Warren sent me a link to this terrific new service.
… flight search service Hipmunk just updated its iPhone and iPad apps to show you which of the flights you’ve searched for have Wi-Fi on-board….
LifeHacker – Hipmunk Flight Search App Shows Which Flights Have Wi-Fi
Hipmunk has by far the best interface for seeing what flights are available. Sadly, however, I’m finding the actual results worse and worse over the past few months. The best deals are not showing up.
Let’s say you’re a hiker in Lausanne, Switzerland in July. Those mountains look very appealing from Lake Geneva.
Would you go … HIKING? … Or pop in to the nearest Travel Agent to buy an expensive flight home. (Double the cost of the same plane flying the other direction.)
If you have the MacBook Blues …
I am here all week. Open ceremonies of Gymnastrada begin in 1hr.
I met up with the 600 Canadians last night for the TEAM CAN photo.
I grossly underestimated the difficulty of “Europe’s toughest trek“, the 180km long GR 20.
The second night was my low point, both hamstrings cramped. … I thought I’d need to quit, following two other hikers who decided to limp out due to blisters.
But each day I got stronger, the pack lighter. I ended up doing the tougher ‘half’ of the total route over 6 challenging days.
The last day was a long scramble to the summit of Monte d’Oro.
That was FUN. Perfect weather.
Less fun, from there (7837ft / 2389m) … it’s about 1400m straight down to the narrow gauge railway line at Vizzavona, where I made my escape.
That’s my toughest hike ever, by far.
International jet-setters like moiself spend a lot of time cursing airports. (The terrorists have already won).
Ultra-modern airport in Dublin is a superb … shopping mall. I spent 20 minutes walking through shops carrying near identical over-priced product just to get to my departure gate. Do many travelers make impulse buys out of boredom?
I assume they do.
By contrast, the Geneva airport needed a serious renovation … in 1995. How can one of the richest cities in the world have such a crappy airport?
For the first time ever in an airport, I saw a fellow going from rubbish bin-to-bin collecting recyclables. Do homeless people (aside from me) live there?
… But I experienced a magical incident in the Geneva airport. Confused hovering over a ticket machine, trying to navigate my way by train to the centre of town, an elderly German gentleman appeared my shoulder. He quickly got a ticket (from another machine) and delivered me to the departing train. … With specific instructions on how to get to the Hostel.
By the time I’d lifted my suitcase on board, he was gone.
I write from City Hostel Geneva, one of most enjoyable in years. UPDATE: By the end of my 2-day stay hostel staff had bungled my reservation, the washing machine flooded and the promised long term luggage storage turned out to be a myth.
Geneva is ranked as the fourth most expensive city in the world, though. I find it surprisingly run down and disorganized. It’s not my 4th favourite city in the world.
I’m organizing to travel to Corsica for hiking next.
The GR 20 is about 180km long.
The walk for most people takes around 15 days. I’m hoping to finish in 8 or 9 nights.
It’s a busy track this late in June, alpine huts and hot meals available. The first few days, including the “Cirque de la Solitude”, are the most intensely scenic. Unfortunately that’s when my pack will be heaviest. 🙂
Sarkozy willin’ and the ferry don’t sink, I’ll start trekking Sunday afternoon, June 26th.
I was a week in Galway, my first visit to the McCharles ancestral homeland. All four of my Grandparents were Irish.
I was hosted by Iro-Canuck Rob Fuller and his family. Thanks mate.
more photos from Galway
My random photos from a number of days wandering quirky Reykjavík.
… the capital and largest city of Iceland. Its latitude at 64°08′ N makes it the world’s northernmost capital of a sovereign state.
… population of around 120,000 (and over 200,000 in the Greater Reykjavík Area) it is the heart of Iceland’s economic and governmental activity. …
Much of the action is centred around Laugavegur, the main shopping street.
You can watch them via slide show … or skim the thumbnails.
With this set, all my photos from 2wks in Iceland have now been uploaded to flickr.
Delta Air Lines is now flying JFK New York to Keflavik International 5 times a week during high season. More competition for those wanting to get to Iceland is a good thing.
Icelanders laughed when I told them I was flying the discount airline, Iceland Express. IE is famously BAD compared with full service Icelandair. And not always cheaper.
What happened to me is that my direct flight KEF to EDI EI0255 on the 17th was (for some reason unexplained) rerouted via Oslo, Norway making for a much longer flight. AND a missed connection.
I arrived at my final destination, Galway, Ireland, perhaps 6hrs later than my original itinerary.
If you are considering visiting Iceland one day, some tips:
• consider shoulder season (before June 15th or after Sept 15th) or even off-season to get great prices and near unlimited availability of accommodation.
But be aware that many tours only run high season.
If you do go in the Icelandic summer, it’s probably best to book all transportation (aside from bus) and accommodation (aside from tenting) months in advance.
A standard short itinerary is the Golden Circle near the capital.
Much better is what I did, a week or longer in a rent-a-car touring the Route 1 or the Ring Road, something that many Icelandlubbers have not even done.
Cheapskates will like the rent-a-car / hostel package as I did.
Alternatively, you can take a bus around the Ring Road, tenting and hosteling as you go, but most feel a private vehicle is worth the higher cost.
Be award that regular vehicles are not allowed on the truly heinous (F rated) mountain roads. For that you need a high clearance rental.
Leave a comment if you’ve additional tips on this wonderful holiday destination.
Rick McCharles 