Out with a BANG (day 11)

The day started like all others; Peter, Eva, Andrea and I had reserved a whale watching trip but after the Westman Islands Alex and Alex could not handle another boat. We got to the harbour, found the boat and looked around in the gift shop and they had a video playing downstairs about Keiko, fisheries and other animals in the area so we sat to watch. There were about 9 of us watching the video, keeping an eye on the time I thought we should go upstairs. Two others followed us out just to see the boat pulling away! The women that worked there forgot to announce the departure and didn’t check the museum/shop! The boat came back and she went to fetch the others down below. How pissed would we have been! Last chance to go whale watching and we miss the boat because they didn’t announce it! Anyways we got on and all was fine. The first thing that was said was something along the lines if anyone is feeling sick go outside and I hope you have all taken a seasickness pill! I was so happy Alex and Alex decided not to join because at this point they would have been either wanting to kill us, or swimming back to shore. The waves were so high and rough in a small boat it was crazy, 3 hour roller-coaster ride as I was calling it. As we got further out they announced that it was time to go up on deck and see if we could stop the whales. Almost right away we saw harbour porpoises that are said to be a shy animal but this group out of character was very playful and interested in us. Shortly after seeing them we saw a tail break the surface... it was a Minky whale, they are know to just appear and go away for long periods of time. There travel pattern is unlike all other whales and they do not maintain a straight path but they chris-cross around. The girl said that we likely wouldn’t see it again but the whale came up about 3-4 more times. Then we saw something jumping and speeding under the boat. Dolphins! So within a three hour tour we saw three species it was a good trip. And although the waves were so violent we could not even walk from one side of the boat to the other without hanging on to something no one was sick! I would call that a successful trip. Alex and Alex met us at the harbour along with one of our roommates Stienn who was visiting his family in Reykjavik, we had planned to spend the rest of the day at the Blue Lagoon and Stienn was going to join. We set off out of the city toward another area of hot mud pots that is famous for the opal colouring in the muck. We found the area and looked around. The colours were not as drasticly bright as seen in my lonely planet book but still very nice. Now on to the Blue Lagoon (which if you don’t know is another natural spring, very popular) the water is filled with natural minerals that nourish the skin much like Myvatn. The roads in Iceland are not the best ever and can be very dangerous if not driven with caution. But, it only takes a second for even the most experienced driver to lose control, so for the inexperienced even less. As we took the corning I knew right away Alex had lost it. He wasn’t going to fast but maybe faster than he could handle, we began to fishtail. I thought at one point in between the screaming that he was going to pull it back but nope! Just then we went off the road and slammed sideways (my side) into the grassy/rocky field. Alex had a box of food in the back seat which flew all over us, I looked down and had dried dates all over me! I looked down the road at the car of my friends as they slammed their brakes and came running up the road. I think they were more frightened then us. I couldn’t open my door and had to climb out the window. The other Andrea stayed in the car while the rest of us checked out the damage. The car was missing a few parts, broken bumper and a lot of scratches on the sides. But, we were able to move it back on to the road and it was still running, that’s a plus! As the boys called Budget I read through the insurance policy. Of course we had coverage but not fully, we declined as most do the extra coverage, stupid never say no to that people reading this. It is really only a few extra bucks and saves you from even thinking about this stuff! They told us to drive back to the city and that we could settle it there. So, Alex, Stienn and I set off to budget, Peter and Andrea had to catch their flight back to the Czech Republic so Eva and other Alex dropped them and came to meet us later. When we arrived the women took photos of the car, we gave her all the parts of the car that no longer were attached to the car... and she told us that it would cost 80,000 kr. Which equals about $1400 Canadian! Between 6 of us (which we established before the trip would be the plan, any cost are split between all of us) was around $240 Canadian. The cost had to be paid right away though and we couldn’t get Eva on her cell. So I used the trust internet banking system and transferred money onto my visa and got another 1400 areoplan points! The women said it happens a lot with rentals. Alex felt and still feels really bad but when we look back, everyone is okay, and it is just money! We laughed a lot at the car rental because there was nothing else to do, laugh or cry! They said they would give us a new car but because we would be leaving 2 passengers in Reykjavik we declined it and decided to just drive one car back to Akureyri. It was about 6pm when we finally got on the road out of the city, heading the 400 km back to Akureyri and our own beds. We arrived home around midnight... so happy to be back; but with many, many fun stories and experiences. Traveling around Iceland is an amazing thing. But drive safe! Ha ha ha # - Andrea Merschilz - 5/9/07; 12:09:42 PM -

The Golden Triangle (day 10)

We left Hella (pronounced Hetla) first thing in the morning and headed towards Reykjavik to what is known as the "Golden Triangle"; the Alþing Parliament Buildings, Gullfoss, and the famous Geyser. First, we went to Gullfoss, one of the major and most commonly visited waterfalls by tourist in the area. It was freezing out and raining and really packed with people. Since the area is so close to Reykjavik tour buses come there continuously, we were totally not use to seeing this many people. So we were really not to excited stay long. The highlight of this stop was Alex (Russian) who thought he was from Siberia and therefore, didn’t need a coat! Dummy! He was shaking and cold and just looked at the falls, yelled I am from Siberia! And ran back to the car. I personally was getting a bit bored of waterfalls and in comparison to some of the ones we had seen on the trip it was not all that thrilling. Pretty but not top of my list of things to see in Iceland. Next, we moved on to the geyser. Everyone had been looking forward to seeing the geyser they just look so amazing on the postcards. The main geyser goes off every 10-12 minutes so there was a ton of people standing around with there cameras at their eyes just waiting. Once is goes off it is so fast it is very hard to take a photo plus you want to get a look at it without a camera in your face. I managed to get a great picture and could spend my time looking around and not concentrating on my camera. The temperatures of the geyser’s reach over 100 degrees and apparently every year some tourist gets burned by crossing the line and getting to close to the steam. Anyways there are multiple smaller geysers around the site and some that have burned out and are pretty colours and still steaming and bubbling. We skipped the Alþing because we were running short of time and needed to get into the city before dark. Alex is NOT a good driver so getting into the city was a bit stressful. I had to be the eyes and navigator which worked out okay actually. Alex was stressed but we found the hostel with little trouble and no accidents. We found the rooms (dorm style) and went to look around Reykjavik. I honestly don’t care for the city, it is nice but it is a city... I am a small town gal through and through! We went up to a famous lookout point and took some photos of the city and drove to the waterfront and walked around the harbour front. Everyone was getting tired and cold, because as normal in Iceland in the spring it was raining so we returned to the hostel for an early night. Tomorrow would be the last day of the trip and everyone was feeling a mixture of sadness and happiness to be home again. Travelling is the best thing ever, but returning to your home is always a great thing too. # - Andrea Merschilz - 5/9/07; 11:13:16 AM -

