and snap a few pictures, because they look pretty cool…even if I couldn’t go in. I drove into Vík (VEEK, not VICK!) to get gas before I headed back. This was a new station I hadn’t used before. Here, you had to buy a 3000kr ($30) prepaid card, you couldn’t just get less. Car took every bit of it. Vík is a tiny town, not much going on there, really. Headed back in the direction I came to find the Keldur turf houses, snap a couple of pictures, and head back home. Along the way, I saw cars pulled off. My cue to be a conformist! There was this big wooden wall and door in the side of a mountain. I learned that this was Steinahellir Cave- it used to be used to hold sheep, as a parliament meeting place, and it is supposed to be SUPER haunted! In fact, the vast majority of the signage was about all of the creepy ghosts that inhabit this place. Fearless, I walked inside. What was super, super weird is that moss was growing in the cave. In the DARK cave. Very unusual. I used flash to take this picture inside.
Beautiful little church by Reynisfjara beach.
Got to my turn off, and drove on the gravel road. The road dead ended into a T, and Keldur was on the right. I knew from the blog that you were supposed to park in the parking lot by the signs and then walk up to the turf houses. This is a working farm, and you shouldn’t just go driving anywhere you please!! I did, and followed the path next to a bubbling stream. Not bubbling with heat, but with fresh spring water coming up out of the ground! I walked up to the gate and saw this sign… THEY WERE OPEN!!! I was greeted by a lovely man who asked me if I wanted a tour. I told him that my money was in the car (I wasn’t expecting them to be open), and I’d run and get it. He assured me that after the tour was fine. 🙂 It was me, a little old German lady about 70-75 who I want to be when I grow up, and a young man from Maldova. The German woman was traveling solo, had basically hitchhiked a ride with a museum worker in some other town, had read the Icelandic saga that mentions this place THREE times, and was just a spitfire and full of information! She is my spirit animal….
Ok, I literally can not even believe that this place is not a “must see” on the famous South Coast tour. It is FABULOUS!!! Frankly, looking at scenery is nice, but I have this sick obsession with trying to learn something every day…I don’t learn much from looking at a waterfall. Oh my, did I find the right place!! Look, I’m going to give you the bare bones facts, in hope that it will intrigue you enough to get your butt over to this place, learn something, and support their work in restoring and maintaining this treasure. Of course, if you prefer to play in the waves at Reynisfjara….well, to each his own. 😉 So, if you remember from Day 2, I went into the Settlement Museum in Reykjavik. This is the oldest known settlement in Iceland, dating back to 870ish. Of course, it’s an archaeological excavation site now. The remains are a few walls and such. But Keldur is the oldest known STANDING structure in Iceland. Written records show that this place was inhabited from the late 900s. How do we know? Because the family was so important, they are mentioned in the Saga of Njáll! One of the most powerful clans in Iceland, the Oddi clan, inhabited this place in the 1100s. The current buildings are from at least the 1600s, because the oldest carving found here is the date 1641. Basically, it’s a Viking longhouse, covered with turf for insulation. The walls are stacked lava rocks that have been there for hundreds upon hundreds of years. The frame is timber- which was almost as precious as gold in Iceland (there are no forests). The timber would wash up on the beach from who knows where, and was then utilized to build the home. The old structure consists of a row of turf houses. The main one is the longhouse- living quarters. Inside, there were rooms for cooking, storing food for the long, dark winter, and storing fuel for cooking. Wait- there’s no timber to cut, what little washes up is precious, there’s no coal on the island…what fuel did they use? Cow manure (I, being Hermione, answered that question correctly when it was posed, barely beating the German lady to the punch #youth). And they would collect it to store in the house for the long winter. There was even a crazy cool tunnel dug underground with an entrance in the house and an exit down by the stream. It dates back to the 11th-13th centuries. This was a time of war in Iceland, and was most likely built as an escape route and for defense. AMAZING!!!!!!!!! Next to the long house are a few other turf house structures- a slaughterhouse, a meat processing building, a smithy, and more storage. Toward the back of the area are the ruins of the animal stables, which hopefully they will have funds to restore soon. Get thee to Keldur!!!!!
This is the food storage area inside the longhouse. Can you imagine how much food they had to store not just for themselves (about 30 people would be living here at any given time), but for the livestock as well, to get through the long dark winter? Very, very hard life.
Kitchen- these are original artifacts. Obviously not from the 1200s or anything, but still quite old!
This is a storage room in the longhouse, next to the kitchen. It is BIG. All of that area underneath the cross timbers would be FILLED with manure for fuel to get through the winter. They would store food in the upper part. Mmmmm.
These are the other 4 turf buildings that are in the same row with the longhouse, but separate.
“Cozy” is an understatement about how these people lived. This is part of the “modern” house that was added on to the longhouse. There were two of these rooms directly across from each other. Each of those barely-bigger-than-a-twin-bed beds would sleep 2 people, sometimes with a kid or two as well! And there were 3 or 4 beds in each small room! They would eat here, socialize here, sew here, make the children here, have the children here, raise the children here. Wow. See that “groove” cut out of the side of the bed? That’s because it was a bed and a couch. They had a board to put there when there were sleeping to keep from falling out! Now here’s what’s really cool. Over the years, this place evolved and was added to. A modern farmhouse was built on to the longhouse in the early 1800s. You could walk right from the ancient longhouse into the farmhouse without having to go outside! So cool!
The oldest tombstone from the church graveyard. It was brought in to protect it from the elements. From the 1700s.
I spent about an hour here, and loved every. single. second of it! There are two tour guides on staff during the summer, and they actually live here. The tour was just fantastic, and the guide was so passionate and full of information. This was the best historical thing I’ve done here, hands down, and it was my absolute favorite part of the whole day!! And it’s not even on most people’s south coast itinerary, and it was a complete afterthought even for me!! The tour was over and I had to go get my money to pay. I walked to the gate and faced one of my biggest land dwelling fears….
Um, cows scare me. Unless they are presented to me fresh off of a grill. I walked soooooo tentatively by them, talking softly to the closest one who was giving me the stare down that we should have a mutual understanding of just completely ignoring each other. I made it through the cow gauntlet! The farmers had turned them out here to graze, and fortunately by the time I walked back through, they had moved them elsewhere. Yes, I will travel the world solo, hike through jungles infested with all kinds of who knows what that wants to kill you, eat questionable street food, etc…. but cows… <shudder>. I walked back and gave the guy 1500kr cash. He went to give me change and I told him to keep it. The tour was well worth it. He seemed so shocked and pleased! Seriously, I paid double that for the dumb whale thing in Reykjavik where I spent 1/3 of the time and learned zilch. And my battle cry to all Icelandic tourists now is “GET THEE TO KELDUR!!!!!”. You’re going that way anyway, because it’s pretty close to Seljalandsfoss (not too far after it if you’re heading back to Reykjavik). Just take the 264- you’ll be glad you did. 🙂
I drove back to Reyjakvik and arrived 11 hours after I left. What a fantastic day!! You know, it’s those little unexpected things while traveling that really make a “trip” an “experience”…
Not much happened on days 11-14, so I figured I’d just string them all together in one post…
So….the most exciting thing about Day 11 was returning the rental car. The guy at Blue Car was soooooo nice and friendly!! Most Icelanders in the “customer service” position have been efficient, but I wouldn’t call them overly friendly. They just do their job without all the chit-chat. This guy was super chatty! It was nice….especially when your primary sources of conversation for the past several days have been yourself and a cat. Want to know the sweetest words ever spoken?? “You don’t have any speeding tickets.”, after the nice man looked at his computer. Why, of course I don’t!! I would….never….speed….in Iceland!! 😪 Seriously though, you have to be careful. The roads are narrow, there are a lot of tourists who can barely drive in their own country trying to drive in a new one while staring at scenery and pulling over constantly to take pictures ( 🖐 ). There are speed cameras strategically located, and tickets can be—get ready for this—-80,000kr!! That is like $800 for speeding!!! YEEEE-OUCH!!!!!! What’s the fine for lying?? 😉
Walked back toward the house, stopped at my little Dr. Pepper store (true to form, it’s a weekday, and they were back to 299kr), bought two, came to the house, and worked ALL day. My summer semester started yesterday, so I had to deal with that, finalize grading for the spring semester, and about a zillion other things that have to be done before I leave for Scotland on Sunday. Plus, blog for day 9.
For Day 12, I had to make some decisions. Last few days in Reykjavik…could I work every one of those days right up until my flight leaves? Yep. But I wanted to put at least one more adventure on the schedule! All work and no play makes Mary…(richer, but pale and tired!). I had a list of things on my spreadsheet that I hadn’t done yet, and started whittling them down to figure out which one I REALLY wanted to do.
I pretty quickly nixed the Saga Museum- it seems kind of cheesy and more for kids. Crossed off Aurora Reykjavik and Volcano House as well- too much money to pay for just some movie. All 3 of those things just seem a little overpriced and too tourist-impulse-buy for me. The chocolate factory could be interesting, but I’ll be in Switzerland later this summer. Those people are the chocolate gods! I’ve heard good things about the Arbaer Open Air Museum, and if it was within walking distance, I’d go. But I’m not interesting in navigating buses to get there. That left the National Museum and Culture House- things I felt I could actually learn something from, plus you get to go into both for $20 and on Saturdays there’s a guided tour at 11. Perfecto! So that would be my Saturday- Day 14. The last day.
And seriously, figuring out that, working my butt off, and blogging Day 10 were all I did on day 12. See? It’s not adventures every day around here!
Day 13. I’m in serious need of real food. Like no joke. 12 days straight of PB & J and ramen. Ugh. Yesterday, I posted on the Iceland facebook groups asking for restaurant recommendations. If I’m going to spend the money, it better be GOOD! I got a ton of suggestions and started going through them one by one, looking at websites and menus. One very disconcerting thing I saw on a lot of menus was whale meat. Yes, whale meat. I’m not going to pretend I’m not a carnivore through and through. I am. I have no issues eating meat, and I have no issues eating exotic meat. I’ve eaten agouti in Belize, and springbok, kudu, warthog, ostrich and crocodile in South Africa. In fact, I have no qualms about trying exotic meats and will seek it out. That said, I have serious issues with whale meat. This isn’t some traditional Icelandic fare that is a cultural thing in Iceland. Because I’ll be honest, I have no problem with Native Americans taking a whale or two a year because that IS their culture. But I have a SERIOUS problem with it when a country is going against all common sense and science to exploit an ENDANGERED (yes, ENDANGERED) animal- and using loopholes in international restrictions to do it. Iceland hunts two species of whales- Fin (the 2nd largest whale after the blue whale) and Minke. Fin whales are on the endangered list. Minkes are not. But knowing their slow reproductive rates, slow maturity rates, low fecundity rates, and long gestation periods (#marinebiologydegree), there is no way the species can keep up with high tech whaling operations, and it’s just a matter of time before populations decline. Iceland basically is a party to the International Whaling Commission, which banned the commercial hunting of whales in 1986. But they defy the ban, along with Norway and Japan. Why? Not to feed their own people, who don’t really even eat the stuff, but to ship the meat to Japan and to feed selfish, idiotic tourists (yes, if you eat whale meat I’m calling you a selfish idiot. #truth). Disgusting. And there was no way in hell I was going to spend a penny at any restaurant that would serve it. The other meat I saw often was horse. Horse is a different matter. I can not sit here and say “I eat cow, pig, chicken, and lamb, but no one should eat horse.” It’s a farm animal. Just because it’s cute and we have an emotional attachment really doesn’t change anything logically. For me, horse meat on the menu wouldn’t prevent me from eating at a restaurant, but I wouldn’t order it. It’s just a personal thing, admittedly emotional and not rational. If an Icelander invited me to their home for dinner (they do eat horse) and served horse, I’d eat it. But I wouldn’t purposely seek it out.
Ok, so all of that said, the whale meat thing DRASTICALLY narrowed down my dining options. You wouldn’t believe how many restaurants serve it. And I wouldn’t step foot into one of those places. I finally decided on Icelandic Street Food. Tiny menu of lamb soup, shellfish soup, or something called fisherman’s favorite. The prices are reasonable, they offer REFILLS on soup (free food refills? amazing!), have free desserts, and had fantastic reviews. I had finally made my decision! Seriously, the amount of research I put into food rivals almost everything else I do when traveling. I HATE to eat out, I’m not a huge foodie, and consider it to be a big waste of money. #experiencesnotthings #experiencesnotfood Plus, eating alone is in my top 4 things that I hate, hate, hate. It literally takes hours (days) of mentally building myself up to do it. With all of those issues, I have to make sure I am totally happy about the experience! 🙂
I woke up and didn’t eat breakfast at all. I wanted to be good and hungry for my free refill at 11:30! I literally was counting down the hours. Left the house at 11:10, because I wanted to go to the bank first and change all of my krona for pounds so I would a) have some bus money when I arrive in Scotland Sunday and b) wouldn’t have a pile of worthless money to take home. I did save one each of the cool fish coins! 🙂 Got to the bank, changed my cash, and happily walked to Icelandic Street Food. Went in the door, started looking at the menu. The cashier walked by me with a handwritten sign that said “Cash Only Sorry” and taped it to the door. I turned around and said, “No credit cards?”. He said no. FUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKKK! I had just changed all my damn krona to pounds! Fucking fine, whatever, I hate to eat out anyway. I stopped at my little store, bought 3 Diet Dr. Peppers, perused the candy aisle and found two weird chocolate bars that I had never seen before in my life, and checked out for $13. Came home, put my last frozen pizza in the oven, and found out that Anthony Bourdain had killed himself. Gutted. That guy was such an inspiration. A true traveler in every sense of the world (not a typo). Sigh. The rest of the day was spent working, getting things in order to leave, and blogging Day 10.
Day 14. The final day. The goal was to wash blankets, clean the house, go to the National Museum at 11 for the guided tour, pack, and work. After realizing just how much work I needed to do, something had to go. And what went was the National Museum. 🙁 Honestly, I’m not terribly disappointed. I feel like I’ve done enough to get a good feel for Iceland, and I am going to be traveling like a crazy woman every day for the next 6 days. It just made sense to wrap up things here, make sure I was caught up with work, and get to bed early for my 5:15am alarm so I could be at the bus stop by 6. I ate the very last of my groceries- a mish mash made up recipe of the last of my pasta, frozen veggies, tuna, pasta sauce, and garlic bread. Not Anthony Bourdain worthy, but it’s sustenance.
Now, it’s Day 15 of traveling, and I’m sitting in the Keflavik airport (about to hit send on this post), waiting to head to Scotland for 2 weeks of adventures in a brand new (to me) country. Iceland, you have been AMAZING. I never would have been here if I hadn’t clicked “refresh” on my Trusted Housesitters screen at exactly the right second and found this housesit. Oh, the adventures I’ve had! I’ll never forget them (primarily because I write them all down! 😜 #agingisabitch). This is one of those places I’d definitely come back to with Brian. I’ve only explored a tiny piece of this island. There’s a lot more adventures to be had here.
There will be one more post on Iceland- that will be a post that is not a journal, but more of a details and tips guide. My budget, things I’ve learned to help others plan their trip, things to do, things not to do, etc…. It will be a couple of days before that’s up. If you want to see it, make sure you join my mailing list right above my picture at the top of the right sidebar. I’ll send an email out when it’s done, and a link to all of my maps as well that show exactly where I went and cool places that I’ve researched but didn’t make it to….yet.
Three months. 10 countries. Multiple climates. 1 Carry on.
Europe: Summer 2018. This is my 3rd full summer in a row of traveling, but normally I’m hunkered down in one place for the long haul. Summer 2016, Costa Rica for 6 weeks. Summer 2017, Malaysia for 8 weeks, and then to Greece and Italy for a couple of weeks. Warm weather. Easy, light packing. Washing machine at my disposal. Never one to to be accused of sticking to what works, I decided that my 2018 Summer trip would be different. Yes, this year I was going to pack a minimum of 10 countries into almost 3 months. Packing 10 countries INTO 11ish weeks should be an interesting challenge, I admit. But packing FOR 10 countries is a much more daunting task indeed, especially when you are starting out in chilly Iceland in early June, and hanging out in sweltering Malta in July. Oh, and did I mention that I only travel with a carry on? I’m not a masochist (well, maybe a bit!). What I am is a cheap ass. That, and my sherpa (Brian) will only be there for about a week of this entire trip. Getting to 10 countries means a lot of inter-European flights on budget airlines that want to charge more than my wardrobe is worth to check a bag. Uh, how do you say “no thank you” in 7 different languages?? And each airline has its own requirements…
Airline
Route
Carry On Limit
WOW
Los Angeles to Reykjavik
56x45x25cm 12 kg carry on + 1 personal item 42x32x25cm 10kg
Must pay $50 for the carry on.
Easy Jet
Reykjavik to Edinburgh
Carry on 56x45x25cm no weight limit. Personal item 45cm x 36cm x 20cm
Can only take a personal under the seat item if you pay for the upgraded seat.
Ryan Air
Edinburgh to Dublin
55cm x 40cm x 20cm 10kg that must be checked at gate + 1 personal 35cm x 20cm x 20cm
Pay for priority to guarantee carry on not placed in hold.
Air Lingus
Dublin to Nice
55 x 40 x 24 cm 10 kg carry on + 25 x 33 x 20 cm personal item
Easy Jet
Nice to Catania
Carry on 56x45x25cm no weight limit. Personal item 45cm x 36cm x 20cm
Can only take a personal under the seat item if you pay for the upgraded seat.
Ryan Air
Catania to Malta
55cm x 40cm x 20cm 10kg that must be checked at gate + 1 personal 35cm x 20cm x 20cm
Pay for priority to guarantee carry on not placed in hold.
Ryan Air
Malta to Rome
55cm x 40cm x 20cm 10kg that must be checked at gate + 1 personal 35cm x 20cm x 20cm
Pay for priority to guarantee carry on not placed in hold.
Blue Air
Rome to Bucharest
55cm x 40cm x 20cm 10kg carry on. NO personal item.
Wizz Air
Bucharest to Basel
55 X 40 X 23CM Carryon 10kg- No personal
Pay for priority to guarantee carry on not placed in hold and add ability to take a personal item
Air Europa
Zurich to Madrid
55 cm. x 35 cm. x 25 cm 10 kg carry on + 1 personal 35cm x 30cm x 20 cm
Norwegian
Madrid to Los Angeles
55x40x23 cm carry on + 1 25x33x20cm personal. Combined weight 10kg
I normally travel with two bags- my FABULOUS Ebags Mother Lode Weekender Convertible (55.9 x 35.6 x 22.9 cm) and my “fish bag”- a really oversized handbag of sorts that my laptop, my day pack, and a bunch of other junk easily fits into. But my fish bag is way too big for some of these airlines requirements, and some don’t even allow an extra personal bag (wtf???), so I’m leaving the fish bag behind and just taking my day pack as my personal item. I’ll have to cram it into my carry on and hope I don’t go overweight on a couple of these airlines. Oy! And my Ebags back is bigger than what Ryan and Blue Air like… I’m not going to cram it full and it’s soft sided, so I’m just going to hope I can smush it into the measuring box if they ask. I went ahead and paid an extra $9 per flight for priority so I don’t have to check my laptop. Guys and gals, always read the airlines requirements. I learned that after having to pay like $30 at Air Asia in Malaysia for being over weight by just a couple of kg…
Let’s start with the cold weather. I live in Los Angeles. The land of perpetual 78 and sunny. The running joke here at the house is that if it’s 65 degrees, it is 5 degrees below zero. Because 70 is my zero. Anything below that, I’m bundled up in several layers. I’m not kidding. So Iceland is definitely an interesting choice for me. But I got a cushy housesit for 12 days, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity! And then Brian and I decided to meet for our mid-trip reunion in Malta. Weather report for Iceland? Rainy/cloudy with highs near 20 below zero (50 F for you laymen). Wind chill? 30 below zero (40 F)!! Weather report for Malta? 88 F- my kinda forecast!! All these different destinations and climates, and crazy baggage limits…This is going to require some thought, ingenuity, and maybe a Pack charm (that’s a Harry Potter reference- not J.K.’s most original moniker…).
The first hurdle is actually having warm clothes that are light weight. I’ve done France twice in December, so I have winter clothes, but they’re all really bulky and heavy- not appropriate for this trip. I’ll traipse all over the world without a care. It takes an act of god to get me off of my couch and into a mall though, so I turned to my two favorite sources for travel clothes: Sierra Trading Post and Amazon. On Sierra, I got myself 2 fleece lined, antimicrobial (meaning you can wear them for a few days without getting stinky. Don’t judge.) thermal underlayer tops for $16 each, and a really awesome Craghopper’s Compresslite Travel Jacket– insulated, wind proof, water resistant, space saving for packing- for only $22. Score! Also got a pair of fleece lined leggings. From Amazon, I snagged a really soft and warm beanie/scarf set for $14, a waterproof walking/hiking shoe for $40, some really cool (I’m not a fashionista) water/wind proof fleece lined ski pants that don’t really look like ski pants, with big pockets to carry things in (I am practical). And a pair of gloves for $13. It’s always hard for me to decide on gloves, because inevitably 3 days in I will only have one glove… I already had a fairly lightweight warm dress, another thermal baselayer top, a pair of long underwear, another pair of fleece lined leggings, my Columbia rainjacket that goes everywhere, but has hardly ever left my suitcase, and my “go everywhere” convertible pants. This would be my Iceland/Scotland/Ireland/mountains of Romania and Switzerland wardrobe. Those ski pants are going to get a LOT of wear!!
For summer, I didn’t have to buy anything new. 3 of my lightweight, quick dry travel dresses that go everywhere with me, 3 shirts, one pair of shorts, my (now discontinued, of course) Merrell All Out Bold walking shoes that I LIVE in at home and away, my Exofficio panties and bras that I don’t get on a plane without, and that’s it. That would be my French Riviera, Malta, Italy, Spain, and any warm parts of Romania and Switzerland wardrobe.
My Ebags Mother Lode Weekender Convertible bag that I LOVE LOVE LOVE weighed 13 lbs with all of that. Not too bad. I’m proud to say that I got on to even the most size/weight restrictive budget airlines with NO issues! We will not mention the fact that sometimes I was wearing ski pants under dresses to board the plane and stripping them off in my seat to make weight but hey…pack light, or stay home, I say! 🙂
So how the heck did we wind up in El Salvador? Well, I love me some Central America. I’ve been to Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama. Brian and I had originally wanted to go to Nicaragua, because Brian works with a guy from there who says it’s safe, cheap, and beautiful. But when we were booking his flight from Los Angeles to Managua, and mine from Medellin to Managua, the cheapest options both connected through San Salvador. We’re so limited on time, and El Salvador is so much smaller than Nicaragua, we decided to just make that our destination. We felt confident that we could easily cover most of the country in a week with a car. Not so in Nicaragua. Logic=Logistics.
I’m starting this blog with this disclaimer. Brian planned this entire trip. I was too busy with work to even look at it too much. I had a few things I wanted to do, told him those, then left it to him to get the car and rooms. Seriously, I am sitting in this hotel room waiting on him to arrive, and have no idea what is on the agenda for tomorrow other than “pick up rental car”! We’ll see if we’re still together by the end of this trip! 😉
I woke up in Medellin about 6am. Showered, packed, ate the last of my ham and cheese sandwiches, and left a tip for the kind cleaning lady who moved my clothes from the window to the dry rack. John picked me up at 7am. We drove through relatively quiet streets, as most people are off for Semana Santa. He is just such a NICE guy. Seriously. I told him I’d put in a good word for him over at TripAdvisor. He is seriously a god send to anyone who doesn’t speak much (or any) Spanish and who wants to get out of town for a day or so. Check in was a breeze, as I had my boarding pass on my phone and wasn’t checking any luggage. Was through security and at my gate in about 15 minutes. I had some time to kill and some pesos to get rid of (the chances that I’m a millionaire from all of the random currency I possess from all over the world that sits in a drawer is fairly high…), so I decided to shop . And damn if I didn’t find the PERFECT thing!! Colombia spelled with a U is Allison’s mega pet peeve. When I saw this shirt, I knew I had to get it in honor of my Medellin hostess!
It was a quick flight to Bogota and super easy to get through immigration. I had a little less than an hour until my flight, so I grabbed a sandwich and a coke (ugh, but my baby is bringing me a DDP (diet dr. pepper)!!). Once on board, empty middle seat. YAY!! I was texting Brian and poor guy was running around like crazy. He had to get up, drop Sophia off at camp, come back to the house to meet the housesitter, then go to work and get everyone lined out, then catch his flight. I could sense the “fluster” in his texts. I reassured him that soon we would be having amazing adventures together, so take a deep breath and HURRY UP AND GET THERE!! 🙂
I napped for about an hour of the two and a half hour flight. Much needed. Played my favorite airplane game, Bejeweled, the rest of the time. Soon we were preparing for landing. We got lower and lower and lower and then higher and higher and higher and did kind of a fast turn that made me a little queasy. An announcement said that there was some difficulty with landing so we had to reapproach. Seriously? After the technical difficulties on the plane from Bogota to Medellin, now this? I’m starting to think it would be safer for me to walk home next week… Anyway, it took us an extra 20 minutes to get repositioned for take 2. We made it (otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading this!). Not gonna lie- I was a little nervous about that one…
Got off the plane and stepped into your typical fairly non-descript Central American airport. My plan was to just wait for Brian to arrive- he was sitting in his plane getting ready to take off while I was getting off my flight. I figured I could blog and hang out. But when I sat down, no wi fi. Ugh. Since the chances of me surviving for 5 hours without wifi are less than me surviving a failed runway approach, I told him I’d go to the hotel and he could meet me there, or I could come get him. He said he’d meet me there. I went through immigration and paid an unexpected $10 fee for a US entry visa (told you I hadn’t done any research!). Was on the sidewalk within minutes with people yelling “Taxi! Taxi!” at me. I was standing there texting Brian, when a woman approached me, said she was from a transport service, and could take me to my hotel- Hotel Rancho Argueta. I asked how much. $25. She’s gotta be out of her DAMN mind. Look, lady, I didn’t just fall off the turnip plane (those of you from the south will get that, those of you not from the south- the general translation is “I ain’t no idiot!”) I knew the hotel was super close- we booked the closest one because Brian was getting in so late (and it was cheap, $35 a night, which is always a major consideration!). I told her that was too expensive and no thanks. She smiled, walked off slowly, and looked back- like she thought I was going to change my mind as soon as she walked away. I guarantee she saw a white woman alone, knew she was one of the few people on that sidewalk that spoke perfect English, and could probably play on my “newbieness” to extort (yes, $25 is EXTORTION!) that kind of money from me. Next guy walks up. No English. So I used my broken Spanish to tell him where I was going and ask how much. He said $10. That’s more like it- still pricey, but doable. I got in the van with him and we were literally at the hotel before Brian’s plane took off!!
