April 11th: Water(falls), water(falls) everywhere!

This series of posts will chronicle, as faithfully as possible, our recent trip to Iceland and Andalusia. Comments and thoughts are most welcome! Photos from Iceland are courtesy Gireesh, Anchal and Janani and the ones from Andalusia courtesy Gireesh. :)

It was an early start from Hella today as we headed eastwards towards the glacial wonderland of Vatnajökull, Iceland’s largest ice cap and one of the biggest in the world. By now, we had become quite accustomed to rain, sun and snow playing hide and seek with us, so rapid changes in conditions were no longer greeted with dismay or exhilaration. There is a saying in Islenska: ‘If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes’. Our trip so far had more than validated it!

Along the way, we had a chance sighting of Seljalandfoss (foss = waterfall) – we mistook it for elder brother Skogafoss, but were soon corrected. The falls are majestic, enticing us from quite a distance on route 1, and the sun gods brightened it up for us just as we reached the base. I think the falls are fed from the Eyjafjallajökull  (Eyaf-yat-la-yo-ku-ttl, yeah the famous Mr. E who shut down air traffic over Europe last year) ice cap, so even more reason to cheer for them! :)

Seljalandfoss

Today’s drive showcased even more geological diversity than other days – we had tall buttes covered with brown grass on one end and black flatlands carpeted with bright green lichens rolling down to a choppy dull gray sea on the other. And closer to the road, there were low lying brown green rocks in weird shapes, as if thousands of Gollums were struggling to get out of earth – with each passing day,  the LOTR comparison was just getting more and more substantial!  

Green Gollums!

Our next pit stop was at Skogafoss – tall, powerful and very very beautiful, again sourced by Mr E. It started snowing really hard while we were there, adding a tinge of white to the desolation of the entire area. Gireesh and I tromped up to the top of the falls as it got windier and sleetier, hoping to get a good view of the mouth, but the trail didn’t really wind up all the way and it got really slippery, so we didn’t have much luck there. The views of the valley below through the blinding snow more than made up for it though! And soon, true to form, the sun came up nice and bright within a few minutes and all was well again with the world.

Skogafoss

It’s amazing how the land smiles when the sun shines down, the warmth and energy of the relationship is so tangible. Never was it more evident than in the drive from Skogafoss to Vik. We took a couple of detours towards Dyrhólaey to look down on to cliffs, sea arches and apostle like stacks standing bereft in the middle of the sea (Reynisdrangar as we found out later). It was super, super windy, almost as if the wind was rudely asking us to get off from its domain. But what an experience to be standing almost at the edge of the country, looking down at a very animated ocean pounding black volcanic cliffs with a gut-wrenching crash – we thought we were the only ones alive in the entire world! And the interplay of light and clouds on the entire scenery was surreal – if there ever existed a bridge from this world to the next, it would have to be here. None of us had ever experienced violence, anger and raw beauty like this before – I think I would never ever want to spend a night here alone!

Dyrhólaey 

The road led us on to cute little Vik – a tiny fishing village with black sand beaches and the first semblance of habitation after many many miles. And it has one of the most picturesque churches in Iceland (I think); the little red roofed building overlooking the town and the marine apostles is one of my favorite places so far.

Vik

The drive from Vik to the Vatnajökull area is also a big favorite (and I am glad we repeated it the next day on our way back). The buttes and Golums joined us again and almost every house we passed had its own private waterfall! We lost count of how many falls (or fosses rather) we crossed, and apparently so did the good folks at Iceland’s waterfall naming department. There were falls named Foss 1, Foss 2 etc (unless we read the blue board below wrong) – I think they had probably exhausted their imagination (and vocabulary) trying to name each one of them! All of us had our favorite fosses along the way(mine is shown below:)) but, by the end of it, we were so used to water falls (and rises) that we took them as a matter of fact and were no longer oohing and aahing away!

