Bye-bye, beautiful Iceland!

September 15th in Iceland must be a pretty pivotal time... It's the official date of the end of the tourist season and beginning of the winter winds. We left Vik on the 15th, with the intention of stopping off in Skogarfoss to see the waterfall for a night and stay in a guesthouse. Needless to say, after sitting in a gas station for 3 hours due to the bus schedule change (because it was September 15th) and being chilled to the bone by the ever-increasing winds, we decided to just head on back to Reykjavik. Another factor was that the mini-bus we boarded was almost blown off the road by the wind. I'm talking hurricane force winds here... Iceland is a place of extremes and there are no trees to muffle the winds, so they blow and whip all across the flat plains. We were driving along the "golden circle" road near the ocean and we could see mini-typhoons coming in close to shore, meanwhile our bus is getting shoved to and fro by the wind... At one point a guy who was among a group of German backpackers said the only English I head him speak during the ride, which contained an explicative in reaction to the bus being pushed into the other lane by the wind.. It was an interesting ride indeed.

One great thing about Icelandic buses is that they all have Wifi.. So, while we had no place to stay booked in Reykjavik for the remaining nights, we were not to worry because I could hop on airbnb.com and find a kind local to take us in. I searched for a place with the dates we had remaining and found a bright, clean apartment that belongs to a girl named Inga. If anyone makes it out to this part of the world, I would definitely get in contact with either of the hosts we have stayed with because it made our trip so much better.

Inga came to pick us up from the bus terminal and I immediately knew it was going to be a good ending to our visit to Iceland. You know when you meet someone and you feel like you've known them for a while? That's how I felt about Inga. She is very genuine and kind, and likes to have a good time. We enjoyed talking with her and playing with her dog, Cohen. We have a lot in common and I hope she comes to visit us when we get back to Jacksonville!! :) I was sad to leave our newfound friend today, but our itinerary calls us back to the airport and onward to London.

Tonight we get to sleep in Paul's brother's flat in London. We joked that it will be 3 of us staying in a place the size of Inga's bathroom.. Tomorrow we get to go on an adventure to the Vietnamese consulate in London to see about getting our visas, and have made plans to return to London to get Indian visas, see the Local Natives play a show, and maybe even reunite with fellow Jacksonvllians as the Jaguars take over Wembley stadium for a NFL game.. Sad to leave this country of the kindest people I've met, most dramatic scenery, and best wool sweaters, but excited to see friends and family in the UK!

Until next time,

MC

The land of puffins, fermented shark, and so much more..

I cannot express how thankful I am to Bon Iver for posting his music video for "holocene" on apple itv and the fact that I randomly stumbled upon it one day when we didn't have cable. Iceland is so frikkin cool... So far we have gone sightseeing in Reykjavik, met some really nice locals (I've found every person I've met here to be SUPER nice and happy...which is awesome), stayed in one of their homes (courtesy of airbnb.com), traveled to Vik, and hiked up a mountain. Most of these things I did in the same outfit that I left the states in on Thursday.

When I said the anticipation was building, well, it built up until we were 2 hours delayed in Chicago, which in turn led us to sprint from the terminal "B" at Boston Logan Int'l Airport to the "E" terminal, only to be met by a grouchy TSA lady and then a nice one who allowed us to scoot through security as our names were being called over the intercom, which then allowed me to run shoeless to the gate and met by a very kind IcelandicAir flight attendant with a bottle of Icelandic water in hand for me. Phew! Talk about an adrenaline rush! Paul and I were so worried that we would miss our flight. We made it by the skin of our teeth. Needless to say, our sprinting efforts allowed us to board the flight...our bags, not so much. Didn't get them until 9 this morning.

Now we are enjoying the beautiful scenery. It's hard to describe in words just how gorgeous this place is... The soaring black mountains covered in bright green moss and grass are all around you, some of them look alive as geothermal steam squeaks out the top.. It is so cool. My only regret so far is that we didn't rent a car.. There is public transport here buuut the stops are often far from the really neat places to visit, which makes it impossible to visit (unless I wanted to walk with my huge backpack...nah.) I'm not sure where we are headed to next... We may stop in Skogar to see this awesome waterfall that you can stand behind.. The Icelandic story  is that this is the only place in the world where a woman can propose marriage to a man...not that I have that to worry about! ;)

More to come.... 

