One step closer...

I am on the train and I am going to attend mountain leader training in Scotland. I feel like it's time for me to lead people to the mountains and share my love and passion for outdoors! I am hoping to have ML assessment at the end of October. After that I will start training towards my international mountain leader qualification. 

Iceland August 2013

Iceland

As a UNESCO City of Literature, Reykjavik “Smokey Bay” emphasises the central position of literature in the city’s and nation’s cultural life, its historical significance and contemporary value. The capital is full of charming wooden houses and narrow streets, quirky shops, city bars, cottage businesses and very tasteful street art.  Whilst we were there every shop window display throughout the whole city celebrated LGBT demonstrating the modern values of Iceland. We didn’t have much time to explore this funky city so we agreed to come back one day!

Beyond Reykjavik we visited the memorable ‘Big Three’ tourist attractions – Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir. Usually I don’t like to be “a tourist like” traveller but it was the best way to visit 3 of the many natural wonders for which Iceland is justly renowned.

Thingvellir National Park – a UNESCO Wold Heritage Site was surrounded by outstanding natural beauty, with its stunning lake, lava landscape (a must see), and rugged chasm walls on the rift where Europe meets America at the Continental Divide. Iceland actually sits on two different tectonic plates, the European one and the north American one. Technically we could argue we walked from Europe to north America while we strolled round the national park.

After the trail walking at the national park we visited the Gullfoss Waterfall. This waterfall is magnificent and many claim it to be the most magnificent of the country’s many.... However its proximity to the other attractions makes it a very busy place. As spectacular as Gullfoss was with its view of the River Hvita and drops of 96ft in two falls, we preferred other more secluded glacier wonders that we would see later in the week.

The third wonder literally took my breath away!!! Geyser, an area where hot springs are in abundance and the most active one is Stokkur (this is the original geyser that all other geysers are named after). Every 10 minutes it is spitting out a high column of boiling water up to 60ft. It was a truly epic scene.

After leaving Reykjavik we had Isafjordur and Akureyri.

Isafjordur with its excellent natural harbour become an important site for the merchants that traded with the farmers and fishermen in the area during and after the 16^th century.  Production and export of saltfish was the key to the growth of the town and its status as one of Iceland’s main trading posts.  We strolled through the narrow streets of the old town (Nedstikaupstadur) surrounded by it’s modest wooden houses dating from the late 18^th century. As we discovered, the town has got lots of walking trails to offer. I wanted to see the view from above the fjord, so we pecked the highest hill and walked up to reach the stunning views over the valley.

Akureyri is most likely one of my favourite stops in Iceland.

 On arrival we made a decision to travel in to the centre of the high lands. We had about 8 hours, that was plenty to fit in some kind of crazy adventure. We hired a local company Iceak to take us inland on the tour. Off road. It was very wet and wild. We travelled miles and miles across Iceland, we visited places you can only visit by foot or by 4 * 4.

On the lava fields, across the desert, baron volcanic lands that stretched for miles and miles.  As you can see from the photo bellow, Icelandic people can be comedians.

Despite the rainy and foggy weather we had an amazing day exploring the High Lands. We saw several apposing landscapes, from baron volcanic deserts, gorgeous waterfalls, and glacier streamed idyllic valleys.

It’s a fact that it wasn’t the best country I have ever visited. But spooky stories about trolls and the unique Icelandic landscape made my trip memorable and unforgettable.  

Orkney

Blog bellow was published on Berghaus website in the summer of 2013 ( http://www.berghaus.com/community/?p=11130)

For many years now, I have wanted to visit Iceland. I had a few reasons for this. Some time ago a friend and I thought about and started to plan an unsupported trip across Iceland in the winter. My friend had tried before (15-18 years ago) but not succeeded.  Since then Iceland was forefront in my mind as a possible adventure destination.

This year in October my husband and I will be celebrating our 10th Wedding Anniversary and sometime at the beginning of December we are going to have a baby, choices for our holidays are limited. Well not so much limited as we could've gone on lazy beach holidays (no offence to the people who love lots of sunshine) or we could've had a European city break, or just walk for a week on Yorkshire moors or or or...lot’s of or’s. Well my bump is not going to stop me attempting some kind of crazy epic adventure.

