miðvikudagur, febrúar 25, 2009

Kia Ora from Kiwiland

It is our last night in New Zealand and we have had a lovely time here.

Our very first day, after a little nap, we took the ferry to Davenport to meet up with Jeff and his friends for some drinks. Jeff is an old friend of Kari's and we had a great evening in a beer-garden with him and his mates. The next morning we wandered around central Auckland, just getting a feel for the city and basking in the sun.

Next, it was tourist time. We went on a 13 hour bus tour. I was pretty good. We went to Rotorua and saw a geothermal Maori village and were treated to some Maori dancing, singing and food. This time, I was not invited to join the performers on stage which is just as well since my singing is not nearly as fantabulous as my moves. After lunch and a little sightseeing in Rotorua, we went to the Hill of Zorb! And we went Zorbing while the grown-ups on our tour were awestruck by our bravery. It isn't actually scary at all (otherwise, clearly I would not have undertaken it), just a roll down a hill in a massive inflatable ball filled with water and our lovely selves. So much fun!!!! I am now looking into buying a Zorb for the hill at Reynisholar.

After recovering from our Zorb induced gigglefit (and changing out of our wet clothes) we continued on to the kiwi house where we got the opportunity to meet a kiwi named Ewan (bird, not person). He was very cute, extremely funnylooking and much bigger than we expected. I'd quite like to get a kiwi for Reynisholar too, but I don't think he would get on too well with Gusti the cat. Anyway, they're probably much harder to get than a Zorb.

Last stop on the tour was Ruakuri cave at Waitomo. There we saw some groovy stalagmites and stalagtites but the highlights, literally, were the glow worms. There are thousands of tiny bioluminescent worms living on the cave ceiling. They look like the stars in the sky, only closer. We took a dark boat ride under the worms and it was truly magical. Although, to be honest, it would have been magical had our boat not contained some blithering idiots who were more concerned about whether the worms micht fall on them or poop in their open mouths than just enjoying this unique and beatiful phenomenon. Perhaps those concerned about getting glow worm poo in their mouth should just keep said mouth closed? I think it would make the world a more peaceful and magical place. Despite a few annoying fellow tourists, it was a very good day.

Yesterday we went on another outing. We met up with Jeff again and he took us for a ride to the west coast. We checked out the beaches at Piha and Karekare. They are pretty cool. Karekare beach did feel a little familiar, though. Take away the trees and the surfers and it could almost be in Iceland. I had always thought that the New Zealand landscape would be similar to Iceland, but that was really the only time during our stay here that I've seen it. Well, apart from when we were at the geothermal place. And they seem to have far less sheep than we do. Apparently the farmers here are moving away from raising sheep in favour of the dairy industry. So we saw loads of cows, but very few sheep. The ones we did see were in a paddock with some turkeys. And we saw some cows in a field with ostriches. Very strange!

Today was our last day here really, as we leave for Sydney in the morning. We took a walk to Karangahape road (usually known as K-road) to check out the funky shops and funkier people, had a few drinks on Vulcan Lane (tiny lane, full of bars and cafes) and packed. Hulda did not end up throwing herself off the Sky Tower as she was feeling a bit poorly today. We both have mysterious colds. Now we are in an internet cafe, blogging for the benefit of you fine folks.

So now you are completely up to date with all our adventures on the other side!

My darling non-Icelandic speakers, please feel free to comment on the blog. Hulda gets loads of comments on her Icelandic posts and I haven't gotten any on my last English one. Otherwise I may start to think nobody is reading mine and will just use my internet time to read the latest gossip and play geo challenge on Facebook.

Sunshine and kisses from NZ!

Pictures:
1 Hulda on the ferry to Davenport
2 Asta coveting a yacht in Viaduct Harbour
3 Hulda by the sign to the geothermal Maori village. Quite a name, isn't it?
4 Hulda in the Maori village.
5 Asta by the geothermal mud pools.
6 Zorbing, woohoo!
7 Zorbing over, boo!
8 Loving the Zorb!
9 By the kiwihouse
10 The view over Piha Beach
11 On Karekare beach
12 Asta and Jeff on Karekare

Nyja Sjaland

Jaeja, best ad segja ykkur adeins fra Nyja Sjalandi adur en vid forum hedan. Lentum eldsnemma ad morgni eftir ad hafa flogid yfir adurnefnda daglinu, daegurvilltar og daudtreyttar. Beinustu leid a Hotel, ut i bud ad na i vistir og svo upp i rum. Voknudum einhverntimann eftir hadegi og heyrdum ta i Jeff, vini hans Kara og akvadum ad fara ad hitta hann. Tokum ferju yfir til Davenport tar sem vid fundum Jeff og nokkrar spaenkar vinkonur hans og fengum okkur nokkrar pintur med teim. Tau voru ordin vel sosud tegar vid komum tvi tad var eitthvad festival i gangi i Davenport. Tegar klubbafilingur var kominn i lidid skelltum vid systur okkur bara aftur heim a hotel enda ennta frekar treyttar. Notudum naesta dag i ad skoda okkur um her i Auckland, velja okkur einhvern dagstur ut i sveit og rolta og skoda allar snekkjurnar sem eru til solu a bryggjunni. Fundum alveg nokkrar sem okkur langar i, mig langar samt eiginlega meira i thyrlu.





Asta a Viaduct Harbour ad benda a alitlega snekkju

A manudaginn voknudum vid eldsnemma til ad fara a runtinn ut i sveit. Hinn brasiliski Flavio sotti okkur klukkan halfsjo, pikkudum svo upp 2 por a ordum hotelum og keyrdum ut i sveit til Rotorua sem er frekar vinsaell afangastadur her a Nordureynni vegna jardhitans.......iss piss, jardhiti hvad! Vid heimsottum tar Maoritorpid: Tewhakarewarewatang- aoteopetauaawahiao ........ reynid ad segja tetta hratt 20 sinnum i rod!! Tad torp er helst merkilegt tvi tad er eins og Hveragerdi, t.e.a.s. byggt a miklu jardhitasvaedi. Allt vodalega heimilislegt, brennisteinslyktin og bubblandi drullupollar. Fengum ad sja stridsdans Maorifolksins sem adallega snyst um ad reka mikid ut ur ser tunguna og opna augun gifurlega mikid, og svo var sungid fyrri okkur og dansad adur en var bodid upp a Hangi - mat (sem er ekki latid hanga, heldur gufusodid halfgrafid i jordu.)