Check in was easy. Between their English and my Spanish I explained that my boyfriend was coming at 7 and I needed to pick him up (after my experience on the sidewalk and knowing that my Spanish is collegiate level compared to his, and knowing he wouldn’t have wifi to contact me, AND it would be dark, I figured it was better for me to get him than leave him alone to fend for himself! #helicoptergirlfriend). The guy said the airport shuttle is $6. Perfect. I then didn’t feel so bad about paying $10 earlier. The room is tiny, no windows (probably because it’s the cheapy $35 room), but it’s clean, quiet, and has excellent ac! Which is important with there being no windows. This ain’t Medellin with 75 degrees and hardly any humidity…I knew I was in Central America as soon as I stepped off the plane! 🙂 I then proceeded to spend the next few hours catching up on blogging. I have a ton of work to do, but the internet was just too slow for me to be able to do it. 🙁 Oh! And there was a menu on the desk for the restaurant downstairs. When I read it, I started seriously questioning Mr. Hummel’s reasoning for booking this hotel!! He has not asked the blessing of my tax attorney and accountant yet, nor has he gotten down on one tentacle to ask (inside joke about an octopus ring he gave me at a castle in France)!!
Um, I didn’t come here to honeymoon…
Soon it was time to head to the airport to get Brian. I went downstairs, and met my driver, Enrique. PERFECT English!! And oh my goodness, just such a genuinely nice man! We talked about El Salvador, I asked if it was safe and he said yes and the people are very friendly. Also that they really want more tourists here and for me to please write something about the hotel. I will! I stood outside of the airport doors with a huge group of El Salvadorians holding balloons, signs, flowers, and video cameras the size news stations use!! I felt rather inadequate and woefully underprepared for the arrival of my loved one…Soon he was out of the doors! I was so excited to see him, and I really did refrain from making the first question “Did you bring the DDP??”. I think sometimes he feels like I only meet him in other countries so I can have him haul Diet Dr. Peppers across multiple time zones to feed my addiction!! BTW, he brought 5 of them. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 We hopped in Enrique’s truck and made our way back to the hotel. Went to the restaurant for a nice little dinner with the most lovely waitress! She didn’t speak much English at all, but really wanted to, and was full of giggles! She said “chicken” when she gave Brian his chicken and giggled. I spoke to her a bit in Spanish. She really was just so wonderful! When she brought the check, it was $15.25 total. She pointed at it and I could tell she wanted to know it in English. I told her “Fifteen (she said fifteen), twenty-five (she said twenty five)”. Then we put it all together “Fifteen twenty five”. I could tell she was so pleased with herself! She went over to the front desk to give the guy our credit card, and I heard her happily say to him “Fifteen twenty five!”. Made me smile so hard. 🙂 All in all, a wonderful introduction to El Salvador!
Our hotel is like 2 miles from the airport. And they rent cars! Wish we had known that when we booked the room. 🙁
Lobby and restaurant. They’re doing a ton of renovations right now, so it’s going to be super cute when they’re finished!
IMPORTANT TIP: Santa Ana Volcano: There are only 3 trips a day! At 9, 10, and 11, so get there early! I recommend the 10 o’clock tour at the latest so you aren’t rushed down so fast. Park in El Tibet. Walk down the road you just came up until you see the little parking lot off the side of the road on your left. Take that. If there are masses of people, follow them. There is a hiking trail just past the parking lot on your left. Take that up to the park entrance where you will pay $3 per person. Do NOT drive to the top of the road, or it will cost you an extra $9 and 45 minutes of hiking!
Woke up early (because like I always say, that’s the best time to start an adventure!), got our things together, and headed downstairs to get a ride to the airport to pick up our car. I sooooooo wish we would have known that the hotel rents cars, because the cars there were cheaper than the one we rented through Budget, and it would have saved us airport shuttle money ($12 whole dollars round trip, but still…). And guess who was STILL downstairs? ENRIQUE! We got in the car and I asked him where he learned such perfect English. He said he lived in California when he was younger. I asked where. He said Van Nuys. I said, “WE ARE FROM RESEDA!!!!!!!”. He almost died from shock!! In Los Angeles, which is massively spread out, Reseda and Van Nuys border each other!! He was just in disbelief and said it’s such a small world. That was such a fun connection! He asked me about checking in yesterday with the front desk guy, and how his English was. I said it was good enough to communicate. He said they were trying to get the staff up to speed on English, hoping for more tourists. Love it. We said our goodbyes to Enrique (our neighbor!), and picked up our car. Check in with Budget was super easy, and we were blown away that we literally got a BRAND NEW Hyundai SUV with just a little over 200km on it! WOW! I’m used to dented, scratched up vehicles in Central America. Plus, the desk lady AND the guy who took us out to the car both spoke English! Pulled out of the airport and found our way to a little gas station to grab some water and snacks (we didn’t eat breakfast. Please remember this fact for future reference). And what to my wondering eyes did appear??? A familiar maroon can in the cooler…could it be??? YES IT WAS!! DR. PEPPER!!!!!!!!!!! Brian picked out a bag of chips that has become my new favorite chip ever (well, tied with Nacho Cheese Doritos)-
We had grand plans for the day! To visit Mayan ruins! First up, Joya de Ceren, then off to two other Mayan ruin sites. Hitting the open road in our fancy schmancy brand new car….WOO-HOO!! Google maps led the way through San Salvador to Joya de Ceren which was a little over an hour away. We pulled up to the gates exactly at 9am when the website said it opened, and were met with….locked gates. There was no sign of life whatsoever inside. I immediately knew that this was Jesus’ fault. It’s holy week here (Semana Santa), and this was Thursday before Good Friday. Another car pulled up with people who spoke English and Spanish. They talked to a guy across the street who said they were closed until Saturday. Ok, no worries, we’ll just drive over to the next set of ruins that was really close by. And guess what? CERRADO! Obviously all government run sites were going to be closed, so there was no sense in driving over to the other one. Now what? Now do what we do so well, and why we are the best travel partners EVER…completely change plans midstream seamlessly with no stress! Looked on google maps to figure out where we were and what was around, and saw the volanco park we had in our plans to do later in the week and decided to head over there. Took about an hour, during which we drove along a BEAUTIFUL lake- Lake Coatepeque, which is a huge volcanic crater lake.
I will say, the roads in El Salvador are quite good and very well marked- nothing like what I expected. Soon we saw the turnoff to Cerro Verde National Park, where we would have lunch then go on a hike. Before we got there though, Brian had to make a quick stop. 😉
Yes, dear. I TOLD you this was going in the blog. NEVER trust the evil girlfriend with the camera!!!
Look, we honestly had NO IDEA what we were doing exactly, and I didn’t have enough of a signal for internet data to do any on-the-fly research. We pulled into a little area called El Tibet. There were a zillion people all walking together in a group headed somewhere. There were signs for some of the volcanoes (there’s more than one here, but we knew from prior research that Santa Ana was the easiest one to hike), but not Santa Ana. There were a ton of roadside vendors with fruit and water. No restaurant. A policeish guy walks over to us and I asked if he spoke English. He did!! What the what the?? I can’t believe how so many people here speak English! I really wasn’t expecting that, knowing that El Salvador isn’t exactly a hot spot for tourism. He said that we could park here and then he pointed up the road and said we could walk up there to do the Santa Ana tour. I asked if it was a fairly flat trail or very steep. He said a little up and down- holding his hand flat, and then at a slight angle, and then flat again. Ok, doable! He walked off and Brian and I still weren’t sure exactly what to do. So we got out and bought a piece of pineapple and a couple of pieces of melon, since there was no real food anywhere to be found. We also bought a couple of extra waters. There were still masses of people walking down the road. I told Brian that if we had to walk up the road, why didn’t we just DRIVE up the road? So we got in and headed up. A mile or so in there was a gate. $3 per person and $1 for the car. (This would become a recurring theme!). Paid, parked, and saw a huge group of people standing there waiting to go on a guided hike- you have to have a guide to hike here. I asked a man who looked rather official was this the groupo para Santa Ana? No, and he pointed back to the guard shack. Went over there, and fortunately the guy spoke broken English. He explained that we had to walk all the way to the top of the road and the tour was starting at 11. It was like 10:45! He said we had to pay $3 per person. We explained that we had already paid when we came in. No, ANOTHER $3 per person, and $1 each for a guide. And hurry or we were going to miss the last tour of the day! Up we went. Nothing was marked, it was super confusing, I asked a couple of people what to do and where to go, there was a restaurant- but no time…. Finally we found where the tour started. There was a long line of people and we fell into place. We each paid $1 to the people who were taking us in, who reminded us in Spanish that we had to pay another $3, but we couldn’t figure out where that was going to happen. Whatever, we headed down the trail with the masses, in last place so I could at least get some decent pictures without tons of people! And oh, by the way, out of all of these masses of people, NO white people. Bonus score! 🙂
We went down, down, down, down, and DOWN. Being a physics teacher, I know that what goes down must come up. And oh, by the way, did I mention that this was going to be a FOUR HOUR HIKE?? And that said 4 hour hike was going to be done on basically some chips we ate on the way to the volcano and a piece of a piece of fruit we got on the side of the road. I knew I wasn’t about to be coming back up this, and started getting REALLY nervous. We were completely unprepared for this hike, and most importantly I wasn’t mentally prepared!! After about half an hour we popped out on to a road- in El Tibet! The same damn place we had parked the car earlier!! I was overcome by two emotions. One, frustration. We didn’t have to spend that extra $9 on the parking and guide!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRR!!! Another…elation! Brian could go back and get the car when we were done and I wouldn’t have to climb back up that hill from hell! But at that point, as we were walking down the road in a mass of people, I realized that was selfish. I wanted to hitchhike back up the road!! Now THAT would make a good blog entry! I settled it in my mind, did the thing I do where I start formulating what to say in Spanish to make it happen, and was kind of excited at the prospect! We went up another hill that wasn’t as horrible as the first. It ended in a little area with snacks, bathrooms (very, VERY loose term. #gag), and a place to pay $3 per person to enter the park.
Brian standing in line while I stocked up on the only protein there was- Peanut M&Ms, which I learned are M&Ms Amarillo (yellow).
The masses started heading up another hill, and we followed. Back of the pack again. We came upon what I refer to as a “No Mary Zone”- crazy tower thing with a ladder to access each level. In other words, a death trap. Brian went up and got some nice shots of the valley below. I talked to the guides in Spanish and asked them if there were monkeys here. Nope. Pizotes.
Off we went down the trail. It was a bit of a climb to this point, but now it was nice and flat. YES! I can do flat for DAYS! Also, it was a shaded trail through the forest, which was key because, again, we weren’t prepared for this and had no sunscreen.
Shady and flat. Just the way I like it!
No sunscreen, no food, no mental preparation. We’re happily walking along, I’m talking to the guide in my broken Spanish, and all is good. Until it wasn’t anymore. Until we hit an area where the trees disappeared and the trail got rocky and steep. Um, did I mention no physical fitness on my part? I have literally been on a couch working, basically since last summer in Malaysia. I didn’t really hike in South Africa. The only thing I’ve done recently was that climb up El Pinon last week in Colombia that was fine while it was happening, but wrecked me for about 3 days after! I didn’t want to be wrecked first thing out of the gate in El Salvador! My other situation is my knees, who are not real keen on climbing these days… As I looked up, WAY up, and saw a winding trail of masses like ants in a solid line far above me, I started to get nervous. Nervous about not having any food to fuel this monster hike. Nervous about getting mega sunburned and being miserable the rest of the trip (luckily though, there was pretty good cloud cover). Nervous about my knees. Nervous about my fitness level. Nervous about heights. Nervous about falling, because we saw multiple people slip and eat it that were coming down the steep parts. And when I get nervous, I get complainy. So I started voicing my concerns about all of these things- multiple times. Poor Brian, he’s just so steadfast and encouraging and patient… Honestly though, I didn’t think I could make it to the top.
Um, I did NOT sign up for this!
See all the people??
No, at the top where all those people are is STILL not the real top (even though Brian told me it was the top on about 3 different occasions).
The climb was long. It was steep. It was hard in places. It was real. The constant flow of people coming down the same narrow, steep, difficult trail we were trying to go up didn’t make things any easier. Cries of “Regreso!” and “Regrasamos!” (I’m going back and We’re going back!) were heard multiple times. I added my own cry to the mix. Muerto! Soy viaja! And I wasn’t kidding. Then, my right knee decided to start discussing the matter with me about ¾ of the way up (and about 2 hours in to what was supposed to be a 4 hour roundtrip and we still couldn’t even see the real top of this thing). The clouds were pouring in. I asked a woman who was coming down if she could even see the lake in the crater of this volcano because of all the clouds. She said yes (I was kind of hoping for a no and a good excuse to regreso!). People, I am not joking when I tell you we literally saw someone sitting on the side of the trail crying. I asked in Spanish if they needed water, no, just tired. I felt their pain. I trudged on, and on, and on. Every time I thought we could see the peak and we reached that area, there was just another steady line of people winding up and up. We bonded in Spanish with a woman and guy who had just about had it as well and were trying to make it. We were at the tail end of this last group. Finally, desert like vegetation of yuccas and straggly grass disappeared as the landscape became more gray and stark. More and more lava rocks were everywhere. We were close. And then….THE TOP!! The real top this time!! Brian was ahead of me. I shouted to him was the view of the lake worth it (by god it better be or I was going to throw myself into the cauldron as a sacrifice!). He said yes. I clambered up behind him and wow. Just wow. Like take your breath away wow. Yes, indeed, it was worth it. Three hours of near death and almost constant despair were worth it.
Finally at the top!
Raise your hand if you just climbed the highest volcano in El Salvador on some chips, a couple bites of fruit, and some M&Ms!
So what’s the dealio with this volcano and lake? Well, upon research AFTER the fact, this is the highest volcano in El Salvador- 7,605 ft!! Holy Christos! The last eruption was 2005, when the volcano killed a couple of people and hurled rocks the size of CARS about a mile away!! The indigenous name is Ilamatepec. I couldn’t find any good information on the lake itself, except for an abstract from a scientific paper that stated the lake is actually a lot cooler than what you would expect- about 68 degrees F!! But that during times of increased volcanic activity, temperatures were recorded at 86. Honestly though, not bad for a lake inside of a volcano! Oh, and it’s shallower than I thought- about 90 feet. Statistics aside, it’s beautiful, and the camera really couldn’t pick up the gorgeous muted jade/blue tones.
I shit thee not, we hadn’t been up there 3 minutes before we hear whistles blowing. What the…it was the guides saying it was time to go. Everyone off the volcano. I’m sorry, but FUCK YOU. I didn’t trudge 3 hours up here to spend 3 minutes and turn right back around. And anyway, I didn’t take whistle in high school, so no comprendo! We walked around a bit with whistles blowing and snapped shots. The whistles started getting more fervent, so we headed down after the masses, among the last in the line again.
Heading back down…
Um, see that little villagy area WAAAAAAAY down there? That was our general location. Is it too late to just sacrifice myself to the volcano and call it a day??
Up, up, up and now turned into down, down, down- my knee’s least favorite pasttime. And the discussion it had started on the way up now turned into a full blown argument, that by the time we got near the bottom was turning into a domestic violence issue and a request for a restraining order. The young man in front of me would help me down the steeper steps, while Brian was on the other side. Some people had ended up behind us somehow, and we let them pass while I rested me knee, so I lost the nice young man. We finally got back to the forest and the clouds were thick. It was literally like walking through some kind of haunted fairy tale forest, except it was my knee that was the villian. I would have preferred a witch or wolf… We were now at the very back with the rear guides, and they were trying to help me hobble down the best they could. I felt like a 90 year old. Embarrassed, but there was literally nothing I could do. It just wouldn’t cooperate. Two hours, yes TWO hours of this making it a FIVE hour hike total with no decent food, and we came out to the little park entrance area again. Praise be! But there was still a bit to go. I started discussing how we were going to get back to the car- the park was basically shutting down and we didn’t think anyone would be driving up to the top to hitchhike with. Brian was going to just walk up and get the car while I waited if that was the case. We got to the bottom, and damn if the guide didn’t put us in a truck!!! $1 per person!! And me, being an invalid, got to ride in the cab with the driver instead of stand up packed like sardines in the back (which we’ve determined is an official mode of transportation in El Salvador!). That was THE best $1 I have ever spent in my life. Hands down, no question. Oh my god, I was so relieved. Because I really didn’t want to wait at the bottom by myself.
The eerie, haunted looking forest…
Soon, we were back at the car and heading back down the road toward San Salvador. I was tired. I was cranky. My knee hurt. I was hungry. In other words, waaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! We wanted to get back to our AirBNB and check in before dark. Put it in google maps and found it easily. Super nice little modern condo with free secured parking! Dropped our bags and it was time to find FOOD!! It was after 6pm by this time!!! We drove around the neighborhood a bit and couldn’t find anything, so we pulled into a gas station and asked a guy on a motorcycle. He pointed and told us “Metro Center” and indicated that there were a lot of restaurants there. We found it, and went into the first restaurant we saw- Pueblo Vieja. The waiter was so happy to practice his English with us, and even brought over another waiter to help him with his English as well. The food was awesome, and our waiter even took our picture. 🙂 At the end, he wanted me to tell him the proper way to ask a customer in English if they were finished with their meal. Guys, El Salvadoreans really, REALLY want English speaking tourists here, and they are trying very hard. It’s so heartwarming to see!
Taken with my craptastic phone camera.
Next up, so we would NEVER be stuck without food again, was a trip to the grocery store that was in the same center. It was dark out by now, and we felt perfectly safe walking around. Of course, there are armed guards EVERYWHERE in El Salvador. Like seriously. Everywhere. Went into Super Selectos- an excellent, very well organized store! One thing I will say…El Salvador ain’t cheap. They use the US dollar as their currency so are directly tied to our economy and it shows. We grabbed some eggs to boil, some more of our favorite chips, and some fruit. And, there it was again, on the shelf…DR. PEPPER!! Oh, El Salvador…you surprise me in so many ways!! Headed back to the condo and crashed. Our first full day here was certainly that…full!
Know how I knew this morning was going to be a Good Friday? Because I woke up and my knee wasn’t incapacitated as I had suspected it might be. Plus, Brian had drank a full on glass of WATER at the restaurant last night, and I had a drink with ice. Neither of us were clutching our guts and declaring the bathroom a toxic dump site. Woo-hoo! I had been very worried about that…. Those things, and it was literally Good Friday. In Latin America, it’s called Semana Santa (Saint’s Week), and it is a BIG DEAL. Like THE high holiday. I knew from being in Colombia that there were all kinds of processions and things, and really wanted to experience that! Searched the internet high and low for information and really couldn’t figure out where or when anything was. The waiter at the restaurant the night before said there are these things called alfombras (carpets) that are made in the streets for the processions to walk over, and that they are very popular. We ate some boiled eggs and headed out on foot, with plans to just walk the 3 miles to the main cathedral in town: La Catedral Metropolitana del Divino Salvador del Mundo. We figured there HAD to be something going on there. First stop, a little farmacia that was open near the house. We walked in and kind of wandered around looking for sunscreen. Lo and behold, and man walks up to us out of the blue and introduces himself in perfect English, asking what we needed. He was just a customer there, named Charlie, and he worked in a call center so he knew English. He asked the lady at the counter if there was any sunscreen. No. 🙁 He then asked us what our plans were. We told him, and he said San Salvador is dead (no pun intended, Jesus) because everyone leaves the city to go to the smaller towns or the beach. We asked him for suggestions, and he wasn’t really sure, so the guy calls his brother to ask!! Seriously, the people here are SO friendly and SO lovely!! Nicest I’ve encountered anywhere, really. The brother says Sonsonate is where it’s happening. That advice, coupled with the fact that my knee was already complaining slightly and we hadn’t even walked 2 blocks, made us decide to go back, get the car, and head to Sonsonate! We joked that some people can turn on a dime. We turn on the head of a pin. 🙂
There’s a thing about El Salvador. Every place is 1 hour and 21 minutes away, no matter where you’re going! Small country… We drove along the roads, which I must say that by Central American standards are quite good. Not a ton of pot holes, hardly any topas (speed bumps), and well marked. Along the way we saw very typical El Salvadorean things. People JAM PACKED into trucks, vans, buses, whatever. John Fredy (our driver in Medellin), had a joke with Allison. He could get a vehicle to give her and her friends a tour that would fit 8 Americans or 15 Colombians. Here, that joke would be revised to “or 23 El Salvordoreans”. Another thing we see a lot are sticks. Sticks piled into trucks. People gathering sticks. People carrying sticks. Sticks piled in yards. We’re pretty sure they’re for firewood (for cooking, not heat!). And babies. Babies doing all kinds of things babies in the US are definitely not allowed to do. Babies standing in buckets of water. Babies riding on a motorcycle down the highway with no protection, just kinda stuffed in between mom and dad. Babies crawling from the shoulder out on to the highway (no lie!!) from a roadside vendor. Naked babies just hanging out on the hood of a car. The only plastic they don’t have here is bubble wrap for babies. It’s natural selection at its finest! And speaking of plastic, I hate to say it, but damn this country is a mess. There is trash EVERYWHERE. We have seen so many people just throw stuff out of their car windows. It’s a damn shame. 🙁
Baby in a bucket. I just missed the shot of him pouring that little bucket full of water over his head. In the US, we call this “BABY DROWNING HAZARD!!!!!!”, then promptly wrap the child in bubble wrap.
As we drove, we could see the volcanoes in the distance. It’s the tail end of dry season here, so everything is brown.
We arrived at Sonsonate. And had NO CLUE where to go (running theme). The gps had taken us to some neighborhood with some dirt roads. We knew that wasn’t right. I zoomed in on the map, saw a green square, and knew that where there is a park, there is a church! We headed for it and there it was! The place was packed, but we parked within a block of it because even though there were hundreds of people, only a few cars were needed to get them here! 🙂 Purple was the colore de la dia!! There were lots of people dressed in purple robe type things- children, men, women. I’m guessing it signifies the royal color purple- the color of kings- for Jesus. The fountains even had purple water. One had red, I assume to symbolize the blood of Jesus.
This kid smiled so much after he realized I snapped his pic. 🙂
Super creepy clown for blowing up helium balloons…
Oh, speaking of bloodshed, I had read on a blog about Sonsonate that it was one of the most dangerous areas of El Salvador. They specifically mentioned to cover up any tattoos to avoid attracting the attention of gang members. That meant that I made Brian basically dress in a burka for the day…the 95 degree day. Let me quell any fears- Sonsonate, at least during Semana Santa is completely safe. I can not tell you how many times I said “These people are just so WONDERFUL” after every encounter. I’m used to people I’m paying to be nice to me. These people are just geniunely nice because they are. So helpful, so friendly, so accommodating. Anyway, I digress to say this. Brian could have worn shorts and a shorter sleeve shirt. 🙂
A lot of people were lining up in front of a big decorated building. When in El Salvador….so we lined up too. We were kind of an anomaly. And by that, I mean the ONLY white people. Kids especially would look at us so curiously! Some followed us around! We stood there waiting for we had no idea what to happen. We could hear drums in the distance, and soon, we saw the procession arriving! Jesus arrived from one side of the plaza, two women figures and an angel from the other side. In the middle was a stage and they were very loudly acting out the trial of Jesus.
News reporter, in what I assume is traditional Santa Semana attire. 😉
The trial of Jesus was dragging on about as long as OJ’s trial, so I was ready to cut out. I wanted to find those alfombras! The people running the bathroom service (which for a crowd this large was very nice!) directed us in Spanish to where they were. We headed that way. As we walked along the streets, there were women selling all kinds of fruits and vegetables. In this area, the women all had these beautiful aprons on. I stopped on one side of the road and heard a mass of giggling behind me. There was a woman in a bright pink shirt laughing about me taking those women’s picture, and calling to them across the street basically saying “Ha, ha, you got your picture taken!”. I smiled at her and kept walking. The guy at a cart about 20 feet away told me in Spanish, with a mischeivous gleam in his eye, to go back and take her picture. I started walking back, she saw me, and started laughing her head off. I gave her puppy dog eyes, put my hands together in a pleading way and playfully said “Una fotographia, por favor…por favor???” She giggled and ran. It was on! I chased after her! Brian said I looked like the papparazzi! I knew it was all just a fun game and I wasn’t offending her or anything. She was laughing so hard, I was trying to snap a picture. I finally got one and walked over to show her. She about died laughing!!! It was SO MUCH FUN! I’m telling you (again) these people are WONDEFUL!!!