MC

Tree Pose on top of a cliff and Wheel in front of the arch formation... I had to do it :)

The Snaking Line

I've been back in Georgia for almost two weeks now spending time with family and taking some time to relax and get stuff done before we set off. In my mind I'd like to think of this process of planning, buying tickets/miscellaneous trip related items, and getting prepared to be on the road for 9 months as the snaking line you have to stand in before getting on a roller-coaster. Thinking of snaking around and around while the anticipation, fear, and excitement build before getting on the ride and screaming your face off is a pretty good simile for what I am feeling right now... We have been waiting and saving and planning for what feels like forever, and now we are next in line to get on the ride. I am excited to get on and experience what this trip has to offer, but nervous to leave everything that is comfortable and familiar to me behind.. My goal this trip is to not be tied down by what is "normal" in our culture and to live in each moment, accepting what it has to give, and learn from it. I laugh when people say "well you guys are going on a long vacation, aren't you?".... I'd like to think of it as an educational experience. I want to come back with more knowledge of the world around me and become a better person from it.  Oh and to do yoga everyday. I want to be a yoga badass by the time we return in 9 months :)

The past 3 days I have packed and unpacked my pack more times than I can count, minimizing the amount of clothes each time I pack it up again. This has been the hardest part... Thinking of what I need and what can stay. I've tried to narrow it down to 4 pairs of shoes, 5 bottoms, 7 tops, 3 jackets, 7 pairs of underwear, 3 pairs of socks, and a bathing suit. I like to have options, so this has been tough. I am trying to remind myself that I can buy stuff as we go along, but I'm so used to not buying stuff just for the purpose of shopping that it's going to be hard for me. I think I've conditioned myself out of compulsive shopping.... That's a good thing!

My next post will be from close to the Arctic Circle, in Iceland. I cannot wait to see the glaciers, black sand beach, volcanic rock, and beautiful scenery. By that time I will have reached the end of the snaking line and will be on my way to one amazing ride. I'll be screaming my face off inside, with feelings of excitement and anxiousness for what's around the bend. I hope you will join me as we see amazing things, eat amazing food, and meet amazing people. Prepare to be amazed! I know I am almost prepared... :)

Yesterday was a wake-up to reality.. Our kind friends, Paul and Kerrie, threw a joint Birthday/Bon Voyage party for my hubs Paul and I last night. It was so much fun, and we both enjoyed seeing all the people we care about before we leave Jacksonville.. Which is in 13 days. The question I kept getting was: "Are you excited?" to which is a simple reply, "Yes!". Next was "Are you nervous"... "....Yes....".. Then came "Are you ready? Are all your things packed up?" And that's when it hit me... My anxiety kicked in and I went into a panic. We leave in less than 2 weeks and I've only packed a few boxes. The garage sale stuff is a MESS. We have no place to stay in our first stop. How am I going to get the sofa out of the door? What if the POD does not fit all of our stuff? What the heck am I bringing in my bag? All these questions have flown around my brain since I got in bed last night.

Today I picked out the clothes I'm thinking of bringing. Checked out AirBnB (WHICH IS AWESOME) and booked a place for the first night in Reykjavik, and booked this little gem for the other nights in Vik, where "Holocene" is filmed. (See previous posts if you don't know what I'm taking about)

http://booking.com/4b8df9cf5443eHótel Dyrhólaeyhttp://booking.com/4b8df9cf5443e

I also organized most of the garage sale stuff. Sold our table and chairs, arranged for our TV and sofa to get picked up and paid for. So, now I am left with the issue of getting the sofa out the door....I guess I will have to wait and see how that ends up!

To go with the latest post.. can't get this song out of my head right now! Fitting, I know.

http://youtu.be/4B-t-WDRuXQ

The. End.