Vid ad spoka okkur Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao

Eftir ad hafa heimsott fleiri stadi i og i nagrenni Rotorua forum vid i ZORBID, bara eg og Asta samt, hindir vildu ekki fara. Djofull var tad gaman!! Vid trodum okkur inn i einskonar plaskulu sem er innan i annarri staerri plastkulu. Svo var vatni daelt inn i kuluna med okkur og kulan med okkur og vatninu i send af stad nidur brekku. Vid ondudumst naestum tvi ur hlatri alla leidina nidur tetta var svo otrulega skemmtilegt. Asta er nuna meria ad segja buin ad finna sidu a netinu sem selur svona Zorba.....vaeri agaetlega frabaert ad hafa eitt stykki a Holunum, grunar samt ad tollurinn af slikri sendingu yrdi himinhar.


Vid Asta i ZORBINUM besta a fleygiferd nidur brekkuna















Eftir Zorbfjorid forum vid i Kiwihouse og kiktum adeins a hinn fraega kiwifugl sem er ofleygur tjodarfugl Nyja Sjalands og er eitt tad furdulegasta dyr sem eg hef augum litid. Fuglinn er mikid staerri en madur a von a og er bara svo funny-looking eitthvad og kjanalegur

Fyrir utan kiwihouse ad knusa kiwifugl


Eftir kiwihouse la leid okkar til Waitomo - i Glow-worm cave. Djupir hellar sem eru fullir af flurlysandi ormum sem festa sig i loftid og lysa tad upp eins og stjornubjartan himinn, ekkert sma flott ad sja. Eftir hellana keyrdum vid aftur i gegnum sveitina og heim a leid. Saum mun minna af saudfe her en vid hofdum att von a og sagdi Flavio okkur tad ad Nysjalendingar vaeru mikid ad faera sig yfir i kusurnar og mjolkurframleidslu i stad saudfjarraektar og ad rollum her hafi hridfaekkad sidustu ar. Saum samt nokkrar sem voru saetar og nyrunar, svipadar bresku rollunum. Fullt af beljum a leidinni, nokkrir kalkunar, strutar og einhverskonar lamadyr.



I gaer heyrdum vid svo aftur i Jeff og hann for med okkur i biltur ad skoda fallegar strendur her i nagrenni Auckland. Forum til Piha og til Karekare, mjog skemmtilegt og fallegt tar. Tad er svona rett haegt ad imynda ser ad landslagid her geti a einhvern hatt likst tvi islenska ef madur tekur burt oll tren sem na upp eftir ollu.



Piha strondin i baksyn
Fiflagangur a Karekare

Asta og Jeff a Karekare
Vardandi turninn ta er eg ekki enn buin ad stokkva og var ad fatta ad nu er buid ad loka honum, tad lokar allt otrulega snemma her. Er samt buin ad hugsa mikid um tad og langar tvilikt ad profa, svo er annad hvort madur myndi tora tegar upp a topp vaeri komid. ?urfum ad fara i fyrramalid ut a flugvoll tvi vid fljugum til Sydney a morgun. Veit ekki hvort eg nae tvi i fyrramalid, ef ekki ta hlyt eg ad finna eitthvad annad aevintyri til ad demba mer i einhvers stadar a leidinni.

mánudagur, febrúar 23, 2009

More on Samoa

Well, we're in New Zealand now, but I'm going to finish telling you about our stay in Samoa. I'll tell you about New Zealand in a day or two.

Our new beach huts were very nice indeed. The beach was one of the best in Samoa and the snorkling was great. We saw loads of colourful fish swimming about. It looked as if they were all glammed up for an eighties cocktail party, fluorescent pinks, yellows, turquoises and greens. Totally our style! The food at Taufua Beach Fales was really good too. There was always a huge selection of yummy stuff, both at breakfast and dinner. So our bellies were always full and bulging. Not a great look when sporting a bikini, but hey, what can you do? It would be rude not to try every single dish and have seconds of the particularly good ones.

We met lots of people at our fales as well, as it was a very sociable place. We made friends with a really nice couple from San Francisco, Ken and Elaine. They came with us on a day trip around the island, checking out a couple of waterfalls, the To Sua Trench and the Cave Pools. It was a really good trip. To Sua Trench is a big hole in the ground, filled with seawater anc connected to the ocean via underground channels. You can go swimming in there, but in order to do so, you have to climb down a 15 metre long ladder that I didn't really like the look of. So Hulda and I stayed above ground admiring the view from the clifftop while Ken and Elaine took a dip. Then we all took a walk to check out the lavafield and blowholes. Very cool. The highlight of the day, for me anyway, were the cave pools. THE BEST PLACE EVER! A cool, fresh, clean pool where you can swim into a cave to get away from the sun. It is on a lovely beach, but is fed by a freshwater spring. There are some very friendly fish in it, as well as a big eel that we were unfortunately unable to spot. And if you're feeling adventurous, you can take a 3 metre underwater swim to the next pool. I never feel adventurous, so I just swam in the lovely water and felt good. Ken and Elaine did the underwater swim, though. They turned out to be a couple of daredevils! But guys, if you ever go to Samoa, you must check these pools out, they are my absolute favorite place in a totally wonderful country. And bring swimming goggles, they are very useful if you want to do the underwater swim or just look at the eel.

On Wednesday night it was Fiafia night, which means dancing, drinking and fancy food. We got lobster for dinner and then a group of dancers came and performed dances from all over Polynesia for us. I accidentally ended up on stage performing some sort of hippity hoppity Polynesian dance, that I think is only meant to be done by young men. It was good fun and nice to hear from the other guests that they thought I was brave to go up there and dance. Especially since I had been such a chicken at the trench and the cave pools and the sliding rocks (they frankly looked dangerous). I am scared of many things, but dancing is not one of them!

After the dancing, a large group of us sat down and had a few drinks together. We even got to taste Kava! It tastes a bit like water with flour in it. The party carried on well into the night but we went to bed before most of the partypeople (I know, totally out of character for us). We are trying to keep to our new regime of early to bed, early to rise. That way we have more time to look at all the wonderful things there are to behold on this side of the world.