Pink shirt….my new bestie!
We turned a block and saw a bunch of alfombras that had already been walked over by the previous processions of the day. I think there was one early in the morning, and then that noon one that we had seen. But I knew the main one was this afternoon at 4 (the bathroom guy told me).
Around another corner, we saw them! Well, the beginnings of them. Salt was being spread out into some big wooden frames. It looked like they had a lot of work ahead of them! We continued walking and saw people preparing these huge stencils of palm trees, I assumed to put into the salted frames. They were no where near ready (it was about 12:30), so we decided to go back to the square and explore the church.
We wandered around the very crowded church for a bit, then decided to get some food. Every restaurant was closed, so we found a street vendor that advertised a chicken lunch with a coke for $2.50. Now HERE were some decent prices finally!! Brian got the chicken with rice, avocado, and tortillas (we are NOT fans of the tortillas in El Salvador- they’re too thick and don’t have much flavor). The chicken and rice were FANTASTIC!! I got bean and cheese pupusas which were really good as well. We also ordered some deep fried yucca things that had kind of a sweet sauce with them- almost dessert like- that were really good. The people at the food stand were bending over backwards for us. Got us seated at a table under their canopy. Made sure we had everything we wanted. Cleaned up the mega mess Brian made with the sauce all over the nice table cloth (I can’t take him anywhere!). And when I asked for a knife to cut the chicken with, they didn’t have one and apologized. Like 30 seconds later, a woman appeared with a knife. Again, SUCH LOVELY PEOPLE!!!
During all of this, the mega loud Jesus trial was still going on. We’re two hours in at this point. Soon, we heard the band playing, so we wandered over to the street and the procession was heading our way. Let me tell you about that Jesus thing they were carrying. There were 4 rows of about 8-10 men struggling to keep it held up! Ahead of Jesus were the guys waving the incense burners. Behind all of that was a large band. Behind that, the women and angel figures, all carried by women (much smaller to carry). I was pretty much right in the middle of the street snapping pics of it all!
After the procession passed, we headed back to the street with the alfombras to see what progress had been made. Those palm stencils were to paint on the street! There were guys who were basically mopping in between the lines with oil. Then a team would lay down a palm tree stencil and shake colored sand all over it. There were several teams working on this all the way up the street. And progress was being made on the alfombras! We oooed and ahhhed over them. I asked one guy what time would they be finished. 4pm. Holy crap. I was not going to just sit here for another 2 hours. Time to find a new adventure!
I hit up google maps and found some kind of ecopark thing in the area that was about 20 minutes away. We decided to go check it out. On the way back, we passed by my friend pink shirt again! I shouted “Hola!!” a few times across the street, but she didn’t look up. A guy next to me said something and she looked over and DIED laughing again! I snapped a quick pic and went to show her, then Brian said we should all take a picture together. They agreed. Now THESE are ladies I’d like to hang out with!!
Brian was all worried about giving up our sweet parking space. I told him it was FINE. We headed off to the town of Caluco. Down pavement which gave way to dirt roads. And I never felt safer. The eco park ended up being a bunch of really dirty looking pools that were PACKED with people. The water running through them was river water. We basically hit a dead end and turned around. Found a church and stopped to see if there was any interesting Semana Santa stuff going on. Not much.
Back down the road to head to Sonsonate again. We saw a kid on the side of the road with crabs on a string. I told Brian to turn around!! We pulled up alongside of him and I said I didn’t want crabs, but how about a picture. He agreed, and I snapped this shot. I handed him a dollar for his trouble. 🙂
Brian was completely wrong about parking. We parked practically on top of the alfombras this time! Of course, I heckled him half to death about that. “Oh gee, I’m not sure we can handle walking a whole 30 feet….” He loves me. 🙂 We checked on the progress of the alfombras. It was a little after 3pm and the thing was starting in less than an hour! Progress had been made, but still not quite finished!!
We walked around the streets. Me with my massive “Hello, I’m a tourist with money to burn on a fancy camera” camera swinging from my neck. Never felt safer. A lady asked if I would take a picture of her and her children. Damn thing came out blurry!! I was so pissed. But here they are. The ladies carrying things on their heads were so interesting.
Mayan woman
The best thing to kill time anywhere is to go get ICE CREAM! Which we did. And in that shop was the only whitish looking person we had seen all day (way to ruin it, white lady!). After ice cream, it was about 3:40. I wasn’t interested in seeing another procession, because it takes forever and I wanted to be back before dark. We decided to just accept whatever was finished of the alfombras, and then head out. And here is what we found…
Ummm hmmmm….now what does a unicorn, a werewoman, a fairy, and Jesus all have in common?? I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. This area has a strong Mayan presence (which was shown on the alfombra with the parrots and MAYAN TEMPLE). I was so damn proud and pleased with these people! Well played…well played, indeed. Hilarious!!! High five, Sonsonate, for making this day so “magical”!! Love your town, love your people, love your culture!!
Today was Saturday- the day the Mayan ruins we tried to visit from Day 2 were supposed to be open. We got up and got ourselves out the door so we could be there right when Joya de Ceren opened at 9am. Turned on our jam- 102.1- and started our 1 hour and 21 minute (because EVERYTHING is that far away!) drive. Let me tell you about 102.1…it’s an 80’s station. And not your typical 80’s station from the US. We heard zero Madonna in hours of driving over days. No, they play the songs you literally have not heard since 1987!! And some of them are crazy mixes of those songs. It’s so trippy! We love it! Perfect road trip accompaniment.
Pulled into Joya de Ceren 3 minutes before 9. First (and only) ones in!! Woo-hoo!! $3 per person (because EVERYTHING in El Salvador is $3 per person and 1 hour and 21 minutes away!!). Now I’ve been to a lot of Mayan ruins in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. Probably about 10, including the biggie at Tikal. But Joya de Ceren is very different from all of those ruins. Most ruins are all about the city center, with temples and buildings and such. Joya de Ceren is about the outskirts of these areas that people rarely realize existed. The “suburbs” of the big cities, so to speak. The farming villages that sustained these massive civilizations. We don’t normally see them because they were build out of mud, not rock, so they haven’t lasted the centuries. So why did Joya de Ceren last? Here’s a clue- it’s called the Pompeii of the Americas!! And just like the Roman Pompeii in Italy (which I have had the pleasure of visiting last summer!), Joya de Ceren was buried during a volcanic eruption, and perfectly preserved! People had been living in this area as far back as 1200 BCE (over 3000 years ago!! WOW!). In 590, a nearby volcano erupted and covered the village under about 20 FEET of ash!! Unlike the Romans, who stuck around praying for their gods to make Vesuvius stop acting up, the Mayans high tailed it the heck out of there. No human remains have been found, in fact they left so fast they didn’t take much with them. (Note: See how well action works vs.. “thoughts and prayers”??…we could learn something from these ancient civilizations!!) That means scientists have been able to use the site to learn a lot about everyday Mayan life! So how did they find this place, buried under 20 feet of ash and layers of stuff from 1300+ years on top of that? A bulldozer was doing some excavation and uncovered it in 1976. Since then, over 70 buildings have been found, and about 12 have been fully excavated (including homes, sweat lodges, storage houses, and ceremonial houses). The parts that are open to the public are all under huge sheds- not out in the open like Pompeii. Pompeii was built from stone. Joya de Ceren is built from clay, so it would not withstand the elements very long if exposed. It was declared a UNESCO site in 1993. And the awesome thing is that even though the information was fairly limited (and the museum was closed, from what the sign said permanently 🙁 ), the signage on each site was in Spanish AND English!
They had a model sweat lodge built that you could go into.
It took us probably about 45 minutes to go through Joya de Ceren. Next on our Mayan road trip was San Andres, which was right around the corner, maybe 5 miles away. We drove in and there were a few people milling around. Paid our….wait for it…$3 per person. 🙂 San Andres was a ceremonial center. In fact, it’s still used by the Mayans for ceremonies, which is pretty cool! Again, lots of signage in English, and a really cool museum! The ruins themselves were kinda “eh”. Brian has never been to any, so they were good for him! One really cool thing here is a tunnel that was excavated under one of the pyramids- it’s over 250 feet long! Unfortunately you couldn’t go in. 🙁
Now something REALLY crazy happened when we left San Andres and I got a decent data signal. I’m not going to go into this entire drama, but let me give you a little of the backstory. I found out I was adopted 11 years ago. I found my birthmother immediately through a person called a “search angel” (someone who helps adoptees find their birth family). Met her, drama ensued, she refused to tell me who my birth father is, yadda, yadda, yadda. I was at a dead end. Fast forward a decade when the genetics teacher can now order a DNA test and find potential relatives that way! I took the test 2 months ago. Yesterday morning, I got an email that they were ready to view, and I posted my information on a site. A search angel said she would help, and spent all day yesterday tracking down potential matches and leads and building family trees to narrow down the possibilities. Never in my wildest dreams did I think anything would happen for a few weeks at LEAST. I mean, people get their DNA tested and it can still take months or years to find the right trail, because it is reliant on the right people who are related to you getting tested and building out their family trees! Well, here I am, in the middle of no where El Salvador, and a facebook message pops up from my search angel that she thinks she’s found a potential family member. Just like the Santa Ana volcano death march, I was NOT mentally prepared for this right now. So my mind is spinning at like 10,000 mph, I’m what iffing and kinda freaking out on the I don’t know how long (probably 1 hour and 21 minute) drive to the next Mayan site. Emotional roller coaster from hell, not enough data to do searches of my own for more information…ugh. Then we get to the town, Tazumal, and google maps is just toying with us. We ended up off on the far side of town somewhere down dirt roads, and had to turn around. This was just google practicing for later…
We finally found it (dead giveway: it’s on the street that is covered in souvenir stalls.) We parked and the guy made it very clear in English that he would be requiring a tip upon our return. I needed food. I needed to sit down. I needed a stiff drink and a bullet. I NEEDED A SCREAMING FAST DATA CONNECTION!! We’re sitting on this street, no white people anywhere (which literally has been the norm this entire trip), and I’m ordering food in Spanish. Nothing is registering. Somewhere between San Andreas and here I went from the “shock” stage to the “anger” stage. I have tears in my eyes, Brian isn’t sure what to do with me, the food kinda sucked. UGH. We finished and went across the street to the ruins. Of course, it’s $3 to get in. We’re out of small bills and Brian (who is in charge of Spanish while I am fighting off a nervous breakdown) hands the guy a $100. He says he can’t change it. OH HELL NO. Brian, in his super cute innocent way, says let’s go find an ATM. Um, the streets are one step up from dirt over here. I’m doubting there’s an ATM on the corner!! I’m over it at this point. The US dollar is the currency, there are DOZENS of people inside the ruins right now and I know damn good and well he has change. I walk back up to the window and blab a bunch of stuff in Spanish that includes the word cambio, probably looking half crazed and ready to lose it at any point. He takes my $100 and gives me $94 back in change. Gracias.
We’re putting our cambio away, and a guy comes running up and hands me something. It’s the guy from the restaurant, handing me my PHONE!!! The only lifeline we have in El Salvador because I’m the only one with T-Mobile and free international data. Without that phone, we couldn’t find our way out of the parking lot!! Oh my god, I thanked him profusely. I NEVER leave my phone anywhere. That was the state of mind I was in… And let me say it yet again, the people here are SO LOVELY!! The best I’ve ever dealt with in all of my travels…
The ruins here at Tazumal were much more impressive than San Andreas. We hiked along the perimeter through a very peaceful and quiet area (which I needed) that was right next to an extremely colorful typical Central American cemetery.
The museum was very nice, but nothing was in English. Not sure why it was in the other 2 places and not here. These are some of the most interesting pieces.
Headed back to the car, made sure we tipped the guy, and looked at google maps trying to figure out what to do next. We could head directly back to San Salvador the way we came. Or….we could take the Ruta de Las Flores and then head toward the beach and come back into San Salvador that way. Anytime we can take a road we haven’t traveled, it’s a good day. So off toward the Ruta de Las Flores we went! The drive was nice, but would have been MUCH nicer if it wasn’t the end of dry season. Everything that should have been lush and green was kinda brown and sparse. Honestly, not much to see that was exciting. But then we saw a sign on the side of the road…my eyes scanned it quickly and just picked up the word “cascadas” which I knew meant waterfall! Let’s do it! We pulled over into a little parking lot across the street, and started walking up a path alongside the road. It was maybe a 5 minute walk to some quite lovely waterfalls with a lot of locals hanging out. We have seen one, that is ONE, possibly white English speaking woman and that was in Sonsonate. #travelingright While I was snapping pictures, a youngish guy came up and started talking to Brian in perfect English. His name is Alex. He went to join his parents in the US when he was 10 and grew up there, graduated high school there, and spent 16 years of his life there. The current immigration policies forced him to come back to El Salvador, a place he hadn’t been since he was a young child. He says he likes it here ok. He lives in his parent’s old house so he doesn’t have to pay rent. A very clean cut, well spoken young man. I felt awful for him.
Our road was taking us through numerous small towns as we wound our way over the mountains and to the beach. There was a dark red line on Google near the beach town of La Libertad. It was Easter Sunday, and we had already been told that EVERYONE goes to the beach. We figured that by the time we got there, the traffic would clear out. And hopefully as we drove this coast road, we’d see some stunning scenery. We were wrong on both counts… Every once in a while we’d catch a glimpse of the ocean, but for the most part it was obscured by fences, the side of the mountain, or vegetation. The best view was at the “goat turnout”, so named because it was one of the few turnouts we saw to catch a view of the water, and….well….there was a goat! Which of course Brian immediately befriended, even though I’m not so sure the goat was reciprocating the love, as he was trying to head butt Brian!
We kept watching the red line on Google, and it wasn’t getting any better. Soon we hit the traffic. I live in Los Angeles, I know traffic. This was the worst mess I’d ever been in! It literally took us almost 2 hours to go about 5 miles. People were lining the streets trying to sell us all kinds of things- water, some kind of huge bright pink tortilla looking things, mangos that had been cut to look like flowers and covered in something that looked like chocolate, french fries with ketchup and mayonaisse (I would have paid $10 for some plain fries!!). People would speed up and pass you on the shoulder. Or, they would drive in the oncoming lane for as long as they could and then practically kill you to get in front of you to avoid being killed by an oncoming car. It was INSANITY, and how Brian kept it together I will never know. I, of course, am still trying to process the news of maybe finding my family while stifling the urge to ditch the car and walk back to San Salvador to save time. There were police around. We have no idea what their purpose was. When we finally got toward the end of it, this chicken and cross pretty much summed up our experience!
And you’d think that would be the end of our day. No, no it wasn’t. It was dark as we wound our way up toward San Salvador. We really don’t like to be out after dark. Got closer to town and we were starving. We decided to just go to Metro Center, where we ate the night before, and grab something fast at one of the restaurants. Put Metro Center into google, and headed there. Made a right hand turn, saw Pollo Campero on the left, and said “Let’s do it!”. But San Salvador has these huge cement barriers in the median everywhere you go. We couldn’t turn left into Metro Center. No worries, there has to be a U turn in a block or two, right? Wrong. Google maps told us it would be .6 miles before we could make a left turn and get back around. We counted down the tenths of a mile and then the feet so we’d be sure not to miss it in the dark. When we found it, it was barricaded off!! What the hell?! Google maps said, “No worries, you can turn in another half mile!”. Ok…except that turn was not possible either!! We didn’t know what to do, had no idea what part of town we were in, it was dark, we were tired, we wanted food, and it was just a damn mess!! We just kept going, thinking soon there HAD to be a way to turn left. YES! Google maps said soon!! We got ready, got to the turn, and it was blocked off for construction! Traffic was flowing quickly, and before we knew it we were diverted up on to this bridge thing with metal rails. I swear to god it looked exactly like the rails on the sides of a roller coaster as you’re going up the hill. Brian was flying (slow the fuck down is not in his vocabulary), and all of a sudden we almost reached the top and….just like a roller coaster….couldn’t see the other side! It was scary as hell, because you never know if they’re going to throw a barrier or a chicken or something in your path. Made it off of that and at that point, Brian was frazzled. Somehow we finally made it back around, and then missed another turn we needed to make, which took us into a completely different area of town. We didn’t know if we were in a “no gringo” zone or not. But we did see the glowing sign of Pollo Campero!! We pulled in, locked the car, and walked in. I ordered in Spanish, and we sat on the little bench next to the counter waiting for our food. At that point, between the roller coaster of emotions and the roller coaster car ride, I finally lost it. I started giggling, and I don’t even know why. I could NOT stop. I could barely breathe and had tears running down my face. We’re talking about 3 full minutes of this. Of course, being the only gringos in a locals packed fast food chicken place wasn’t obvious enough, I had to be acting like I was possessed! Oh for Christ’s sake!!!!!
Got our chicken, and wandered through dark streets, finally making it back to the condo. We ate our Pollo Campero (I am now firmly a Pollo Campero person- I do not like Don Pollo or Pollo Compesto (there’s a lot of Pollo to be had in El Salvador). Went to bed and I started doing research on what might be my family…
This is not “our” Pollo Campero, but a pic of a sign I snapped the next day. They’re everywhere. And now, Pollo Campero is a major part of our El Salvador memories!!
Today, I had a lot of work to do. And work wasn’t cooperating. I didn’t finish until almost noon, at which time we had to check out of the AirBNB and head to our new location for the next two nights- Puerto Barrillas. By now, the awe, shock, and horror of the previous day’s events had merged into acceptance of the situation, and of the fact that I really want no part of more crazy in my life. Brian is enough of that. 😉 We drove to Usulutan and stopped off at Super Selectos to grab a few groceries to take out to the resort. We knew it was quite a ways away and there probably wasn’t much in the way of facilities. We followed the directions and turned down an 11km dirt road (YES!!), passing through a couple of guard gates on the way down. Checked into the office and followed a guy on a bike through a lovely forested area to our little cabin. Oh man, it was CUTE!!
Brian, doing the Woo-Hoo jump!!
Brian falling down after said Woo-Hoo jump. #dontbreakahipoldman
We had a boat ride that was to start at 3pm, so we walked back down to the office area on the cutest little cobblestone path that crossed a little stream. I was liking this place! We needed sunscreen (still), so we stopped into the little store. A tube of sunscreen was $25!!! Are you kidding me?? Um, I’ll take potential melanoma for $50,000, Alex. We sat in little chairs near the water’s edge and waited about 10 minutes for our boat guy. He didn’t speak English. We cruised along many of the little islands that are a barrier between the Pacific and the mainland, and home to a lot of fishing villages. No access except by boat. I know this, because I used one of my new words I had learned on this trip. Puente. “Hay un puente a esta isla?”. No. 🙂
We pulled up on to a little tiny beachy peninsual thing. Literally about 20 feet across at the most and about 30 feet long before there was a barbed wire fence. There were a ton of birds hanging out here. We got out and walked around (that took about 5 minutes and the trash was just so disheartening). From what Brian gathered, we were supposed to sit out here in chairs that were on the boat and watch the sunset. Um, sunset was a good 2 hours away. I can barely sit for 2 minutes. We declined and headed back. It really was a nice little boat ride, though. It would have been fun to actually get out at some of the villages and wander around.
Came back to the resort and went to the room to get my computer so I could blog. The only wi fi was in the restaurant area. We ordered ceviche (OMG it was GOOD!!) and a plate of beef and a plate of fish. Pretty tasty, and not heinously expensive for being trapped at a resort where there were no other options. Used our phones as flashlights to navigate back along the forest path to our cabin. All in all, an easy, relaxing (for us) day. Which was much needed after yesterday!!
Traveling, Blogging, Ceviche, and My Baby- can’t ask for anything more!
Day 6: Chocolate, Wildlife, Our Soledad, and an Earthquake…
Today was the reason we were at this lodge. WILDLIFE!! When searching for where to see wildlife in El Salvador, nothing really came up. Apparently Medellin, Colombia and El Salvador have made a pact to make this trip as void of wildlife as possible… I searched for sanctuaries, and learned that Puerto Barillas had a monkey sanctuary nearby that we could tour, and a tour of a cacao farm (chocolate) as well. Sounded good, so here we were. And I must say, we were really digging the vibe at Puerto Barillas, which is surprising because we are NOT resort people. This was rustic enough to not feel like a resort, plus, there were no gringos to be seen which helped the matter. We went to the restaurant for breakfast and were handed menus. We had paid for breakfast with our room, but I could seriously not come up with the words to ask what breakfast was included with the room! Luckily, I had my computer, so I typed it into google translate and the lady laughed, read it, and showed us which ones. Sometimes, technology is just easier than fumbling through my limited vocabulary of nouns and verbs! Pagamos! Cuarto! Desayuno! Oy!
After a tasty breakfast, it was time for our cacao tour. It was just us (yay!), the driver, and the one office lady who could speak English. We have done a cacao tour before in Panama, but this operation, although still done by hand, was a bit more efficient. The owner of the plantation showed us his operation, with the lady translating when we needed help (which was most of the time!). He showed us the greenhouse with over 20,000 plants they are using to replace the old trees in the plantation. They will live to be about 70, but start being less productive around 40. Most of the trees in this plantation were ready for replacement. Sometimes they completely replace them, and sometimes they use them to graft on to mature trees which have been cut. It was really quite interesting!
Next he showed us the area where they bring the fruit to be processed. Literally, people bust open every pod by hand, scoop out the beans, and throw the shell into a container (the shells are used to feed cattle- no waste). The insides are put into a bucket, which is then dumped into containers made out of a special type of wood that doesn’t leach into the fruit. Here, it is fermented for several days. It starts out in the top box. The slats can be removed so they can shovel and turn the fruit into the next row of boxes when it’s time. Then, the last row of boxes. When this process is done, they go out to the drying trays. These trays are really smart, because if it starts to rain they can quickly slide them all under the roof- kind of like drawers. Way better than the old way of spreading them out on a huge cement foundation and hoping for the best- especially since they have to be outside for several days to dry. The English speaking lady took one of the completely dried beans from a tray and peeled it for us. The bean tasted like super dark chocolate (kind of bitter). I’m a milk chocolate girl, so that wasn’t really my gig. Then we got to try the bean right out of the pod. Well, not really the bean, but the white stuff around the bean. You kind of suck/chew it off the bean. Man, it was GOOD!! I wanted some kind of drink made from that stuff!!
The beans right out of the pod
The fermenting boxes
The drying trays
Souveniors. They’re the bane of my travel existence, because I am PAF (picky as fuck). I don’t want some random ass “I came to XYZ country and all I got was this dumb, meaningless dust collector made in China” souvenior. No, they have to MEAN something. And preferably be completely unique- like a carving or piece of art done by a local, that sort of thing. Here we were, Day 6 in El Salvador, and I had not seen one thing that even slightly spoke to me. Until I walked into that cacao warehouse. They had these burlap sacks that they put the dried beans in to ship off to Honduras. I KNEW I had to have that! When we were ready to leave, I asked the English speaking lady to ask the owner if I could buy one. He told her there were bags at the office in town. She said she’d see if her driver could pick one up. I said I’d pay for it, but really wasn’t confident that that was going to happen. The guy then walked into the warehouse and brought a bag out. He said it was dirty and I wouldn’t want that one. OH YES I WOULD! I wanted a dirty one!!! More character!!! I think he was rather shocked by my excitement over a dirty sack. I asked if I could pay him for it. No. And that is how I got my El Salvador souvenior. It’s going to go into a huge frame and up on the wall. And I bet no one else has one. 🙂 🙂 #score
Back in the van to head to the monkey sanctuary. We’re on all of these back roads deep in the cacao, banana, and sugar cane plantations. There are these 3 guys on bicycles with some kind of weird rope/belt thing wrapped all around them. The lady asked us if we’d ever seen coconuts harvested. NO!!!! We jumped out and went over to where they were climbing the trees. It was AMAZING how fast they could climb up! The guy would then tie off a bundle of coconuts and lower them down to the ground with a rope. So interesting to watch!
Head out on the open (dirt) road again and pulled over at what the lady said was the turtle and alligator lake. She said we could go this way to the monkey sanctuary- across a rickety ass bridge. If you have followed my travels, you know that rickety, high, shaky bridges are NOT on my itenerary, but somehow I keep ending up on them! This one wasn’t high or shaky, but it literally looked like any extra weight on any half-rotten board would cause you to plunge (about 4 feet) to your death in alligator infested waters!! She was doing it in wedge heels, so I figured what the hell. But I was nervous…. Halfway through we stood on said rickety bridge to look for gators- scanned the banks, but nothing. On the other side was a GORGEOUS little path through a lush forest. Eagle eye (Alligator eye?) Brian somehow spotted an alligator through all of the brush! I still don’t know how he saw that thing! It was a young one, maybe 4 feet long. The lady said there were some in here that were 12 feet! YIKES!! We didn’t take too many more steps before the forest broke out into calls of what sounded like a duck arguing with a monkey! Research has shown this to be a boat billed heron! And man, they were so cool looking! But they flew into the far trees across the gator lake as we approached. Between the distance and the foliage between me and them, these were the best pics I could get.
Really? How is it that I manage to find the most terrifying bridge in every single country??
