Edge Of Scotland

Up again, above out sphagnum-grey skies, heading for that fabled destination, Iceland! My wife had to head there on business so we decided to make it a part-holiday.

I don't care for flying, but a bit of vertiginous fear is a small price for the view. So I got slightly buzzed on G and T, then out of my head on the clouds and their lovely pibald shadows on the sea. The above pic is when we finally headed out of the Brit Isles and into the stretch of open sea. Here's some more of them. First from ABOVE IRELAND, then THE EDGE OF ICELAND then volcanic chocolate and turnip coloured INTERIOR, with those wonderful snow signatures.

First impressions: the rough terrain on the long drive from the airport reminded me of the Canary Islands, another volcanic landscape. But this was different: the backdrop of flat-topped, snow-covered basalts and the lack of heat. Apparently the first people to visit these shores around the 8th Century, were Irish monks, those intrepid, hardy little buggers. then the Norsemen of course, who settled in and killed or made slaves of whatever monks were left.

Secondary impressions: The weather is very bright and quite cold; apparently the average never gets higher than 10.5. Is it the cold conditions and poor soil that are responsible for so much of the grass looking burnt-out and yellowed? And I wonder why so many of the buildings (including this posh Radisson Hotel) look a bit shabby and worse for wear. I presume it is a combination of things (the summer thaw, relentlessly bright sun, general weathering...). Last night we ate in a lovely intimate little restaurant across the river near the large pale, Lutheran cathedral that looks like a stylised stalagmite. This WINDOW that I photographed nearby is a little bit shabbier than most, but not hugely so.

My wife is waiting downstairs to head for the geothermally heated pool. More later.