So we stayed at Taufua for three days and had a really lovely time, snorkling, socializing, sightseeing and lounging. When it became time for us to leave, our little rental car came in very handy once again. One of the other guests had become quite ill and needed to get into town so we gave her a lift. She was very grateful to get into an air conditioned car and be taken to a cool, calm place near the hospital where she could recover. I hope she started feeling better soon. Food poisoning and dehydration is so unpleasant. It can really ruin you holiday.

Our flight wasn't at the best of times, totally ruining our early to bed policy. From 2.40 in the morning to 6.40 the next morning. We flew across the dateline so even though it was only a 4 hour flight, it took more than a day, somehow!?!?? I don't really understand why all the flights to and from Samoa have to be in the middle of the night. It's not as if the airport is buzy. We tried to nap in our car in the airport car park for an hour. It was a little difficult to sleep because of all the people hanging about in the car park - a strange place to hang! After the rental place guy came to pick up our car, we just wandered aimlessly around the airport for hours, being stared at by the locals. I found it mystifying to be suddenly so interesting. We didn't get that kind of attention anywhere else on the island and it's not as if people should be surprized to see foreigners at an international airport. After and endless wait our flight finally took off. We were very happy to land in Auckland and go straight to our lovely bed for a lovely nap.

Photos:
1. Our beach fale at Taufua, Lalomanu Beach
2. Sun sets over Lalomanu beach
3. Hulda and her good friend Vailima (very good local beer)
4. To Sua Trench
5. Hulda admires the view at To Sua Trench
6. Asta refreshed after bathing in the cave pool
7. Lovely Samoan bus
8. Lovely Samoan family prefers truck to bus

9. Should Hulda do this?

Bae bae Samoa - Hallo Nyja Sjaland

Jaeja, holdum afram Samoasogunni.

Sidast skildum vid vid ykkur tegar vid vorum a leid fra Aggie Greys til Lalomanu. Komum okkur tangad og fundum Taufua Beach Fales sem eru lika svona kofar a strondinni sem vid vorum i fyrst. Tetta var samt talsvert meira grand en fyrsta gistingin, smartari og skemmtilegri matur, meira af folki og ekki nandar naerri eins mikid af mossum. Otrulega fint bara, aedislegt ad hafa sinn privat kofa a strondinni og tessi strond er su allra besta i Samoa til ad snorkla, saum ogrynnin oll af otrulega litrikum og fyndnum fiskum og ymislegt annad skemmtilegt. Fyrsta daginn a Taufua kynntumst vid skemmtilegu amerisku pari, Ken og Elaine. Tau komust ad tvi vid morgunverdarbordid ad vid vaerum med bil og vaerum ad fara ad runta um eyjuna til ad skoda okkur frekar um og spurdu hvort tau maettu koma med, hofdu aetlad ad ad panta taxa til ad runta med sig allan daginn. Tau voru velkomin med okkur og vid forum fjogur og skodudum fleiri fossa, To Sua Trench sem er risadjup hola i jordinni med vanti i sem madur getur farid ad svamla i og skodudum lika Cave Pools sem er ferskvatnslaug sem naer inn i helli og haegt ad synda tar i gegnum grjotgong og koma ut i annari hellalaug. Asta elskadi tennan stad, vatnid frekar kalt og gott ad svamla tarna um. Ken og Elaine voru prydisfelgasskapur en tau foru svo naesta dag til Nyja Sjalands. Naestu dagar foru mikid i ad hanga a Taufua, borda goda matinn sem tar var i bodi alla daga (orugglega 5-6 mismunandi rettir a hverju kvoldi), spjalla vid folkid, svamla i sjonum ad skoda fina fiska. Tarna var mjog vinalegt svin sem stundum skellti ser undir kofann okkar til ad klora ser a stolpunum tannig ad kofinn okkar skalf og notradi, svo kom svinid lika stundum med manni i sturtu....hahahah. A midvikudagskvoldinu var svo Fia Fia show, tar sem hopur af heimamonnum dansadi fyrir okkur. Voda gaman, lika svadalegur elddans syndur tar. Tegar vid vorum ad tekka okkur ut a fostudaginn og leggja i hann til Apia fengum vid fregnir af tvi ad Claudia, tysk kona sem var tarna, vaeri ordin veik og vildi fara til Apia til ad komast i loftkaelt herbergi med klosetti, svo vid budum henni ad koma med okkur. Keyrdum tvi lengri leidina til Apia til ad alltaf vaeri stutt i klosett fyrir Claudiu og skiludum henni a hotel i Apia. Hun var mjog fegin ad hafa hitt a okkur og turfa ekki ad fara i einum ad storskritnu straetobilunum. Vid alltaf ad pikka eitthvad folk upp i bil med okkur ollum til mikillar anaegju ;)
Ju og eitt enn um Samoa: Tar ganga logreglumennirnir i pilsum, sem teir kalla lavalava, mjog heimilislegt allt saman.

Tarna var eg farin ad hugsa mikid um arans daglinuna sem vid vorum ad fara ad flugja yfir, tessi daglina frikar mig algerlega ut.........vildi ekki fara yfir hana. Eg meina madur er bara ad gaufast a Samoa a fostudegi eins og enginn se morgundagurinn, fer svo i flugvel sem tekur fjora tima........og alltieinu er enginn morgundagur, tad er bara kominn hinn dagurinn!!! Halfkveid tvi ad fara yfir daglinuna bara. Flugid okkar var klukkan 2:40 eftir midnaetti a adfaranott laugardags og vid turftum ad hanga timunum saman a snarfurdulegasta flugvelli veraldar tvi vid urdum ad skila bilnum tar klukkan 23:00. Eg held ad a tessum nokkrum timum sem vid eyddum a flugvellinum hafi verid glapt meira a okkur heldum en a ollum hinum 9 dogunum a Samoa allri samanlagt!! Alveg spes, vid reyndum ad leggja okkur i bilnum adur en gaurinn fra leigunni kom ad saekja hann en tad var frekar erfitt tvi tad var svo mikid af folki tarna. Svo kom einhver drengur og lagdist a bilhurdina sja mer, held ad hann hafi jafnvel verid ad sleikja bilinn. Eg opnadi ruduna og reyndi ad tala vid hann en hann bara sagdi nokkur ord a Samoonsku sem eg ekki skildi og la bara a glugganum hja mer og glapti a mig, ta getur madur nu ekki sofid. Startadi svo bilnum til ad setja loftkaelinguna adeins i gang og ta brosti hann, veifadi, sagdi bye bye og hypjadi sig loksins eftir ad hafa hangid a bilnum i um 30 minutur krakkaofetid! En vid semsagt flugum i 4 tima og lentum a nyja Sjalandi a sunnudagsmorgni, laugardagurinn hvarf vid tad eitt ad fara yfir daglinuna bolvada.


