Day 606: Iceland to Canada

On the 19th July we left Iceland and headed for Toronto, Canada. The Iceland airport had poor organisation but we eventually took off for our 6 hour journey.

With on board entertainment and regular free drinks the flight seemed to go quite fast. We arrived at 5.30pm UK time, 12.30pm Canada time. On the plane from Iceland to Toronto, Canada.

Due to having a working holiday visa we had to join a line before we could collect our bags. An hour and a half later we could collect our bags which had been dumped on the floor since they were the last bags of the flight.

We then discovered we needed change for the bus. Having not eaten for 12 hours (and that was a apple and a slice of bread) we decided to break into a note and share a sandwich.

We eventually got on the public bus on the way to our air bnb accommodation. The temperature was 27 degrees so we felt pretty warm dressed in thermals and coats!

We were staying in someone's converted basement which had a full kitchen, dining room, bathroom and bedroom. First we went to the supermarket which was a refreshing change to be able to afford food again!

After a great nights sleep from a combination of it being dark (after 24 hours of light in Iceland) and jet lag we decided to spend the next day exploring. We instantly looked like tourists from the amazement of seeing a skunk and a black squirrel in the park!

Unlike the day we arrived, the day that was dedicated to sight seeing was pouring down with rain which was unfortunate. We still enjoyed walking around the city and getting a feel for the area and people. Toronto in the rain!Standing undercover waiting for the rain to calm down!

The few Canadians that we have spoken to have highly recommended a coffee shop called Tim holtons. As we were far from the apartment and in the rain we decided to get lunch and a hot drink – for a fair price we were impressed! Our first Canadian Coffee!

Eventually the rain stopped so we continued exploring. We went to st Lawrence's market which is a 'must see' followed by a walk to Ontario lake where we could see the city sky line and tallest tower in the world, CN. St Lawrence MarketPlenty of tourists at St Lawrence's marketToronto CityLooking at Toronto City by Lake Ontario The tallest tower in the world, called CN

By early evening the sun had come out! So we spent a few more hours looking around. After walking 13 miles we decided to go back to the apartment and rest – we had a fabulous day!

On the 22nd July we headed for London. However our train wasn't until 5.30pm and we had to check out of our air bnb at 11am. We ended up taking our bags with us to a coffee shop and sipping a coffee slowly!

By 3pm we were at the train station with our tickets to hand. The train station was a lot busier than expected! We boarded the train at 5.15PM, the seats had enough leg room for us both to lie down! We were going to be nice and comfortable for the 3 hours. On the train ready to departWe were impressed with our leg room!

We arrived at our next air bnb place at 9pm with a very friendly retired lady called Emmaline. She even gave us some spaghetti since we hadn't eaten.

After a good nights sleep we went exploring through London city. It was a warm sunny day too which was a bonus.

We spent a few days finding our feet, opening a bank account, getting a social insurance number and looking for work.

We managed to both get a job in a call centre where we answer the phone to Americans who have broken down in their cars and need picking up. We continued to look for work in the hope something better would come up.

On the 30th July we went to watch the Pride festival in the street, it was a lovely day and many of the locals had appeared to sit on the grass and watch.

As expected there was a selection of people there including drag queens, gay choirs and much more! Somehow we obtained loads of free gifts including flags, beach balls, beads, sweets and fly swatters.

The following day we had our first day at Bill Gosling Call centre. Let the work begin!

Day 594: UK to Iceland 

On the 13th July we departed from the UK after a fabulous 3 weeks of catching up with everyone. We packed our bags full with warm gear and a pair of new walking shoes each.

At Birmingham airport ready to board

At 1.30pm we left for Iceland! By 5pm English time we were out of the airport and we ‘found’ our rented car- rented from someone we weren’t even staying with on air bnb. The car was left in a hotel car park with the key hidden on top of a tyre. The car was much bigger than expected! John had to quickly adjust to right sided driving- luckily the car was automatic too.
Just landed and found our rental car

We arrived at our air bnb apartment 30km later. The host wasn’t overly welcoming but the room was pleasant and we were only staying for one night. 
We survived our first night of constant daylight! We felt like we were taking a nap at 1pm rather than going to bed for the night. 
First we took a drive to Reykjavik and went exploring by foot. The city centre was a little underwhelming and grey but we had a nice walk and managed to see a few views. For lunch we shared a pack of £2 crisps, the supermarkets were extremely pricey, for example a box of cereal for £10, £27 for beef mince and a bag of grapes for £9. 

Reykjavik lake
Reykjavik
Reykjavik
Reykjavik
Reykjavik
Reykjavik
Reykjavik

We then popped to the petrol station where a man decided to fill up for us (despite not doing it for anyone else?) which unfortunately meant we had to pay £45 (5p extra per litre) this was a bit of a sting to the £100 budget. 

Later on we reached our new accommodation, another air bnb apartment. The apartment was new and was owned by a young man who worked nights meaning we would be able to have plenty of time to ourselves.
The following day we decided to take the Golden Circle drive, a 140 mile round trip looping from Reykjavik to the southern uplands of Iceland. 
The drive to the Golden Circle was beautiful, the sun came out and the green views were spectacular. We even managed to see wild Icelandic horses on the route. 

The start of the Golden Circle drive

The three primary stops on the route are the pingvellir national park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the geothermal area in Haukadalur which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. 
Though Geysir has been mostly dormant for many years, Strokkur continues to erupt every 5–10 minutes. Other stops include the Kerio volcanic crater, the town of Hverageroi, Skalholt cathedral, and the Nesjavellir and Hellisheioarvirkjun geothermal power plants.

Pingviller
Pingviller
Pingviller
Pingviller
Pingviller
Pingviller
Pingviller
Pingviller

After a fabulous day we decided to go back to the apartment and rest. The following day we decided to head for the places we had missed.
Our first stop was Selfoss followed by Hella and Vik. We also went to see the remains of a crashed plane and to a black beach. We then went to a second black beach and we managed to see some wild puffins! – unfortunately they were a little too quick to get a picture! 

Black Beach in Vik
Black Beach in Vik
Black Beach in Vik
Vik
Black Beach
Black Beach
Black Beach
Vik
Vik
Taking the 3 mile walk to see the plane wreck
Beach where DC plane was abandoned
Plane Wreckage- DC plane in Vik

We were ever so pleased with our sightings for the day. The 3 hour drive home was just as stunning, green open land for miles and miles.
On our final full day in Iceland we went to visit the Blue Lagoon. At a pricey £60 each we had taken a big blow to the budget, however 80% of tourists visit the lagoon and we didn’t want to leave without taking part. 
Our time slot was 7am meaning we had to leave the apartment at about 6.20am. Unfortunately the weather was pretty miserable so we were hoping it would brighten up by the time we got there. 
We spent a good four hours in the lagoon and we had a brilliant time. We both agreed the experience wasn’t worth £60 each but we were glad to of made the trip. We had a free face mask included in our ticket so we had two of those whilst in the water. The weather was pretty poor whilst we were in the water, strong winds and cold rain hit us but luckily the water was 37 degrees so we were lovely and warm. 
The Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon

In the Blue Lagoon with our face masks!

The Blue Lagoon at 8am
The Blue Lagoon

It’s pretty hard to have a kiss with face masks on!
The Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon

After a wonderful time in Iceland it was time to pack up and prepare for the 6 hour flight to Toronto, Canada the following day. We had a great time and would recommend the visit – just bare in mind the cost!