Foss 1, Foss 2 :)

My favorite foss

Another thing that we saw plenty of and could never get enough of was a plethora of rainbows! With the sun behind us and a light drizzle in front, we crossed many iridescent arches, some very bright and distinct, some more transient, but all of them lovely. They added a lot of color to the landscape which had become increasingly lava black as we drove next to various glacial tongues leaping out from Vatnajokull. We actually mistook the first glacier we saw as a huge snow field, it had crept up on us so casually and unannounced, right next to the road. We had seen glaciers in our trip to New Zealand last year, but it was always after a walk or a hike, never so accessible, and definitely not at this scale. They just lay there like sleeping giants, three or four them, if not more, watching the world go by.. or maybe just biding their time before doing something unprecedented. The entire area seemed like it was work in progress, as if nature was not done yet, it was just taking a short break before starting off again. And here we were, right in the middle of it all, four tiny human beings (and car) trying to make sense of it all. Wow!

One of the many tongues from Vatnajokull

The drive led us on to Joksularon, the biggest glacier lagoon in the world – our final stop before we headed to the hotel and a befitting end to an eventful day. By now, we had gotten used to letting our jaws drop, but they still dropped down hard when we first sighted this beautiful iceberg filled lake. It was bright blue everywhere, with the ice glistening and gleaming like little crystals. We had so much fun making up shapes off bergs, a swan here, a frog there, even an inappropriately raised finger somewhere :).

Jokulsarlon

Again, what amazing accessibility, route 1 just led us onto this place? From our experiences in other countries so far, the best places always require a little bit of effort –a 5km hike, a dodgy ferry ride or maybe a few side lanes off the main freeway – but here we were, exulting like kids over places that seemed to have been shown to us on a platter. I can’t even begin to imagine how many natural wonders lie in store for us if we go off the beaten track in Iceland. I think this was the first time I realized I will have to come back here again, put in that extra effort and check for myself if there is an upper limit to how amazed and awed a person can be.

April 10th: Two-thirds of a circle

This series of posts will chronicle, as faithfully as possible, our recent trip to Iceland and Andalusia. Comments and thoughts are most welcome! Photos from Iceland are courtesy Gireesh, Anchal and Janani and the ones from Andalusia courtesy Gireesh. :)


Our first full day at Iceland! After months of planning and deliberation, we were finally on the road! There was quite a bit of driving planned for the day, as we would be heading off to the Geysir basin and Gullfoss, two points on the Icelandic Golden Circle. The third major node, Þingvellir, would come later. The sky was still ominous as we left Grindavik, with the wind searing through a bit more than yesterday. And green/black got another color – white! – as we headed inland on the ring road. Suddenly, unannounced, there was snow on the sides of the road, in little depressions and crevices between rocks and on the silhouettes of the mountains far away (yes, the visibility was much better!) – my Middle Earth illusion was still very much in place. We tried to get off a few times to take photos – there were three cameras between the four of us, so you can understand we were a pretty trigger happy bunch! – but the wind and the cold would pack us off to the car within a few minutes.

Soon, the rocks lent way to even flatter plains, with brown grass covering every inch of it and little tarns and streams dotting the landscapes. We even saw a few crazy fishermen standing in freezing waters and angling away – that fish better be worth it! Every once in a while, we would cross a huge snow capped rock face right next to the fields, with the melting ice creating a number of impromptu waterfalls. There were some ‘water-rises’ too – the wind was so strong that water was drifting up instead of falling down. The wind was definitely picking up, and it was becoming a struggle to just open the car door and stand outside. As a minor setback, we were also informed that our dog sled tour booked for that afternoon was cancelled because of the weather conditions. Oh well!

'Water-rise'

We finally reached the Geysir basin to gawk at THE geyser which has lent its name to sprouting hot springs all around the world. The Geysir is one of the first of its kind to be written about and in its glory days, would have been spectacular enough to have generated an eponymous noun. Unfortunately, it doesn’t erupt very regularly now. However, there is another geyser, Strokkur, which does erupt every few minutes, starting off with a bright blue bulb of water before releasing steam in quick, short bursts. Unfortunately, strong winds had been joined by rains by the time we reached the basin and it was a literal battle against the elements as we positioned ourselves around Strokkur waiting for it to erupt again and again, tripods and cameras in tow. True, Strokkur doesn’t have the magnificence of the good Ol’ Faithful and the basin is not even close to the scale and variance of the ones in Yellowstone, but it was still very special watching the water churn, holding a breath in anticipation each time it ebbed slightly and letting out a whoop each time it zoomed skywards.

