Heading Down the Home Stretch

Arrived in Iceland this evening, after leaving London

Around the World - are we really almost done?

    We have arrived at our last stop.  Iceland, shown in the relief map above.  At this point, you begin to look back on the journey and consider the places we've been and the wonderful experiences that have taken place.  An overview of some of the numbers is in order. 

By The Numbers - reflecting a bit on the trip  

    How many flights have we taken?  So far, it's been 24 plane flights with two more to go.  We fly home on Wednesday to Portland.  And that leads to the next question ....  

    How Many Miles is this journey?  I've got a program that calculates the mileage between points on the globe.  By clicking on each point that we've covered, you come up with a total number of miles traveled.  When I finally figured out that number, it was higher than I thought.   
    When we finish ... we will have covered 41,026 miles.  
    Actually there was a fair amount of north/south travel, along with "just keep heading west".  That racks up some miles.  A tape measure around the equator would run a slightly less than 25,000 miles.

      How many languages?  This is a good question, how do you decide how many languages we've encountered?  For instance, in India they have like 25 languages.  And China has even more.  The people from the North of China can't talk with the people of South China.  They use English to communicate!

     
     And check out this picture, it is the writing of the Sri Lankan language, maybe the most bizarre written language ever. Looks like a bunch of random circles and doodles!
     Near as we can tell, the total variety of languages we've run into is around 98. 
    How many currencies?  This was a real challenge.  The currencies changed all the time and you had to plan ahead so you wouldn't have too much money left over when you got on the airplane to leave.  
     For example:  Some countries - Kenya Shillings come to mind - you can't use 'em anywhere else in the world - or even exchange them - you're stuck, so be careful ... we were told "you won't find any other country (other than Kenya) that will recognize or exchange that money"
    We had to endure 22 currency changes.    
    How many visas?  Another challenge.  Every country does not have "open" borders, you have to get a visa to enter.  We're not talking about credit cards, like MasterCard, oh no ... it's a travel document that usually costs money. Sometimes they are a real hassle to get, like India or Senegal, or Sri Lanka.  What a pain ... and expensive too!  
   It cost us a thousand dollars on visas and passport entry fees. 

Last Day In Britain, Glorious Weather! 

     We had a great time in Great Britain, visiting with family and having a lot of fun.  And we hit the weather just right.  It can be nasty there in the spring (or many other times of the year) but we were blessed with bright warm sunshine. 

    Among other things, we went for several walks around Flitwick (pronounced flit-ick).  Some pictures follow. 

Springtime blossoms in full swing 

Walking down an English county lane ... hey check out the 360 degree telephone wires coming off the pole!

     There is of course the Flitwick Manor, where the duke or baron lived, a step down from Downton Abbey! 

     And the country side is magnificent for walking, with big billowy clouds. 

     Finished up with a grand dinner and all the trimmings at Paul and Katies house, where upon after dinner mayhem ensued with dancing contests ...  

A First For Me, to see a Bridge over airplanes.

    I've never seen this before, and I was amazed by it.  At Gatwick Airport in London, where we flew out today, there was a giant bridge that airplanes passed under.  I didn't think airplanes passed under anything, but there it was.  

     I even got a picture from the bridge looking down on a big old jet airliner.

     Here is the plane emerging from under the bridge.

     Here is the plane as it travels down the tarmac, after leaving the "underpass".  Pretty cool view of a plane, eh?  Looks like a toy, but it was a big 757.

     And here is the bridge.  It doesn't look quite as big as it was from this perspective. 

So much for the good weather, landing in Iceland ...

     You have to enjoy the sunshine when you can ...

     Landing in Iceland this evening - we were faced with some wicked snow and wind.  And they made us stand there waiting while they tried to figure out who goes on what bus.