Well – we are finally off … First stop Canada, though it was nearly the last stop Heathrow as we had messed up with the ETA required for entry into Canada. When we tried to check in, they let me check in, but not Anne. After much to-ing and fro-ing, they realised the issue and helped us apply for the ETA at their ticket desk. IcelandAir staff were really helpful and supportive – something much needed given the circumstances.
So, we did get on the flight, though they do seem to have caught Ryanair-itis. They had a good selection of films (and, not surprisingly, Icelandic TV dramas), but you could only watch them if you bought a headset. Food – yup – you can have some if you pay. Drinks ….. hand over some more dosh. Given that Iceland is one of the most expensive countries in the world, this can all add up to quite a bit. So, we mainly restrained ourselves on the first flight and decided to buy food in the stop-over at Reyjkavik airport. That didn’t help. Three sandwiches, a packet of crisps and a couple of drinks and our wallet was just over £40 lighter!
Still – the flights were good and generally smooth – a little bumpy on the final stretch over the Rockies, but nothing much and once we landed we couldn’t believe how straightforward immigration was. All done by easy electronic machines, no queue at all and friendly immigration staff – the UK and US could learn something from the Canadians. Actually, we could learn loads from them, but let’s not go there …. The car hire was easy too and we were upgraded to an SUV as we had asked for a satnav and the friendly man on the desk said that we had a long drive so he would upgrade us.
The satnav did a good job of getting us to the B&B we had booked and though the Canadians thought it was about 7.30pm, to us it was 4.30am, so we were really looking forward to heading to bed. However, a useless B&B had not sent us the details for getting in and the room. When we tried to ring there was no-one there and the mailbox was full, so we couldn’t leave a message. In the end, we just walked in, asked some Germans staying about what to do and just went into an empty room which had the keys in the door. Turns out it was out room, but more from luck than judgement.
Still – overall, not too bad considering the timing. We didn’t sleep well, but we will hopefully make up for that.