The Rest of the Westman Islands (day 9)

In the morning the boys were still not feeling that great, I think a lot of it had to do with the dread of getting on the ferry again at 4pm. But, they sucked it up and came on the hike. We wanted to walk up the crater which is now an inactive volcano and then up the currently active volcano and newest mountain Eldfell. When we started up we all realized how tired we were and decided just to do Eldfell, this volcano is still steaming in spots and you can actually bake bread on it. We found some hot spots but didn’t have any dough... The climb to the top was a little rough, the rocks are unstable and each step has to be planned because if you slide or miss the trail there is nothing stopping you from sliding into the crater. But we made it up without any troubles. (We sent Sashka first to test it). The top was amazing, the view over the whole city and island was really nice and we could even see the mainland of Iceland. It was a beautiful and sunny day which is said to be rare on the Westman Islands... it rained spontaneously for a few minutes but as they say if you don’t like the weather wait 5 minutes. Anyways the colours in the rock are impossible to describe and photos cannot do them justice really. We spent a long time on the top just looking at the lava rocks and trying to spot traces of the buried homes under neither the lava. The women at the guesthouse told us about a hidden cave in the lava but we couldn’t find it. She said you will just see a hole and you have to crawl through and it opens up into a lava cave. We couldn’t find it and I actually think we were on the wrong end of the island looking... oh well it would have been cool though. We didn’t have a lot of time to spend here but we got to see all the tourist points that we wanted to before having to catch the ferry back to the main land. Alex and Alex where pretty upset about going back (again the fear) and they couldn’t understand why the ferry travelled so far down the coast to port when the mainland was so close... anything to complain about the ferry. We went down to the harbour and the boys were able to buy their tickets to paradise as they like to call them, the beds in the lower part of the ship. We wished them luck and moved back to the second floor seating. This time I found a bench and put on some Ani Difranco and fell fast asleep. I woke up once, rolled over and fell asleep again. The next thing I knew I could hear Alex and Alex’s voices and they were HAPPY!!! The lower bunks were worth the money no sickness. Which was lucky for us too because they are both the drivers so if they couldn’t drive we were hooped. This was now a Saturday night and pretty close to Reykjavik so we were having a hard time finding a place to sleep. We found one location but it would have been the most expensive accommodation on the trip. We agreed but as we drove there we realized it would be worth it to drive a few extra kilometres back to the same place in Hella (cheapest accommodation we found) so I called and reserved a cabin. With the money we saved we were able to afford to go out for dinner. Well does KFC count as going out? Either way it was a treat, I have only eaten out 2 times since leaving Canada! # - Andrea Merschilz - 5/1/07; 12:34:40 PM -

14 Day count is on!

The past 4 days have been amazing! It has been between 17-20 degrees and the days are getting longer and longer everyday. It makes it hard to get excited to leave. But, I am! I have had a great time here, school has been a bit of a break compared to the stress of university at home, and I have enjoyed meeting people from all over the world, and hearing about the differences in north american culture and that of "eastern" Europe... the Czech's hate to be called Eastern they also hate being called Czechoslovakia! I have learned so much in the past 4 months and not just about Iceland as I thought. I will keep posting the details of my trip and tomorrow is May 1 which means I get to post photos again!!! I can't wait to write about day 11.... anticipation folks. I finished my last essay yesterday, write an exam on Thursday and that leaves me just Icelandic Culture, which is a fun class... we are going on a field trip this coming Saturday. I have a few stops I still plan to see so the next 2 weeks may be busy. I will keep everyone posted.      # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/30/07; 10:24:18 AM -

Vestmannaeyjar or Westman Islands (day 8)

This was the location I had been really looking forward to seeing and due to time we didn’t think we could manage it. But, with the boys agreeing to drive back to Akureyri late at night we could gain an extra day... therefore, I got to go to Vestmannaeyjar. So to get to the islands you have to take a 3 hour ferry ride through the ocean. The waves are big one any given day but we happened to be going on a very rough day. I know my body and motion so as soon as the boat started to move and we started to rock back and forth I put my head on the table and tried to sleep. I suggested everyone else do the same but, oh course Alex and Alex didn’t listen and went to run around on the top deck (worse place to be) After about 45 minutes of travel, I lifted my head and saw Eva laughing. She said, I know it is mean but Alex (Belgium) is sick, we all laughed at him, but feared that anyone of us might be next. This was serious motion, it was like a 3 hour roller-coaster ride. I put my head back down and fell asleep, Alex (Russian) was sitting beside me when I closed my eyes. When I woke up again he was gone. I asked Andrea what happened to him and she said he stood up with his hand over his mouth. The ship claimed one more... this was 1 hour in, 2 more to go! We didn’t see either boy again until port. Alex (Russia) walked up to the table and yelled "do not ask where I have been or what I have been doing!" and turned and walked off the ship. The rest of us felt fine so we gathered the stuff and got off the ferry. Now the Westman Islands may need a bit of an introduction. This area is very active with volcanos. In 1973 the town was almost destroyed due to an eruption of Eldfell. The town actually grew in size from the lava and there are still about 300 homes encased in the lava rock. Eldfell is known as the newest mountain in Europe. The rest of the island was formed about 5000 years ago by another volcano that came out of the sea. So in short the whole island is one big meshing of lava fields. It is really cool. This is also the spot that the famous "free Willy" killer whale Keiko was captured and eventually re-trained and released into the wild. They trained Keiko but after the 20 years of living in captivity he was never fully able to live in the wild. Keiko moved from one group of whales to the next and he was found in Norway with a serious infection and died just 3 years after his release. Poor Keiko, the thought to release him was nice but I suppose the reality is he had been hand fed his whole life and hunting was just not in him! Okay back to Alex and Alex! Russian, was in bad shape, we got to the hostel and he climbed into bed and didn’t move again until morning. We all felt bad but we couldn’t waste time on this historical and amazing island so we left him and went to explore the old coastline. Alex (Belgium) attempted to come with us but didn’t make it far before having to turn back and go to bed. We found an area of jet black lava stone, as we walked further along the coast we realized we were on a golf course. This area was the 5000 year old lava, it lead into a small cave that the ocean came into. So of course we went in, it was the beginning of high tide so we were unable to stay long the sound to the ocean as it entered the cave was like a rushing subway. At this point the ferry was a distant memory.... but the boys felt very different they wanted to buy plane tickets back to the mainland. That night the women that owned the guesthouse stopped by, we were the only ones staying there this night so she just came to see how we were. She was a German women that fell in love with Iceland 30 years ago and had not left. Her husband stayed on the island during the eruption and helped to save many of the homes from caving in under the weight of volcanic ash. She had many amazing stories to tell about both Keiko and the volcano there was even a letter from Hilary Clinton on the kitchen wall. She told us we were about 2 weeks early for the return of the puffins which really disappointed Eva and her sister. She also told Alex and Alex that for 500kr they could use a room in the bottom of the boat that had little cabin/beds. Sleeping and staying still is the best thing to do and the bottom of the ferry moves less so this was the key to survival of the Westman Island ferry ride! We had a lot that we wanted to see the next day and the boys were still ill so we had an early night. # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/30/07; 10:01:41 AM -