We didn’t walk too far before we ended up in a clearing with a little ramshackle house, which was the home of Miguelito- the man who has been caring for the monkeys for the past 20+ years. Before I discuss our experience, let me tell you about this sanctuary. One thing I’ve learned in all of my travels, is that there is no one meaning for the phrase “animal sanctuary”. This one was most like the Proboscis Monkey sanctuary we visited in Borneo- farmers realizing they were destroying an animal’s entire habitat, and saving some of it for them. But it isn’t as much as they would normally have in the wild, so they are also fed by humans to supplement them. But the monkeys are for the most part wild and can come and go as they please. How did they get there, when there apparently wasn’t another monkey anywhere in all of El Salvador (at least that I had seen)? Well, in the 60’s and 70’s there was a personal zoo of sorts back here on the property. A few spider monkeys had escaped. As the land was sold off for agricultural purposes, it was known that the monkeys and other wildlife were surviving on what little patch of remaining forest there was. The various plantation owners decided to protect this strip of land, and today there are about 30 spider monkeys living here (along with the birds and alligators, and supposedly even some wildcats!).
The first thing we saw though was a monkey that couldn’t come and go as she pleased. Meet Soledad the spider monkey- the only woman I think I could possibly lose Brian to! Soledad was rescued from being a pet, and there was no place in El Salvador to take her (seriously, there are NO sanctuaries in this entire country, believe me I researched and researched before we went!). They brought her to Puerto Barillas hoping to integrate her into the wild with the resident spider monkey troop. Well, she had no clue about how to live in the wild, and the other monkeys had NO interest in adopting her. In fact, they harrassed her and fought her. To the point that she had to be separated from them to keep from being killed. That was five years ago, and she’s still caged. They bring in vets annually to check her, and have had promises from other organizations to come and get her, but here she still is. And it’s heartbreaking. These are social creatures. She deserves to be in the wild. But she has no survival skills. And the other monkeys would kill her if she was released. It sucks, but the reality of the situation is that there are two choices- cage her or let her go and die. God, I don’t know which is worse, and as much as my heart broke for her, I can not walk in there with my 5 minutes of experience and tell them what to do. They’re doing the best they know how with what they have. Soledad and Brian took an immediate liking to each other. She pressed her back up against the wire for Brian to scratch her, changing position every few minutes so he could reach another part. When she reached through the bars to touch him when he was standing a foot or so away, we almost both lost it. All she wanted was love and attention. The sadness in her eyes….God, god, god. I’m about to cry right now writing this.
Sweet, sweet Soledad. 🙁
While we were fawning over Soledad, Miguelito was out calling to the forest “Pancho!! Pancho!!”. He’s the alpha male. About 10 minutes later the trees were shaking with monkeys jumping all around. It made my heart break for Soledad even more- to see these free monkeys and be trapped must be hell. And I’ll be honest- I didn’t even care for these monkeys. They made me angry. Why couldn’t they just accept Soledad? Why did they have to be so cruel for no reason. Because primates, that’s why. And as a member of that group, I know how we are. And in reality, they are almost as trapped as Soledad- trapped on a small island of wild, surrounded by farms. Genetically, they can’t be very strong because there is so much inbreeding (Soledad would have been a welcome addition to the gene pool!). Who knows how many more generations they’ll last…
Maria, the alpha female, and Miguelito. She wasn’t happy with what he had, so she went right into his house to get what she wanted!
I seriously didn’t want to leave Soledad. I wanted to take her with us. And with my feelings being that strong, I can only imagine how Dr. Doolittle (Brian) was feeling. We left, full of ideas on how to better her life, and knowing we were helpless to do anything.
Back at the resort, we sat down to a cup of hot chocolate- Mayan style- made with the local cacao beans. It was really smooth and really good. While we did that, Brian was facetiming with work. I have photographic evidence now that he can work from anywhere in the world!!
Digital nomad????
It was still early- like 2 or so. We decided to go for a walk on the property and down some of the dirt roads we had driven down earlier. And it is here that I taught Brian about doodlebugs- aka ant lions. Those little critters that build the cup shaped holes in loose dirt, waiting for an ant to aimlessly wander in. Apparently Brian either a) never had a childhood or b) was imprisoned in Nebraska for his childhood where apparently even doodlebugs know better than to try to exist. (Spoiler alert: It’s b). I taught him how to take a little blade of grass and run it around the hole, mimicking an ant trying to climb out. At that point, the bug starts flipping dirt, and you can scoop your hand in and catch it! I did it on my first try. #tomboy Brian gave it a valiant effort on several holes, but just didn’t have the perfect techinique. I think it’s something that can only be acquired before the age of 10… I then caught an ant and put it in a hole, showing him how the gruesome process plays out in real life. Seriously, we had a ton of fun doing that for 10 minutes. We’re easily entertained!
We walked the grounds and then out on the dirt roads, hand in hand, talking and enjoy the sounds and sights of the forest. In between snapping pictures, of course!
Beautiful grounds of Puerto Barillas Lodge!
Have you ever seen a more perfect road to wander down??
This is Brian’s favorite tree- Guanacaste (Enterolobium cyclocarpum). He really wants one in the front yard. It would shade us AND the neighbors!
Turquoise browed motmot- (Eumomota superciliosa)…a stunning bird!! And just so happens to be the national bird of El Salvador!
Came back to the resort, and sat out under one of the palapas by the water’s edge so I could blog. All of a sudden, I’m moving, or Brian is moving, or the palapa is moving- HELL IT’S THE ENTIRE EARTH MOVING!! Just this really weird back and forth rocking motion. I’m sitting there staring at Brian like “What is happening?”. It lasted a really long time- like 10-15 seconds. Long enough to realize a) this is an earthquake b) this is not stopping c) we are 10 feet from the water and one of my top 3 fears is a tsunami. It was the biggest earthquake I’ve ever been in (and I’ve lived in Los Angeles for almost 20 years!). Kept updating the USGS site waiting to hear word on where and how big. It finally popped up- 5.9 just off the coast of Puerto di Triunfo- which was litterally the closest “town” to us and was just up the dirt road!!! The epicenter was about 20 miles from us. Further research shows that it was in the same exact location as a deadly 7.7 that hit in 2001. Eeps. (Side note: 3 days later I was sitting home in Los Angeles and ANOTHER earthquake hit!! Seriously, world?)
Blogged for the afternoon, until the no see ums (henious creatures that almost make mosquitoes seem tolerable) came out and started eating us alive. Bug repellent was in the store, but lord knows I wasn’t going to pay the price for it. We moved into the restaurant which was still open to the outside but a little further from the water. We still got bit a ton, but not as bad. Had a lovely dinner (with that awesome ceviche again), and headed back in the dark for our last night in our little forest cabin in lovely Puerto Barillas. We really like it there.
Our last full day in El Salvador, and we didn’t have any major plans. We had found an El Salvador travel book put out by Avianca Airlines in our cabin. Brian saw a lagoon thing that looked cool. And we wanted to check out Ilopango Lake because, well, we didn’t really have anything else to do as we made our way back toward the airport for our flight tomorrow. Packed our things, ate breakfast, checked out, and off we went to explore.
First stop, we headed toward the Laguna de Alegria. We had been spending all of our time in the area to the Northwest of San Salvador. This was our first time to really explore the Southeast side. The roads here were lovely with lots of plants and trees, and didn’t seem quite as dry as the other side. After about, well, an hour and 21 minutes of driving LOL, we saw this sign and knew we were in the right place! Turned off down a cobblestone road that went for a few miles back through coffee plantations. (Note to readers: If you are ever on this road, stuff chewing gum in your fillings and hold on to your spleen. Yowza, it was rough!) Soon we arrived at a little guard shack back off in the middle of no where (our favorite destination, hence the name of this blog!). And here, El Salvador threw us a curve ball. It was NOT $3 per person to get in!! It was $1 total for both of us!! Bargain!! (But the $1 I spent for the truck back up to the car after hiking Santa Ana volcano is still the best $1 I ever spent!).
Ok, here comes the back story. Laguna de Alegria is a volcanic crater lake, inside the Tecapa volcano. Legend has it that a mermaid lives in the lagoon!! Mermaid?! I’m there!! Another legend states that there is a Palmerito tree that has the ability to move itself from place to place within the crater. We parked and walked all the way around the lagoon. The waters are a dark emerald green mixed with a jade color. Very pretty. I wish the sun had been out so the lighting would have been better. We got sprinkled on a bit, but not bad. The water level was really low because of dry season, and the extensive banks were covered in powdery yellow sulphur. In places, holes were dug about 6 inches deep, and you could see that it was a solid layer of sulphur powder.
I was keeping my eye out for any little ripple on the water that might betray the location of the mermaid. But it was completely still, except for the rain drops. When we got about ¾ of the way around though, we saw her! Perched on a rock! I’m sure that when the water levels are up it’s a little more mermaid-esque, but it was fun to spot her anyway! No sign of a moving tree, though. 🙁
Continued our drive all the way out, through the exit (it’s one way), and back down the internal-organ-rearranging road. We started to drive through the next little town, Alegria, but it looked so cute and welcoming, that we had to stop! It was very “touristy” with stalls and shops all set up, but it just seemed to be such an odd place for a tourist trap! The only other place we had seen tourism at its souvenior height, was the ruins at Tazumal. Otherwise, El Salvador is pretty quiet on the tourism front. Still no idea what the huge draw is here, except that it is a very pretty little town with a really nice vibe to it! It didn’t feel quite as “gritty” as the other towns we had been in. And well, there were horses just walking down the middle of the road, so there was that!
Next stop, Lake Ilopango. There was no way to miss it- it’s the 2nd largest lake in El Salvador, after all! I always liken Google Maps to an abusive relationship- it beats me down, takes me on wild goose chases, tells me to “trust it” and turn the wrong way on a one way street, tricks me into thinking there’s a turn somewhere when there isn’t, etc… Frankly, it should be renamed Gaslighting Maps. But like a fool, I keep coming back for more, trusting it with its promises of “I swear, I’ll get you there THIS time!!”. So began our trip to Lake Ilopango… First, we had to drive through the INSANE city of Ilopango. Oh my god, we thought we had seen bad drivers in El Salvador. That was before Ilopango. Cutting us off, zero concepts of lanes, and the word “merge” apparently translates to “see who can get there first and shove the other person off the road”. Oy. The people of El Salvador are the lovliest I’ve ever met (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again). But put them behind the wheel of a car and all bets are off! Somehow we made it through the main part of town without a scratch on our brand new rental car. Of course, that was just google warming up…. We get on the far side of town and on a half dirt/half paved road. Up ahead…what was that?? A mirage?? Um, no. A mud puddle the size of a volcanic crater lake with a little stream feeding it on the right, and overflowing the side of the road on the left. Flashbacks of Cuba, when we had to turn around after MILES of traveling down a dirt road because the mud puddle was too deep and the closest tow truck was Miami… We just kind of stopped and stared at it. It was so murky we had no way of knowing how deep it was. There were tire tracks on the other side, so SOMEONE had made their way across, but how much clearance did they have. We didn’t think Budget would be pleased if we called them with, “Um, hello…you know that brand new Hyundai SUV with 200km you gave us? Yeah…it’s stuck engine deep in a pond in the middle of the road. Where? I don’t know- somewhere outside of Ilopango??”. What to do…what to do… We REALLY wanted to see this lake!! Fortunately, there was a man with an axe crossing the bridge. Yes, we have no qualms about discussing the depths of road ponds in Spanish with a man carrying a huge axe on the outskirts of some town in the middle of no where El Salvador! Axe man says if we stay to the left, we’ll be fine. I didn’t even want to know the situation on the right… Brian expertly drove through the road pond, thanked the man with the axe who gave us a huge smile, and we said our oft-repeated phrase for this trip… “I don’t think this is a road gringos go on!!” #bestkindofroad
From the middle of the road pond…
The google maps obstacle course, Ilopango Version, continued. Next obstacle, cows. Everywhere. Going somewhere important and not giving one single cow fuck about a car with two white people in it. Like seriously, they would NOT move! I’m not a huge fan of cows, in fact, there are only two kinds of cow I like- burger and steak. Something about them just freaks me out.
Our road starts getting a little worse (ha! Worse?! We didn’t even KNOW what “worse” was!!!). It’s now dirt, with occasional washed out ruts running through it. We are really far back into whereever we are. There was a little village back here. It has no name that I can find on any map, but it’s on a little peninsula that juts out into the west side of the lake. Google maps tells us to go straight through the town. We did. It then wanted us to continue up some road that really didn’t look like a road we should be on- more like a driveway. We decided to ignore google maps and turn around. We had seen a glimpse of the lake down another road that was to our left, so we decided to head down there instead.
Got to the end of the road and BINGO! This was the lake! There was a little restaurant, a beach side cafe, a few locals lounging around, some swimming, and of course chickens. And it was BEAUTIFUL!! I was so glad we had made it down here. And there were these awesome things, swimming in a little school, with just their eyes sticking out of the water. I had NO CLUE what they were, but was completely fascinated. Research shows they are four eyed fish! They only have 2 eyes, but they have evolved in a highly specialized way so the upper part allows the fish to see out of the water, and the lower part allows them to see under the water!
FOUR EYES FISH!!!!!!!!!!
We walked around a bit, then decided to head back. It was almost 3pm, and we still needed to get back to San Salvador and return the rental car before dark. We both had to pee big time. There was a line of 4 shady looking banos that had a sign that we had to pay to use them. We weren’t even sure who to pay. So we decided to forge ahead, sans bano break and hope for the best. So I’ve mentioned our loathing of retracing our route down roads- we like NEW roads. And google maps was showing two ways to get back to San Salvador. The way we came (boo-hiss, plus we didn’t relish the thought of driving through that crazy town again), or out the other side of the village. The out the other side of the village route showed 52 minutes. Perfect! We took off down a road that was definitely our best candidate for “I don’t think this is a road gringos go on!”. There were pigs tied to the side of the road for pork’s sake!
This was not a road, google maps. This was a glorifed cow trail. No lie. It started getting steeper and steeper. We had an SUV, but did not have 4×4 (which is our preference when we travel because we KNOW the kind of situations we get ourselves into, but they didn’t have one available). After the third time of barely making it up a hill because we were sliding backwards so bad, we got to thinking. If we got stuck back here, who knows how long it would be before someone came along. And we had an early flight the next morning. And it was just a couple of hours from being dark. We did not have any interest in traversing this “road” in the dark. We had to admit defeat and turn around. As soon as we got turned around, I said to Brian. “Do you know what we should do??”. Hell yeah, he did, without any explanation. BANO BREAK! In the middle of a road in the middle of no where El Salvador. And it was free. 🙂
Made our way back through the little village. I highly recommend coming here on a weekend (we were there on a Tuesday). Apparently there is Karoke! 🙂 Seriously though, the vibe there was really awesome. Oh, and I recommend coming during dry season. There was only one live stream crossing, but there were multiple dry ones that I am sure are interesting when it’s pouring!! Google maps wound us all through the city, through a dumb traffic jam because a school bus was trying to turn around in a space that would barely fit a compact car and held everyone up for like 15 minutes. Of course, the El Salvodorean drivers sat there patiently, waiting for the bus to resituate itself and get on the road again. Oh wait, no…they all honked and tried to fit into every conceivable space where a car might cram itself into- in their lane or not- to make sure they were 17” closer to their destination. Sigh. Drove through streets and made more turns than seemed humanely possible, and we even managed to make most of them and not have to turn around! Soon, we were back on the main road to San Salvador. We pulled our rental car into the parking lot of Hotel Rancho Argueta- the place we stayed at the first night.
Let’s discuss our vehicle, shall we? We pulled out of the Budget parking lot 7 days ago with literally a brand new shiny SUV in perfect condition with 200km (125 miles) on it. The vehicle in our possession now was completely filthy from being down every dirt road in El Salvador (some twice!). And it had over 1200km (750 miles) on it. Yeah, we’d been busy! Fortunately, as I mentioned in the Day 1 blog, this hotel rents cars. That means they have to be able to wash cars. I had to talk to the front desk about all of the following in Spanish…1) we needed to check in 2) we needed a car wash 3) we needed someone to pick us up at the airport after we dropped off our car at Budget 4) we needed a ride to the airport at 6am the next morning. That was a lot of Spanish, a lot of misunderstanding, but we finally figured it out! How much for said car wash….well, how much is everything in El Salvador?? $3!!!!!! And holy crap, that car looked BRAND NEW when they were done! Washed, dried, vacuumed, interior wiped down. I told Brian that I am so bringing my car down here for it’s annual cleaning!! And who was our brilliant car wash person? ENRIQUE!! Our English speaking “neighbor” we had met on the first day!! We stopped and talked about our trip, how much we had seen and done, and how much we enjoyed it. He was pleased. Dropped the car off at Budget with no problem, came back to the hotel, crashed, and got up the next day to head back to California.
A sign we saw on the way to Laguna de Alegria.
I’d like to take a moment to reflect on this trip. El Salvador was totally an afterthought when we realized that our flights to Nicaragua both laid over in San Salvador. But I am SO glad we came. This is Central America in the raw. No mega tourist hot spots and mega resorts over run with obnoxious white people. In fact, the only white person we saw in 7 days was the one woman in Sonsonate. You don’t see billboards for resorts, zip line tours, and the such. There really isn’t tourism here to speak of. The tourism we saw seemed to be more focused on locals rather than foreigners. It’s very much a “Create Your Own Adventure” kind of place, and when it came to that, we really kicked in the El SalvaDOOR (I made that pun up halfway through the trip and was determined to get it into this blog one way or another!!). The people here are WONDERFUL. I have never encountered such unbelievably friendly people every where we went. So warm, open, helpful, smiling, fun. And that says a lot coming from a self-professed people hater. 🙂 If you read this blog, you know we were EVERYWHERE. And not one time did we feel unsafe. Not one single time. In fact, the two things that concerned me the most about El Salvador was how safe it was and the language barrier. Neither of those things proved to be an issue at all. We encountered many English speaking people, and when we didn’t, the graciousness and patience of the people as I mangled their language to get my point across was heartwarming. And it gave me the confidence to speak Spanish and not feel like I was being judged or laughed at. Oh- and the dogs! By Central American standards, the dogs in El Salvador live like royalty! They all looked well fed (for the most part) and healthy. Thumbs up for that, El Salvador! Those are all of the pros. The cons? I can only think of two. The drivers. It’s kind of a free for all, so be aware. You really have to stay alert. And the trash. Oh, El Salvador, the trash!! Please quit throwing everything out of your car window and disrespecting your beautiful country! That said, all in all, I would HIGHLY recommend El Salvador for a traveler who is looking for a real, authentic experience without all of the bells and whistles. If you are a low maintenance type of person who can go with the flow, El Salvador is right for you! Will I be back? Probably not. Just because we really did hit all of the major things to see, and there are so many other countries in the world we still have to explore. But El Salvador will always hold a special place in my heart- mainly because of the people. Let me say it one last time….they are wonderful.
When I have the time to travel (which means I don’t have any live classes to teach), I don’t waste it! Spring break ended at 2:45pm. I was on a plane to Colombia at 10:22pm. There wasn’t an earlier flight. 😊 This trip was a lot different than my recent trips. No cushy housesitting gig lined up where I would explore some new place solo. This time, I was going to meet friends. And not just any friends- friends I’ve never met in person! As you may know, I am a homeschool teacher and own an online school. That means I teach children from all over the world, and many of those children are Worldschoolers. What’s a Worldschooler?? Um, in my opinion the absolutely most AMAZING form of education you can give your child, and if I had it to do over again, it’s what I would have done with my own kids. Basically, families are traveling the world, teaching their children so much more than could ever be learned by sitting in some classroom day after day with a textbook and a test. And many of those families also incorporate more of a “standard” type education along with their worldschooling. And this is how I met Allison and her wonderful girls Haley and Zoe! Allison is an administrator on the Worldschoolers facebook page that I belong to, and her girls started taking classes with me when I opened my school in 2016. I am just SO impressed with how Allison and her husband Dan incorporate education into their travels (and I deal with a lot of homeschool families, so to be “SO impressed” is no easy feat!!). Her girls are so bright and come up with such fun and creative projects. It’s just been a pleasure getting to know all of them….online. We kind of seemed to be following each other around the globe for a while, both going to Malaysia, South Africa, Italy, etc… and giving each other tips. But it was time to quit “just missing” each other during our travels and make it official. So I booked a ticket to Medellin, Colombia (their current home base) for one of my two weeks of spring break! The other week would be spent in El Salvador with Brian.
I agreed to be Allison’s mule, and bring her some things from the states. Packages started arriving, and by the time I took inventory, I took it as a challenge to get all of her stuff and my stuff into one carry on. I HATE to check bags!! And somehow, I managed to do it! Got on my flight and settled in for the red eye to Bogota. I downed 2 Nyquils and inflated my trusty travel pillow (that I swear I will get around to reviewing at some point, but for now, just know that I give it 6 out of 5 stars!). I woke up a lot and changed position, but was able to go right back to sleep each time. Then all of a sudden I hear some loud noise and the plane is shaking!!! I jerk my head up and look out the window and WE’RE ON THE GROUND!! There I was, seat back reclined and this huge pillow in my lap, and not a single flight attendant said a word! Welcome to Colombia….FAA? FNoSe! Oh, who cares…HELLO, CONTINENT NUMBER 5!!!
I had an hour and a half layover before my flight to Medellin. Went through immigration and customs, no problem. Found my gate, boarded my flight. We were supposed to leave at 9am, but it was 9:15 and we hadn’t left the gate yet. The pilot announces something in Spanish, and then says in English that there is a technical problem with the plane and we would have a 20 minute delay. That would be the last English I heard on this flight…. We finally started taxiing out to the runway- in super slow motion. I was messaging Allison and updating her as to what was happening (and feeling awful because she was already at the airport!). We go a ways, and then stop. And sit. And sit. Then something was said in Spanish that caused a groan on the plane and we started moving again. Apparently the technical problem wasn’t fixed and we had to go back to the gate. Got off the plane, and I just followed the herd. Sat in the waiting area with no information for about half an hour. I was starving, but didn’t want to leave the gate for fear I’d miss some important information (of course, unless they said it in English, I’d miss it even if I was sitting right there!) Then, the sign flashed and said we were supposed to depart at 11am! Woo-hoo! At 10:50, they started letting us back on. I don’t know if we had a different plane or what- we boarded one gate over from where we departed. Soon, we were in the air, and I had a new flight experience under my belt- turning around from the runway!
Landed and saw Allison through the glass doors as I came down the escalators in Medellin. We waved to each other and were soon hugging and saying “Nice to meet you!” Allison has a FABULOUS driver named John Freddy who lived in the US for 14 years and speaks perfect English. And he’s super nice to boot! We stopped for food along the way (I hadn’t eaten in about 18 hours!!), and had an awesome traditional Colombian meal. I don’t know what all of this stuff was exactly, but it was goooood. And the plantain was AMAZING!! God, I’ve missed those!
Delicioso!
Continued on the Medellin, up and over some mountains. When we got to the city I couldn’t believe how “stacked” the houses were on top of each other and from the base of the mountains practically all the way up. We arrived at Allison’s and relaxed for a bit before we headed off again- this time to pick the girls up from school! It was so wonderful to see them!! I know them through their homework projects, so it was so cool to finally meet them and give them a big hug. 😊 Zoe greeted me with a candy bar and a little welcome note. Seriously, how thoughful is that?! And they were so excited to show me their school. Haley’s friend, Manuela, joined us on the tour. We saw their biology lab, that had a lot of cool preserved specimens- including human fetuses which I thought was kind of shocking! They showed me the cafeteria, where Manuela bought me a delicious little Colombian style empanada (how sweet is she!). I stunned and amazed everyone with my ability to read the daily menu in Spanish (Well, l managed to muddle through it pretty well and was quite pleased with myself at least. ). I saw their classrooms and the gymnasium. It really was fun! I swear that if the kids there spoke English (Haley and Zoe are bilingual) and they weren’t all going on spring break, that I would volunteer to teach a science class for a day!
Haley, Manuela, Me, and Zoe in front of the Biology lab!
Checking out the biology lab. Allison snuck this pic! I’m going to have to keep an eye on her!
Zoe in front of her classroom white board. Apparently Bogota is colder than somewhere. 🙂
Eating an empanada in the school cafeteria- courtesy of Manuela!
After that we walked back to Allison’s, then we came to check into my AirBnb that isn’t too far from them. It would be easy walking distance if it wasn’t uphill the whole way to their apartment! We then went and met Dan for dinner at a burger place that was really, really good. I was pretty exhausted by this time, so came back to the room and crashed. That is until 1:30am when the other guests in this apartment (it has a large common area and 3 or 4 private rooms that are rented out) came home, turned on loud music, and proceeded to talk loudly and bang dishes for about an hour and a half. Ugh. Oh well, it’s like $20 a night, so I can’t complain too much! Plus, I’m in Colombia, so I can’t complain at all!
DAY 2: Guatape
Lucky for me, Allison is a planner. Because this semester has kicked my butt with work and I haven’t been able to think about anything but school. So I literally was in charge of getting myself a plane ticket and a room. Everything else was on her! And after today, I can see that I’m in more than capable hands! Our awesome driver, John Freddy, picked me up at 7:30ish, and then we headed over to pick up Allison. Today was going to be an all day adventure to a place called Guatape- about 2 hours from Medellin. As we drove into the mountainous countryside, the clouds were thick. We kept hoping for it to clear up- need good light for good pics!! And the only thing Allison said I was in charge of today was pics, so I couldn’t disappoint!