Hulda og Vailima vinur sinn



To Sua Trench

Hulda daist ad utsyninu vid To Sua Trench



Asta vid uppahaldsstadinn, Cave Pools


Straetobill a teysingi framhja kirkju




Fjolskylda ad ferdast um gotur Apia



Aetla ad lata tetta duga i bili, vid erum bunar ad gera ymislegt gaman her a Nyja Sjalandi en held eg lati tad koma allt i naestu faerslu. Skrifa orugglega um tad annad kvold, svo forum vid a fimmtudaginn aleidis til Sydney.


......sma konnun i lokin:

A eg ad stokkva nidur ur Skytower i Auckland eda ekki? Veit ekki alveg hvort eg tori.....

.....her er mynd af honum (stokkid er ur taeplega 200 metra haed!)


sunnudagur, febrúar 22, 2009

Helga Soffia!!!!!!



Akkuru sagdiru okkur ekki ad tu aettir skyldmenni her a Nyja Sjalandi?????
Ja, og tad meira ad segja model i auglysingabransanum!







Sja tennan til haegri..............tu aettir kannski ad fa ter svona greidslu, myndi abyggilega klaeda tig gasalega vel :)




AHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mánudagur, febrúar 16, 2009

Flakeout

So it turns out I don't really enjoy scuba diving. All that gear on your back, floating about with no sense of balance, not really for me. Although I kind of dug being able to breathe underwater. But Hulda liked it. She went on a dive, deep underwater and met with the fishes. Unfortunately she had to cut the dive short because of a very bad headache. Bummer!

But she still got to do it and apparently it was amazing. I just snorkled. That was pretty good too.

So I flaked out on the diving. I also flaked out on the whole living in a hut thing. The mozzie bites were getting so bad and so numerous, I was starting to freak out. I had also managaed to get quite a bad sunburn. So I convinced Hulda to come and stay at a fancy resort with air conditioning and indoor bathrooms for a couple of nights. It was heaven! Totally worth the huge amount of money we paid for it. Oh well, we saved money by not taking the full diving course!

But we have checked out of the palace of loveliness and are on our way to another hut on the beach. I am hopeful that I will be able to avoid getting bitten there by using industrial strength insect repellent, long sleeved tops, long trousers and high socks. I may roast alive, but rather that than be eaten alive!

On our way to our new home on Lalomanu beach we are thinking of checking out Papasea Sliding Rock (a natural waterslide made from waterfall-polished rocks) and Piula Cave Pool (a cool freshwater pool in a cave). We also plan to enjoy the ride. Driving here is fun, although it must be done very slowly. The roads are full of wandering livestock, chickens, pigs, cows, horses, dogs and cats, as well as wildlife. Not to mention a lot of people walking along and supercute children playing. We don't mind going slow, though. The view is terriffic, beaches, waterfalls, jungle and all the lovely little houses and beautifully kept gardens. This place is serously attractive!

Sorry guys, no pictures this time. This internet cafe doesn't support downloading of photos.
We'll probably post a few when we get to New Zealand, though.

Until then, Mmmmwah!

Talofa!

Tvi midur verda engar myndir i tetta skiptid tvi netkaffid sem vid erum a nuna er bara asnalegt. Lofa ad setja inn fullt af myndum af Samoa naest.

Jaeja, sma frettir. Tetta byrjadi svona misvel hja okkur i Samoa. Daginn sem vid lentum for eg strax ad finna fyrir sarum brjostverkjum og halfgerdum ondunarordugleikum. Stod ekki alveg a sama en vildi bida adeins og sja hvad gerdist. Tegar einkennin versnudu bara akvad eg ad kikja til laeknis herna i Apia, vildi lata athuga surefnismettunina og kannski lata taka af mer hjartalinurit........var eiginlega farid ad gruna pericarditis. Hann sagdi mer hins vegar ad eini stadurinn tar sem vaeri haegt ad komast i surefnismettunarmaeli her vaeri inni a adgerdarstofu a spitalanum og lika ad eg yrdi ad fara a spitalann til ad fa rit! Nennti tvi ekki alveg, akvad ad trauka og byrja bara pericardit-medferd. Overdosadi af NSAID i 4 daga og var buin ad heyra i Sigrunu og bidja hana um ad fletta upp hvad eg aetti ad taka mikid af sterum ef eg tyrfti tess. A fjorda degi for eg svo ad kafa, og leid einhvernveginn betur a medan eg var ad kafa en fann aftur fyrir tessu tegar eg kom uppur, ta nott vaknadi eg bara einusinni svo til ad taka verkjalyf og svo er eg ordin alveg god nuna svo tad er ljomandi. Asta greyid er hins vegar oll utbitin og faer frekar ljot vidbrogd vid mossunum her, kladi kladi kladi.

Alla vega, fostudaginn 13.februar attum vid ad byrja kofunarnamskeidid en tegar vid maettum til Liquid Motion sagdi Vanessa okkur ad compressorinn tierra vaeri biladur svo ad hun gaeti ekki tekid okkur i kennslu. Hringdum nokkur simtol og gatum komid okkur ad i kofun a Aggie Greys sem var i 45 min fjarlaegd. Drifum okkur tangad og byrjudum ad laera. Asta komst fljotlega ad tvi ad henni likadi tetta ekki tegar vid vorum ad aefa okkur i sundlauginni og hun vildi ekki fara ad kafa. Eg dreif mig samt i eina kofun uti sjo og Asta snorkladi a medan. Tetta var alveg otrulega fallegt og spennandi en eg gat ekki alveg klarad kofunina tvi eg fekk massahausverk, for tvi bara uppur og komst svo ad tvi ad stuttu eftir ad eg for sau tau risastoran leopard-shark............oooooo.........jaeja bara naest. Kallinn a kofunarstadnum sagdi ad eg vari kannski med mikid dead-air space i hausnum og kannski sma sinusitis og tess vegna hefdi eg fengid hausverkinn, sumir fengju alltaf svona.............iss, hausinn minn er nu bara fullur af heila, ekki einhverju daudu loftplassi!!
Vid akvadum ad lata tetta bara duga i bili og eg get svo klarad namskeidid einhvern timann seinna en tad verdur buid ad skra a PADI siduna hvad eg er buin med.