At first we were planning to visit Denmark and Norway. Denmark and Norway are two lovely places worth visiting but having already been there I wanted something new. With some delays based around my passport we managed to lose some good deals on the trip to Norway. Oh my goodness we were very disappointed and angry with the situation. The last pre-baby epic adventure was just about to end up in our usual Scotland or Lake District jaunt.

At the beginning of August just before going to work I googled a few holiday ideas, maybe just maybe I will find something similar to the Norwegian trip. And guess what, I did. I shouted Luke please have a look at this cruise liner. This ship is sailing to Iceland via Kirkwall, Heimaey and Lerwick. Dream holidays!!!! As I can’t carry a heavy backpack right now a cruise would be ideal. On the cruise we will be sleeping at night while the ship is sailing then during the day we can explore different parts of the amazing landscape.

We only had one day to pack and on the 4th of August our ship sailed off to Iceland. By looking at the weather forecast predicting +11 temperature and the possibility of wind chills. It was difficult to pack. There was a heat wave in England and we knew that shorts and T-shirts would probably not be good enough. But it would still be too warm for winter clothes. So we packed our lightweight soft shells and mid weight fleeces (but t-shirts and shirts just in case, optimistic :-) ).

Now a little bit about our boat. Originally built in Russia it served as an icebreaker. Marco Polo (former name Pushkin) feels very unique. It’s like back in US back in US back in USSR(thank you Beatles)! The ship has been bought and used by different companies around the world but it has kept a Russian feeling all the same. Even most of the cruise workers were Ukrainian. This was a solid ship and it filled me with confidence.

Our first port of call was Kirkwall capital of the Orkney Islands. What a great place on earth! I am visiting Highlands of Scotland most likely 10-12 times a year but I have never been that far north. The Orkney Islands lie off the northern tip of Scotland, where the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet. The Orkney’s are rich in history and natural beauty, most of the locals originally came from Scotland and Scandinavia. The Islands presented with smooth contours around the hills, shaped by the ancient movements of the Scandinavian ice sheets more than 10,000 years ago. We visited the Stone Circle of Brodgar, a prehistoric site (with lots of speculations on their original use) and the Italian Chapel (unique Chapel built by the Italian POW’s), walked across some rugged and forbidding terrain and been amazed by the views of the spectacular Old Red Sandstone coastal cliffs and surrounding area.

That’s it for today, next time Reyjavik and The Golden Circle, Iceland. 

Microadventure from Pateley Bridge

Looks like I am off to my first  micro adventure with Lizzy!!!

The best food for your trips away

The best food for your trips away.

Ok, so when you are going away climbing, backpacking, mountaineering or.....you need to eat and you need to eat well. Making sure that you got plenty of calories and plenty of energy to complete your aiming task.
Everyone is keep saying that the best thing in the morning for breakfast is porridge. Correct, but last time I was in the Alps, nearly every morning I was eating porridge. So guess what I don’t think I can eat porridge any more. You would say, hang on, you can’t stop eating porridge after just one trip to Alps.


 Just to clarify, when I was a kid, I was attending pre-school learning group. And every single morning they were feeding us with PORRIDGE! I remember force feeding and harsh moment of feeling sick : –(. No more porridge for me.

Me @ pre-school learning group

Right now I am trying different combinations of good/ healthy/light weight foods. So far - no luck. I have tried sausages. Sausages first of all a heavy product, healthy (not so sure about that one) plus you feel very thirsty after eating them –(.

Sandwich?  May be, but I intend to carry sandwiches with me on the hill.
Some other things I have tried but nothing right so far. Will keep on looking.
The best food in your backpack...I don’t think I got a problem with pack lunch. As when I am stopping for a snack break or lunch, I am starving to death, so I would eat anything! Usually, I got banana and apple, few sandwiches, packed of crisps and some kind of snack bar.  But wait there is more (LOL)!!! In the recent past my friend Paul suggested to try Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Flapjack, now my favourite eatable thing in my backpack -), absolutely love it!


Lots of expensive bars on the market, but if you are going away 2-3 times a month’s it could be a bit pricey.
I have tried nuts and raisins on one of my trips, but after 5 days I could not eat them, as my jaws were so steve and I could not chew.
In the evening, if it’s not a budget trip –Pub/take away! If it’s a budget trip I would cook some kind of pasta, or rice dish or well anything.
Looks like I got a problem only with my breakfast –(, maybe I always will, maybe I just don’t like to eat breakfast! Time will show.

What have you got to eat in your backpack? What is your favorite breakfast?