Today officially wraps up my life as I know it as a teacher. I have forever left the school where I worked for 4 1/2 years. I do not know what to feel, fear or happiness? To be honest, I just feel tired right now... this year wore me out!

I had a wild ride at my school, with ups and downs, but the people and kids I worked with there made every day worthwhile. Now I am in travel-limbo for almost a year. Thankfully I have a solid "everything will be okay" attitude and don't feel the anxiety I thought I would experience. It helps to be a "do-er" and I definitely know that I am a "do-er". If I say I am going to do something, I do it. I put my mind to it, find a strategy, and just do it. I think that's one of my good qualities if I do say so myself. ;) It helps take the stress out of situations (i.e. leaving a career and travel the world with a backpack) because I know that in the end, if I need/want to do something, it will get done.

On another note, summer camp starts up (for me..it started for everyone else Monday but I was at postplanning) tomorrow so I will be hitting the ground running! Then 10 weeks until we start prepping for our big move out in August, and set off to Atlanta to be with family until we dash off into the wild blue yonder. It's all happening very fast.

For now, I will focus on having fun with the kids and camp and try to survive the hot Florida summer!

Teaching is done! School is out! On to bigger and better things.

G'Day, Australia.

Well today's Tuesday, and as some well know, it's the cheapest day of the week to book a ticket. So I took advantage of this beautiful Tuesday here in Jacksonville, Florida and decided to check out some prices. Sure enough, there was a good deal and we will be bound for Australia on April 7, 2014. I hope all our Aussie friends are ready, because we will be there with bells on! So, that's all our major flights done and booked. Now we need to check out how we will get from Australia to somewhere in South America.... But that can wait a little while.
Now I will begin really looking around my house and see what I don't particularly "need" anymore and start listing that stuff on eBay. I also plan on having a huge "moving" sale sometime this summer. When you know you will be out on the road for an extended period of time, you begin to realize all that stuff that has accumulated over the years is really ridiculous and extremely unnecessary... Hopefully SOMEONE out there will buy my crap! And the clothes I've accumulated..wow. I know I can only stuff so many articles of clothing in my bag, so some of those old clothes I haven't worn in years have gotta go.. I'm going to eBay my little heart out! 

Passport has arrived!

Well, as said in the previous post yesterday, I had a feeling it would be coming! Almost a month to the day from sending it, my UK passport has arrived. I feel like James Bond or something. I can pick and choose which citizenship I want to take whenever and wherever I want. I have a pretty odd British accent though...... I also got this sweet keyboard for my iPad because I am awful at tying on the screen... Mywordsusuallylooklikethis because I seem to neglect the space bar somehow. Thank you Groupon Goods! For Dinner tonight we will be having Heinz baked beans in honor of my new citizenship (half, officially). And it's pouring rain. How fitting!!!!

Happy May Day! Booked another flight segment!

In honor of May Day, I have another flight purchased for Paul and me! I'm not really sure what the significance of May Day is, but I figured we are month closer to our departure so I should get serious about looking at flights and booking up.So here's what we have coming up.. We head to India after a few other stops on January 8th. My wonderful Uncle Ian and Aunt Celia from England will be in Goa the same time we are there! We will be in India from the January 8th to February 4th. From there we will fly to Thailand and stay for two weeks (+\-), head on over to Vietnam for a little over a month, and then our next stop is Taipei, Taiwan. 

Eventually we will end up in Australia, around April. Haven't gotten that far yet... And if we are lucky, we will be able to use Buddy Passes for our Aus - South America leg. What a wonderful offer from our dear family friend and longtime Delta flight attendant, Martina. OMG if we could manage to get a pass on that flight, it would be awesome. Who cares if I'm in an airport for 48 hours, as long as we get to where we want to go.

September will be here before we know it! Good thing I have a summer job lined up and we are really serious about saving. Also got an e-mail today informing me that my UK passport I have applied for will be making its way to my home via DHL. Now, I'm not sure if it just the passport documents I had to submit or the passport itself. That will be another celebratory post for another time. :)