Svartifoss, Núpsstaður farm and Hella (day 7)

After yesterdays crazy physical activities I was worried that I would be in pain for this day but I was shockingly fine. We had another hike we wanted to do in the national park and than a long drive to Hella. The hike was short only 3.5km up to the top of a waterfall. It was actually a pretty boring hike we were getting pretty sick of waterfalls at this point... just to many plus it was in a national park so all the trails were well established with board walks. We are all more the off trail hikers. We drove on to Núpsstaður which is an old grass church and settlement. This was one of my favourite places I love all the old style traditional homes. The church was so small I couldn’t even imagine people attending their weekly services in there. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed the short time there. We had to push on because one of the rental cars had a burnt out headlight and we were going to get it replaced. When we got there we ended up having to wait about an hour for the guy to arrive, luckily the changing of a headlight didn’t take to much time and we drove onto this area where the seals congregate. The weather wasn’t very good at this point so the seals were all out to sea. We were standing at the age of the Atlantic Ocean and all of a sudden a big wave came in and I was soaked up to my waist. It was pretty funny but it still sucked. I had big piles of black sand in my shoes and I was wearing jeans which take forever to dry. I changed into new nice dry pants and took of my socks and shoes. We kept driving, this area is really interesting and it sort of reminded me of the Great Ocean Road in Australia. The rock forms and coast lines are very much the same. So Eva realized that this look out point that we thought was on an island was actually just the very tip of the mainland. The road sign wasn’t marked with an F which means four wheel drive only so we started down it... not a good idea. There were multiple hairpin turns and really rough road! We realized that there was no way the cars could make it and yet again here I am outside directing two more 9 point-turns. Alex was the first one and he headed down the hill a bit, that it was Sashka’s turn... he made it slowly but surely however it started to hail like CRAZY and yet again within the span of 30 minutes I was soaking wet again! We got the car turned around and realized that a big bus was coming up the hill towards us. We barely fit by each other... for sure a tight call. Because of the limited space for luggage in the cars, I only had two pairs of pants and now they were both wet, so I ended up wearing pyjama pants the rest of the day. One more waterfall later we finally made it into Hella and I called dibs on hanging my clothes and wet shoes on the heater! # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/27/07; 11:33:57 AM -

The Day of the Glacier (day 6)

Today we drove to one of the National Parks in South Iceland Skaftafell. Here we were to meet a guide and go for a glacier hike. The day before I called to arrange the trip with him and he said we had to options, 1. Go walk on the glacier or 2. Walk on the glacier and go into an ice cave and do an small ice climb and repel. Humm let me think!!! Everyone was so excited when I told them, for sure this was the day we had all been looking forward to. We found cheap accommodation just outside the park by about 5km the area was called Svínafell. Notice I say area, these are not considered towns really just a spot with a few farms and of course a pool. Anyways Svínafell took the prize for the smallest place we stayed and the coolest. We had a bit of time before meeting the guide so we decided to try to find the house first so we didnìt have to do it in the evening. There were no homes marked guesthouse so we just pulled into a driveway and went to ask someone. Eva and I knocked on a manìs door but he didnìt speak English very well but we got that he had no idea where this was. So we went back to the car, than the man (who’s driveway we are currently parked in) came out so I asked him. Oddly enough we were parked in the right driveway! He showed us to the rooms which he described on the phone as a space in their home. We were all expecting to be staying in a dorm style room and sharing space with these people, but it was an actual apartment in their basement. We had time to settle and eat something warm before heading out. At 2pm we meet with the guide at the Skaftafell Hotel and we followed him to the glacier. Again this glacier is a tongue of the biggest glacier in Europe called Vatnajökull. Vatnajökull makes up most of the interior of the country making it impossible for people to live there and travel into the interior is only available for about one month a year and even then you NEED 4 wheel drive. So the glacier is HUGE. He set us up in full gear and taught us safety moves when on the glacier. We had clamps on our feet, helmets and the safety belts for the climb. Everyone was totally excited and anxious to start. Walking on the glacier was really fun, you have to keep your feet completely flat even coming down hills so it is not like walking in snow or sand when you go on an angle. This means to stay in an upright position you have to walk as if you are sitting. You also have to keep your legs apart so the clamps (spiky things on your shoes) don’t get hooked on your clothes. To best describe this you walk like a cowboy. Needless to say we all looked really funny! After about an hour of walking we came to a huge hole. He began to secure the lines and we followed him around to the cave entrance. One by one each of us took a turn. Alex, Peter, Eva, Me, the other Andrea and finally Sashka. I was nervous being afraid of heights and all but so excited to try. I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to do it but it was remarkably easy and supper fun! All of us made it to the top without incidence. As we drove back to the flat Sashka and I were totally pumped and didn’t feel like stopping. Everyone else was beat. So we decided to hike up this mountain behind the house and try to reach the waterfall we could see. It looked a bit dodgy but I agreed to go half way. Before I knew it I was almost there and couldn’t turn back. But the earth was changing and the path was really none existant at this point and I realized I was walking on unsecured rocks. Each step seemed to be more and more dangerous and I was beginning to feel panic and fear. I think I actually said to him I am to old for my mother to get a call saying I died doing something so stupid! We were literally climbing up the rock face, I have 2 photos one of me climbing and one of me standing, there is no difference... I will post them here soon... I finally got to a safe spot sat on a rock and told him to find me a way down! Alex wanted to continue up but I didn’t I felt like every step up is one more I have to take down and I was already afraid of down. He continued up and I sat to wait being stubborn and irritated. However, the view was amazing and I cannot believe how high up we were, we were literally in the clouds, we could see over the glaciers surrounding us... it was amazing. At this point though I didn’t care I just wanted ground zero feet above sea level. When he came back from his hike up further he was totally excited and had seen a pathway of moss leading through the "hard" area. I could have kissed him I was so happy. You would never think moss would make you so happy. It was about 3 feet wide and lead all the way to the rest of the grassy and prickily tree area. Alex being from a Russian aboriginal decent did a short pagan prayer which he refers to as doing some pagan stuff, to thank the mountain for showing us a safe way down. Why didn’t he do this on the way up I ask? About 4 hours had passed and I knew the others would be worried and just on Que his cell phone rang, it was Eva wanting to know where we were. It was pushing 10pm by this time. We reached the house after a fast stop to pet some horses and visit the cows. I was worried that the next day would be very painful on my muscles so I took a spoonful of honey (suppose to help the joints) and crashed for the night. This hike has become known as the hike from hell in my mind and as the coolest part of the trip to Alex... all I can say is I think I am ready for the scales on the Chilkoot! # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/23/07; 10:29:32 AM -