We stopped in a little town called Marinilla for breakfast. I had already eaten (went grocery shopping yesterday which I forgot to say in the Day 1 blog- bought bread, ham, cheese, crackers, and COCONUT COOKIES!!). But John insisted that I have a hot chocolate, Colombian style. Now, I will say, hot chocolate tends to not be hot chocolate in other countries. I almost died trying to gag down hot chocolate at Versailles Palace (yeah, I know, poor me, boo-hoo). And Central American hot chocolate tends to just be too “dark chocolate” tasting too me- bitterish. So when they brought me this cup of really dark liquid, I was leery. But it was actually really good- and smooooooooth! Allison and I are kindred spirits when it comes to “see a bano, use a bano”, so we headed in that direction before we got back into the car. There was a really neat little map of Marinilla on the wall- showing all of the theatres and public open spaces. You can tell that this little town is really trying to do it right! We stopped on the side of the road at a fruit stand. Colombia is known for a huge variety of fruits, and this one little stand had several things I’d never seen or heard of! Allison got some things for the girls. I’ll admit, I was a little shy and afraid of what was what and what it would taste like, and trying to deal with my cash, so I left empty handed like an idiot. 🙁
Allison- the fearless fruit buyer!
Back in the car and through gorgeous, lush green hills. Everywhere you look is so steep. Even the farms plant their crops in terraces up the hillsides! It’s really quite beautiful. Eagle Eye Allison spotted a bridge over the river, and John kindly pulled over so we could get a pic. I couldn’t really get into a good position to see it from the road, so John asked the guy that was working in a nearby shed if we could come on the other side of the fence to see the bridge. We could, and not just that, but we could hike through their houses to go down to it! Woo-hoo, off the beaten path adventure! Of course, the bridge turned out to be shaky, rickety, and high (my 3 LEAST favorite characteristics of bridges). I managed to go about half way before my fear kicked in and beckoned me to turn around! I love knowing that very few gringos have access to this sweet little spot!
How Allison managed to spot this as we sped down the road, I’ll never know! But I’m forever grateful! 🙂
Taking a little hiking path down from the highway and through people’s yards!
A little rickety, but worth this shot!
Off we went again, toward our first planned adventure of the day. Guatape Rock. AKA El Penon de Guatape. AKA La Piedra. AKA El Penol. First, we drove through the city of El Penol. The rock is between there and the town of Guatape. From what Allison has researched, they both claim the rock. Guatape started staking their claim by painting their name on it. They managed to get the G finished and the first line of the U before El Penol said, “Um, we don’t think so!” and stopped that business fast. So who cares about who owns some dumb old rock? Both of these towns! Because this, my friends, is no ordinary rock! I present you with photographic evidence of this fact!
I’m supposed to climb up THOSE STAIRS??????
Ok, here’s all I knew about this rock. It was HIGH. 650 steps high. Which is almost 3 times Batu Caves high (One thing I love about Allison is that I can say, “This is 3 Batu Caves high!” and she knows EXACTLY what I’m talking about!! #travelers ). Let’s see….what do I hate more than shaky, high, rickety bridges? Climbing ANYTHING high. Especially things involving lots of stairs high. I honestly did not know if I was going to be able to do it. Both because of fear and a creaky knee that sometimes puts me in my place (a place that is NOT on stairs). And when I saw this thing for the first time, I about died. John declared that his knees are too bad to climb, so he’d wait for us. We paid our entry fee, and headed up. Had Allison not been there, I’m not sure I would have done this on my own. In fact, I declared her “lead horse”. Hey, if I can be her mule, she can be my lead horse! I felt more comfortable following her steps. Every 25 steps have how many steps you’ve gone painted on them. Our first goal was that platform you can see halfway up. I was determined to make it to that at least, then decide if I should turn around or not.
100, 200, 300…We stopped on the end of most of the zig zags to catch our breath and take in the views, and my but they were SPECTACULAR!! In 1970, this entire area was flooded to create a hydroelectric dam- even covering a town called Penol. Just the tops of the hills are visible now- islands in a massive lake. We made it to the platform and I was actually doing way better than I thought I would! I hadn’t cried or sat down and refused to budge in either direction once! Views from the platform were stunning. And there was Mary, praying for my knees and acrophobia. Or my heathen atheist soul. Or maybe all 3. I don’t know, but we took some pics and continued up, up, up, never ending up….
I needed all the help I could get….
Teaser view from Mary’s platform. Money shot will be provided from the top!
It’s amazing to think that all of these stairs were constructed inside of a huge crack in the rock. I can not even imagine being the person doing construction on this! A bit of a backstory- the rock itself is igneous, having been created by an intrusion of magma (when magma pushes up from inside of the earth, but never reaches the surface) about 70 million years ago- during the same time period that the surrounding mountain range was being created. It was uplifted during that process, and there the monolith still stands today- having been worshipped by the indigenous people, and now ascended by thousands of tourists from all over the world. And here I was, on step 500. About 150 to go…
500 down (WAY down!), about 150 to go!
And before I knew it, we were at the top! There were little souvenir stands and places to get food. And CHAIRS! Allison and I immediately claimed two and stared over the edge at the seemingly never-ending views. Like Allison said, the camera is not nearly as complicated as your eye. Here are the pictures, but I guarantee you the in person view is far more magnificent.
Takes your breath away, doesn’t it? We wandered around the top for a bit and saw another very interesting view….directly into the men’s bano!! What the heck?!
Seriously?
It was time to descend, and as we were heading for the stairs, there was a man hauling a 40+ lb bag of onions up on his back!! OMG, I can not even imagine. I was just kind of standing there in awe, because it dawned on me that everything that was up here (huge coolers for drinks, all of those drinks, ice cream carts, tables, umbrellas, etc….) had to be hauled up 650 stairs by hand!! While I was deep in contemplation about the logistics of such a feat, Allison is saying “Get a picture! If you’re going to take a picture of the men’s bathroom, you have to get a picture of this!”. Thank goodness one of us is sensible and lacks the mentality of a 4th grade boy…
Worst. Job. On. Earth.
What comes up, must go down. And the “down” in this case was rather interesting! Instead of descending the same steps you came up on, there is a separate set of stairs on the inside of the crack that begin just a short way down from the top. Frankly, a brilliant idea, because Allison said that the last time she was here it was PACKED with people. I can’t imagine trying to navigate up or down with a steady flow of people approaching from the opposite direction. #anxietyattack
Two sides- left for up, right for down.
Soon the stairs split off, and the down people head inside of the rock. This guy was fanning this girl with her purse. That would so be me and Brian (except I don’t carry a purse!)
I will say, going down was a lot more scary for me than going up. The passage was narrower, the stairs seemed smaller. Just eek! But with lead horse leading the way confidently, I fell into line and managed pretty well. Talking non-stop helped keep my mind off of the number of ways I could possibly die (which is approximately equal to the number of steps here!). Every once in a while there would be a window to the outside, showing another glimpse of the gorgeous views…
View of the inside stairs that I took on the way up. Narrow and steep!
I survived El Penon de Guatape! John was waiting for us at the bottom, and we jumped in his car and headed for the town of Guatape for the second part of the day’s adventure! First stop in town was LUNCH! I had some kind of beef that was really good, and Allison and I got “Michelada de Allison”- Michelada salt and limed rim but with fizzy water instead of beer. Quite refreshing! We ate at a restaurant overlooking the reservoir. And we noticed something quite odd….
You can see the El Almirante on the far shore.
The water level was definitely low, but the way this boat was sitting just seemed odd. Why wouldn’t someone keep it in the water as the levels went down? Did it crash there? Well, I researched and found an interesting tale- all of which had to be translated from Spanish. The El Almirante was a pleasure boat that would take tourists on trips up and down the reservoir. On June 25, 2017, it sank in about 60 feet of water with 167 tourists on board. 7 died. 2 were missing. I could never find any information on if the other 2 were ever found. Apparently, a very loud noise was heard, and then the ship began to sink immediately. From what I can determine, the hull cracked. There were not enough life jackets on board for the amount of people, but fortunately it happened just a few minutes after it set sail, so there were a lot of boats in the area that could help rescue people. The Colombian Navy put air bags under the boat and floated it to its current location, but apparently since then the water level has gone down so much that it’s completely land locked. Reports indicate that the boat had had serious problems before that were “fixed”. Such a sad story, and with it sitting there in the open like that, a constant reminder to the people of Guatape.
After lunch, we walked through the very colorful and quaint town of Guatape! I was really feeling the vibe here! Guatape is famous for its zocalos- little facade images on the lower outside walls of homes and businesses that are colorfully painted, adding a very unique charm to this little town!
There was also a really beautiful church. The police were outside announcing something, but John said he couldn’t figure out what was going on. We went in. It was Jesusy. There was a cool fish stained glass window. 🙂
It was time to leave the colorful little town with the cool vibe behind and head back to the city! We made a couple of stops along the way (which is why I LOVE having a private driver!). One was a little roadside stand that had a ton of tilapia crammed into tanks. I took pics, but honestly, it was super sad so I’m going to leave them out. Conditions were rough… The next stop was another roadside stand that had some beautiful wood carvings out front. And the artist himself was there, carving out a wooden picture. John talked to him and he said it takes about a month to do one. Wow. Such talent. And such a nice man as well.
Headed down the road a bit more to another little town called San Antonio de Pereira. This was a town known for it’s desserts! I informed Allison and John that I am known for eating desserts, so it’s a good fit! We parked and started walking down the street. There was some weird thing in a big pot that a street vendor was selling. It looked kind of like weird, old, kinda dried out onion rings or something, except all in a big roll like a super tasty curly fry from Jack in the Box. (How’s that for a description?!) John informed us it was chicken intestines. Um, I’ll take a pass on that….which way to the dessert stand? He then took us to the world famous (or at least Antioquia famous- that’s the state of Colombia I’m in) Dulce Contigo. I have no idea what possessed me, but I didn’t get a single picture!!!!!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRR! There were all of this glass cake pans (the 9×13 kind) lined up in cases with flavors like Brownie, Chocolate, Weird Unknown Fruit Things, Lemon, etc… I’m not sure how to describe them- kind of like those refrigerator cheesecakes you can make maybe? I got Brownie, it was tasty. Allison got Lemon and it was really good! We finished our desert and went for MORE desert out on the street that John insisted we must try. I can’t remember what it was called, but it had layers of strawberries, cream, and meringue that had the coolest “crunchy but melt in your mouth” texture. But by that time I was so stuffed, I could only take a few bites! Back in the car and off to Medellin to end a lovely day!!
Now those of you who know me know that I LOVE taking pictures of wildlife. This part of Colombia is not proving to be very prolific in that regard. So here, I present to you the day’s wildlife.
There was a soccer game last night. Colombia vs. France. Colombia won. My room is on a street with a lot of restaurants. That’s all I’ll say about how I slept…
Got up and got ready for a new adventure with Allison…con las niñas! I was to walk to a nearby park to meet them. Loaded up my Google maps and hit the street! As soon as I did, that old familiar “outta my way world, I’m a solo female traveler on an adventure!” mindset kicked in. Love that feeling. Made it to the park and met the ladies to begin the day’s adventure! We started by walking toward the Metro. On the way, we stopped at an arepa stand. Arepas are kind of like a thick corn pancake, that can be topped with all manner of things. I got one filled with cheese, and it was good, but in the end just too much cheese for me to deal with in one offering! We got on the metro, which is like an elevated train system here, and headed to our first stop- Parque Barrio. The first thing I noticed when I stepped out of the Metro building was this enormous black checkered building- Palacio del la Cultura Rafael Uribe Uribe. Just so whimsical looking, like something out of Alice in Wonderland! We then turned the corner and saw even more whimsy…the bronze sculptures of Ferndando Botero- an extremely famous painter and sculptor that was born in Medellin. He donated 23 of his sculptures to be put on display in front of the Museo de Antioquia, in what is now called Plaza Botero. The statues are so fat and chunky and just fun! Again, very Alice in Wonderlandy! It is said that rubbing them brings love and good luck. I’ll let you figure out where people think the most love and good luck come from!
Can you find the good luck spot???
I love this shot! Haley and I were saying they need to take those poles out!
From the plaza, we went into the Museo de Antioquia so I could see Botero’s paintings as well. Here are some of my favorites!
Demons. Anything with demons!!
This is depicting Pablo Escobar being shot. I know nothing about the guy, except that he was a horrible person and caused a lot of pain and grief to the people of Medellin for years… #justsayno
After the museum, it was time to hop back on the metro and continue our adventure. We got off of the train at the Acevedo stop, where we would take a completely different type of metro transport- a cable car!! Medellin is surrounded by mountains. And it has a population of 2.5 million people (but that’s from a 2015 census, and current thoughts are over 4 million!!), and the valley really isn’t that big. That means people are stacked on top of people almost all the way up the mountains on all sides of the valley! Brick is the preferred building material, and you just see red brick multi-storied buildings completely surrounding the city. Then you have to think- how do people GET to these houses?! The sides of the mountain are steep. I can’t imagine walking from the bottom of the valley where the main city is to the top of the mountain where your home might be! Wow. Just wow. These upper neighborhoods are called favelas (shanty towns). And the people who live here were basically stranded and isolated from the city below for years due to the lack of transportation other than by foot (and believe me, NO ONE wants to do that!). That led to increased unemployment, poverty, crime, and all of those things that come with such conditions. But in 2006 and 2008, the city added cable cars to its metro system, providing easy, fast, and inexpensive transportation to the favelas! It was truly a game changer for these people- changing their lives and the favelas for the better.
What an amazing form of public transportation!!
I’m scared of heights, but I wasn’t even a tiny bit nervous in the cable cars! Maybe because I was just so fascinated by the scenery. We went up, up, up, and UP! Over what seemed like thousands of 2-4 story brick buildings. All the way up to where you can see the favelas end and the forest begins. And we went up and over that as well! Traveling over lush, basically uninhabited forest for I don’t even know how long. It was seriously quite a while and we kept looking to see if we could see the station in the distance! The trip ended at our destination for the day- Parque Arvi. The following pics are through a dirty, scratched cable car glass, so please forgive the poor quality. In person, much more stunning!
It’s just solid houses down there, for as far as you can see in every direction.
Over the top of the mountain, it’s a completely different scene!
Parque Arvi…Allison had never been. In fact, she had never been on the metro by herself. So we were all having new experiences today! Here’s what I know about it after the fact…it’s about 40,000 acres with over 50 miles of hiking trails! We honestly had no idea what to do once we got here, and information was kinda sparse. So we just kinda started wandering- a grand kind of adventure! We wandered through a large covered area where several people were decorating crosses with flowers for the upcoming Semana Santa (Good Friday/Easter) week. Beautiful!
Then we wandered down a path that looked like it might be going toward food. A man stopped us and said we could go into his shop and get tea- for FREE! Who can turn down free? And boy, were we surprised to learn that this wasn’t just any tea…this was tea made from the leaves of the Coca plant. People, I ain’t talking chocolate. That is Cocoa. We’re talking Colombian white gold- COCAINE! #thefirstcupisalwaysfree Of course, the kids got a kick out of that idea! He brought us a glass and we all drank from it. Damn, but it was gooooooooooooood!!! Like some of the best tea I’ve tasted in a long time! He proceeded to show us all kinds of things made with coco and marijuana plants- many with different medicinal properties. Haley got her friend a marijuana chap stick. 🙂
We drank our cocaine like civilized folk. No snorting for us!
We wandered down the road and found a restaurant. Allison and I shared a chicken meal with rice, plantain (rhymes with cocaine, but better!!), and beans. Super tasty, and more than enough for us both. It was like $6.50. We then weren’t really sure exactly what to do. We walked back up the road we came down, hoping for some little hiking trails. We found one that was around some archaeological ruins. This area has a pre-Colombian history ruins (meaning before that idiot Colombus ruined the place for the indigenous people). Some of the ruins are over 1,500 years old. Nothing magnificent like the ancient civilizations of the Mayans, Aztecs, or Incas, but not everyone lived in some huge civilization! There was another hiking trail off of this area, so we took it down for a bit, until we realized it was going to dead end on us in about another mile, so we turned around. Along the way, we saw some cool things, though!
Excavated ruins of a ruined people. 🙁
Beautiful path through a cloudy forest
Remains of an ancient wall
This was INSANE and mesmerized me! A dead fern next to a live one, but the dead one was brilliant shining gold rather than dead brown! It literally looked like someone spray painted it metallic gold!
This is what Allison calls FSO (figuring shit out!). You know, in case you’re hiking and need to charge your phone in a tree!
After our impromptu hike, we again weren’t sure what to do. We went back toward the visitor center and asked about any short hikes in the area (we did NOT want to miss the last cable car back down!). They said there was a guided hike leaving in 10 minutes. I forget how much it was, but it was cheap. We signed up and got super lucky for two reasons: 1) It was just us 4!! 2) Our guide was super nice and spoke very slow, clear Spanish! I literally understood about 40% of what he said, which is quite a lot. If I was super confused, Allison would translate. I even asked some questions in Spanish that he understood! #mustbethecocaine We headed off down the Vital trail together! Our guide told us all about this place. The indigenous people mined gold up here! Of course, when the Spaniards found out about that they said, “Oh, wonderful indigenous people, let us help you mine your gold, and maybe we can take a small portion of it for our troubles. We’ll work together!”. Oh, wait. No, they just took it and make the indigenous people mine it as slaves. The way they mined for the gold has literally ruined the mountain and made it impossible for the natural fauna to grow. So the United States and Canada have been sending in conifers (evergreens like pines) that will grow in this area. Of course, that doesn’t provide food for the animals that live here, so there are basically zero animals in this part of the park- only in the more natural areas. He did show us a hole in a low embankment where parrots nest and a hole in the ground where meat bees live. Allison and I made a total inside joke of #meatbees. You’ve been warned if you see us use it! We’re probably making fun of you. 😉 He showed us a lot of orchids, and very cool mosses (the girls and Allison were so surprised to see how much water mosses can hold!), awesome lichens- it was pretty lush back here. Think cloud forest lush- cool and misty. I was SO. FREAKING. IN. TO. THIS. HIKE!!!!!! I only wished there were more animals. If there had been, I might not have left! I was really bummed when it was over about 40 minutes later.
Zoe heading down the trail on the heels of what’s his name.
A moss farm, which seems odd because moss is EVERYWHERE!
There is only ONE of these plants in the entire park! They are trying to make it grow and reproduce! I didn’t get the name of it.
It was after 4 and time for us to head back down. Before we left, we saw two really cool things. First, a little gnome forest built on a trail about 50 feet down from the visitor center. You couldn’t access it, and you could barely see the things in it- you really had to look! Super cute! And….a sign that made Allison and I giggle #mustbethecocaine
I only thought yesterday that Allison didn’t have the mentality of a 4th grade boy. She giggles at “naked flame” just as much as I do, though!
We got on the cable car and flew over the tree tops of the practically untouched forest. Soon, we reached the edge of the mountain and began our descent back into Medellin- over tin roofs laid over red brick buildings. Sometimes, someone painted theirs- an art gallery just for cable car riders. The windows in this car were better than the last one, and I got some better shots of the city. These once isolated favelas are vibrant- both with color and with life. And I’m so happy that the people now have better access via cable car to more opportunity for themselves and their children!
We had to change cable cars part way down and walk to another station. These kids know how to deal with all of those steep hills!
As we got off of the cable car, the kids noticed something floating in the river. I literally had seconds to get a shot before it whizzed by! How I pulled this off, I’ll never know!
By day 4, the ramifications of 650 stairs up two days earlier, not getting sleep for a 3rd night in a row, and a sore throat were all hitting me at once. But no time to be in pain, agony, and misery!! There are adventures to be had with the Shermanos esta dia!! We met at Starbucks, where I met 3 other worldschoolers. Scott (the husband of Jamie, who is another moderator on the Worldschooler board and moved in directly across the hall from Allison last month!), and their two kids Courtney and Cameron. Starbucks is a short walk from both of our places, and is right on Avienda Poblado- a main street in this area that is closed on Sundays for Cyclovia. On Sundays, you can take a relaxing stroll, bike ride, or run down the avenue along with hundreds of other people out enjoying the weather of Medellin. And this is where I will pause to talk about the weather. It is literally perfect. There’s hardly any humidity (which shocked me when I got off the plane!), and the temperature runs in the mid-high 70’s, getting a bit warmer in the afternoons. There’s been a rainstorm (with INSANE thunder) every late afternoon, and our timing of finishing adventures has perfectly coincided with this! And the really weird thing is that even though Allison lives like a mile away, I’ll facebook message her and say “It’s POURING!!” and she’ll reply that nothing is happening over there. But we do commiserate clap-by-clap about the insane thunder together! Anyway, so we all (minus Haley, she would join us later) started walking down the avenue, trying to not get run over by bicycles. There were so many people out walking dogs! Zoe and Brian would get along famously, because neither have ever seen a dog they could resist petting! It was so cute to see Zoe walk up to people and ask them in Spanish if she could pet their dogs. 🙂
After our walk, Scott and Cameron went off on their own adventures, and Zoe, Courtney, Allison and I went back to meet Haley at Starbucks. A 16 year girl old that is alone and right on time?? AMAZING!! 🙂 We then walked down to the Metro to meet her friend Manuela (from Day 1 at the school), and we all headed off for our adventures. Now, let me tell you about this Metro system in Medellin. I am in LOVE! I’ve done metros in Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, France, Italy, Germany, and England. While Singapore wins for cleanliness and politeness of people, I am loving how the Metro here isn’t a subway- it’s elevated train. You can see the scenery as you whisk between stations! And the metros are cheap and clean with good signage and a lot of staff to help out if you get mixed up. 5 stars Medellin Metro! While we were waiting for the metro, a girl strikes up a conversation with me- in Spanish. I swear, it was totally that first chapter of my 11th grade Spanish textbook! She said “Me llama Maria”, I replied with “Me llama Mary!”. She said “Soy de Venezula”. I said “Soy de Los Estados Unidos!”. C’mon, ask me what color shirt my cat is wearing- I am so ready!! 🙂 But instead of that, she broke out into a bunch of words I didn’t know which included “policia”. I really tried and tried to understand, but couldn’t. So I invited Zoe over to translate for me. Apparently she’s from Venezuela and the police had taken all of her things and she was trying to get home. I thought she wanted cash, and had Zoe explain that all I had was a credit card (I NEVER give anyone cash), but apparently she just wanted to use my Metro card to get on the train. Ok, that I can do. I went through, handed Maria my card, and she followed. Who knows what the story is there, but I wish her the best.
Zoe helping me help Maria.
We got off at Universidad to go to Parque Explora. Where the main highlight would be an aquarium!! I am ALWAYS up for a foreign acquario! And this would be a special aquarium trip, because Haley and Zoe both took a full year of Marine Zoology online with me. From that experience, Haley became fascinated with sharks and does a lot of her own research on them even now that the class is over. I was really excited to get into an aquarium with someone who was a) excited to be there and b) excited to hear me excitedly yap about all kinds of things I know a lot about! The aquarium itself is pretty small, and mainly focused on freshwater (which makes sense because the Amazon, duh!). In fact, it has the largest freshwater aquarium in all of Colombia. Fortunately, I’m not only a marine goddess, but a freshwater one as well from my days of working in and owning a pet store (30 years ago? Seriously??!!). Haley asked SO. MANY. QUESTIONS. And they were all GREAT questions! And I knew the answers to most of them as was thrilled to death to transfer some of that knowledge! OMG, I’ve never been in an aquarium with someone who cared so much about what I had to say (and I have a lot to say in an aquarium!). Seriously, we became one and everyone else just kind of faded away- literally. We lost Zoe, Courtney, and Manuela to much more (in their minds!) interesting endeavors! Who knew some people didn’t like to stand at every single display for 5 minutes talking about fish?! Well, we may have lost three of our party, but we gained a new one. One of the staff members. He spoke English, and overheard me talking, and then started following us around from tank to tank listening and learning! #worldteacher
I love this turned out! The words are spray painted on the sidewalk. It’s all about perspective!
Cute puffer!
Piranha
Huge Arapaima! In the largest freshwater tank in Colombia (2nd largest in South America- Brazil wins)
Reef tank
Beautiful cardinal tetra tank
Remember how I said I excitedly explain things? This is what that looks like. The guy in red was the staff member who was following us.
After the aquarium, we found the other members of our party in the hands on science exploration center. I’m telling you, this Parque Explora is a science teacher’s DREAM! Hands on physics experiments everywhere, mathematics in biology exhibits, the aquarium….seriously, I could film an awesome class here! In fact, Allison has volunteered to travel and film for me, but Haley said she’ll be better. As soon as I find out who works cheapest, I’m hiring one of them. 😉
People, I have to tell you. By this point, I was one hurting unit. My legs were killing me. My throat hurt really bad. And I knew I had to go back to the room and work until I went to bed. I was a wreck. But I was a hungry wreck. So we strolled down a little sidewalk thing lined with food vendors and got some kind of pork on a stick with a couple of potatoes. Those were GOOD. That little piece of bread. Eh.
We took the Metro back. Manuela and I got a cab together so she could make sure I actually got to where I was going. I came up to the room and worked non-stop until I went to bed that night. I was seriously completely exhausted mentally and physically and whined to poor Brian about my sad sorry state. It sucks to not be 100% when you’re traveling, especially when you have to work on top of it. 🙁 But even with my wrecked self, it was still a great day! I’ll never forget bonding with Haley over fishes in the aquarium! I need to get that girl to a place that has sharks!! 🙂
DAY 5: Communa 13
Today, I woke up a brand new human being!! First of all, I slept for the first time. I took two Nyquils, shoved my ear plugs in, and fortunately Sunday nights are quiet in the restaurants downstairs. I first realized I was a new human being when I got out of bed. Wait! What? I’m not hunched over like a 90 year old, hobbling to the bathroom? Legs are working and pain free!! Woo-hoo!! Then I swallowed. No sore throat!! I’ll attribute that to the vast amounts of Airborne I had been sucking down the last 2 days and a good night’s sleep. Ok world, I’m ready for you! And thank goodness, because Allison had planned a wonderful trip to a local neighborhood called Communa 13, where we were going to do a walking tour. We met at the park and walked to the metro. We work that metro like we own it now! Went to the San Antonio station and transferred to the B line to San Javier. Our free walking tour with Zippy Tour met there.
