Author Topic: Greetings from Iceland  (Read 4175 times)

einarmeme

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Greetings from Iceland
« on: July 15, 2014, 10:48:11 AM »
Hello everyone

I'm a search and rescue volunteer with ICE-SAR (http://www.icesar.com/) (Iceland Search and Rescue). I have been with them for nine years now and have become a instructor in Navigation, Mountaineering and Field Search Techniques for the ICE-SAR Rescue school. My SAR team is Hjálparsveit Skáta í Kópavogi  (http://www.hssk.is/) (Scout rescue team in Kopavogur) and we have a partnership with the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team, thanks to Lyle Brotherton.

When I'm not a SAR-volunteer, I'm a student at University of Iceland as I study to become a teacher.

I'm excited to take part in the discussions in here

With regardas
Einar
Einar Eysteinsson

Oakleaf

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Re: Greetings from Iceland
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2014, 11:09:52 AM »
Einar

Welcome to the Forum - you'll already have figured what an interesting place it is.

I'm sure you'll have a great deal to contribute with that background of yours!

Lost Soul

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Re: Greetings from Iceland
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2014, 05:26:02 PM »
Einar,

Welcome to a great and friendly forum. 

I was due to have visited Iceland in mid August to do a trek across the SE corner Volcano fields - a long held ambition.  Unfortunately I have had to cancel due to serious problems I have given my self doing martial arts.  Put my back out and now cannot walk, literarily, more than a few yards with out pain and discomfort.  Maybe next year.

 
 

Pete McK

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Re: Greetings from Iceland
« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2014, 08:15:05 AM »
Hello Einar and welcome to the very best outdoors forum on the www :) I am also a teacher (geography) and Iceland is high on our (my wife is a teacher too) list of places to visit. A few years ago the Top Gear team filmed in your country and it looked magnificent. There is a great site about where to go and things to do in Iceland http://www.visiticeland.com maybe you have seen it?

einarmeme

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Re: Greetings from Iceland
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2014, 12:08:41 PM »
Thank you all for the good wishes and it's nice to see how many are interested in travelling to Iceland.

Pete McK I have seen the webpage, and it is good, it shows the best places. But there is another webpage that is really good for those who plan to travel in the country and that is www.safetravel.is. There you can get a equipment lists, tips how to cross rivers and the most important thing is that you can leave your travel plan there and if you choose you can be monitored.

I will try my best to be active and contribute my experience. 
Einar Eysteinsson

Pete McK

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Re: Greetings from Iceland
« Reply #5 on: July 17, 2014, 09:02:46 AM »
Hadn't seen this website before Einar, thank you, it is really good :) When you come to Britain let us know and I will send the the places to see and visit where I live in the Lake District, England.

Callum

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Re: Greetings from Iceland
« Reply #6 on: July 17, 2014, 02:40:22 PM »
Hi Einar and welcome to this great forum.

We grabbed a weekend break last year, with Easyjet forŁ76 return for the two of us, and stayed in a B&B in Reykjavik. With the backdrop of snow-topped mountains we fell under the spell of this beautiful city, visiting a few museums and art galleries and at night saw some great live music: we will be back :)

As Pete Mck says, when you visit UK next we will point you in the right direction in England's most beautiful spot: The Lake District ;)

boogyman

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Re: Greetings from Iceland
« Reply #7 on: July 17, 2014, 04:28:46 PM »
And a "warm" welcome from Belgium too Einar !

Lyle Brotherton

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Re: Greetings from Iceland
« Reply #8 on: July 18, 2014, 07:25:27 AM »
Einarn, great to have you on board :)

HSSK are one of the best SAR teams I worked with during my six years of research and I encouraged my team, TVMRT, to twin with them because they have much to teach the world, not least the outstanding way you integrate into the community, in particular bringing under 18’s into the youth section of the team, so that when they are adults they not only join as full responders, but also HSSK has been a part of them growing up and part of their families life. I have never seen this practice outside of Iceland.

I have so many happy memories of my weeks in Iceland, you live in a fantastic environment and the Icelandic people are very friendly and welcoming, one story for the forum.

One very cold winters night evening I was leaving Siggi Sigurosson’s house and Luka his daughter asked if she could come out to say goodbye to me. Without any in instructions from her parents she went into the cloakroom and put on her boots, hat, gloves and coat before she came out. She was just 3 years old at the time and I knew from when my kids were this age they would never have had such an in-built respect for the environment.
 


Having some fun with some of the guys (Siggi is on the left) whilst I was instructing them, they carried their handheld satnavs like this for many kiliometers  ;).

“Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance” - Plato