Höfn and the Untouchable Glacier (day 5)

So we spent two night in Höfn which has become know as hiccupville to me, I am horrible at Icelandic pronunciation. So on day 2 we decided to go for a hike to one of the "tongues" of the biggest glacier in Europe called Hoffellsjökull. We were all excited to see the glacier but I think it was mainly because we had made arrangements to go on a glacier walk and into an ice cave and ice climbing trip the next day. The hike was three kilometres of the road, but part of the road had a river running through it! So the hike became a bit more interesting right from the start. I donìt have waterproof shoes but that was not about to stop me, however, I didnìt want wet feet, so I sat down took my shoes and socks off and walked through the icy cooled glacier water to the other side! It was cold sure but my feet were dry for the whole hike. I know I have said that it was very windy before but this was extreme, the hike was all on flat land and just over 3 km but it maybe took us 3 hours to reach the tip of the glacier. When we got there Alex (Sashka) was so upset that he didn’t get to touch it, it was surrounded with a pool of glacier water making it impossible to reach. Honestly, I was relieved I know how dangerous it is to go on to a glacier and I told him but I am not sure he would have been able to resist its temptation. Either way he was easily cheered when reminder of what we had planned for the next day. After this hike we moved on to the best view we could find of the mountain I fell in love with which is in an area called Lön. We again just drove down a side road, parked and began to climb up to the top of a hill. The sun was beginning to set and it was amazingly beautiful. To get to the top of this hill though we had to cross through some pretty nasty and prickly little bushes which seem to grow ramped in this region. This area is also a breeding ground for swans which we could hear but not see. One last stop for the day and it was through the tunnel heading back into Höfn and around the back of my lovely mountain. We saw a lookout point but there were a lot of cars there (odd for this time of year, we had barely seen another tourist on the whole trip) so we continued on down the road to another area. This was the point of a little peninsula with a lighthouse and black sand beach and grass sand hills. We felt like we were walking on the moon... which began the extremely childish yet funny game of historical re-enactments. First, obviously the moon landing and Neil Armstrong. Second, the Vietnam war. Third, storming the beaches of Normandy... this one is on video... Eva and I were the German’s and Sashka the Americans. And lastly, the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Russians. We came to the conclusion that this area could be the base for all films... the setting seemed to fit all situations... After playing like school kids we decided to go back to the look out. There were still a lot of people there including a large transport truck, odd. As we walked up the hill we were met by 3 men with walkie talkies. They told us we were not allowed to go any further and that we had to return to the cars. First we didn’t really believe them but after a few minutes it was clear that this was no joke. Finally they told us the new promotional photos for Porsche were being taken and no one was allowed to see the car. I am telling you this is an amazing mountain, even Porsche wants it! Me being me, said well I want to see that statue over there, (it was close by but slightly up a hill) he replied from there you will be able to see the car. Ya, but I really want to see the statue. In all honest I could care less about the car and I really did want to see the statue. He got on his radio and said cover the car... we had to wait a minute but we were able to get to the statue and of course see a bit of the car. They wouldn’t even tell us the colour... but they missed a bit in the covering and we know it was silver! It made the boys day and maybe even trip. It was a good end to a good day. # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/22/07; 9:17:34 AM -

From Egilsstaðir to Höfn (day 4)

After all the hiking from the day before I was worried that I would be in to much pain to hike the next day. But Eva told me a spoon full of honey would relax my joints before bed, I took her advice and in the morning was ready to go! The sweet man had suggested that we drive up to Seyðisfjörður and look around there. He said the drive was beautiful and that the town was cute and interesting. We took his advice and planned the route for the day. In the morning when we went to pay for the cabin it turned out that we had experienced a mild miss communication in numbers and that when she said kr 1100 per person she was actually meaning kr 11,000 for all. It wasn’t a big deal, really not a huge difference but still a difference. We decided to spend a few hours in the morning looking around Egilsstaðir, I wanted to get my picture taken in the largest forest in Iceland and we found a cultural center that was actually opened (it was Easter weekend) The center was set in the home of the famous Icelandic author Gunnar Gunnarson’s home. Gunnarsson became very famous late in life when he moved to Denmark, unfortunately not many of his works have been translate into English, mainly German. There was also a special art exhibit on for Easter and a display of Gunnar Gunnarsson’s son shockingly also named Gunnar Gunnarsson drawing illustrating one of his fathers stories. ~ not sure if I have said this before but here in Iceland people do not carry last names as we do in North America. For example my last name is Merschilz, my father is John but if I was born in Iceland I would be called Andrea Jónsdottir, and if I am a boy it would have been Jónsson. The phonebook here is funny! There is also a naming committee that approves the names of children, each person here has to have an Icelandic name and if the parents would like something else they have to apply for approval to the naming committee. Okay now on with the day. The roadway there was in good conditions but with lots of snow and hairpin turns it was slow going. On the way Eva and I found a photo in my lonely planet book of a waterfall and we were determined to locate it and hike in! Seyðisfjördir is mainly famous for the blue church in the center of town. It doesn’t sound like much but think about it, have you ever seen a blue church? Once we got there the town looked like a ghost town and there were no signs directing us to this amazing hike.Finally I saw a women with a baby and young boy. So I asked if she spoke English, she didn’t but the child did. I showed them the photo and he told us were to go. The view was great, we could practically see to the end of the fjord and out to sea. There were about 8 horses roaming around so we played with them and explored the area. We spent the rest of the day driving on to Höfn which they say to pronoun it like an unexpected hiccup. The drive was really cool and I feel madly in love with one mountain peak. And apparently so did the advertiser for the new Porsche. But that is a story for tomorrow. # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/20/07; 10:39:51 AM -