Our guide for the day was Laura, a woman who was born and raised in Communa 13. I’m sure you’re saying, “What is Communa 13?”. So glad you asked! 🙂 It was once the most dangerous neighborhood in all of Medellin- at a point in time when Medellin was one of the most dangerous cities in the world. In other words, not a vacation destination! Why so dangerous? Well, I mentioned Pablo Escobar in an earlier entry, and I mentioned that I don’t know much about him. The short version is that Escobar was THE drug lord in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. As in supplying the US with over 80% its cocaine (70-80 TONS per month!!). As in the richest criminal in the WORLD (worth almost $60 BILLION US dollars in 2018 terms). Those stats alone are mind boggling. For christ’s sake, I can’t even get a damn can of Diet Dr. Pepper from London into the US and this yahoo is getting that much coke into the country??? Anyway, when you’re that powerful, it’s for a reason. You are controlling EVERYTHING around you. And everything around him was the city of Medellin, his hometown and base of operations. Anything that wasn’t falling into Escobar’s line, was eliminated. That included the police, politicians, rival cartel members, anyone that posed any kind of a potential threat to Escobar’s empire. Of course, Escobar wasn’t out there doing all of this dirty work himself. No, he hired hitmen. And many of them came from Communa 13. Why here? Several reasons. Remember how I mentioned in the Day 3 blog that the favelas had been cut off from all opportunities because there was no easy access to the city from the steep, steep hills? This was the situation in Communa 13 as well. There were lots of young people looking for money and opportunity- things Escobar would provide them with in return for “favors”. Another reason Communa 13 was so important was its strategic location- on the main highway out of Medellin to the north. All those drugs were passing right through here, and they needed protection. Control the highway, control the flow of goods.
In 1993, Escobar was killed. So you would think things would improve for Medellin and Communa 13 at that point. Not by a long shot. It got even worse. Rival cartels and their gangs fought for who would be the new cocaine empire. Gangs, guerillas, paramilitary all ran rampant- destroying anyone who got in their way. It was utter chaos of the most dangerous kind. Even small children, who were least expected to be dangerous criminals, were paid to kill the police. By the late 1990s, Medellin had become the most dangerous city in the WORLD, and Communa 13 was its most dangerous neighborhood. What can good people do in the face of all of this violence? Nothing. Too poor to escape. Tortured or killed if you try to report any crimes. I can’t even imagine.
The government initiated two different operations to gain control over Communa 13. The first one, Operation Mariscal in May of 2002, failed. The second was Operation Orion, conducted on October 16, 2002 (yes, that short of a time ago). The goal was to defeat all of the different rebel factions in the area. The military stormed in with over 1500 soldiers and Blackhawk helicopters. The fight on the streets lasted for 4 days. Innocent people couldn’t dare leave their homes, but even their homes weren’t safe from the rain of bullets. This wasn’t so much of an operation as a war- in the middle of a densely populated neighborhood. Of the hundreds who were killed or injured, they lay where they fell- there was no hope of getting any medical attention. The citizens had had enough. Any white cloth they had- bedsheets, towels, shirts- they began waving them, in a plea for the violence to stop. Many people completely disappeared- Laura told us it is believed that their bodies were dismembered and thrown into the landfill area on the mountain, La Escombrera, easily seen from the Communa. In fact, it’s thought to be the largest urban mass grave in the world. Victims are still trying to get answers to where their loved ones are. Women have united into one of the most vocal groups for justice- called Women Walking for Truth.
After Operation Orion, things were still not peaceful in Communa 13. New factions began to take hold. But after the siege of their community, the ordinary citizens started to take matters into their own hands to change their community and futures. Communa 13 isn’t perfect, no place is, but it has undergone a STUNNING transformation!! In fact, Medellin was named the most innovative city in the WORLD in 2013!! Imagine that, going from the most dangerous city to the most innovative in less than two decades. That says a lot about the people there! There are three things that have been the crucial factors for this change in Communa 13:
1. Street Art: A vibrant reminder of the Communa’s past, present, and optimistic future. And what’s amazing about it is that you do NOT see graffti on the pieces of well known street art by the major local artists. It is respected by all.
2. Escalators: 47 houses had to be removed to build this vital piece of infrastructure- a 384 meter series of escalators- that would finally allow the residents of Communa 13 easy access to the city, and its opportunities, below. What used to be the equivalent of climbing a 28 story building is now a quick 6 minute trip! These aren’t just transportation, they’re an equalizer.
3. Community solidarity: The people of Communa 13 are strong and proud. It’s evident everywhere you look. Together they strive to control their own destinies, and never again allow the criminal element (while it is still very much present, don’t doubt that) to control their lives.
I think I’d add a 4th. Tourism. Once a place where outsiders, even those from Medellin, would never have thought to venture, now there is a constant flow of tour groups (and their money) into this once isolated place.
And that is the ridiculously simplistic story of an extremely complicated neighborhood and it’s people. A neighborhood with as many layers of history as layers of houses. Laura guided us through the streets, showing us the art, giving us time to shop at local stores and galleries, to watch local entertainers, and even took us to her home (yes, she still lives there!). What a fantastic, interesting, and unique tour- I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone visiting Medellin! It didn’t have that same “human zoo” quality that Langa Township had in South Africa, which I appreciated. Here now, are the pictures. 🙂
First, the art…these were taken from all over the neighborhood.
All of the art means something, and I don’t remember the meaning for everything, but this one uses elephants to represent the strength of the people, the white cloths to represent the plea for peace during Operation Orion, and the bones to represent the dead.
This says “We are transformed”. Such a simple, but true, message.
The escalators! Such a game changer! And such a unique solution to a difficult problem! They were very clean, and there was a strong police presence.
This little boy was maybe 7 or 8 years old, carrying an armful of sugar cane up the escalators. Before this, he would have had to climb the equivalent of a 28 story building!
And the art wasn’t just of the street variety! There was a breakdancing crew at the top of the escalators that was just so much fun. I couldn’t take my eyes off that little boy! He was sooooo cute, and man he had the MOVES!
While taking some pictures of the neighborhood, I spotted some more art high above me on a balcony in the distance…
Zoom. It isn’t just for birds in trees. #sorrynotsorrybrian
And just to prove that I wasn’t just taking pictures of cute boys on balconies, but really WAS taking pictures of the neighborhood, here you go…
This is Laura, telling us all about Operation Orion. This was on the rooftop of her house, where she lived during Operation Orion- seeing people being shot in the street outside of her window, and where she still lives today. We had to walk quite a ways from the escalator, up a hill and up and down steep, narrow stairs to get to Laura’s house. Allison and I tried to imagine what life would be like if you were old or had a broken leg. You just wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. 🙁
These are the stairs that go up to the entrance of Laura’s house
About halfway through the tour, we stopped for a break. There was an ice cream shop on one side and a coffee shop on the other. I headed straight for the ice cream! And it wasn’t really ice cream. It was HEAVEN. Oh my god. I got a coconut one and it was frozen coconut pieces and maybe coconut milk all together in this amazing concoction! Best thing I had in Medellin, no lie! And after we left Laura’s house, we bought tiny potatoes from a street vendor- roasted to perfection! An income and an opportunity for a man that would not be there without the escalators and a neighborhood that has become peaceful enough to allow for tourism.
Allison and I left the tour a little early to walk back down on our own. It had seemed so EASY, our mile and a half walk up with Laura. We should have left a trail of arepa crumbs, because finding our way back was not as simple as we originally thought! And as soon as google maps sensed our uncertainty, it pounced. It saw its chance to try do the thing it does to me in EVERY country- lead me completely astray in an attempt that I am convinced is to kill me. (Case in point: making me walk into the middle of a freeway in Malaysia!). As we wandered further off the main road, I could see Allison’s face get a little nervous. We (by we, I mean Allison!) asked a guy where the metro station was. He gave us directions. Google maps laughed at his attempt to save us and turned us down yet another off the beaten path street. When it was basically trying to send us down a creepy darkish sidewalk thing between two buildings with a lot of men walking around, Allison and I gave the middle finger to Google maps and turned our white gringa asses right around. We then saw two other younger gringas up ahead and decided to follow them. Well, apparently they were using Google maps as well, as we kept going down the same not-so-tourist-friendly looking streets together. They were dressed a little (lot) more scantily than us, so we figured they would get kidnapped first at least! Allison was so uncomfortable. I just saw it as another grand adventure! I also don’t have children to take care of! We eventually made it back to the main road and Allison’s relief was palpable! I don’t think she’s used to such things! Hopefully she can chalk it up to a grand adventure now in hindsight! 🙂
Took the metro back to Poblado, and went to a store called Exito- a lot like Super Target where they have EVERYTHING you could ever possibly want. Allison had to pick up a few things, and I wanted to look for Dr. Pepper. Apparently Exito has everything you could possibly want EXCEPT Dr. Pepper. 🙁 Got a cab back to the room and worked my fingers to the bone until bedtime again. I have 4 new classes starting WHILE I AM IN EL SALVADOR (didn’t know I was going to be here when I scheduled that nightmare), plus grading, and a lesson plan, and emails…Oy. But I got most of it done and went to bed, knowing my last Medellin adventure would be tomorrow.
Today’s wildlife…Colombia, your wildlife game is WEAK SAUCE.
This dog was looking down at me from a balcony. So cute! I will say, I have not seen a skinny, mangy, or half dead dog in Medellin like I see all over Central America. They’re all fat, healthy, and many have tags!
Another good night of sleep and waking up to feeling like a real human being. I’m cured! I woke up at 5:30am, and went to the kitchen. No cleaning lady! I was seriously starting to feel like she was being held hostage here, because no matter when I’m in the common areas, there she is, working away. I was supposed to take my laundry to Allison’s and do it there, but since the cleaning lady had escaped, I figured I might as well make use of the washer! Took me a few tries to figure out the right combination of Spanish buttons to make it work. I came back to the room to blog for an hour, then hung all of my clothes up neatly in the window to dry.
Yeah. It’s laundry. But it’s a big deal!
Today was another trip out of the city. The last adventure. 🙁 John picked up Allison and Haley at 8, and then was at my place a few minutes later. I told them, “Hoy hablamos todas espanol porque necesito practicar para El Salvador!”. We spoke in Spanish for about 10 minutes before English took over again. 🙂 We drove out of the city into the hills again, which soon turned into very large mountains. Going AROUND mountains takes a lot of time. So what do Colombians do? Go THROUGH mountains! The Occidente Tunnel was completed in 2006 and is the longest tunnel in South America! The tunnel is almost 3 miles long, and cut a little over 1 hour off the prior 2.5 hour trip from Medellin to Santa Fe. Honestly, that seems like a LOT of work and money to shave off 1.5 hours of driving time when my foreign eyes see a lot of other things that money could be spent on to improve people’s lives, but hey- welcome to the world. Happens everywhere.
John and Allison, right on time as always!
After the tunnel, we stopped for 2nd breakfast (we have kind of been eating like hobbits on this trip!). Haley wanted a chicken empanada thing, but explained to me that if they have beef inside, they are an empanada, but if they have chicken inside, they’re called “chicken cake”! Ha ha (Ja ja!). I let her order one for each of us. They were HUGE! I finished half of mine, and it was very, VERY good!
We continued through really beautiful country with VERY high mountains all around- not like the hills on the way to Guatape. Along the way, John was telling us about this bridge we had to cross to get into Santa Fe, and basically making it sound like it was ready to fall into the drink at any moment. After researching the El Almirante, I didn’t doubt that that was a distinct possibility! I joked with him that he should call his business “We Might Die Tours”! Honestly, I was building it up in my mind to be MUCH worse than what it was. It was kind of like a “Golden Gate Bridge”- yellow and similar in structure, and looked really strong to me. We made it over alive, so apparently it’s at least “strong enough”! I wanted to get pictures of it, so we pulled over and walked through an empty vacant lot (another stop on the We Might Die itinerary!) to get down to the river. John asked a guy if it was ok for us to go down and he said yes. There’s a quarry on this side of the bridge, and there were a lot of big trucks coming and going. The river is the Rio Cauca, and it’s a big, muddy thing. Not particularly attractive. Haley has a rock hunting hobby, which for someone who travels so much and having to keep bag weights to a minimum seems a little counterproductive! She looked for rocks, I snapped a few pics, and we headed back to the taxi.
We didn’t go into the town immediately. We went to the right of town down a very pretty narrow road that wound through some beautiful trees. At the end, there was another bridge. And oh boy, but was this a bridge! This is the Puente de Occidente (Western Bridge) and it has quite a history. It’s a wooden suspension bridge that was built in 1887, and at the time was one of the 7th longest suspension bridges in the entire world (way out here in basically the middle of no where over 130 years late!) at almost 1000 feet long! Currently, it’s the 8th longest in the world. Not bad! And it’s up for potential UNESCO listing, which is cool. It spans the same Rio Cauca that the other bridge does. It has three parts to it. A middle part that cars can drive over (none of us thought that was a good idea in the least!), and on either side is a walkway for pedestrians (I wasn’t so sure that was a good idea either!). Here I am again, on a high- VERY high bridge. Oy. I couldn’t see through the wooden slats though, and it didn’t shake at all, so I could deal with it by focusing carefully on each step and not looking down. We walked all the way across and all the way back and I did way better than I thought I would! Allison did notice that I held on the to the sides while I was taking a picture though!
And now, we come to the part in our story where Mary reaches her height limit… The guards said we should climb up to see the statue of Mary. “Climb” translated into Maryese was “Hey! Why don’t you take your life in your own hands and walk up those uneven, small cement steps we’ve placed into the side of a super steep hill with nothing to hang on to so you can easily topple down the cliff to your death!” I got to the top of the first set of stairs, realized the error of my ways, told the rest of the crew to go on ahead while I sat down and took a rest to take in the view (translation: sat down because I my legs were shaking so bad I couldn’t stand, and butt scoot my way back down while trying not to flash the guards below all my goodies since I was wearing a dress!). I made it back down and waited for the rest of the crew. Allison informed me that it got really sketchy higher up and I made the right decision.
Me taking a picture of the crew climbing the first set (translation: me taking a picture to stall going up there myself!)
My knees, as I sat on the top stair and wondered how in the hell I was going to get down.
The crew waving from the top
I felt safer down below with the dude with the gun. The only gun I saw in Colombia.
Next we went into the town of Santa Fe. It’s hot here. Like about 20 degrees hotter than Medellin’s perpetual 75ish and humid (which Medellin is not). This town was founded in 1541 (as in a mere 50 years after Colombus declared this side of the world the EAST Indies, as in South/Southeast ASIA.). Why did the Spaniards like it here. Gold, duh. It used to be the capitol of Antioquia (remember, that’s the state in Colombia I’m in) until the capitol was moved to Medellin in 1826. So what’s so cool about Santa Fe (since it isn’t the weather?). The fact that the city has preserved its colonial history by putting strict guidelines into place that maintain the historic nature of the center of town’s buildings. White walls, huge wooden doors, cobblestone streets- it’s like going back in time and is so completely different from Guatape!
We first headed to the Santa Barbara Church, which dates back to 1728. Inside, they were preparing for Semana Santa (Saint’s Week- basically Good Friday/Passover).
Next up, the religious museum, where for like $1 we got a guide who toured us around (in Spanish, but I hung in there enough to get the general idea). Most of the art here was from the 1700’s!
This thing had REAL HAIR from the 1800’s on it. Haley and I were simultaneously fascinated and grossed out.
This panel is from the 1700s and came out of the Santa Barbara church
My favorite kind of religious art- the creepy, macabre kind!
This man was restoring a statue from the 1700’s! AMAZING!!
Dear Zoe- here is your mom signing the guest book. 🙂
Had a delicious lunch, then walked around some more. It was really hot with all of the sun reflecting off the white buildings. We visited a couple of more churches, one of which was also preparing for Semana Santa, and a beautiful town square with a gorgeous fountain and a really peaceful, chilled vibe. We were all getting overheated though, and decided we had seen enough churches (I think there are 7 here and we saw 4 of them!). So back in the taxi for a rainy ride through the mountains, back to Medellin.
It was pouring by the time we got to Medellin. I jumped out and headed up to my room, where I found that the cleaning lady had taken all of my clothes off the window and put them on a drying rack in the room so they wouldn’t get wet. HOW NICE! I had a couple of hours to work before I was to meet up with the Shermano crew (and the Cate crew minus Jamie) for our last supper (see my play on Semana Santa? Aren’t I a clever girl?!). By the time it was dinner time, the rain had stopped. I walked to Crepes y Waffles, which is actually a Colombian owned chain, to meet everyone. I was there first. Uh oh. I asked if the hostess spoke English. Nope. Ok. I can do this. I had to put my hand on a table to remember the word, then busted out with “Necesito una mesa para ocho personas, por favor”. And BAM! She and another lady set it up! I was quite proud of myself when the other 7 wandered in to a prepared table for 8! We all talked over a FANTASTIC dinner (I had chicken, mushrooms, and asparagus in a bread bowl and it was to die for!). All too soon it was time to leave my friends for the first last time, because as Allison said, this is just the first of more adventures! We will meet up somewhere in the world again as soon as we can! In fact, Haley might join me in my solo travels one day! I had an unbelievably fantastic visit with Allison and the girls, and am so glad I took the leap of faith to head off to Colombia to meet people I had only known online previously. I’m proud to now call all of them my “real life” friends (a moniker few attain).
Africa. Dark. Mysterious. Primitive. Sign me up! This travel experience began the same way most of my travels have begun the past couple of years- not with a destination in mind, but with a house sitting opportunity. Of course I knew I wanted to go somewhere for my Christmas break. But where…well, that decision was left to Trusted House Sitters (THS)! I only had two criteria in mind: 1) Somewhere warm (always a requirement!) 2) No long haul flights! I had gone all the way around the world over the summer, and a nice 6-8 hour flight to Central or South America, or one of those nice Caribbean Islands was sounding mighty nice…
Best laid plans and blah, blah, blah. I had about given up on finding a decent house sit in the middle of October (patience is not one of my virtues), and was getting quite frustrated. And then an unbelievably gorgeous sit popped up on THS. The profile picture was an INSANE ocean view out of a wall of windows in a beautiful living room. The country caption said “South Africa”. Hmmmmmm. And no pets to tend to! There were already several applicants, and this sit was a sweeeeeeeet gig, so I didn’t put much faith in my chances when I sent my introduction letter. Within an hour or so, the homeowner contacted me back. A couple of emails and a video meetup later, and the sit was mine!! Not just the sit, but the longest of long haul flights I could have possibly come up with- 12 hours to Munich, 5 hour layover, 12 hours to Cape Town. But it’s AFRICA!! So on December 14, I headed out for a new adventure on a new continent…
These are the travel days and first full day in South Africa. And man, I don’t think I’ll ever do two 12 hour back to back flights again! First leg, LAX to Munich. I had the window seat, and as I was coming down the aisle I saw a HUGE guy standing right about where my row was. Oh please don’t let him be in my row….of course, he was in my row. Now I’m going to start this by saying I don’t give a flying (pun) flip about how people look. Knock yourself out. You do you. But when you starts impacting me, we’re going to have a problem. This guy not only filled up his entire seat, but easily 1/4 of mine. I’m not going to lie, I was pissed. I paid about $500 for this one leg. About $500 for my teeny tiny piece of airplane space that even someone like me of small to medium stature has a hard time being comfortable in. And this jack weasel was taking up about $125 of that space. And not only was he taking up my space, he smelled like rotten cottage cheese. I was texting Brian before take off, he said I should say something. But what am I going to say that doesn’t make me sound like a total bitch? The guy isn’t going to magically shrink if I tell him to stay on his side of the armrest. The flight was full, so what was the attendant going to do? So I just leaned as far way as possible against the wall. I say this to say this: If you are so big that you can’t fit into one seat, then I’m sorry but you need to buy 2. Or one seat in business or first class where there’s more room. You do NOT have the right to take up my space because of YOUR issues. #rantoff
I slept for about 7 of the 12 hours. At one point, the seat hog did something and whacked me hard squarely in the middle of the back. That means he was over half way into my space. He mumbled sorry and I didn’t even acknowledge him. Got to Munich, and settled in for a long 5 hour layover. Grabbed some little German biscuits covered with chocolate and a water ($8 US, thank you very much) and chatted a bit with Brian. Got on the next flight with a plan to try to sleep for at least 5 hours. Well, that didn’t happen. I barely got one hour. At least this row mate fit in his seat- but he did snore a little! The sun came up and we were over ocean. About 30 minutes before we landed, I saw my first piece of Africa. The coastline was dotted with little rounded coves with white sand beaches. All I could think was, “I bet we’re flying over a ton of great white sharks!”.
First Glimpse of Africa
The last piece of air before touchdown sent us over what I guess you would call a shanty town. Dwellings straight off of the brochure a of third world (yes, I know “developing” is politically correct, but I’m making a point here) country. Four walls not too far apart with a ribbed tin roof, crammed together way too close, with garbage and broken glass everywhere. It was kind of shocking. In my travels I’ve seen poverty, but this was- I don’t know- this was very palpable. But before I could really process it, the wheels touched down. I was in Africa!
The wonderful homeowner had set up a private shuttle for me, so when I got off the plane a lady was standing there with a sign that said, “Mary Middlebrook”. Wow. Super fancy! I insisted on pushing my luggage cart (yes, I had to have a cart for this trip- more about that later). I can’t stand for people to wait on me when I’m perfectly able. We chit chatted as we walked. We both loaded the luggage into the shuttle and I returned the cart. She asked if it was ok to turn on the radio and I told her of course! I want her to do whatever it is she would normally do! She said a lot of passengers get kind of snappy and say, “No radio!”. Oy. I told her I’m the easiest passenger she’d ever have. She said she could already tell. I LIVE for those kinds of compliments!!! Along the hour drive, she pointed out different things, we talked a little about politics both here and in the US, I told her the type of propaganda we get fed about Africa and we both laughed at some of the stereotypes. She talked about restaurants locals would go to and pointed them out. It was really a pleasant trip! The drive along the coast was GORGEOUS- pics of that next time I go that way. Through little seaside towns of Muizenberg, Fish Hoek, and then to Simon’s Town- my home for the next month. I’ve seen a lot of interesting crossing signs warning drivers of exotic (to me) animals that one should be on the lookout for….but I had never seen a penguin crossing sign!! I can’t wait to get down there and see them! We turned off the main road and went up. And up. And UP a huge, steep hill. My dreams of walking to the penguins every day slowly disintegrated as I imagined huffing and puffing back up a half mile or more of this!! #travelinsurance And then we pulled up to a house. A stunning house at the top of the hill…
I unloaded my bags, thanked the driver, and headed to the front door. I had arrived- almost 36 hours after leaving my home in Los Angeles. The house keeper, Maria, let me in. She’s going home for Christmas which is why the owners need a house sitter. We entered through the garage and loaded my bags into the funicular. Yes, a funicular. A little tram-like elevator sort of thing that runs from the garage to the second floor. Swanky. Maria showed me my room. More swanky! It’s not just a room, it’s a suite! I have a king sized bed that faces a wall of windows that open to a little private balcony with a to-die-for ocean view!! There’s a desk, a couch, a large coffee table, a massage chair, and a huge bathroom. I have died and gone to spoiled traveler heaven! Then Maria takes me upstairs. Swank to the power of luxury!! A fantastic open living room and dining room with a wall of windows overlooking the spectacular ocean. A large balcony with a couch and bbq (that we will definitely use when Brian gets here!). Even a little swimming pool! The gorgeous large kitchen also over looks the ocean, but out the back windows you look up the mountain. This house would do my ex-in laws proud (shout out to you, Karen M!!) As Maria was walking me through I saw a hummingbird with an INSANE metallic green head at the feeder! I so wanted to stop and get a picture, but I figured I’d have another chance. Not only were these homeowners so kind to trust me with their home and arrange my shuttle, but they even stocked the refrigerator for me! How I end up with the most awesome house sitting gigs all over the world, I’ll never know, but I’m sure glad for it!
Standing in the funicular car looking down the track
View from my bedroom balcony
Closeup of Boulder Beach where the penguins are- right below my bedroom!
View from the Living Room
Awesome balcony where I can see myself grilling meat in the near future!
View up the hill. See that electric fence? It’s to keep out BABOONS!! Yes, BABOONS!
I came back to my room to unpack. I was toast. I decided I had to sleep for 2 hours. Set the alarm. Hit snooze 2 hours later and woke up after a 4 hour nap! I felt so hungover. The wind outside was INSANE. So windy you could hear it howling around the corners. Just looking at the waves on the ocean was enough to make me sea sick! It was so crazy that my interior bedroom door would rattle ever so often! I just kind of laid in bed and relaxed, stalking my friend Allison’s travel blog for Cape Town adventures, and forcing myself to stay up until 9pm (11am Los Angeles time). Went to sleep and woke up at 1am (3pm Los Angeles time), and could not go back to sleep to save my life. I tossed and turned and read facebook on my phone for hours. Chatted a bit with Brian. Listened to the incessant wind. Finally went back to sleep at about 6am. Maria knocked on my door at 6:30, and thankfully after a quick chat I was able to fall back asleep until 11:30. Woke up, got some food and a Diet Dr. Pepper, took some pictures, and finally started feeling human enough to write this.
