Indian goodness!

The most amazing thing happened to us yesterday. The sort of thing you read about in travel mags but never meet anyone who has experienced it. We were walking through down town Reykjavik when we heard a shout from behind, “hey! Are you Kiwis?” (We have kiwi flags on our backpacks) Turning around we found a small Indian man in a large 4x4 truck hanging out his window blocking traffic. He shook our hands and then jumped out of his car, ran around the back and pulled a brochure from the boot. He told us he was the owner of the restaurant in the brochure and invited us to come for dinner. Apparently he loved NZ and thought kiwis were great. He then raced off in his car with the backed up traffic giving us grim looks as they passed. Bemused but interested we walked on. Later that night we showed up at the Indian restaurant called the Indian Mango. Walking in the restaurant it was obvious that this place was fashionable. Everyone else was dressed up to the nines and here we were in jeans and trainers. The couple in front of us was told that there would be a one hour wait for a table, feeling cheeky we asked for a table for two. The Indian man saw us and waved us over to a table down the back. The place was all class and a couple of kiwi backpackers were a bit out of place. Since it was our last night in Iceland we decided to treat ourselves regardless. The menu was simple but elegant, the food was exotic and everything sounded divine. With a bit of help from our Indian friend we settled on our meals. What followed was a procession of culinary delights some of which we had ordered and others that the owner wanted us to try. By the end of the evening we had had the most amazing meal and been treated to the charming company of our new friend George. During the meal he explained that he had spent some time in the past in New Zealand and had loved it so much and found Kiwis such good folk that he tried to return that experience when ever he could. As such he would except no form of payment for our meal and wished us good luck on our travels and invited us to stop by again if we were ever back in Iceland. We have since found out that Indian Mango was recently voted the hottest restaurant in Reykjavik! And we both agree whole heartedly!!!

Bles to Skaftafell.

So long and farewell to Skaftafell and the Svinafell glacier. We have finished up for the season here in Iceland. For most of last ten days we were the only guides in the camp. Usually at this time of year the company only has one guide but they thought they would try two this year. The camp ground was dead quite, I’m pretty sure I saw the odd Icelandic tumble weed roll through. With the season winding up lots of the usual suspects of the area were heading away and the evenings were very chilled out. The only problem with all of this was that clients just kept coming out of no where. We have no idea were they were all staying. All the trips were full and we were flat out every day. Most days we could have done with three guides and sometimes four. The booking system which seems to consist of four different organisations booking trips, totally falls over when there is a limited number of guides and people just keep booking trips without checking with us. We took overfull groups on boring trips (overfull trips can be either boring or unsafe) for a couple of days then just started turning people away. Its pretty demoralising to turn away people who have booked, paid and showed up on time. You can’t do this job for as long as we have without actually caring for the experience you give people. But not doing a trip is better than doing a dangerous trip. Well that seemed to put a cat among the puffins and the bookings became a bit more controlled. Not everyone got to do the trip they wanted but everyone got a safe interesting trip on the ice and the guides started having fun again. If there is one rule I’ve come to really believe in the tourist industry, it’s that if the staff are having fun then the clients will have fun but if the staff are not enjoying it then the clients will pick up on it. It’s a Marbo, Vibe thing!
Well after a week of ruling the roost and working hard we got reinforcements for the weekend and left on the Monday. No more guiding until next year. Back in Reykjavik now and just mooching around for a day or two before heading back to the UK. My most overriding impression of Iceland is that the people are real. There is no false tourism polish to Iceland, the place is stunning, the culture interesting and the people open, honest and friendly. But that said if there are having a grumpy day or are tired or under the weather then that’s how they are that day and they are not going to fake it for you. This last month has been amazing to watch. At the start of the month it was still light all night. Then one night we had a sunset (for hours) and the next it got dark! Just like that. Now it seems to be making up for lost time and every night it is darker and colder. In only another month or so it will be dark in the middle of the afternoon and stay dark until the mid morning. Iceland is a land of extremes.
Bles, Bles.

Our second vacation.

Sitting in a cafe in the small village of Djupivogur out on the eastern end of Iceland, drinking good coffee (well one of us is), and taking in the mountain and coastal views. It’s kind of like Kaikoura, NZ here with the ocean, lobsters and the mountains (well big hills because there are no glaciers in this area). We are having our second weekend of our time here. After another twenty odd days work. This stint we have both been to the other glacier called the “Glacier of boredom” AKA Solheimajokull. The company car broke down again. The bus drivers are still grumpy and late. The glacier is dirty and flat. At night the ice weasels come! Well not really but having the tent pitched almost under a 60m waterfall makes sleeping in with anything in your bladder impossible. The only way to survive is to treat the company car as a therapy device and get out and about as much as you can! Life in Skaftafell has still been fun. Summit trips once a week are keeping us fit (read tired and sore), the lack of helicopters to fly you to the snow line is a major difference compared to Fox. In fact the one sight seeing flight operator stays out of the valley while we have walks on our glacier. It’s actually really busy here for the Icelanders, they are calling it the biggest season ever, but it’s still a small hick operation compared to Fox. We’re still having fun and that’s the key though. IFLM (Icelandic Mountain Guides), who we work for, are actually very happy that we are not going to Antarctica, they have got us to work a bit longer this season and have asked us back next year. They even hooked us up with a hire car at wholesale for our three days off to come and visit this end of the island. It’s kind of like the other end of Iceland but without the huge glaciers and with a strong smell of fish. These are some of the Icelandic fjords, the water is very clear. When the clouds aren’t here there are amazing views of the Vatnajokull (the biggest icecap in Europe) and of the pastel coloured mountains stained in purple, pink, green, orange and blue. These are just the colours of the rocks that are constantly falling off them. If you painted it no one would believe you! There are lots of fishing villages selling lobsters at around 3900isk (approx $90 NZ) for a meal for one, needless to say we haven’t exactly been over indulging but just to make Jim jealous I’m going to pretend that we have. So all is good in the land of fire and ice and with about 10 days work and a few days play left we’re enjoying every minute of it.
Bles Bles

BAS said No!

Some of you may know that one of the reasons that we came to Europe was for an interview with the British Antarctic Survey for a position as Field Assistants (guides) down on the ice. After 8 weeks we finally heard back but unfortunately the answer was no! Despite us both interviewing well and scoring very high in all areas that candidates are marked on, BAS felt that employing a couple would potentially cause issues of flexibility and unforeseen complications due to our needs as a couple. This is very disappointing as individually we were deemed highly suited to the position and we had been told in the past that applying as a couple would not be a detrimental thing as long as both partners were suitable for the job. Obviously there has been a policy change, it was a long way to come to find that out though. We have been told that if one of us was suitable and the other not then they would have offered a job to one of us and let us decide if it was taken. It was implied that we should re apply if our personal situation changes!!!! But there’s no point otherwise! The good news is that we can now plan a ski season in the Alps and get on with life!