Interlude

This is a fast break between telling the tale of my road trip. Last night I attended a small group meeting called the Feminists of Akureyri. The group is made up of mostly female students as well as a few men. They meet once a week and talk about issues surrounding women in Iceland. The topic of last nights meeting was the perception of equality and treatment of women through the eyes of a foreigner. It was interesting to attend. The group is small and really just starting out, they are facing a few obsticles such as the word feminist here seems to be the equal of saying the F-word. They seem be be very energetic and excited but have yet to take many steps into the direction of action. As of yet they are just talking, it will be interesting to see how this group progresses and what power they choose to use in the future. I was also able to get some of my questions answered regarding social issues here in the north. They told me that most women go to the hospital for emotional support and there is a small group called The Force here that is available to listen but nothing in the way of a shelter. One girl told me about her friend who has been raped 3 times and has said nothing to the authorities because there is still a feeling that nothing will be done. Those that do decide to take action against such crimes or to leave an abusive relationship go to Reykjavik to avoid the town gossip. They believe that Akureyri is a small town with big gossip so the safety and anonymity of such a step is hard to take here. Even though it is a small step it was good to see that things are starting to happen within the community. Many of the students are studying law and nursing and in a few years time may be the founders of a great center here in Akureyri. # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/20/07; 5:08:03 AM -

Hengifoss and More (day 3)

After the long cold day of traveling we were told the third day of the trip would bring even worse weather. We were making plans to stay close and do little driving but luckily the weather was okay and we were able to push on to Egilsstaðir and seeing Hengifoss. Hengifoss is yet another waterfall, day three and I was already getting a little tired or bored with waterfalls, but the hikes in are always great so how can you resist. We set off as early as humanly possible for the six of us, it seemed to take at least 2 hours each morning for us to all get it together and on the road... yup slow moving traffic in the morning. There is little between Þórshöfn and Egilsstaðir which is good because the hike into Hengifoss was about 2 hours. The days are a lot longer here now though which means we could be out until half passed nine or so. The roads were a little slippery and slow moving at times, the Icelandic roadways especially in the remote areas are very bumpy and not exactly maintained. Some highways are labeled as "F" roads which means unless you want to get stuck here and pay for a tow truck do not even think about trying it! The rest are pretty much enter at your own risk! We arrived at this cute little cabin A-frame and the owners were very sweet and gave us good directions to the falls as well as some other interesting points to see in that area such as the biggest forest in Iceland. Egilsstaðir is one of the major industrial areas of Iceland with aluminum plants. There are a lot of foreigners in the area from many different cultural backgrounds. Icelanders are not so >willing/able/or desire to work these plant jobs so immigration and "importing" of labourer’s is very common. Anyways, the man at the cabins told us a tale about trolls that use to live in the area and they would come down the hill side and steal children at night. The path that the trolls took into town is forever carved into the rock face. We found the beginning of the path leading to Hengifoss but quickly lost it again, it was as we were calling it off-roading most of the way. 4 of us went one way and ended up at the base of the waterfall and the other 2 ended up at the top. The angles of the falls made it impossible to see each other so for about 3 hours we had no clue what the others were up to. As it turns out they were sitting at the car for close to an hour waiting for us! On the way back to the cabin we saw what I like to call a hobbit house so we stopped to take photos. These were traditionally used for storage of potatoes etc. I had been dying to see inside one so Eva tried the door and low and behold it was open and still being used for storage. There were multiple varieties of potatoes and jams in jars around the room. I know we are really bad but there were a ton of potatoes so we kind of took a few to try with dinner.... I know, I know it is bad to steal, but we were a group of curious tourists and after all the door was unlocked! The potatoes were unlike any I have had before. They were white with red inside. At first we thought they were gone bad, but we boiled them anyways. They were so great, sweet almost. That brings me to the end of yet another day of the trip.   # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/18/07; 1:08:44 PM -

Húsavik to Þórshöfn (day 2)