Tegar her er komid vid sogu er Asta ordin ansi slaem af mossubitum og alltaf baetast ny vid tegar madur byr i strakofa a strondinni, hitinn gerir lika kladann verri svo vid akvadum ad tekka okkur inn a Aggie Greys i 2 naetur til ad leyfa Astu ad jafna sig adeins af bitunum i loftkaelingu og vera einhversstadar tad sem klosettid er inni hja manni tvi mossurnar na manni tegar madur fer ad pissa a nottunni. Kvoddum tvi Netina og Malae og bornin teirra 5 a Sina PJ og keyrdum aftur nordur. Tetta var voda luxus og er Asta nu heldur skarri svo i dag er ferdinni heitid a Lalumanu strondina tad sem vid munum aftur bua i strakofa vid strondina og enginn luxus i naestu 3 naetur. I tetta skiptid a Taufua Beach Fales.

Tratt fyrir sma veikindi og otaegindi ta baetir Samoa tad aldeilis upp med otrulegri fegurd og vinalegu folki.

Nokkrar stadreyndir um Samoa sem vid hofum komist ad:

Hamarkshradinn her er 55 km/klst en madur keyrir mjog oft bara a sama hrada og haenur hlaupa a.
Vid vegina eru fjolmargir fuglar, tar a medal einn mjog kjanalegur sem vid hofum kosid ad kalla frumskogarfasana, haensni ymis konar og litlir kjuklingar, svin og grislingar af ollum stardum og gerdum, fullt af hundum, folold og risanaut sem er betra ad sleppa vid ad keyra a.

Folkid gengur lika allt a vegunum a leid sinni milli torpa og hellingur af bornum a langri leid sinni i skolann.

Madur aetti ekki ad lata ser bregda tegar fyrsta folkid sem madur maetir a leid af flugvellinum er hellingur af ungum monnum vopnudum storum svedjum, teir eru likelega bara a leid ad skera nidur kokoshnetur eda ad fara ad sla grasid einhvers stadar (ja, teir nota svedjur til ad sla gras og hrifurnar eru eins konar strakustar)

Straetobilarnir her eru storkostlegir, i ollum regnbogans litum og bera nofn eins og Blessing, Jungle Boys, Poetry in Motion, Queen Poto, Ocean of Light, Trust me og Lady hittogtetta. Teir spyja hins vegar ut fullt af fulum svortum reyk svo tad er ekki gott ad keyra a eftir teim.

Folkid her er otrulega vinalegt og flestir tala ensku. Her eru lika allir ubersvalir sem sest helst tegar teir eru ad veifa manni tar sem madur ekur framhja teim. Folkid her er lika stridid og skemmtilegt.

Samoa er tad land i Sudur Kyrrahafi tar sem menn hafa hvad lengt og mest haldid i gamlar hefdir. Manni finnst tetta oft heldur frumstaett ad sja en her er mikill sjalfsturftarbuskapur og ollum virdist lida vel og hafa nog i sig og a.

Her er mjog stor hluti folksins yfir kjortyngd, teim finnst vist mikid steiktur og feitur matur vera obbosla godur.

Her er trumuvedur nanast a hverjum degi, alla vega a tessum arstima en okkur finnst tad kaerkomin tilbreyting fra svitahitanum og solinni.

Her eru allir voda duglegir ad halda gordum sinum fallegum og alls stadar mjog snyrtilegt i torpunum. islenskir gardaeiginedur aettu kannski ad taka Samoana ser til fyrirmyndar......reyndar kannski ekki jafn gott ad raekta garda upp heima eins og her.

Tad eru bara bensinstodvar a nordurstrondinni vid Apia, hofudborgina, svo madur skyldi alltaf passa sig ad eiga amk nog bensin i tanknum til ad komast tangad :)

Vid erum bunar ad sja svo margt snigugt, fallegt og skemmtilegt a runtum okkar um eyjun Upolu og erum ekki bunar enn. Nu a eftir aetlum vid ad fara ad fossum tad sem er haegt ad renna ser nidur i eins konar natturulegri rennibraut og svo aetlum vid lika ad fara ad synda i einhverjum hellalaugum adur en vid rullum a sudausturhornid. Eyjan er ekki mjog stor svo okkur finnst tad litid mal ad keyra hana tvera og endilanga oft og morgum sinnum.

Erum alla vega nokkud spraekar nuna og til i naestu aevintyri. Bloggum aftur tegar vid komum til Nyja Sjalands og setjum ta inn helling af myndum af Samoa.

Tangad til naest....

föstudagur, febrúar 13, 2009

In Paradise...

... pretty much. If it weren't for the mozzies.

So where were we, San Francicso, yes? Well, so we hung out there a little more, went to Alcatraz (the audio tour is really good), Mission (cool murals), Castro (gay folk) and Japantown (Japanese stuff). Ate loads of good food and drank a few beers. After said beers, we ran into a roaming musician named Elvis. No joke, his name is actually Elvis, we saw his I.D. He needed to get down to San Diego and since we were on our way to LA the next morning we offered him a ride with us.

We were pretty surprised to find him waiting for us at the car rental place the next morning. We hadn't really expected him to show up. And so began a California raod trip with Elvis in the back seat! He turned out to be a really nice guy, although extremely talkative and, due to his smoking, rather repetetive. Anyway, we cruised down Highway one and took in the amazing scenery. When we stopped in Carmel (where Clint Eastwood is tha mayor) for lunch, our waiter Donovan turned out to be an old friend of Elvis' that he hadn't seen or heard from in almost 15 years. A most random encounter!

So the ride to LA took us 2 days, with a night in San Luis Obispo. Almost the whole route is absolutely gorgeous and we saw elephant seals, flamingoes, deer and what have you on the way. We didn't really check out much of LA, just Santa Monica and Lincoln Boulevard (an exceptionally uninteresting road that goes from Santa Monica to LAX).

After a long overnight flight we arrived sleepy but happy in sunny Samoa. So far, we've driven around half of the island of Upolu and we like what we see. It is very pretty here. We live in a hut on the beach. We are fed fruit for breakfast and coconut fish curry for dinner. We have befriended a little cat. Tomorrow we start our scuba diving course. I hope we find scuba diving enjoyable.