Strokkur just before an eruption

We were thoroughly soaked by the time we were done with the basin, as were two of the three cameras. So we were down to one for the rest of the trip. In hindsight, it was not such a bad thing after all – we still got some good photos and we were all able to look at the magnificent scenery unfolding in front of us through our eyes instead of focusing on them through lenses. But I am the only non-photographer in the group, so I am sure the others vehemently disagree! :)

We moved on from Geysir to Gullfoss, one of the most famous waterfalls in Iceland. The weather showed no signs of letting up, so we shuddered our way into the visitor center/café to warm ourselves up. But just as we were sipping on some tea and hot lamb soup (supposed to be an Icelandic delicacy, was a bit too salty for our taste), the weather suddenly cleared up and it was bright, sunny skies outside. We scampered out in a hurry, not believing our luck, to get a first look at the falls. Gullfoss is even more beautiful than the best literature I have read about it, so I am not even going to attempt to describe it here. But standing on head of the falls, looking at the spray from the water crashing down and catching all the rainbows it created will be one of the most enduring images of this trip. It was as if the gods were conspiring to pamper and tease us, drenching us completely earlier but more than making up for it here.

Gullfoss

We left Gullfoss only when the weather started to turn again, and as we were driving out, we got caught in a hail shower as well. So many seasons in one day – and we were only getting started! :) We were quite beat by the end of it, so we just drove down to our hotel for the night, Ranga, with a few windy pit stops here and there for pictures. As we realized later, there was actually a gale storm warning throughout the region and we had been driving right through it. Quite a welcome to Iceland, I must say.

The northern light hunt carried on, just that we seemed to be moving away from it. We checked into the hotel only to be told that they caught the lights last night, and there was a strong chance of sighting it from the Northern Lights Inn that night! So it was another night of uninterrupted sleep for us (how we would have loved to be woken up!). But it had been an awesome day nevertheless and we woke up itching to be on the road again. Our appetites had been whetted and we couldn’t wait to see what lay ahead for us – wind, rain, sun, hail, snow not withstanding! 

April 9th: Tulips and a glimpse of Middle Earth

This series of posts will chronicle, as faithfully as possible, our recent trip to Iceland and Andalusia. Comments and thoughts are most welcome! Photos from Iceland are courtesy Gireesh, Anchal and Janani and the ones from Andalusia courtesy Gireesh. :)

Our vacation started off with a 12 hour flight from Hong Kong to Amsterdam, where we were catching up with our friends from Singapore and heading on to Reykjavik. It was a surprisingly comfortable flight and since we slept through most of it, we landed in Amsterdam fresh and raring to go. We had a few hours to kill so we decided to visit Keukenhof, which was being heavily advertised as THE place to see the famous Dutch tulips. Being an Indian, the mention of Holland and tulips evokes memories of Bollywood songs choreographed amidst rows and rows of color, where a dapper ‘hero’ serenades his virginal yet saucy ‘heroine’. And that is exactly what we hoped to see in our detour to Keukenhof. Unfortunately, the garden turned out to be a bit of an anti-climax. It is lush and vibrant with an amazing collection of multi-hued flowers, beautiful landscapes with pretty little brooks and even a windmill to boot, but it did not have seas of tulips extending into the horizon contrary to our expectations. Having built up these images so much in our minds (and even imagining a few Amitabh Bachchan inspired photo shoots!), we were a bit disappointed. And I personally find landscaped gardens a tad too artificial, so I think I was a bit biased as well. The gardens seemed quite popular with tourists and locals alike, and a couple of things really stood out during our trip there – a forty-piece orchestra conducting a free performance below the windmill and a chance encounter for the boys with a classmate from India whom they hadn’t been in touch with for years (it is a small world and Indians are slowly conquering it! :D). It was a beautiful day with blue skies and just the right amount of nip in the air, and we were all glad to be outdoors rather than lounging around at the airport, so I don’t regret dropping by anyway. One suggestion, if you decide to visit Keukenhof in transit – there seemed to be a few tulip fields outside the gardens and you can rent bikes to go around. We were a bit short on time so couldn’t check it out, but it looked quite promising.