On the second day we had one last stop we wanted to make in Myvatn before moving on. We were also unsure of the next stop because at this time of the year many roadways are closed or simply not possible to drive on without a 4x4 vehicle. We really wanted to see some of the Natural Park but unfortunately it was all closed down. So we made the planned stop at the craters and had to turn to the map for an alternative route. Sadly we discovered we had to back track a fair amount up to the town of Húsavík which is famous for whales, puffins, fishing and the Museum of Phallology. Yup, also known as the penis museum. They have all kinds of "items" but because it was Easter Friday the museum was closed and the caretaker who will open for tourists in the winter was out of town. Darn, maybe next time. Húsavík was a very cool town, I liked it a lot, very bright fishing village that reminded me of the Canadian East coast. Even though the penis museum was not open this time around the Whale Museum was, we went in and spent about an hour walking around looking at the films and skeletal remains of all the different whales in the region. They look like prehistoric dinosaur, creepy yet beautiful. After this we had a long day of driving with little sites to see. The weather turned very ugly and driving with a new driver was a bit scary. Alex did a good job and we often joked how the road conditions made us homesick. All dirt and bumpy just like the Yukon and Russia. The car of Czech’s and Belgians didn’t find the roads to be quiet as funny as us though. We had a lot of ground to cover in order to make it all the way around to the East coast to the city of Þórshöfn were we would spend the night. One the way over the top of North East Iceland there is this spot were they say is so close to the Arctic Circle that you can throw a stone into the Ocean and cross it. So even though the weather was HORRIFIC we stopped against the will of one driver and went to give it a try. Of course with wind this strong and the icy hail that was falling none of us could even hit the water with the stones. It actually seemed like the stones were going backwards! I think about 3 of us had a great time and the other 3 not so great, but after a few days of warming up and thinking about what a great moment it was it became one of everyone’s "favorite" moments of the trip. Some thought it was crazy but upon reflection it was fantastic. Now making sleeping arrangement in Iceland using a very out of date Lonely Planet guide book is not so easy. I called one place and got a women in Reykjavik, oddly she was from the east and gave me a number to call. The person that answered said it was the wrong number so I hung up and continued to look for a place in the price range of cheap. About an hour later my cell phone rang (yes I have a cell! First one in my life!) It was a women from a guesthouse and she gave us a very good rate; but very bad directions. We ended up on this little dirt road in the middle of nowhere and seeming to lead further into nowhere. Peter looked on the map and found the exact same town in the South of Iceland toward Reykjavik. Now thinking that we were going to have to sleep in the car I called the women back. It turned out that we were in the right district of Iceland but we needed to continue for about another hour. As we looked at the thin road ahead there was nowhere to turn around, so I had to direct both cars into one crazy 3 point turns, I think one ended up being a 7 point and the other whooping 9 point. We made it out safely and found the home. All I wanted was a hot meal and even hotter shower. Being the nice gal that I am I was the last to shower, subsequently getting no hot water. I didn’t think this was even possible in Iceland. Running out of hot water is unheard of! So this brings me to the end of day two and I went to bed cold and irritated, but still having fun! # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/17/07; 11:38:29 AM -

Myvatn (Day 1) The Trip Begins

Day 1 First thing in the morning Alex, Sashka, and I set off for the airport to pick up the two rental cars. We got the cars with no troubles so we were off on the road trip of a life time. We got back to the Gula Villan at about 10am and we than noticed one of the headlights was burnt out. I called Budget and the women said she would come over to the house. We continued getting ready while we waited. About 30 minutes passed and still no sign of her, so I called back. She said I was there and no one was outside so I left! Now to me common sense would be knock on the door, knowing that we were still there seeing as the two rental cars are in the driveway and that we would obviously be calling her back again. Why not save the step and just get out of the car and knock??? But she said no you should have been outside. So she told us to go to the Olís station (local gas station) and they would fix it. Within 20 minutes we were on the road heading to Myvatn. Myvatn is an area of hot pots, natural hot springs and sulphur muds. It carries a heavy smell of eggs that left me feeling ill the whole day. The first stop on the way was one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, Guðifoss. Guðifoss is 12 meters high and comes from the countries fourth longest river. We played, and climbed around here for a while and then moved on to the perfume smelling steam pots of bubbling muck called Námafjall! Yes, it is interesting and beautiful but wow what a smell. It was worth it in the end though we got some good photos and had fun. Some of the pots are up to 1000m deep and reach a temperature of 200 degrees. The soil here is so thick and slimy would be a good way to describe it that we had to put bags over our shoes to keep from getting extremely dirty. At this point everyone was cold and tired and so looking forward to the last stop of the day before finding the cabin we had rented for the night.... the natural hot spring. Myvatn is famous for the geothermal hot springs set in a natural area. When you walk into the pool it is sort of shocking because you instinctively expect a smooth bottom of tile, but not here... this is totally natural mud and stones. You sit on rocks around the edges and the areas that you stand in depending on how close you are to the spring gives off a different temperature. Some points were unbearably hot. It was fun to try to push the boundary of what you could take. We would put one arm into the hot spots and than have to jump out. Really we became a group of 6 adult children here. The mud and water is so full of nutrients that you can feel it. This really is like a bath people at spas pay hundreds of dollars to experience. If it wasn’t for the egg smell I could have stayed for hours. But after a while my stomach started to turn and I had to get out. It is Icelandic tradition that after a hot bath you have to have ice cream... now twist my rubber arm! I love this Icelandic tradition. So we ate the ice cream and found the cabin. We had rented a loft style three bedroom cabin for a very low price, again the problem was the smell of egg in the water. The hot water in many places here come right from the earth which is a good thing but after this day I couldn’t take it... no shower for me! # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/17/07; 11:31:52 AM -

