Wednesday 12 Aug 2015
Today we woke up to rain beating on the windows and realise that despite everything the weather has thrown at us on the past two days, we've actually been lucky. Monday was cold, windy and dry and Tuesday was cool with some sun which let us do some exploring and sight-seeing. Now, not only is it wet, but windy too.
Check out from our hotel wasn't until 1200, so we didn't hurry to breakfast and then dawdled over that, two cups of coffee this morning. The hotel seemed to have been overrun with German tourists, which made the breakfast room rather busy.
After breakfast, we sorted our bags out, caught up with email and published a post to the blog. We managed to make this last until 1145 when we finally checked out. Lynn had discovered that there was a shopping mall in Reykjavik, so we drove there. Incidentally, she had also discovered that there was a museum in the city devoted to the study of man's body. Actually, a specific part of a man's body! We didn't visit it though.
After a minor error in my route finding involving a bus lane, we made it to Kringa Mall. We made our way inside as quickly as possible as it was tipping down. The Mall was quite impressive and we wandered around the shops, until we found the food court. Here, we found the usual suspects to be found in an American Mall and somehow gravitated to Sbarro, a pseudo Italian purveyor of food. Knowing it was going to be a long day with few options for food, we ordered an 18 inch pizza to share. The girl behind the till looked entirely shocked by the order, but took our money anyway. Ten minutes later, the 'chef' appeared with an enormous plate with pizza on it. As I carried it back to our table, there several looks of amazement from other diners!
Needless to say, we did finish the pizza, it was very tasty, fresh tomatoes and basil, since you ask!
Outside, it was still tipping down as we headed south out of Reykjavik for the last time. South of Hafnarfjordur as the road left the town, we experienced the full force of the South-easterly wind. It buffeted the car around all the way down to Keflavik. Just short of the airport, we stopped for fuel. The wind nearly ripped the car door off when I opened it. I could also barely stand up in the wind! Suitably refuelled, we continued back to the Sixt car rental office and returned the car. After a brief inspection of the car in the howling gale and pouring rain we were loaded onto the bus to return us to the airport.
Here, we were most impressed that the Icelandic President had turned out to see us off, he'd left his car, complete with presidential flag and number plate IS 1, outside.
We quickly checked in and got rid of our bags before going through security to the departure lounge. Here, we emptied our pockets to see how much cash we had left and bought two Cokes. After using the free airport wifi for 30 minutes, we bought two baguettes for our journey and went to catch the flight.
There are a couple of things odd about this flight. The first is that there is no free meal on the flight, a journey lasting 7 hours. Soft drinks are freely provided. The second is that our departure time was 1720 from Keflavik and our arrival time in Anchorage is 1610 - on the same day. As we travel, the clock is going backwards. Some years ago, we lost an entire day travelling from Los Angeles to Auckland due to the international date line. I've always sorted resented this 'theft'! Now at least we have a little payback!
The flight was fairly full, but the seat between Lynn and me was empty, or I should say, is empty as I am typing this as we fly over western Greenland at 38000 feet. Currently, we are about to enter Canadian airspace somewhere north and west of Baffin Island. The sea is dotted with icebergs and the coastal range is snow covered. Maybe it is time for a snooze!
We arrived in Anchorage shortly after 1600 in beautiful weather and the thermometer reading 73F, a bit of a change from Iceland. Immigration was tedious as usual and we imagined that after that our bags would be waiting for us. Wrong! It was another 20 minutes before they started appear on the belt. We we picked them up, we realised they were very wet, I guess from when they were being loaded at Kefkavik.
It is also a long walk from the a north terminal to the south terminal where the rental car desk are. I suppose we should be grateful after all that sitting! We are now temporary owners of a Chevrolet Cruze. As it was rush hour, traffic in Anchorage was heavy and it was slow going all the way to Eagle a River. Wasilla is about 40 miles north of Anchorage and it on the main road to Fairbanks.
Lake Lucille Bed and Breakfast is by the lake just outside Wasilla. We were greeted by the friendly owner and shown to a very pleasant en suite room. The whole place is very nice and incredibly quiet.
After settling in and hanging our clothes up to dry, we headed back into Wasilla. Here, by sheer luck, we found the Final Frontier Brewing Company. We had to go in to try the microbrews and have something for dinner.
Now, finally, it is bedtime.
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