Keukenhof

After that, it was back to Schiphol and over to Iceland Air for our flight to Reykjavík. Speaking of Schiphol, there are two things to note – they don’t sell chewing gum at the airport and for beer drinkers, Heineken is really cheap! The flight was quite smooth and so excited were we that when we saw our first glimpse of green and brown contours, we mistook it for Iceland (we were flying over Ireland instead). But we were in for a shock as we were landing at Reykjavik. All of us were peering out of the windows to catch a glimpse of the city as the flight started its descent, but there was a heavy cloud cover – expected but not welcome at all – and by the time we broke through, we had already landed! The clouds were so low and the visibility so bad that it really broke our hearts. There was no turning back, of course, so we went ahead and picked up the car, enquiring quite optimistically about the weather en route  and being informed, quite ruefully, that it would be the same for the next few days.. *sigh*

Our first destination was the Northern Lights Inn in Grindavik where we were to drop off our bags and head to the Blue Lagoon spa to relax and recover from the long flight. Grindavik, the name, reminded me of Lord of the Rings – you could expect places like this to dot the map of Middle Earth. The drive from the airport to Grindavik was quite unearthly -- bright green moss clinging on to very low, black rocks, strewn all over vast, almost limitless plains. Every once in a while, we would pass a shallow plateau with these rocks arranged into totem poles, like sprightly scarecrows which had neither grains to defend nor birds to repel. There was a small debate over whether they were natural or man-made – we couldn’t arrive at a conclusion unfortunately. For as far as the eye could see, which wasn’t too far unfortunately, it was just a show of black and green. I have never seen anything like this, but this is how I would now imagine the entrance to Tolkien’s Middle Earth.

After a brief break in our rooms at the inn, we headed to the Blue Lagoon, which is one of the most famous public spas in Iceland. Apart from the usual spa sessions, it has a big milky blue pool where you can take a dip in silica gel infused warm waters to rejuvenate your skin and of course, yourself. It had started to rain by the time we reached, and the mood in the car was somber, to say the least. Then suddenly the road turned and there was a small pale milky blue stream running along the road. It made quite an amazing contrast against the black barren rock as it twined along the road. The stream led on to the spa, and as we figured out later, it was probably just a run-off from it, but the first glimpse did perk us up in anticipation of more things in store, so I guess it served its part. The spa itself was quite nice and worth a visit, though I must say, the short dash from the main building to the open-air lagoon in temperatures that were touching zero and searing winds that made it feel a few degrees lower has to be one of the toughest things I have ever done!

Little stream off the Blue Lagoon 

And then, just as we were heading out from the spa, as if to serve us a special treat for visiting her favorite land, nature had a surprise in store for us. The clouds had miraculously cleared off and the sun made a fiery appearance well above the horizon (at 8pm), lighting up the blue, black and green below in a way only he can, and we were completely awestruck. We could see some mountains far away in the distance, some perfect cones, some a bit more randomly constructed, but they were all aglow, basking and rolling in the sunlight. This definitely was the highlight of the day for me, and a precursor of the sun and rain show that would be unfolding for us over the next few days.

Evening sun

Since it cleared up so much in the evening, we were now hopeful we would be able to see  the Northern Lights too. We were on a quest in Iceland, and a sighting of the Aurora Borealis was one of the treasures we were seeking. :)  We requested the inn staff to wake us up if the show did happen and stayed up a few hours into the night in eager anticipation too, but no wake-up call came, the stars dimmed gradually and the next morning woke up cloudy again. But had we managed to catch the lights on the first night itself, I think it would have been a bit too much for us to handle! I wanted to be surprised by this land every day, with a hint of mischief here and a sprinkling of brilliance there, rather than receive a brimful on the first day itself, because as we all know, a little bit of an awesome thing goes a long long way!  

Vacation time!!

Ohh yeah! We are headed out of Hong Kong for the next couple of weeks on a vacation to Iceland and Spain. Quite a quirky combination, you say? I agree whole-heartedly! The germ of the idea developed towards the end of 2010 when discussing Easter break with a couple of friends of ours. The plan was to do something slightly off the usual tourist beat and we cast our net out wide, starting with the Stans, the Silk Route, Mongolia and finally deciding on Iceland (I think I was slightly biased towards Europe.. :) I have only been to Italy so far, and I have a huge checklist to go through!). Since Gireesh and I wanted to make it a longer break, we teamed it up with Andalusia because of the weather, some very sangria-tinted but warm memories from Gireesh' first trip there as a broke student, and the food.. it is sacrilege to ignore the stomach on a vacation and where best to pamper it other than the land of tapas and paellas.. :)