View from laying in my cozy bed
Let’s back up a second to Diet Dr. Pepper. Those of you who know me know that finding Dr. Pepper in my travels is like my own personal scavenger hunt fueled by the challenge and a wee bit of desperation. I research to see if it’s even available, and then try to find it. Sometimes I succeed (Belize, France, England, Malaysia, Sweden), sometimes not (Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba(duh), Germany, Italy). All my research led to zero chance of finding any in South Africa. The homeowner backed up these findings. True story: My main question for homeowners after I get a sit is “Can I get Dr. Pepper there?”. I knew I could remedy the problem this time though. Because for once, I wasn’t flying a budget airline that charged you for anything you brought that wouldn’t fit in your right hip pocket. No, I was flying on Lufthansa, baby!! Two checked bags for FREE!!! So I checked my normal carry on and packed another bag with one case of 12 and 6 loose cans wrapped in a trash bag. This empty bag will allow me to actually bring home more than one tiny souvenir!! May I present to you my Brian Advent Calendar. One a day until Brian gets here with a fresh supply!!! 🙂
The “Countdown to Brian” Advent Calendar. I think it’s going to fly off the shelves! 😉
This entry shall be titled “COME HELL OR HIGH WINDS”.
First, let’s begin with hell. This is the worse case of jet lag I’ve ever had. I didn’t even know it could be this bad. I went to bed about 10pm last night. I didn’t go to sleep until AFTER 4 FREAKING AM!!!! And then guess when I woke up. 6:30am. Two hours of sleep. TWO. Misery, thy name is jet lag. I was starting to feel like a human again yesterday. Today, not so much.
And on to the wind…People, I thought the Santa Ana winds in Los Angeles the past couple of weeks were bad. Those were a slight breeze compared to what I have learned are the South-Easter winds. And I’m here to tell you they are no joke. I have been here for 3 days. The wind has not stopped blowing fiercely for a single second- and I’m not exaggerating. It’s a constant noise- both outside as it whips bushes into a frenzy and screams around the corners of the house, and inside where it rattles everything when a really big gust comes along. According to the online weather service, it’s pretty constant at about 30 miles per hour, with gusts around 50 (I’d guess higher). It’s like living in a dry, never ending tropical storm! It is a little better this morning- still quite windy but at least the ocean doesn’t look like a sea of white caps.
One thing I need to clarify is my current transportation issue. In Costa Rica, I had Jennifer’s Ms. Kia (car) to get around in. In Paris, I had the subway. In Kuala Lumpur, I could walk almost everywhere I wanted to go. In Simon’s Town there is no subway, no bus, I have been told by 2 different locals that the trains to Cape Town are unreliable and potentially dangerous. Rent a car? Sure- but that’s going to require me driving on the left side and I’m not sure I have the constitution for that yet. Uber? This is a possibility that I will be utilizing in the near future if I calculate the budget and the risk to the South African population and determine that renting a car is out of the question. Walk? Sure- but that’s going to require me returning home via a hill that the shuttle van that brought me here had a hard time traversing, PLUS dealing with the death winds. Oh, what the hell- let’s hoof it! There are penguins to be seen!!
I have three fears about leaving the confines of my posh digs.
1. Being blown all the way to Nambia (Trump’s African country where people who get blown away by the South-Easters end up- and NO ONE wants to end up in one of Trump’s countries. Oh…wait….)
2. BABOONS!! Good lord why do I always choose to travel to areas with man eating monkeys! And with these winds, they’ll probably be like those ones in the Wizard of Oz. The homeowner told me last night over the phone that I shouldn’t see any if I walk to the beach. I’m not convinced. In fact, I heard a neighbor’s perimeter alarm going off last night and I was convinced for a good half hour that a band of marauding baboons were going to be crashing through the house at any moment. I locked my interior bedroom door- that’s how real that possibility was to me! #jetlag
3. Having a heart attack walking back up that hill. Of the 3 fears, this one is probably the most realistic. But on the bright side, if I survive it they might give me some nice tranquilizers at the hospital and I could finally get some sleep.
WARNING. TRIGGER ALERT. SAFE SPACE NOTIFICATION. POTENTIAL UNINTENDED OFFENSIVENESS STRAIGHT AHEAD:
Before I could get out the door, the window cleaning crew dropped by unexpectedly. John, an older white guy with a delightful accent (is it South African? UK and environs? Australian? Don’t ask me- all I know is that it’s English). While we were talking, the younger black guy with him introduced himself as well. Look, I have no idea what the PC terms are here. At home, I’d call a black person African American. Here, I have heard them called blacks. I don’t know if that’s a welcomed term or not. When I asked my driver what cultures were here, she said black, colored, white, and Indian. Obviously, they’re African, but does that term really make sense since there are people here who are not black that are African as well? Color me confused. Anyway, back to the story. The younger black guy walked up, and was followed by another. John introduced them and said they were from Zimbabwe. That about 3,000,000 of them were in South Africa due to the government being so bad, but things were getting better. The two men had the darkest skin I think I’ve ever seen (and I was raised in the south). Skin so pitch black that it absorbed all light and even my gaze. A midnight arm reached out to me, then another. Their hands were large and rough and dry. In that handshake I felt a lot of things. Fear. That dogged fear instilled in me from my childhood in the south, that I have tried so hard to overcome completely. I guess those brainwashed initial instincts will always be there, no matter how much my conscious, enlightened self tries to stamp it out. But after that initial stupid instinct that quickly disappeared, there was amazement. These men were African. They had fled their home country. What stories did they have? In that moment, I was honored to be meeting them and honored that they were so friendly and kind to me and seemed to be genuinely happy to meet me. And finally, a sense of apology. For many things. For that initial fear, for everything people who look like me and speak like me had done to them over the centuries, for standing here in this insanely gorgeous house while they cleaned the windows. Just writing about it now makes me tear up. There was a lot of emotion that flowed through those 3 second handshakes…
I went into the kitchen to make my lunch, and there was that metallic green headed “hummingbird” again! I had told the homeowner about it on the phone last night, and she said they weren’t hummingbirds, but sun birds. Super cool! I ran back downstairs and grabbed my camera. I caught the pair of sunbirds (Orange Breasted) and another gorgeous pair of birds with SUPER long tails at the feeder (later research proved them to be sugar birds- the only species on the Cape)! As I watched them, I said out loud “These birds live in AF-RICK-UH!”. I have to keep reminding myself I’m really here.
Orange Breasted Sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea)
Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer)
The window crew left in the early afternoon. Maria had left for her trip back home earlier in the morning. For the first time, I was all alone. All alone in Africa. Hell and high winds (which had really picked back up) won out in the end. My eyelids were heavy and I knew I wasn’t going to make a trek to the beach and back on my measly 2 hours of sleep. I took a 2 hour nap. That gives me 4 hours of sleep in the last 24. I still feel hungover, so hopefully I’ll actually sleep tonight and be at 100% tomorrow. Days are moving too fast here for me to be so out of commission.
DAY 5
This blog shall be titled “S.O.L. (Shit Officially Lost)”.
Finally!! A day of adventure to share with you! First adventure of the day- sleeping from 10pm to 8am straight!! Woo-hoo!! Jetlag is officially my bitch instead of the other way around! I woke up feeling a little hungover and groggy, but once I started moving around and ate breakfast, I was back to my old self again and ready to head down to see some penguins! It wasn’t as windy- meaning it was a really strong breeze instead of gale force winds. Perfect!
First up, though, the homeowner’s brother-in-law was going to stop by to work on the rainwater catchment system. It’s a pretty cool set up, and super important since South Africa is in a SEVERE (and I mean SEVERE) drought. When water does come, every drop needs to be saved. He was a super nice guy and he showed me the system and we talked about traveling, South Africa, and more. After he left, I grabbed my trusty jungle hat (never leave the country without it!), my super awesome green day pack filled with a water bottle, jacket, and camera, and headed down the hill! And down, and down, and down…I tried not to think about up…
Got to the main road and tried to remember the homeowner’s directions to the place where I didn’t have to pay to see the penguins. Boulder Beach is a pay park, and I’ll probably wander down there eventually, but I’m all about free, so free penguin watching sounded good. I wasn’t really sure where I was going. I remembered her saying “golf course”, so when I saw it, I crossed it. There were these two really big birds (almost vulture sized) grazing in the dry grass. Upon arriving back to the house (spoiler alert: I didn’t die on the hill), I researched and think I have correctly identified them as Ibis, and maybe more specifically the Hadada Ibis.
Ibis. Possibly the Hadada Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash)
On the other side of the golf course was the beach I can see from the house. White sand, blue green water, huge rounded boulders, and jaw droppingly gorgeous! I looked around in the rocks for signs of life, but only saw a couple of limpets and some assorted gastropods (snails). No stars or anemones or anything. 🙁
The beach was beautiful, but I’m not much of a beach girl. I am, however, very much a penguin girl! So I headed off down the beach in search of them. I don’t know how, but I actually found the little free boardwalk the homeowner had told me about! Opened the gate and walked down the sandy trail.
Picturesque trail on a picturesque beach heading to picturesque penguins!
Not too many steps in, and I said out loud before I even thought- “Holy freaking crapballs- those are PENGUINS!!!!!!!!!” And there they were!!! And that’s when I went S.O.L (shit officially lost). They were AMAZING!!! I was talking excitedly to myself. I was talking lovingly to them. I was snapping pics. I just wanted to jump the fence and go snuggle with all of them! It was insanity of the best kind! I couldn’t believe these were penguins in front of me…penguins that live in AF-RICK-UH!!!!!!!
When I quit snapping pics, I turned around and looked up the trail where I had just come from. And damned if there wasn’t a penguin right on the trail by my leg! He was on the side of the trail opposite the beach- I had been staring at the penguins on the beach and didn’t even see him! If he would have been a cobra, he would have bit me (yeah, there are cobras here. no lie). I knelt down by him, about 3 feet away, and took some pics. I could have reached out and touched him, but of course I wouldn’t ever do that. Besides, I didn’t add the “Penguin Bite Rider” to my travel insurance. He kind of sneezed at me. I think that was a “get outta my personal space, lady” warning snot. I looked up and there were more penguins opposite the beach side. They were everywhere! On rocks, in grass, on the trail, by the houses, and one I saw swimming in the water.
Oh, but penguins weren’t the only critters out and about!! These hilarious looking beaver/guinea pig/rat things are rock hyraxes. And they aren’t kin to any of those things it looks like. In fact, their nearest living relatives are elephants and Sirenians (manatees and dugongs). Isn’t that insane?! All hail evolution, we bow before your wondrous glory. 🙂 There was a pair of them on the rocks, so cute. And then when I went down the trail a little further, there was one laying right in the middle of it. Now, other than being a marine biologist and pulling the “hey, I teach kids about your Sirenian cousins” card, I wasn’t sure what to do about this. Were they aggressive? Should I just turn around and leave him be? Because again, I didn’t check the box for Rock Hyrax Mauling on my insurance….Hmmm. I took a tentative step toward him to see what he would do. Nothing. I was about 5 feet away. I took another step- slowly. Nothing. One more step, and he scooted off into the bushes. Attack averted!
There was another bird on the beach that was simply stunning. Research indicates that it’s a Black African Oyster Catcher. So beautiful.
Black African Oyster Catcher (Haematopus moquini)
It was time to head back. I walked through the parking lot and saw this sign:
And then I saw this. Oh my god. If I ever ran over one of those darlings, I just go drown myself. I can’t even bear to think about it.
Walked back along the golf course toward the house. I managed to make it up the hill- somehow. I was really huffing and puffing the last block or so. All in all, 2.8 miles, about 100 penguins, a few rock hyraxes, a couple of ibis and black oystercatchers, and ZERO baboons!!!!!! I can’t imagine a more wonderful first outing.
This is my ‘hood
“My” house. Waaaaaaay up the hill.
This is the sign by the entrance to my ‘hood. It should read #$@&! Baboons.
DAY 6 is really easy to journal. I spent the day in Malaysia! In other words, I spent all day in the house working on lesson plans for my upcoming classes on my Malaysia adventures! After a super long work day, I was definitely ready for some outdoor adventures! So Day 7 took me to Kirschbosch gardens. *insert scratching needle on a record sound*
So that was what I had written early this morning, intending to combine boring day 6 with fun day 7. Only thing on the agenda was an electrician coming at 4. And at about 5:30, things went south…. I’m going to preface this with this: I am so freaking amiable when I’m not in the US that I don’t even recognize myself most of the time. I’m patient and friendly. I have only encountered ONE person in the past 4 years of travel that has been rude to me, and it was a subway ticket lady in the Paris Metro. And honestly, if I had her job and one more lame ass American tourist came to my window clueless about everything and yapping about in English, I’d probably snap as well. So back to 5:30. The electrician comes in and informs me that there’s a problem outside. I’m thinking, “I don’t know what problem you might have that you think I could solve.”, but ok, I go out. And there is the glass door on the patio, shattered into a sickening spider web of glass. He immediately starts in with, “The wind blew this heavy metal stand that was propping the door open, and the door slammed shut and broke. It’s not my fault!!” I informed him that before his arrival, that door had been shut tight by Maria who showed me how to close it and I hadn’t touched that door since then, and he’d been going in and out of it for the past hour and a half, so it could only be his fault. And this is when he committed the sin of all sins. Looked me right in the face and lied through his teeth. “That door was open when we got here! (side note: he wasn’t the first guy on the scene- his worker was) In fact, I know this door and it doesn’t even shut!” I raised two teenage boys. Do not think you can get a lie past me. And then this is where I think everything went wrong. He “shut” the door then pushed it open with a touch to prove to me that it wouldn’t shut. It is a tricky door, and I informed him that he wasn’t doing it right, and right in front of his workers I shut the door properly, pushed it, it stayed firmly closed, and I said “See? It does shut. This is how it was before you arrived. I’m going to go call the homeowner.”
I swear, these absolutely wonderfully kind and overly generous people leave me with their home and this happens on my watch. And this was the SECOND time this door had broken on a housesitters watch- Maria had told me about the last time when she was emphasizing how important it was to shut the door. I was sick. I called and explained to the homeowner what had happened. She told me to get masking tape and tell him not to leave until he tapes up the glass to keep it from falling out of the door. I go get the tape, relay the message, and he starts insisting again that it wasn’t his fault. And then he said the kicker- “I had no idea when I propped it open that the wind would blow the stand away.” Had this been my house and my country, the venom that would have come out of me after this guy completely changed his story would have made a boomslang blush (yes, there are boomslangs here. no lie). But not my house, not my country, not a war I wanted to get involved in. I just wanted him gone. I repeated what the homeowner had said about taping it up and went back in. About 20 minutes later, I’m on the phone with the homeowner, and he calls me. I go back up and he tells me they’re done and leaving. Then he informs me that I really offended him earlier. Ok, maybe it’s a cultural thing where if someone lies to you you just smile and nod without questioning it. Maybe it’s a sexist cultural thing where you lie to a woman, she just smiles and nods without questioning it. But sorry, bub, I’m an independent woman from UH-MER-I-CUH, and I speak my mind. I don’t do it rudely (most of the time), but I’m not going to pretend your lie is the truth. I simply told him that I was just telling him what I knew to be true. He said he was telling me what he knew to be true (which version??). I replied, “Yes, and I didn’t get offended by it.” And off he went. No joke, my blood was boiling though. I think the offense was that I proved to him that the door did shut and embarrassed him in front of his workers. Tough gumballs. Be an honest person, own up to what you did wrong, and no one would have been offended.
PHEW! Had to get that outta my system! It’s all good now. The house is on lockdown (security here is Ft. Knox level!), I made myself a yummy dinner, and I’m in bed blogging and about to get back to work. I guess you already got a spoiler alert for Day 7 at the beginning of this…
DAY 7
I didn’t sleep again last night. Well, I did from 11-1 and then from about 4-6:30. Ugh. The winds were HOWLING all night. Got up, 3/4 dead but determined to go to the gardens, turned on the shower and….no water pressure. I had to call the poor homeowner again with a problem. She’s going to change her number before I leave! She called Peter, the guy who works on the water system, to come over and see what was going on. He was over here the other day and is super nice. He also works closely with, and sent over, the electrician from yesterday. Eep! He got here at about 8:30, apologized for the situation, and went to work. No mention of the electrician. Took about 30 minutes before he figured it out and wa-la, we had water pressure again! We had a nice chat. He said he knew I was going out, and asked where. I said Kirstenbosch Gardens- that I was going to Uber. He offered to take me to Fish Hoek since he was going that way. And off we went! He had to make 2 maintenance stops first, and I said I didn’t mind. I was enjoying the conversation and getting out of the house in a vehicle for the first time in 5 days. Guess where the first stop was. The electrician’s house! Eep! When Peter got out, the electrician walked to the truck. Peter pointed to me and said “You stay there” and he said to the electrician “She’s going to stay in there and you stay out here.” It was all in good fun and he was smiling. I didn’t even look at the electrician, so I don’t know if he got the joke or was still “offended”. Made one more stop, then he dropped me off in Fish Hoek. I told him that I hoped I wouldn’t have to call him again before Christmas! Good news is that the wind had completely stopped. That’s the first time since I’ve been here…Hal-glory!
It was super easy to order an Uber in Fish Hoek, and it was there within just a few minutes. Off we went to Kirstenbosch Gardens. This is the largest garden in South Africa (over 1000 acres!) and considered to be one of the top gardens in the world, so I was really excited to see it! I’m a plant girl. I rescue dead and dying plants from people and from Lowe’s, and bring them back to life. I have a ridiculous amount of plants and am constantly planning my landscaping. So I was hoping for some inspiration! I got there a little before 11am, and the sign said there was a guided walk at 11. I decided to take that because it was free (my favorite kind of activity!). The guide said there are usually about 10 people. Perfect! It ended up being over 30. Ugh. Things I like: FREE! Things I don’t like: Hanging out with a bunch of tourists. But whatevz, I thought I’d stick it out. The guide was really passionate about the gardens, which was nice. I tried to stick close to her so I could hear what she was saying- especially because she said there would be a quiz at the end! #thatgirl And she was right- at the very end she pointed out a tree she had talked about toward the beginning of our hour and a half tour. She gave a few clues and asked if anyone knew what it was. Silence (for the first time). I said “It was that almond tree.” She said I should win a prize. I agree. Teachers make the best students! When the tour was over, I set out on my own for about 3 hours. I was glad for the knowledge from the tour, but with the big yapping group gone, the animals finally appeared! I could listen for a rustle of dry leaves or the flap of a wing or a bending of a twig, and follow that sound to its critter origin. I saw 3 birds in an hour and a half. I saw about 50 in the next 3 hours! Plus a squirrel that eluded photo capture. The scenery was like nothing I’ve ever seen. And it only cost a little over $5US to get in!!! I literally can not describe all of the sights, sounds, textures, colors, smells. It was unreal. So I’m just going to let the pictures speak for themselves. I took 190 pics, narrowed it down to 110, and had to seriously narrow it down for the blog. I’m going to do it in three sections: mountain scenery, garden scenery, close ups, and animals.
MOUNTAIN SCENERY
With the beautiful Table Mountain as a backdrop, and jaw dropping views all the way to the sea (that the camera had a hard time picking up through the haze), the surroundings were breath taking!
GARDEN SCENERY
There were so many themed gardens, but they were all arranged in a way that made them look perfectly natural and not so organized and meticulously landscaped. I loved it!
CLOSE UPS
The texture and color of the flowers didn’t always pick up in the long shots, so I got up close and personal with a lot of really intricate and beautiful flowers!
These first 3 are different types of Erica. Favorite food of the bright little sun birds!
This is a cycad- ancient plant. The cone is as big as my head!!
Sugarbush! Favorite food of those long tailed sugarbirds!
Called a pineapple plant, but it’s not really a pineapple. I love it!
ANIMALS
It’s a lot harder to take pics of animals than plants, since plants don’t usually run away! Here are some of my best shots of the day.
Helmeted Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris).
He was so curious! I loved him to pieces!! This is probably my favorite shot all day.
Sugarbird, like the ones here in the backyard. But this guy was sticking his tongue out at me! They’re nectar feeders, so have long tongues.
This thing was flying around and had a very dark blue abdomen! I followed him and he finally landed. I can’t figure out what it is though.
Swee Waxbill who was just being a ham! (Coccopygia melanotis)
I think this is a juvenile Cape Canary (Serinus canicollis). I’m pretty sure it’s a canary at least.
Lemon Dove (Aplopelia larvata)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) Considered to be sacred by the ancient Egyptians- and they had BAY-BAYS!!
Caught my Uber back and had a really friendly driver this time. He’s from Zimbabwe and he played me music from there in their language. I actually enjoyed it a lot!! Dropped me off and I started the evening routine. Dinner, cut up food for porcupines (yes, PORCUPINES come here every night- I’ve yet to see one though!), feed porcupines. I had noticed some porcupine quills in a jar in the kitchen, but I wasn’t sure if those were store bought or what. Imagine my surprise when I found THREE quills in the feeding area! I almost fainted from sheer excitement, and would have if I wasn’t scared a cobra or puff adder (yes there are puff adders here. no lie) would kill me. It’s a little weedy back there on the other side of the gate, and it makes me a bit nervous! And now I had my very first souvenir from Africa, and my favorite kind- FREE!! 🙂 Anyway, I had an absolutely WONDERFUL day! I really needed an excursion, and this one was more than I could have hoped for!
Porcupine quills! Literally, the only change I had in my purse was a Euro from this past summer. It’s about the size of a quarter so you can see how big the quills are.
Day 8
I slept great, and woke up refreshed for Day 8! That’s two awesome nights of sleep since I left! Woo-hoo (I guess…) What’s the common denominator between both nights? Nyquil. I absolutely HATE taking medicine of any kind. I have to be on death’s door to take even an aspirin. The idea of getting addicted to something (other than Dr. Pepper) scares me to death. And I know it’s kind of an irrational fear, but growing up with a non-functional prescription drug addict as a “parent” will do that to you… I took it last night at 9, went to sleep at 10, and didn’t move until the phone rang at 8am (Peter wanted to come and paint since there was no wind). That’s the thing about never taking even over the counter meds- they have uber impact on me because my body isn’t used to it! I have to sleep though, especially before days like today where I know I’m going to be working on lesson plans all day. If I have even a hint of brain fog, researching and focusing is impossible. That said, I’m well rested and spending the day in Malaysia again- working on the history of the country…which is quite interesting indeed!
Only one exciting thing happened today, and it was SUPER EXCITING!! I went up to the kitchen for water at about 8:30pm. Looked at the camera monitor that is pointing to the porcupine area like I do every night. Nothing. Sigh. Poured my water, walked back, and something on the screen caught my eye. Something was moving!! I looked, and IT WAS A PORCUPINE!!!!!! Oh my god, I almost fainted right there! I ran downstairs to get my camera (which was already packed for tomorrow’s adventure) and back up. Checked the monitor- still there! EEEEEEEEK!!! I slooooowly unlocked and slid open the patio door. I stopped and searched my science mind files under “porcupine quill shooting- true or myth”. I was 98% sure it was a myth, almost came back downstairs to google just in case because a face full of those quills was not something I was interested in experiencing. Convinced myself I was being an idiot and I was 100% sure that was a myth. All of that took about 2.3 seconds. I caaaaaaarefully tiptoed to the side gate (that opens to the weedy area where I’m convinced a cobra is waiting for me every day!). I quiiiiiiiiitely unlocked the gate and started to slide it open just a crack…just enough to get the lens through. And when I did, all I saw was porcupine butt scuttling down the hill. But oh my god, it was BIG! Way bigger than I thought they would be! Holy hell I wouldn’t want to tangle with one of those things! Seriously though, I don’t know why he ran. What in the world would want to eat that land dwelling sea urchin?! I waited for about 3 minutes, no sign of them. I was happy that the homeowner had told me that baboons went to bed around 6, so I didn’t have to worry about one of them. Then I started wondering if cobras were nocturnal, and figured I shouldn’t take any chances in the dark, so I shut the gate and came back in. FYI: Cape cobras are diurnal. 🙂 And it also is the most venomous of all the African cobras. Sometimes google is not your friend.
Day 9 is ADVENTURE DAY!! It was absolutely gorgeous out, so I decided to walk the 2.5 miles down to the Simon’s Town wharf. It was a perfect day for boating!
It was a great walk into town. I stopped along the way to visit a little outdoor market that was set up with arts and food. There are so many little shops and restaurants along the main street! I’m just not much of a “peruse through shops for miscellaneous stuff I don’t need” girl. Went to the wharf and found my boat! I was going out with Simon’s Town Boat Company.
It was a pretty small boat, and there was only one other group tagging along for the trip- a very lovely family of four from the UK. We boarded at 10:30am for our hour and a half trip to Seal Island and back! It’s not whale or great white shark season, but they said they had seen a Bride’s Whale yesterday- so I was keeping my fingers crossed. We headed out across the smooth water (thank god, although I had chewed up my Bonine pills before I left as a precaution!). There were little boats in the harbor fishing with hand lines. The guide said they were catching squid! Oh man, I so wanted to do that! I actually saw this guy bring one up, but wasn’t quick enough to capture it!
On the trip out, we didn’t see any whales or dolphins, but every once in a while we’d see a tell-tale fin sticking out of the water, or an entire curious seal face popping up to get a good look at us. Soon, we could see the island in the distance!