Photos:
Hulda fooling around in front of a mural in Mission
Asta watching the Chinese New Years Parade in Chinatown
Elvis plays guitar
Asta on Alcatraz Island, San Francisco in the distance
Hulda in solitary isolation, where she belongs
By Greyhound Rock off Highway 1
Asta by Santa Monica Pier
Our house
Our view
Our beach
Having lunch in Coconut Beach Club
Beatiful waterfall in the mountains

Kisses!

Road trip med Elvis............og yfir Kyrrahafid til Samoa

Hallo hallo.

Margt hefur a daga okkar drifid fra tvi vid bloggudum sidast. Vid heldum afram ad skoda okkur um i hinni storfenglegu San Francisco, heimsottum Castro, Mission og Japantown - hverfin, forum til Alcatraz og doludum okkur vid eitt og annad. Fylgdumst lika med skrudgongu tvi tad var verid ad fanga kinversku nyari. Eitt kvoldid satum vid ad sumbli a Columbus og tar nalgadist okkur madur sem vildi fa ad spila fyrir okkur a gitar. Vid leyfdum honum tad og spjolludum soldid vid hann, komumst ad tvi ad hann heitir Elvis (eg fekk ad sja skilrikin hans) og lifir a tvi ad flakka um og spila a gitar, og ja hann
er pothead.
Hann for svo ad spila annars stadar en kom svo aftur um klukkustund sidar og sagdi okkur ad farid sem hann hafdi haft til San Diego daginn eftir hefdi klikkad og spurdi hvort ad vaeri sens ad hann fengi ad sita i hja okkur til L.A. Okkur fannst tad nu i lagi og sogdum honum ad hitta okkur kl 9 tann 9.februar a bilaleigunni. Tar beid hann svo blessadur tegar vid maettum morguninn eftir og var med aleigu sina med ser, 2 gitara og litla flugfreyjutosku med einhverjum pjotlum i. Vid komumst fljotlega ad tvi ad Elvis er heldur malgladur madur sem hefur vida farid og marga fjoruna sopid........og nu vitum vid aevisogu hans tvi hann sagdi okkur hana......og sumt sagdi hann okkur oftar en einu sinni. Eg held ad hann se kannski pinulitid heilaskemmdur eftir alla neysluna tvi enginn edlilegur 35 ara madur endurtekur sig svona oft. Hann var nu reyndar halffredinn allann timann tvi i hvert skipti sem vid stoppudum eitthvad ta fekk hann ser soldid i haus :)

Vid runtudum sudur eftir tjodvegi 1 eda pacific coast highway sem hann er lika kalladur, stoppudum i borgum og baejum a leidinni og nutum utsynisins. Raudi Chevrolettinn stilltur a cruise control, ipodinn ploggadur i samband og vid hlustudum a prydis ferdamusik a medan Elvis maladi :) Stoppudum eina nott i San Luis Obispa a moteli (keyrdum Elvis a hostel tvi eg vildi ekki leyfa honum ad sofa i bilnum) og keyrdum svo til L.A naesta dag. Settum Elvis ut i Santa Monica og komum okkur svo bara a flugvollinn eftir sma rolt i Santa Monica og kaffisopa. LAX svaedid er massift, tad tok okkur oratima ad koma okkur a bensinstod og ad skila bilnum. Velin okkar lagdi svo af stad rumlega tiu um kvoldid til Apia a Samoa.

(Myndir her ad ofan....1 Hulda ad fiflast i veggmyndunum i Mission. 2 Asta ad fylgjast med Chiese new year parade. 3 ELVIS)

Asta a Alcatraz


Buid ad stinga Huldu i einangrun


Vid Greyhound Rock einhversstadar vid Pacific Coast Higway

Asta vid Santa Monica Pier

A Samoa tok a moti okkur loftslag sem er soldid mikid frabrugdid tvi sem vid eigum ad venjast. Heitt og rakt. Fengum litla Hyndai Getzinn okkar a flugvellinum og keyrdum af stad i leit ad strakofanum okkar. Almattugur hvad tad er fallegt herna, ekki likt neinu sem madur hefur adur sed. Fundum Sina PJ og fengum kofann okkar sem er vel stadsettur a strondinni, frabaert utsyni! Allt mjog basic, engin aukataegindi en alveg frabaert. Faum heimaeldadan kvoldmat og morgunmat a hverjum degi og tad er vel passad upp a mann.
Helv..... moskitoflugurnar eru strax bunar ad na okkur og for Asta heldur verr utur tvi en eg, taer eru rosalegar flugurnar her, hlussublodsugur.
I dag erum vid svo bunar ad vera ad keyra um og lita i kringum okkur, forum til Apia og keyptum turbo flugnafaeluspray og a morgun byrjar kofunarnamskeidid okkar.

Kofinn sem vid buum i her a Samoa

Utsynid ur kofanum okkar, vid tetta voknum vid a morgnana.

Strondin okkar


Asta a Coconuts Beach Club

Fagur fagur foss a Upolu

Samoa er mjog sertakur stadur og margt mjog spes vid samfelagid her og lifnadarhaetti folks, umfram allt eru to allir mjog vinalegir her. Enginn ad flyta ser og allir ubersvalir! List vel a tetta:)

Bidjum kaerlega ad heilsa. Yfir og ut.

sunnudagur, febrúar 08, 2009

Asta's and Hulda's landmark recognition and word quiz, Nr.1 and 2

Put the pictures together and try to figure out a word, words or saying that makes sense. Post your answers as comments and remember to sign.

Quiz nr.1:







+







Quiz nr.2:










+







The contestant with the most correct answers at the end of our trip may get a prize.......Happy guessing!!!

föstudagur, febrúar 06, 2009

We made it

We're in San Franscio, finally. We like it here, the natives seem friendly and the city is both beautiful and interesting. I can report that it takes about 45 minutes to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and during the walk one is offered many opportunities to call a crisis councelling hotline. Good, eh? I have also learned that the Cheesecake Factory in Macy's on Union Square gives you amazingly tasty bread for free! A good tip for these credit-crunchy times. Another finance tip; do not let pushy salesmen bully you into buying expensive gadgets under the pretense that they are giving you an "amazing deal". I had a narrow escape from a salesman yesterday and having googled the item he was trying to sell me, I can tell you that it was severely overpriced. I am ashamed to admit thet he almost got the better of me, I am a bit of a pushover sometimes.