Trip to Hrísey and Olafsjörður

On Tuesday morning Eva, Peter, Andrea and I decided to set out on a day trip to Hrísey Island, we originally wanted to go to a town call Siglufjördur but we could not arrange accommodation in the town. We tried so hard to find a place but every number listed in the Lonely Planet book was no longer in use, one actually a cell number to a guy that use to work at the place we were trying to find and he gave us two numbers to call but no answer. So we made the plans just to go and see what happens. So we all packed for an overnight and possibly two. We caught a ride to the dock where the ferry picks you up to leave for Hrísey and had to wait for about 30 minutes for the boat to arrive. The docks were interesting for photo taking though so it wasn’t bad at all. Plus I got to play with my new camera! When we got to the island everything was closed even the tourist center. Luckily the town is so small that we had no problem finding the hiking trail. I have to say here that most areas of Iceland have a major "car culture" issue. Everyone has a car, people think that the distance from where I live to the University is "nuts" to have to walk. So when we got to Hrísey I was so happy to see very few cars and tractors everywhere. Everyone had a tractor in the driveway! It was awesome!!! Anyways back to the story.... we entered into the local church to look around and there was a sign on the door saying that the church is open 24 hours a day and directed us to the key saying just lock up when you are finished. We were all carrying sleeping bags and overnight backpacks so we thought lets just leave the stuff here while we explore... so we wrote a note on the items saying we would be back after the hike (no one touched a thing) we found the hiking trail and started to walk. It was suppose to be 5km (longest path of the 3 trails) however, in the winter I guess they take the signs down that tell where to go and which path you are on so we had no clue! Many times we weren’t even on a path just hiking through the area and making our own trail. We came across some neat things and were loving the surrounding so much that we didn’t want to leave! The last ferry was at 3pm but we wanted to stay the night. Eva and I concocted a plan to spend the night in the church and move up to Grimsy Island (the Polar Circle) in the morning. I have a cell phone now which a friend gave me to use until I go so we set down in literally the middle of nowhere, and started to make calls to ferry companies and bus companies to see if we could manage it. In the end we figured we couldn’t because the buses and ferries didn’t run on Thursday because of the Easter Holiday so we wouldn’t be able to make it back to Akureyri in time for the "big" trip. So the church idea was out and we planned to head back on the ferry and catch the bus to town and find something to do near Akureyri. We arrived at the bus stop 30 minutes before the scheduled time and sat to wait... and wait ... and wait.... the bus never came! So we thought about what we could do? I called a hotel in Olafsjörður and they had a cabin for four with a private hot tub available. We hung up talked it over, mad sure that the bus to Olafsjörður was actually coming and called back saying yes we will take it. When we arrived the wind was strong and growing in strength. I complained a few posts back about the wind but oh my, I have never felt wind like this. We were all very tired and looking forward to the hot tub, but it was empty... I called the hotel and asked about it. We had to move a metal bar under the house and turn on a switch in the bathroom and suddenly geothermal hot water 40 degrees started to fill into the tub. It was fantastic. The next day the wind had increased even more than the night before and the whistling sound around the cabin sounded something like carnival music. I think this once again influenced my dreams, I dreamed about ferris-wheels. Once we preped to brave the winds we set off to find a grocery store and buy some food. On the way we stopped at the post office which also houses a museum of stuffed animals and birds. It was closed for the winter, but one of the girls said I will call the person with the keys and see if they will let you in come back in 10 minutes. When we got back they took us upstairs and we were greeted by a friendly women that was more than happy to walk around and answer all the questions we had. The museum was suppose to be all birds but they also had a polar bear which was killed in 1976 as she floated on an ice flow from Greenland. The bear was just a teenager so she was small in the standards of a polar bear. There was very little to do so we just walked around and pet the goats that sort of thing. We thought we would check out the harbour as well. We walked around and then the smell hit!! Oh my really I know it is not possible to fully described a smell but wow it was nasty. To say the smell of rotten fish doesn’t even do it justice it was so much worse than that. I have no words for it! We headed for higher ground in an attempt to get away and instead we found the garbage dump. If these two days of travel are any indication as to what lies ahead on the trip tomorrow I can’t wait! We had a great time... talk to you all in 12 days.... happy birthday mom. # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/5/07; 9:31:16 AM -

The Medical Mystery

Back, many, many moons in a time when I thought I could have a career as a Canadian log roller I was carefully walking on a log out at Shwatka Lake in Whitehorse Yukon... amazingly and shockingly I feel off!!! Can you even imagine, with my cat like reflexes and amazing skills in balance.... anyways long story short I hit my hip bone and ever since this time I have had lower back troubles. Sleeping on a soft bed does not help the issue and as a matter of fact it actually increases the irritation. So for the past two weeks I have been sleeping on my bedroom floor in hopes that this pain in my lower back would go away. It was feeling better and I had even thought about moving back into the bed. But, after yesterdays hopping over waterfalls and climbing barb-wire fences (keeping up with the kid, as Alex (saska) is know as. My back is once again very sore. So today I decided to go to the clinic and see a doctor. I went in to make an appointment and they said at 3pm it became a walk-in clinic but only 10 people get in. So I arrived at 2:30 to make sure I was one of them. I gave my Icelandic ID number and they said that will be kr 4100! This is a lot of money! I said but I have insurance through the University???? She said I am a foreigner and I haven't been in the country long enough! Why did I pay close to $500 Canadian for insurance if I still have to pay to see a doctor I wondered.... I told them no I can't pay that and left. I got to the school and emailed Gummi a ranting letter, who is the poor kind man that is in charge of all us lost and confused Icelandic exchange students (very patient man). I then checked my junk box and there was a message from the doctors office pretty much saying oops we messed up and if you get this come back! So downtown I go for the third time today. I got into see the doctor for only kr700, and he gave me some pills. He thinks I should be better in 10-14 days... oh Iceland is a beautiful yet very frustrating country! One a positive note, Eva's boyfriend and sister arrived last night bring all kinds of fantastic things, it was really like Christmas, and I had the candy cane to seal the deal. Anyways, Peter's grandmother had baked for us homemade apple struddles... oh it was amazing. They also brought Czech alcohol... which I am proud to say I handled much better than the boys in the house, one (who shall remain nameless... Alex) hee hheee, actually had to run to get water. Also the most exciting part of the arrival was Peter bring me my camera. Peter is a great photographer and was selling his old camera, it is soooo fantastic! It is the camera of my dreams and for only $240 Canadian dollars. It even has night vision, so Alex and I went in my room with all the lights off and played "Blair Witch Project" it was so funny! I will post photos from it is a few days! # - Andrea Merschilz - 3/30/07; 9:46:27 AM -

Me? Teach????

