On our Way!

Tomorrow's the big day! We head out to Boston for a few days to visit with family and friends, then on Monday, off to Iceland!! Here is our general itinerary: Fly into Keflavik, take bus to Reykjavic and spend the whole day. Next, catch a bus to Landmannalaugar to begin our trek. We will be trekking a full five days (it was supposed to be six but there was no room at the last hut and they dont allow camping there so we will have to push 13.5 miles that day and spend the extra day somewhere else). We'll be half the time in huts and half the time in a tent. We'll get back to Reykjavic and then fly to the northern part of the country. Have a hang out day in Akeuryi, then take a bus to Dettifoss to begin a two day trek tru the national park there. Then, a long bus ride (11 hours) to allow us to see more country, with stops to sight see, back to Reykjavic, then spend another day, then fly home! Here are some fun snippets from the description of our treks to give you some feel for what we are up t0:

1. "Near the trek is a sinister round hole - like the mouth of hell - which belches froth a roaring spume of riotously boiling water."
2. "... climbs trhough fields of shiny chunks of glinting obsidian and crosses high and perpetually snow-covered moors."

3. "...up on the plateau, steam rises in all directions from unseen vents."

4. the track descends to cross a stream, then bounces over parallel rhyolite ridges and snow bridges before ascending steeply to a ridge studded with hot springs and fumaroles."

5. "...there's a foot-numbing stream crossing, but it's the least of several you'll encounter on this stage."

6. "... the track then enters a lonely and surreal 5km stretch of black sand and pumice desert."

7. "...the bridge is in the middle of a canyon and a ladder bolted to the rocks is needed to reach the bridge."

8. "...takes you up past Falcon Cliff into a narrow canyon....onto the kife-edge ridge...plateau surrounded by vertical cliffs on all sides...directly between the two glacier covered volcanoes..."

Should be a very interesting trip!!