Changes in Latitudes

Saturday (the 28th), I took Marius for a day trip for an early birthday present. It was an 11 hour excursion which included a soak in a hot spring, some waterfalls, and a hike on a glacier. The guide had some intersting stories and we even saw the infamous volcano that erupted in 2010 (and nearly ruined our Thailand trip).  It was a pricey trip, but for me it was worth it since our guide could tell us more about the eruption and the glacier, as well as some Icelandic history. Oh and a big thing to mention - the weather was FANTASTIC! --> a geyser on the way to the hot spring --> he was excited to warm up in the river --> the glacier we walked on; looked dirty due to all of the ash

Long day of talks, some very interesting an others not really my interest, but Marius arrived Thursday night. My talk was on Friday, the last day of the conference. I was nervous because the room was massive. I tried to keep it shorter than 15 minutes for any questions but there were none. Another recent Master grad also wasn't asked questions, so we believe the older guys perhaps didn't want to scare us -- and it was also the last day of the conference.  The weather was very nice on Friday, so Marius and I walked around the coty a little bit before the log walk to a hostel I booked for the weekend. Glad I took part in the conference as it was a valuable experience and was able to make some contacts at NOAA. I was also told that my talk was a highlight for one pf the sessions :)

Wednesday began with my 7am scandinavian high carb breakfast (all they eat is bread), and was followed by a talk by keynote speaker Doug Butterworth from South Africa. He talked fishery quotas in terms of a bank account.  I left earlier to explore the shops while they were open. Bought myself some Icelandic wool yarn - maybe for a nice pair of socks? After I took a 10km joggig trip around the city to find the spots for Marius and I to see the next couple of days. It was great! And finished the night with a pizza that was called the Americana but with ground lamb meat! Not a very nice taste for pizza.  --> "I don't speak Icelandic" -->yarn! --> the old harbor --> best view of the city --> interesting fellow

Today I sat in a session that is called Responses of living organisms to climate change and variability. It sounds very interesting, and some of it is...but I don't know how many more abbreviations I can remember for these talks using models.  Guess I should write these things down ... --> 8am walk to Harpa

Photos from my first 2 hours in Reykjavik --> "The Sun Voyager" statue by the harbor --> Harpa Conference center  --> inside Harpa, waiting for the session on marine litter --> I may as well be a Norwegian

I flew to Reykjavik this morning for the long anticipated ICES Annual Science Conference. I will not present until Friday, but I'm looking forward to the talks and hope to make connections for potential employment.  It is about 50 degrees F and overcast, but looking out I can see clear blue sky to the north. Marius will join me on Thursday and listen to my presentation.  I'm staying at the Best Western, which is fairly pricey but it is near the conference - Harpa Concert Centre.  --> the Blue Lagoon featured in the inflight magazine.  --> Statues at Keflavik airport --> Statues on the drive to Reykjavik

GoPro video from our snorkel/sunset cruise in Key West. Click Here!

Missed updating stuff on here from August, but it was very busy! My month of vacation after completing my degree :) We went to the US from Oslo via Brussels and Toronto. We landed in Toronto, and were picked up by Mom and Dad after numerous customs checks. Driving over the border was another experience - 30+ minutes of questioning and even a vehicle search! But we got home and Carolyn made us a great scallop dinner. The second night home a few good friends from high school came over. It is always nice that every time I go home I can be sure that they will stop by to say hello and catch up. The first week home was reserved for my best friend Katie's wedding. It was a lot of fun and a great kick off to our vacation...and Marius was the belle of the ball! After the wedding we spent a couple of days with my Mom's side in the Grand Rapids area. But Marius was mostly excited about seeing Florida. We flew into Fort Lauderdale and Divya met us there. We rented a couple of c...