This 5 hectare island is home to about 70,000 Cape Fur Seals (Arctocephalus pusillus). I was here in time to see the pups! Females give birth in late November and early December, so if I was lucky I was hoping to be able to see babies that were one month old or less. As we approached, you could hear the barking! Actually, it sounded more like the bleating of sheep than normal sea lion barking. And seals were EVERYWHERE!!! On the island and in the water- with their fins sticking out catching some rays (it’s a mechanism they use to warm up!).
You could easily see the difference in the sexes- the males are VERY large (over 7 feet and about 600 lbs) and the females are much smaller and sleeker (about 6 feet and 250 lbs). And there were BAY-BAYS!!!! The babies stay on the island- they don’t have enough blubber yet to stay warm in the chilly water. This morning, a huge group of babies was hanging out by the water’s edge, waiting for their moms to come back from feeding.
Pups to the far right, big male foreground right, female foreground left
Huge group of black pups waiting for mom to come back
Mom with her pup. Awwwwww!
Those two guys in the back facing each other were having quite the argument, while wittle bitty babies wandered around
The boat slowly circled the island, and when we got to the other side, we could get a lot closer to the island and the seals that were in the water! They were so funny- jumping, playing, and popping their heads up for a look like- “Hey boat people, did you see that cool trick?!”. You almost wanted to jump in with them! #ijustsaynotogreatwhitesharkterritory Speaking of great whites, this is premier feeding grounds in the winter (it’s summer here now, south of the equator). In March and April when the pups are heading out to the ocean for the first time, the sharks move in- about 50-60 of them are here on any given day, and about 18 predations are seen a day! WOW! This is the place where the great whites will jump out of the water during an attack!! That would be so amazing to witness, even if a little sad. But now, probably no sharks, or very few. The guide told us that the biggest danger are the seals themselves- males are SUPER protective of their females and pups, and if a human were to go on to the island, you’d be killed! Eek!
That one seal is smiling for the camera!
There weren’t just seals on Seal Island. There were birds, too. We even saw a couple of lonely penguins that looked half lost! On this side of the island, on the far end, we were downwind, and the smell of seal and bird poop- while not overwhelming- was definitely noticeable!
Hey boat lady, this is MY penguin buddy! Back off!
Hey penguin buddy! Where are you going! I thought we were besties!
This place stinks. I’m outta here!
It was really hard to get good close up because of the motion of the boat. All too soon it was time to leave Seal Island and head back to Simon’s Town. It was a WONDERFUL outing! The weather has been so bad that this was only their 5th day this month (today is December 23) to make a trip. So if you’re going to go, plan accordingly with the wind situation. If they have to cancel due to weather, you get a full refund. Trip cost is 350 rand, which is $35ish US. Not bad at all for this lovely experience!
Simon’s Town
I got off the boat, called an Uber, and headed to Fish Hoek to grab a few groceries (for the first time since I’ve been here!). I shopped at Woolworth’s- I wonder if it’s related to the 5 and dime stores of my youth?? Anyway, nothing here was a nickel or a dime, but it wasn’t too bad! I spent about $80US, and have more than enough to last me until Brian gets here in 10 days. Ubered back to the house, took a short nap (I didn’t sleep all that great last night- only took 1 pill instead of two. Sigh), got up, and started work. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be spent working, working, and doing some more work. Gotta stay on schedule! Next big outing is planned for Dec. 26!
Receipt from Woolworth’s. Really, not too bad. Not Malaysia cheap, though!
We then moved into the torture room, where the guide described some of the methods in gruesome detail. How did they know you were a witch back then? Well, being a woman was a pretty sure sign. And if you were accused, you were as good as dead. He didn’t mention it, but it was the church’s way of keeping women under strict control. Oh, the church…spreading love, acceptance, and independent thinking for 2000+ years. #puke By the way, that little comment would have gotten me KILLED back in the day. 🔥 ☠ Blasphemers, if they weren’t killed outright, would have their tongues split in half…marking them for life as a blasphemers. They would basically be outcast from society. OMG, can you believe that?? Uh oh, I’m dead again. 🔥☠ OMG is blasphemy- lord’s name in vain.
Ok, I have to say, I wasn’t exactly 100% thrilled with the tour. There really wasn’t as much focus on witches as I wanted. I really wanted a story with a bit more continuity and flow. But I will say, the guy was super passionate about the topics he presented! They just weren’t all directly related to witches (at least my perception of them). After about 2 hours, we reached the end of the tour. He said we could go outside with him and practice divination, or end the tour here. We had about 20 people. 6 of us went with him. And OMG (#deadagain 🔥☠), I am SO glad I did!! This was the best part of the whole damn tour!
Ok, here’s the deal with this place. It has the potential to be AMAZING. It is literally a slice of history. And it makes me SICK how they utilize it. The close (remember, that’s one of those super narrow streets) is named after a woman, Mary King, who was kind of a big deal in Edinburgh in the 1600s. Some kind of businesswoman or something, and her husband left her a lot of money and a house on the close, and she squandered it. I don’t know. The whole thing was impossible to follow. Anyway, the plague swept through this area, a bunch of people died. In the late 1700s, the close was covered up and partially destroyed to build the huge Royal Exchange building on top of it. It was uncovered at some point, and now tours are given. If I could come down here with a true historian, I know I’d be captivated. I don’t know what this guide was, but he wasn’t a historian… Anyway…
I went through the exit and saw that the royal chambers were closed for renovation! How disappointing! I stepped into the courtyard, fully expecting it to be full of people by now. Nothing. No one. I couldn’t believe it! How was that even possible?! And then I knew how it was possible. The droves of tourists were still running around like drunken ants at the bottom of the hill. No idea where to go, what to do. Trying to figure out how to get their tickets, how to get an audio guide, going to the potty, having a turn around the gift shop. And that left me all alone. Still. A queen for a few moments in Edinburgh Castle. Queen Mary. 👑 A queen who didn’t have to hear anyone’s spoiled brats screaming and whining. A queen who didn’t have to fight off the urge to grab a selfie stick from someone fluffing their hair and making duck lips and beat them to death with it (if I were queen, that would so be the punishment for selfie sticks!! HEAR YE, HEAR YE!! DAILY SELFIE STICK FLOGGINGS AT THE MERCAT CROSS- IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY EXECUTIONS OF THOSE FOUND GUILTY OF FIXING THEIR HAIR AND POSING OBNOXIOUSLY!!).
By the time I got out of this area, people were slowly filing into the courtyard. I wandered around through the several different museums (mainly dedicated to war relics, which I’m not really terribly interested in, but I did a fair walk though. The Highland Soldiers area I thought was the most interesting of them.) that are on the grounds. I took some pictures of the spectacular views from this hilltop perch. The drunken ants had finally invaded my picnic…
Ok…as mentioned above, I have a degree in marine biology and teach that and marine zoology. I even do a 4 week workshop on marine mammals. That said, marine mammals really aren’t my favorite (taste like chicken!). I’m more of a fish and invertebrates kind of girl. Sticker shock on this place was a little shocking for sure- $28!! That’s $10 more than the super impressive Perlan! I better be super impressed! I was given an audio guide, and went inside. It’s dark. There are life size replicas of all of the whale species (about 25) that are found in Icelandic waters hung from the ceiling. There are little displays at each species with text and audio information. The first room was all of the toothed whales (dolphins, orca, narwhal, sperm, etc…). Eh. Really, just eh. The second room was all of the baleen whales (the big boys). The only cool thing about it was to really be able to understand just how large these animals are in comparison to scrawny little humans. Other than that, another big “Eh”. Look, I am probably not the best person to review this place, because I already know all of the stuff they were talking about. So I didn’t really learn anything. If you are someone who loves marine mammals and want to learn more and see life size models, then you’ll probably enjoy it. But I was in and out of there in less than 30 minutes- before the audio guide was even finished for the first room. $1 a minute. I would have rather had 10 Dr. Peppers….
Started walking back toward the house, and there was a Kronon! The grocery store from yesterday! I went in. This one was much bigger. Wandered around and got a bottle of shampoo for $2 and a pack of cookies (of COURSE that was the first of my groceries from last week to run out!!) for another $2. There’s a Bonus and another store right on this intersection as well.
Found the 10-11 store, the same one I was in yesterday. Those bastages had marked it up an extra 30 krona!! Yesterday it was 299…today, 329! Well, the guide for the city tour on Day 2 warned us that the prices are jacked up on the weekends. Note to other people: Buy things Monday-Friday, because it’s expensive enough as it is here without paying extra on the weekends!!! I bought two- one for today and one for tomorrow. That’ll be $6, thank you very much. 🤑 I’ll come back Monday to stock up for the rest of the week.
Next top was a little “gem” (pun intended!) of a destination that I heard about on one of the Iceland Facebook groups- the 
The ghost museum was in the same complex, but around the other side. You got a nice ocean view from there, as it’s literally right on the water. The lady at the front desk was so happy to see me! I was her first customer of the day. Seriously, meeting her was the highlight of this whole stop. She asked me if I was traveling alone, and I said yes. She was very intrigued, and said she wanted to travel alone, but wasn’t sure, and that she had joined the Solo Women Traveler’s facebook page. I told her I was a member there, too! She hugged me and we talked for several minutes. Very, very sweet young lady. She gave me my audio headset, and told me to make sure to lift up the stone in room 19. That sounded ominous…. I will say this, the ghost museum is much more interesting than the elf museum! It’s still kinda cheesy, but there are some pretty interesting stories that are told at each stop (and, some that kinda sucked). You’ll be in this one for almost an hour if you listen to the whole headset. There are 25+ rooms to go through (much bigger than the elf museum). Basically, you go into a room, it’s decorated to represent the story, and you listen to the story. Again, all alone in this place, and I won’t spoil it, but there are some “surprises”! 😉 I didn’t go into room 19- frankly, I didn’t want to be scared! And I kinda skipped past the rest because it was taking so long and I needed to get back on the road. Said goodbye to the nice lady and headed out.
Next stop, research for Earth Science (you people think I’m just wandering around on vacation? Heck no, I’m working here!! 🙂 )- the Gunnuhver Geothermal Area. I could see the smoke rising in the distance- this really is the land of fire and ice! I parked at the lot and walked in (FREE!). There’s one extremely active boiling pool, that is the largest in all of Iceland. Water and steam are just constantly boiling out of the ground, with water shooting up a few meters. There’s a really nice boardwalk, and you can walk around the entire area- doesn’t take more than about 20 minutes or so. The oranges and yellows and reds on the ground are so beautiful.
So let’s see- so far I had seen elves and ghosts and trolls. What’s left? A giant!! A giantess, to be exact! This was a fun little detour into the city of Reykjanesbær. I hear word on the street that if you go to the tourist center here, you can get a certificate stating that you had crossed the bridge. I was kinda worn out, still had a ways to go, so didn’t search for the tourist center. Anyway, I came here to visit the giantess (FREE!)! Google maps wants to take you up into a neighborhood. Don’t do that. Park in the marina. You’ll see the footsteps leading to 
The final stop for the day was to the Seltún Geothermal Area. Now this one was REALLY tricky with Google Maps. Google was showing it off of some unnamed road on the right between Vogar and Hafnarfjörður. Fortunately I had posted my proposed itinerary on a facebook group, and someone said it isn’t on that road- it’s off of the 42 out of Hafnarfjörður. Why I didn’t clarify which end of the 42, I don’t know. I just assumed that since google was showing it on the north side of the Peninsula, that’s where it must be. Oh google, always making an ass out of me. I started driving down the 42, looking for signs. Nothing. Nothing. For a really long time, nothing. Then, my pavement turned to gravel! I got a little nervous- I’m back in the middle of no where, 2 wheel drive, no cell signal, hmmmmmm. The only thing I didn’t have to worry about was it getting dark (cuz it never gets dark!)! 😛 In typical throw all caution and common sense to the wind, I decided to go for it. The gravel didn’t last long, and it eventually turned to pavement again. The drive went along what I would assume is a stunningly beautiful lake when it’s not cloaked in cloud cover. Finally I reached Seltun (FREE!)! Where was it? Literally at the very end of the 42- almost all the way down to the coastal road I drove in on from the ghost museum! Ugh! Had I known that, I would have gone here before Brimketill Pool and saved myself a lot of driving. It was gorgeous. Very Yellowstone National Park-like. I had a great time exploring the boardwalks and watching mud boil, water spew, smoke rise, and holes hiss! Much more extensive and beautiful than Gunnuhver in my opinion, although both are worth a stop. I spent a little over 30 minutes here, and there are a lot of additional hiking opportunities.
You’ll notice there is no mention of the 
The first stop of the day was a waterfall. If you see the word “foss”, you know you’re about to see water falling off of some cliff somewhere! 😉 This one was Öxarárfoss. I pulled into the parking lot and not another car in sight…yes!! I didn’t hear a river or anything, but there was a path leading away from the parking lot, so I headed down it. In no time, I realized that I was on top of an amazing cliff!! And that there was a fantastic trail in a narrow canyon, with sheer rock walls with really ancient and cool looking formations. As I descended down into it, I literally felt like I was going back in time. That a Viking or an elf or anything unexpected and from a time long past might be hiding behind the next boulder. I don’t know what it was about that place, but it is the most magical feeling I’ve had while in Iceland. And being in there alone greatly enhanced the experience! Soon the rock path ended, and so did that magical feeling. I was on pavement now. The trail branched off in a different direction, and a lot more people were sharing the space with me now. Soon I reached the waterfall. It was beautiful!! On the way back, I read the sign about Gallow’s Rock. It is known that 15 men were hanged here, generally for theft, between 1602 and 1750.
I stopped at the little visitor center, and then drove down to the old settlement area. Here, I had to pay $5 to park. Got out and did a quick survey. There were little bridges and boardwalks meandering up the hills and over the stream, a church with some other buildings, and it was all surrounded by utter beauty! The sun was coming out! Birds were chirping! Angels were singing! 🙂 I headed up one of the paths, and saw that it also led to the path where I had just been at Öxarárfoss. So if you want a really good walk, the ability to experience that cool little canyon, and to not pay for parking (which I didn’t mind AT ALL, small price to pay for this place!), you could just park at the top of Öxarárfoss and walk down here. As I walked along the stream, there was a group of teens with a guide who was having them fill up their water bottles from the stream. Fun fact: You can drink any of the stream water in Iceland, no worries. However, there were a LOT of geese around. Lots of geese= lots of geese poop. Yeah, I’ll pass. 😉 From the top of the hill I could see that the boardwalk continued down the hill, across the stream, to the church, and from there I could go back to the parking lot. There are quite a few trails in this area to explore, though! I headed down to the church. There were a LOT of people in the area, and getting a picture without them in it was practically impossible. I pulled at the church door- locked. I was kneeling down in front of the church to take a picture (no other reason for me to kneel there! 😝). A guy walks up to the door with a large key!! Oooo! Could he be unlocking the church?? He WAS!! I looked at him with a “Can I go in?” look. He nodded. I was the first one in! But man, the rush of people behind me was crushing. It was ridiculous. I managed to quickly get in a shot before getting elbowed out of the way. The church is TINY and quaint, and there were no less than 30 people in there within seconds. By the time I got back out of the door, there was a line to get in. Oy. Near to the church there was a little graveyard, but you weren’t supposed to go in.
Walked back to the car and headed out. There’s a ton of hiking and little back roads and such here, so you could probably spend days getting lost in the wilderness and beauty. But I was on a serious schedule!! I had to be in Laugarvatn by 11:15!! What’s Laugarvatn and why the hurry? Well, I’ll tell you….someone on one of the facebook groups had mentioned that they had a lava bread tour- where they would show you how they bake bread in the ground, using the heat from the earth! I am SO there!! But the problem was that I woke up this morning and realized that in my exhaustion yesterday, I had forgotten to book it!! ARGH!!! I emailed them before I left, but hadn’t heard a word. The tour started at 11:30, and I was hoping that if I got there a little early and it was full, that I could charm my way in, since it was only 1 little old person….and….I’m a TEACHER! (people across the world love that!!). As I was driving, I saw a sign pointing to a place called 
More driving through impossibly beautiful landscapes to the next stop- Gullfoss. Remember what I told you- when you see the word foss, there’s a waterfall! And my oh my, was this a waterfall! But first, let’s talk about me falling in love…. See, as I was driving along, I had a fabulous view of the mountains to my left. And they had this really weird, flat, bright white cloud on them. Not in front of them, but on them. And blue skies above. It was a super weird phenomenon, so I pulled over (for literally the 10,000th time that day. Always add triple the time google maps says, because you will be stopping CONSTANTLY to take pics!). I zoomed in and wait……could this be what I thought it was…….a glacier??
I had myself 94% convinced that that’s what it had to be. Then, I got to a fork in the road. There was a sign pointing to the left saying “Gullfoss Parking”. DON’T FOLLOW THAT SIGN!! Go to the right, unless you enjoy climbing a ton of stairs for no reason. Of course, I tell you this in hindsight. I went left and parked. There were signs, and yes!! This was a glacier I was seeing! It was so amazing and so emotional and visceral for some reason. I was just mesmerized by it, in awe of it. I climbed down the ton of stairs to see 
I headed back down the road I had come in on (Gullfoss was basically a deadend, because the road into the highlands was closed). My next stop was Faxifoss (I bet you speak enough Icelandic now to know what it is!). I looked at the map and decided to take a detour off the main roads- and take the 30 to the 358 over to the 35. Oh, what an excellent decision! I basically had this gravel road all to myself. Well, me, the Icelandic horses, and the sheep! Gorgeous, gorgeous farmland without a tour bus in sight. I was staring at the views, and noticed someone else staring as well. There was a majestic Icelandic horse, standing in this very “I am king of all I purvey” stance, staring off at the mountains. He seemed as much in awe of the view as I was. Then, there was this very narrow bridge. I was kinda sketched out by it, but it was fun to cross. So….beautiful and perfect.
Soon I reached Faxifloss. What a gorgeous little waterfall! And the coolest thing was that there was a fish ladder for the salmon!! Oh my gosh, I was in heaven! Honestly, I liked this waterfall better than Gullfoss. There were only about 4 other people here. Plus, I was finally able to get a good shot of a Motacilla alba– the White Wagtail!
Last stop of my Golden Circle tour was the Kerid volcanic crater lake. It’s a collapsed magma chamber that filled with water after an eruption about 6000 years ago. You had to pay $4 to park. After that, you could walk around the entire crater, and even take stairs right down to the water. Very nice spot! If you start your rim walk to the right of the office, BE CAREFUL as you descend the hill on the other side! It’s very small, loose gravel, and I slipped and busted my butt! Fortunately I wasn’t at the crater rim when that happened…
And for all intensive purposes that was the end of my Golden Circle tour! But looking at the GPS, I was going to get back to Reykjavik at about 5:15. Free parking on my street starts at 6. What to do, what to do… I looked at google maps and found an alternate route back. Perfect, since I didn’t want to backtrack roads I had been on yesterday anyway. So my new plan was to take the 35 to the 36 to the 350 to the 435 to the 1 and back to Reykjavick. Best. Decision. All. Day!! The roads had so many tour buses and tourists on them. It’s hard enough to just find a place to pull over for a picture. It’s even worse when there are cars and buses on your ass! I saw hardly any cars for the next 40ish minutes. A gorgeous lake. Beautiful mountains. My glacier. What an unexpected delight!! I highly recommend adding this section of road to your golden circle tour!! Most of it is gravel, but easy to drive on and pretty flat. Once you start climbing up into the mountains, it’s paved. 
Honestly, I can’t even describe this day. The weather. The landscape. The stops- all quadzillon of them! Everything was simply perfect in every way. Now I see why this is the most famous tourist area in all of Iceland! 11 hours after my departure, I arrived back in Reykjavik. Tomorrow would be my last adventure with the car…
I was super excited for my next stop. Sólheimajökull. Yesterday I fell in love with something. It’s name was Langjökull. Remember what it was? See a pattern in the words? I fell in love with a glacier!! When you see jökull, that means it’s a glacier. Look how much I’ve taught you! Waterfall, bathroom, how to pronouce Vík, and now glacier! Consider yourself lucky- I usually charge big bucks for teaching! 😛 Anyway, they do hikes on to Sólheimajökull, but they were 3 hours long and I really didn’t have the time (and possibly the energy/stamina) for that. But you were supposed to be able to TOUCH it from here! YES!! I pulled into the parking lot and hardly anyone was there. Obviously this isn’t a big stop for people, but I don’t know why not…. I walked up the black lava path and got to the top of the hill in a couple of minutes. And from there, I could see her! Oh. My. Goodness!!!!!!!! Beautiful! Actually, Sólheimajökull is a glacial outlet, a tongue so to speak, off of the much larger Mýrdalsjökull glacier. The glacier itself is stunning. But it is pushing into a “bay” of sorts. A calving bay. When pieces of a glacier break off, it’s called calving. And huge chunks of it were floating in the cafe au lait colored water. Mesmerizing. I was even more in love! And I wanted to get to the end of the trail and touch it!!! Then, I saw this…
I hated to leave this beauty, but there were other things to see! Pulled back out on to the main road for next stop- Dyrhólaey lighthouse. I turned off the main road and followed google maps. It was leading me up a really, really, REALLY steep gravel hill. I was watching a guy in a SUV, probably 4×4, coming down it, and he did not look happy. He was going super slow and had about 5 cars right behind him. Would this little car even make it up that hill? I pulled over and watched for a bit, basically waiting for that line of cars to get off the hill before I went up, because it was pretty darn narrow. One of the cars was no bigger than mine, so I thought I might as well give it a shot. No one was in front of me and no one was coming. I just needed to keep my momentum going and not stop. Up, up, up I went. I was gripping the steering wheel so hard I think I left some flesh behind, and my palms were sweating like crazy. About 3/4 of the way up I realized I didn’t really want to do this afterall, but too damn bad, missy. No way to turn around. I made it up to the parking lot, and all I could think about was coming back down. Well, that and “Why aren’t there any bathrooms up here???” I texted Brian and asked him if it was low gear you put a car in to go down a steep grade- I was pretty sure, but wanted to double check. That’s boy stuff (yes, I have designated boy things and girl things- boy things tend to be anything I don’t care about or don’t want to do! 😜). He wasn’t going to be awake for at least another 30 minutes, so I got out and walked around. The lighthouse was eh, but the views were magnificent! Facing the freezing cold North Atlantic, on my right was a gorgeous black sand beach. Ahead of me was an fabulous rock arch, like a doorway to another realm. And to my left was another gorgeous black sand beach, with formations in the background. From here there was a trail that went down to the left. I seriously considered abandoning the car, hiking down, and hitchhiking back to Reykjavik!! Got back in the car, still no word from Brian. Off I went. So, so, so super slow. At one point, there was a drop of, I don’t know, 100 feet or probably more, right off the side of the cliff. Thank GOD no one was coming up. I would have had a nervous breakdown. I have never been happier to be off a damn road in all my life! Not because it was particularly dangerous, and I’m not trying to discourage you from doing it, but because I’m just not confident enough with my driving skills in such conditions.
Ok, with the warning firmly in place (that I hope you heed because you are a traveler who is respectful of your surroundings and other people and not an idiot tourist), let me show you this stunning black sand beach and its magnificent formations!! There were tons of people here, so almost impossible to get a shot without them.
I managed to leave Reynisfjara without incident. Whew!! I give all the credit to 
THEY WERE OPEN!!! I was greeted by a lovely man who asked me if I wanted a tour. I told him that my money was in the car (I wasn’t expecting them to be open), and I’d run and get it. He assured me that after the tour was fine. 🙂 It was me, a little old German lady about 70-75 who I want to be when I grow up, and a young man from Maldova. The German woman was traveling solo, had basically hitchhiked a ride with a museum worker in some other town, had read the Icelandic saga that mentions this place THREE times, and was just a spitfire and full of information! She is my spirit animal….
I spent about an hour here, and loved every. single. second of it! There are two tour guides on staff during the summer, and they actually live here. The tour was just fantastic, and the guide was so passionate and full of information. This was the best historical thing I’ve done here, hands down, and it was my absolute favorite part of the whole day!! And it’s not even on most people’s south coast itinerary, and it was a complete afterthought even for me!! The tour was over and I had to go get my money to pay. I walked to the gate and faced one of my biggest land dwelling fears….
Um, cows scare me. Unless they are presented to me fresh off of a grill. I walked soooooo tentatively by them, talking softly to the closest one who was giving me the stare down that we should have a mutual understanding of just completely ignoring each other. I made it through the cow gauntlet! The farmers had turned them out here to graze, and fortunately by the time I walked back through, they had moved them elsewhere. Yes, I will travel the world solo, hike through jungles infested with all kinds of who knows what that wants to kill you, eat questionable street food, etc…. but cows… <shudder>. I walked back and gave the guy 1500kr cash. He went to give me change and I told him to keep it. The tour was well worth it. He seemed so shocked and pleased! Seriously, I paid double that for the dumb whale thing in Reykjavik where I spent 1/3 of the time and learned zilch. And my battle cry to all Icelandic tourists now is “GET THEE TO KELDUR!!!!!”. You’re going that way anyway, because it’s pretty close to Seljalandsfoss (not too far after it if you’re heading back to Reykjavik). Just take the 264- you’ll be glad you did. 🙂
There was also a really beautiful church. The police were outside announcing something, but John said he couldn’t figure out what was going on. We went in. It was Jesusy. There was a cool fish stained glass window. 🙂
People, I have to tell you. By this point, I was one hurting unit. My legs were killing me. My throat hurt really bad. And I knew I had to go back to the room and work until I went to bed. I was a wreck. But I was a hungry wreck. So we strolled down a little sidewalk thing lined with food vendors and got some kind of pork on a stick with a couple of potatoes. Those were GOOD. That little piece of bread. Eh.