So we have finally worked out the transportation issue for the road trip but it means two cars (which is cheaper) and the self proclaimed bad driver is driving! Lucky for us Stienn has been so kind to lend his car for some driving lessons. For the sake of confussion I will call good driver Alex, Alex and bad driver Alex, Saska. So last night Alex, Saska and I went out for the first driving experience in Iceland... it was interesting. Saska is not all that bad, but still a few scary moments. We drove to the ski hill and just around town. It was dark and getting hard for us to see so we went home after about an hour. Today Saska was dying to go again so we asked for Stienn's car again. He gave it but Alex said he didn't want to come.... so this is how I became the driving teacher! I have never had a license, with the epilepsy, everytime I get close I lose it again. So technically speaking I have been driving for 12 years, just never in a row! So I still know how to drive, my mom said I am a good drive does that count??? And my sister gave me her NEW MUSTANG to drive for two weeks with no trouble.... Anyways it started off pretty badly with him kind of sort of hitting the fence post at the end of the drive way... luckily Stienn didn't see it out the kitchen window and there was no damage... it was really just a tap. I can't believe I stayed in the car! Okay, so off we go to the main street of Akureyri, it isn't exactly a big town but the roads can be busy and Icelanders are not really known for their calm and relaxed driving habits. So we were both a little tense at this point. He did "okay" didn't hit anything, but we did stall sort of in an intersection which anyone that has ever learned to drive stick has done, paniced and than moved on. After getting out of the way of a few angry Icelandic cold glares we were off again. We drove out of town and passed the airport, I think we went about 20 km out of the city actually. The Fjord ended and it turned into an amazing landscape, with high snow covered moutains all around and waterfalls every few km. We decided to turn around and stop at all the interesting stops we had seen. First stop was just a beautiful landscape. We climbed over a barb-wire fence and into the hay fields, we walked onto the top of a rocky edge and took some photos (which I will post shortly) on the way back to the car I was looking at the section of fence we just climbed and realize that the next section over was missing the wire and we really didn't have to climb over in the first place... next the waterfall. It turned out that to get to it we had to park in someone's driveway and walk through their yard. I am sure it happens all the time! We climbed all the way to the top of the falls, to get there we had to jump over the small and close together areas and step from one rock to the next to pass. Saska, is in his 5th year of biology and studies plants, we found some edible plant and tried that. After a very scary and tough three point turn (more like 7 point turn) we were facing town and heading back. Since Saska can't take his eyes off the road I pointed out another waterfall and we went to explore it. This time we actually had to climb the fence into an old horse yard, walk through old horse pooh to reach the falls. This one was not nearly as exciting as the first I actually found the barn cats more entertaining, but hey thats just me! The last stop was really funny. If any of the Yukoners reading this have ever made the drive from Dawson City to Tok you will know the North Pole, well as it turns out there is one in Iceland too. This one is a lot smaller but equally cute. The owner of the shop took some photos for us, and I bought a candy cane for all the flatmates, Saska had never had one. We obviously made it home with no troubles (other than the fence in the driveway) and I have confidence that we will live through the road trip around Iceland! We leave on Good Friday... wish us luck! Oh a fast update about the internet bill.... the landlord stopped over a few nights ago and said she got the bill for March dropped by the company because they just started a new system of measuring usage without informing the clients, so I assume many people ended up with crazy high bills. Anyways March's bill is gone (it could have been close to Kr 100,000 which is a lot in Canadian) and that she paid the bill for February but would like if we paid half. so it ends up that we have to pay kr 3000 (not bad at all) and she will have unlimited usage internet hooked up again by the time we return from the trip... so everything has worked out and the landlord doesn't hate us and think we are downloading heaps of porn any more... this is what the guy at the computer store originally told her he thought we were doing!!! (we aren't!) # - Andrea Merschilz - 3/29/07; 10:15:24 AM -

Arabian Nights

This weekend was the Universities yearly ball. I was told that it is considered the biggest event in Akureyri and after Saturday night I can see why. The use this bar called Sjallon, which is a beautiful location... huge dance floor, balcony overlooking and I think 4 bars. Anyways the theme this year was Arabian Nights but not very many people actually dressed up. The nights ticket included dinner, and the dance... the dinner was kr 4,000 which is close to $50 Canadian. So needless to say none of the exchange students went to the dinner section. But to go to the dance at midnight was only kr 1000. We had all planned to go but as always plans change and I was the only one in the house that went. I spent the day with my friend Gustavo and we actually met the guy that would be preforming that night. He is a famous singer here and competed a few years back on the Euro Vision Music Compition; for those that don't know it, it is like the European style America Idol. Iceland just finished their internal compition to decide who would represent them this year and the finals begin in May. Anyways, he was a really cool guy and put Gustavo and I on the VIP list. So when you are a poor exchange student you take anything free that is offered to you. When we arrived at midnight the place was pretty empty, dinner had finished and people than go home, change outfits (Iceland is all about fashion) and drink at home because drinking is very expensive. Within an hour the place was so packed that you could not move. The dance floor was jammed and the air was still. It really felt like there was no oxygen left in the building. Maya and I couldn't handle it and we moved to the lower floor were there are big leather couches. Next thing we knew it was 4:30 and the bar was closing. I heard later that there were also two buses of people in town from Reykjavik which explains the number of people. I didn't think there were that many students here in Akureyri.   # - Andrea Merschilz - 3/5/07; 12:42:50 PM -

International Pre/Post Natal group

I am so sorry it has been so long since I wrote anything, I wrote a few things and they did not end up getting posted I guess I didn't hit the right buttons! So this is a bit of a con't of the earlier posting I didn't even realize that much time had passed. I guess it has been kind of busy around here. Nothing to over the top exciting though. This week I had a midterm in my Deconstruction of the 20th Century class. It is a tough class so I was studying a lot. Plus on top of it all I got sick with a mild cold. Still feeling a bit stuffy but I eat a lot of ginger, all of those that work/ed with me at Boston Pizza know about my ginger theory. Anyways, back to life in Iceland. As I have said before I have been in touch with a pre/post natal group of International women so last weekend one woman, Rachael a University Law Prof and wife of one of my teachers contacted me and asked me to attand a meeting with them. It was at a women's home out in the country and there was about 10-12 women there with their children. It was nice to be in contact and talk to women about their experiences having a child here. Things are very different from North America in the terms of midwifery... both for the better and worse. Here a midwife is not only common but in the minority however. home births are rare. I was told that most midwives would do it at home but it is not common and water births are virtually non-existant. I guess there was an accident during a water birth a while back and now the midwives are somewhat afraid to do it. One women I talked to from England ask 3 people and only one would do it and she said she would rather not.  It really felt like being back at work with the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program and to top it off one of the babies look like a little clone of one of the baby's in Whitehorse. (Prema you would have died!!!). Other than isolation, language barriers and homesickness the women here are very healthy and seemingly happy. I hope to attand a group again, they are not an established program so their times of meeting are sort of ramdom. Many of the women are now working again so their normal meeting time of Wednesday has been changed to the weekends.   The next day my teacher (husband to Rachael) asked if I would be able to take care of their son, their sitter was ill and they were in a jam. So I said sure... the only way I am able to make money here would be babysitting. I took care of their son for 6 hours that day and he was great. Fun little guy (20 months) He is a little confused as far as talking goes though. Dad speaks Italian to him, mom English and the sitter Icelandic, so needless to say he hasn't said much yet! Anyways they paid me EXTREMELY well for my time and cooked me dinner. (this post was in need of a photo, eventhough it is not relivent) # - Andrea Merschilz - 3/4/07; 5:17:29 AM -

A Yukon Winter

The past few weeks have been extremely cold, and as you all know I do not drive so each day I walk to school (unless my dear friend Julie picks me up). Anyways one morning I thought I would take a few photos to show the college in the winter. This is a photo of the front area of Yukon College, Whitehorse. # - Andrea Merschilz - 11/30/06; 3:35:22 PM -

Last update: Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 9:07:13 AM
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