Anyhoo, enough of that! We have generally been having a lovely time, touring the city on both foot and double decker tourist bus. There are a couple of areas we have yet to explore, but hopefully we will set out to new places today, weather permitting.

Speaking of weather, I have noticed a disturbing trend. We arrive to a new place. The weather is lovely. We stay a while. The weather gets worse. I wonder if this will continue once we get to the tropics. Will we cause monsoons? Hurricanes? Are we that powerful forces of nature? Yes, we probably are!

Please look at the post below for pictures of our trip so far (yes, the one in foreign). The pictures feature:
A sign, read it yourself.
Groovy murals on a house in North Beach.
Pretty pastel houses.
Six Sisters, or Painted Ladies.
Hulda is afraid of being sent to Alcatraz.
Asta by Lombard Street.
Asta enjoying the view from Alamo Square.
Us on Golden Gate Bridge.
Hulda on Filbert Street, fooling about on the 31.5 degree incline.

If you're going to San Francisco......

...koddu ta og hittu okkur Astu i pintu. Ja tad er rett, vid komumst loks til fyrirheitna landsins. Til borgarinnar tar sem skilti sem tessi eru naudsynleg tvi allar brekkur eru svo helv.... brattar ad miklar skemmdir geta ordid ef madur passar sig ekki tegar madur er ad leggja bilnum. Flugferdin gekk ljomandi vel, vid vorum adallega svo rosalega fegnar tvi ad komast loks af stad, en tott otrulegt megi virdast ta var velin alls ekki full og vid fengum eina 4 saeta rod utaf fyrir okkur.

Vedrid var yndislegt her tegar vid komum, hlytt og solskin og vid roltum heilmikid um borgina fyrsta daginn. Sidan hafa skipst a skin og skurir og nu er eiginlega bara rigning, tvi eru Californiubuar hins vegar mjog fegnir tvi tad hefur verid turrkur i gangi her.



Vid hofum nu tegar nad ad gera otrulega margt i tessari skemmtilegu borg og hofum heimsott flest oll hverfin nema Japantown og Misson & Castro en tangad aetlum vid seinna i dag. Husin her eru storkostleg, mjog litrik en to gjarnan i pastellitum...bleik og lilla og svoleidis, oft mikid skreytt og med turnum og bogagluggum og odru finerii.

Vid hofum runtad heilmikid her um og gengid alika mikid. Gengid upp brottustu gotuna her i borg sem er i 31,5 gradu halla, tad voru nu barasta engin atok tvi vid vorum med svo mikinn fiflagang i myndatokunum. Rolt heilmikid um Fisherman's Wharf og rakumst loks a vin hennar Gudrunar vinkonu, runnamanninn! Heyrdum reyndar adra fyndari sogu af teim maeta manni sem vid turfum ad segja ter Gudrun tegar vid komum heim. Vid hofum baedi keyrt yfir og gengid yfir Gullna hlids bruna, bunar ad finna The Cheesecake Factory.........mmmmm, og eg veit ekki hvad og hvad. Nenni nu ekki ad vera her ad telja upp hvert okkar skref enda ekkert skemmtilegt fyrir ykkur ad lesa tad. Vid erum amk i mjog godum filing, allt gengur vel og vid skemmtum okkur konunglega. Nu a eftir er stefnan tekin a bilaleigusvaedid ad reyna ad finna besta dilinn, en vid hyggjumst leigja okkur bil og leggja af stad akandi til L.A. a manudaginn. Tadan eigum vid svo flug til Samoa a tridjudagskvoldid. Bidjum ad heilsa ollum og vonum ad lifid se gott hja ykkur lika. Laet her fylgja nokkar myndir i lokin.

p.s. siminn minn er rafmagnslaus og eg nennti ekki ad hafa med mer straumbreyti svo hann verdur ekki hladinn fyrr en um midja naestu viku.
Alcatraz i baksyn.Asta vid botn hlykkjotta hluta Lombard Street

Asta a Alamo Square tar sem faest gott utsyni yfir borgina og tar eru lika "the six sisters" eda "the painted ladies" husin sex sem sjast a mynd her ofar i faerslunni Vid ad ganga yfir Golden Gate bruna








Eg a Filbert Street, brottustu gotunni i San Francisco, tad er allt skakkt!

þriðjudagur, febrúar 03, 2009

Hopefully...

... we will be going to San Francisco today. Yeasterday our flight was cancelled due to the snow and we ended up staying the night in the oh so swanky Rennaissance Hotel. It was pretty ok, actually. After we had gotten over the inital disappointment we checked into our room, got into our robes and slippers and had a lovely time mocking the English incompetence when it comes to snow. Our time here in London has been lovely, but now it is time to leave for warmer climes, fingers crossed that we will get there today.

Ef thu ert hissa a enskunni, ekki hafa ahyggjur, bloggid er bara ordid tvityngt!

mánudagur, febrúar 02, 2009

Fall er fararheill.......

.....ehemm, veit vid lofudum ad naesta bloggfaersla yrdi fra USA.....en vid bara komumst ekki tangad. Voktum lengi i gaerkvoldi og ahyggjurnar mognudust med hverju snjokorninu. Eldsnemma i morgun komumst vid ad tvi ad vid yrdum ad taka leigubil tvi straeto var ekki ad ganga og tuban i vandraedum lika vegna snjosins. A leidinni i bilnum sagdi bilstjorinn okkur ad allir flugvellir i London vaeru lokadir, tad hefdi ekkert upp a sig ad fara a vollinn en vid badum hann vinsamlegast um ad koma okkur a Heathrow samt, vildum fa ad heyra tad fra flugvallarstaffi ad ekki yrdi flogid. Komum a Heathrow og allt i godu, ekki buid ad tilkynna um seinkun eda cancel a okkar flugi, velar ad fara i loftid a fullu og vid tjekkudum okkur inn. Fengum okkur bita og stordum a skjainn sem engar upplysingar gaf um ad ekki vaeri i lagi, bidum bara eftir gate-numeri. Sa reyndar ad flugi til Miami hafdi verid cancellerad og fekk sma hnut i magann en ta benti Asta a annad flug til USA sem var ad fara. Bidum, bidum, sma sudoku og krossgata og litum upp a skjainn reglulega tangad til eg sa tad...............San Francisco VS19.........CANCELLED!!! O nei, ekki gaman. Forum til ad fa upplysingar hja konu sem var bara asnaleg og vissi ekkert og akvadum ad skipta lidi til ad bestar likur vaeru a ad vid fengjum bokad annad flug. Ninjastrategy tid skiljid.............smart like NINJA! Hulda for ad na i toskur sem var nattrulega buid ad koma fyrir um bord i flugvelinni og Asta hljop ut med baedi vegabrefin og fann Virgin Atlantic deskid. Eftri langa bid eftir toskum for eg fram og leitadi ad Astu, vei vei vei henni tokst ad fa saeti fyrir okkur i velinni a morgun. Hun hafdi ta komist ad tvi ad flugvel hafdi skautad utaf flugbrautinni skommu adur og tvi verid ad aflysa ollum flugum um sinn. Gott vid drifum okkur nidur tvi tad er alls ovist ad vid hefdum fengid saeti um bord i velinni a morgun hefdum vid bedid lengur tvi velin i dag var alveg fullbokud.