So we are visiting Andalusia, starting off at Seville and then driving around the area. I was very keen not to plan this leg of the trip too much, just let our impulses decide what we wanted to do while we are there. Of course, it sounded criminal to head down south and not see Seville, which is why we have allocated a few days just for the  much decorated home of flamenco. After that, we just leg it.. we have a couple of guide books, we will hopefully have a GPS, so we hit the road, letting our eyes, ears or even our stomachs decide when to stop and how long to stay. We have a lot of options, famous Cordoba and Granada, the rugged Mediterranean coast, hikes along Sierra Grazalema, the Pueblo Blancos (white towns hugging green brown hills), or even the relative hustle and bustle of Malaga (if we end up missing malls too much :)). I just don't want to know now what we will be doing in Spain.. this hint of the unknown has whetted my appetite even more for el viaje a Espanol!


Iceland in comparison is a very planned trip. It needs to be because we have such an amazing geographical diversity at our disposal that we have to do full justice to it. In fact, most of what we are doing would qualify as the usual tourist run in Iceland (so much for wanting to get away from it all!! :)), but the place seems so  unsullied and remote, almost like one of Earth's last frontiers, that I am sure it will be everything we are looking for. We are also hoping to catch a glimpse of the Northern lights while we are there, though April is a tad too late for the main show and apparently, its raining the entire time we are there (I would do anything to prove wunderground wrong!!). But, like most natural phenomena, you can only hope to be at the right place at the right time, and I am sure even a slight sighting will awe and humble us for years to come.  


I will be trying to blog each day, assuming we have access to the internet and assuming I find words to describe what we are about to see. Right now, I am in a state of suspended animation, or as Floyd would put it, 'comfortably numb', prepped and ready to take off and hoping, willing, praying that this turns out to be the trip of a lifetime!  

It's a beautiful day..

It's a beautiful day 

Sky falls, you feel like 

It's a beautiful day 

Don't let it get away 

What an absolutely lovely day it was on Friday.. And I couldn't get the titular U2 ditty out of my head! Hong Kong is very much a creature of the night. Come evening, and restaurants/bars/clubs get going with servings of neon to cater to all tastes, the much photographed skyline resumes it's daily affair with light and Victoria harbor proudly shows off it's iridescence. Hong Kong by day, on the other hand, is a bit like an ugly quarterback - sprightly, strong but probably not a pageant winner. However, every once in a while, a bright sunny day comes along when the sky is blue, the sea glints green, the humidity is really low and the infamous haze completely missing. And such a day, like last Friday, totally beats the lights out of the snazziest night shows Hong Kong can produce. Such a day in Hong Kong is meant to be celebrated.. Unfortunately, such days usually never fall on weekends!


After having spent most of the morning today just admiring the view from our balcony, I finally decided to budge outside, because it would be criminal to not do so! I walked down the new and very busy (with construction) Lung Wo road from IFC to Causeway Bay, looking for a cafe called 18 grams which I had googled earlier. There is quite a bit of construction happening on the road, so defInitely not a walk I would recommend - for now, at least. But it was still quite refreshing to not have to push my way through a gaggle of Louis Vuitton toting ladies or get pushed around by crate/box/trolley carrying angry men. And I did manage to get some good views of the harbor overlooking Kowloon. (Note to self -  always carry camera when walking, my phone hardly does justice to the day!)

Central Hong Kong

Kowloon side of Victoria Harbor

Harbor Road, Wan Chai

Soon however, I did have to merge on to Lockhart Road and enter shopping land, after which the walk ceased to be novel or very interesting. The cafe itself was decent, though a lot smaller than I had expected (I had read it was an Oz-run place.. But looked like it had  been customized to HK sizes!). It was quite comfortable though, and I sat there for an hour just reading and surfing (not sure if they have wifi though, i didn't try). It is a bit out of place right in the middle of  hardware shops and local restaurants in Causeway Bay,  but then, looking at it's decor, the clear plastic curtains and low head lights, maybe not! I doubt if I'll be back here - maybe if I am in the area, but then I doubt any errand would bring me to Cannon Street either. So another cafe down and my hunt till goes on.. But I still can't get over how lovely the day was!