Icelandic adventures!

So, I am back from what seemed like the fastest vacation ever! 10 days goes by way too quick! It was nice to be back in somewhat civilization, where I am relatively anonymous again...no driver following me around everywhere or being called "Oyibo" (White person) where ever i went!
I was staying with my friend Catherine, and on my second night we met up with a couple of friends from Rome, who I hadn't seen in about 4 years, and luckily was in London at the same time, as she lives in Colombia...it definitely did not seem like it had been 4 years! Had a great dinner and of course some local drink...and now looking forward to our reunion holiday to Jordan next year!

Now on to the real part of the holiday...ICELAND!!! It was incredible. The Icelandic folk love their bathing and toilet facilities, which is a nice treat from the standards found in Africa (more on this later)!! Iceland is a really beautiful country, and even prettier when it snows, and lucky for us, we got to see it both ways, as for some reason, Iceland had a freak snowstorm and got like a foot of snow! Catherine and I rented a car upon arrival, and so it was nice because we could easily get around. We had a great Mexican meal our first night, complete with Icelandic lobster...very, very good! Our first day we intended to go south east, but fate always works in our favour, and we ended up going north (good thing about holidays is that you don't really HAVE to be anywhere at any point). So, we headed for the Icelandic fjords. A long 8 hour journey on roads full of potholes, gravel and windy, mountainous and sea cliffs along the way...but the views were incredible. Almost everything in Iceland shuts down after tourist season ends in early September, so finding a place to stay is quite difficult. Luckily the gas station attendant knew a place in her town about "2 mountain passes away"...we settled in and the nice surprise that awaited us was the shower...it's not often that I get excited by showering, however this is one of those showers that had 8 showers heads coming from all different angles...and it had a built in radio and crazy blue lights! So, it was very enjoyable...and after 4 months in Africa it is nice to know that if i open my mouth and drink some of the water that I won't get giardia or dysentry or something like that...the water in Iceland is said to be the cleanest and purest in the world! From here we went the the western most point of Europe, and only 300kms away from Greenland... to these amazing cliffs to see the birdlife...it was a beautiful sunny, crisp (about 6 degrees) day, so we spent the morning there exploring, while I think I worried my friend a little, as I for some reason like to get really close to the cliff drops off 400 metres below to rocky ocean floors!!

After leaving the west, we woke up at 3am to take the ferry to the south...however when we got to the ferry at 430am, for the 630 boarding, it did not show up...so we had to do the whole drive all over again...however, as it had snowed, and everything looked so much different! We headed back to Reyjavic (Iceland's capital) for the evening as we had been driving all day...we went to the famous Blue Lagoon for some relaxation and pampering...and it really is as beautiful as the pictures look...note to anyone else that goes...go in the evening, as the geothermal water is this really eery magnetic blue colour and is really amazing (see photos) and after that, we decided we needed a drink or two and found a quaint little pub, hosting a Metallica night! All Metallica, all night long...that same night, we found ourselves in the freak snow fall that was blanketing all of Iceland, and our intentions of heading all the way to the west were hampered by the fact the roads were closed due to the storm. So, we hung out in the area and went to Vik beach...one of the world's top 10 beaches...as it is pure black, volcanic sand! Again, it was a sunny, crisp and fresh day...but I had to take a dip in the North Atlantic Ocean...so off came the clothes and in I went...my legs went numb in the first 10 seconds and then a wave got me and brought me down...Catherine was filming from the sidelines, and I would imagine it was pretty funny...due to the graphic nature of my language and almost nakedness, I will not be publicly posting the video, as I don't want to ruin my future ambitions as Prime Minister! We also got to see the famous Geysirs erupt, which is quite cool although I have never enjoyed the rotten egg smell that comes with sulphuric water! There are lots of big and small waterfalls everywhere, some which I was very tempted to stand under, but as it is all glacier water, it was way too cold, but they did make for some superb waterfalls, which are practically everywhere...the Gulfoss falls were pretty incredible close up, and you can surpringly get right up to them!

Overall, Iceland is a really chill country...the people are very nice and the fish and lobster is superb, especially the lobster soup from the famous Fisherman's Hut...and I had the best salmon that I have ever had...Iceland is however, extremely expensive...after Nigeria, it did not seem that bad, but compared to the rest of Europe and North America, prices are quite steep. But, it was worth every dime. Catherine and I both enjoyed it...and I would definitely go back, but probably not any time soon...they really need to work on the roads...for those wanting to cycle, you can really only get so far there, and the wind is pretty incredible...but if you like a challenge, definitely one counyry to attemp!

Once back in London, we again met up with some friends from my past...Nicole, my flatmate from New Zealand who I went to Costa Rica with in March, and my friend Grant who I met in Nepal last year! We had a very good night out in London!

I am now back in Abuja...and back to work right away. It seems that while I was away, there were 200 new cases of polio, some in areas that have never been infected, so we are now dealing with somewhat of an epidemic (I have finally learned the difference between pandemic, endemic and epidemic)! So, it is very serious, and we are at a loss, with lots of running around trying to organize major vaccination campaigns. We are also severly affected by the economic crisis, as donor countries are starting to cut back or not even send the last quarter payments...so this crisis truly is a global crisis!

Anyways, I am in my flat now...slowly settling in...no more cockroaches though!

I have updated some photos, so have a look! http://picasaweb.google.com/angelynne78

Andrea