Hvad nu, allt lamad i Englandi utaf "EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS"............MINN RASS!!!! Ju ju vissulega mikill snjor en eftir tvi sem madur sa i frettum voru gotur ordnar audar en enginn straeto gekk og faar lestir, leigubilar lengi a leidinni, long bid eftir teim og umferdarteppur vida. Annad flug eldsnemma i fyrramalid. Ta var bara eitt i stodunni.......flugvallarhotel! I stad tess ad reyna ad ferdast aftur a Kingsland road, sem vid vitum ekki hvad hefdi tekid langan tima eda gengid vel tekkudum vid okkur inn a Rennaissance hotelid sem er her i nokkura min fjarlaegd fra hotelinu. Storflott breskt eighties hotel......picture it in your minds. Beint i sloppinn og inniskona sem fylgdu herberginu og undir saeng. Kiktum a frettir og hlogum, tad er alveg hreint otrulegt hvad allt lamast her ef snjoar sma. Eg meina tad er ekki eins og hafi verid stormur! En teir eru vist ekki undir tetta bunir, enginn a vetrardekkjum, engir saltarar eda sandarar eda rydjarar. Mesta snjokoma i Englandi i 18 ar, voda fallegt, voda heimilislegt, voda mikid bogg. Hundrudir skola lokadir, almenningssamgongur liggja alveg nidri (tratt fyrir audar gotur nota bene) milli 200 og 300 flugum verid aflyst og hvad og hvad. Folk ad senda sms i frettirnar um hve marga cm af snjo teir hafa heima hja ser og senda myndir af SNJO! sem eru svo syndar i frettatimanum....pinu fyndid. Folk her meira ad segja gengur um med plastpoka utan um skona sina, ahaaaaa......eiga bara eftir ad detta a hausinn, eg meina folk her gengur um i hellirigningu a skonum an plastpoka, tad er bara eins og folk viti ekki hvad snjor er!

En sem betur fer vorum vid tvaer saman, hefdi ekki verid gaman ad standa i tessu einn, okkur finnst tetta bara fyndid nuna to vid hofum verid soldid svekktar i morgun. Tetta er vist bara hluti af aevintyrinu, alltaf tarf vist eitthvad ad fara urskeidis a svona ferdalogum og best ad koma tvi bara fra sem fyrst. Tad er eins og sagt er.........fall er fararheill!

sunnudagur, febrúar 01, 2009

Leikhus i Londres

I gaer fengum vid Asta afmaelisgjafir, eina pinu sidbuna og hina mjog snemmbuna en afmaelisdagar okkar marka svona nokkurn veginn (innan nokkura vikmarka) upphaf og endi tessa ferdalags okkar. Asta 25.jan og eg 23.april. Afmaelisgjafirnar voru bod i leikhus fra Osk og Toby. Tau aetludu i fyrstu ad koma med okkur og valid a stykkinu var byggt a tvi ad tegar Osk var tiltolulega nyflutt til London hitti hun mommu og pabba her. Pabbi var storhneyksladur a henni ad hafa ekki verid buin ad fara i leikhus i Lundunaborg og sagdi henni ad ef hun aetladi ad sja eitthvad ta aetti hun alla vega ad fara og sja The Woman In Black. Hun hefur ekki ennta farid ad sja tad og sokum oroleika litla pungs sidustu kvold akvadu hjonaleysin ad vera heima i garkvoldi og senda okkur systur i leikhus svo hun verdur ad finna annad taekifaeri. Vid systur erum nu bunar ad vera halflumbrulegar, Asta med kvef og eg med einhverja pest sem eg er viss um ad min astkaera fraenka Osk hefur smitad mig af. Kuldinn i London tessa dagana er lika ekkert edlilegur...................madur naer andast vid tad eitt ad ganga i straeto. En vid drifum okkur i leikhusid (ekki likhusid eins og eg skrifadi fyrst) i skitakuldanum tvi vid erum ju menningartyrstar ungar konur og tad er ekki haegt ad segja annad en ad tad hafi hresst okkur heldur betur vid. Hjartslatturinn a fullu a stundum, svo daudbra manni og Asta oskradi meira ad segja. Hun var samt buin ad fara ad sja tetta sama stykki i tessu sama leikhusi adur en tad var fyrir um 13 arum sidan. Einhverra hluta vegna fannst okkur ekki alveg jafn kalt tegar vid lobbudum i straeto til ad koma okkur aftur heim eftir leikhusid, kerfid sjalfsagt verid a fullu i kroppnum og haldid a manni hita :) Maelum med svartklaeddu konunni i London, hun er vodalega creepy og ohugguleg eitthvad en samt eitthvad svo skemmtileg og madur kemur endurnaerdur..........og pinu hraeddur......ut ur leikhusinu.

Magga kom til London i gaer en hun fer a Heatrow i dag ad taka a moti yngsta barninu Bryndisi sem hefur verid i Japan sem skiptinemi i taept ar. Gaman ad na ad hitta hana adeins to se ekki nema i einn dag en vid systur turfum vist ad koma okkur ut a Heathrow eldsnemma i fyrramalid tvi a morgun aetlum vid ad heimsaekja Heilagan Franciscus. Asta hefur verid ad athuga adstaedur tar med hjalp veraldarvefsins og tar ku vera um 20 stiga hiti og sol.......uff, hvad verdur gott ad komast ur kuldanum her brrrrrrr.

Latum naest i okkur heyra fra USA.