Merry Christmas from Franz Josef! We happily spent most of yesterday and today bundled up inside a little cabin, safe from the rain, wind, and thunder storm outside. We are feeling so thankful and blessed because the only day that there hasn't been a storm here this week was the 23rd, the same day we had booked our glacier climb.
We arrived the 22nd and checked in to our campsite (we opted for a cabin because the glacier is at the base of a very temperamental rain forest). We dropped off our bags and went for a short hike to the base of the glacier. Part of the trail was closed off due to flooding and rockslides, and we found ourselves hiking through another downpour. We returned to our cabin to find that a down tree had caused a power outage for several hours. We made a list of the groceries for our holiday meals and headed to the store. We gave ourselves a $10 stocking allowance and split up to find a little something to put under the tree.
To get into the holiday spirit, we used a butter knife to cut down our "tree." our tree is a 7 inch little branch from q shrub outside, and a decorated it with some shiny ribbon and a few gift tags, and stuck it into a red mug full of dirt. Our little gifts don't actually fit underneath but it does look cute.
On The morning of the 23rd, we thanked our lucky stars because the storm had paused. Glacier tours were operating again! We dressed in several layers and headed to meet our guide. In town, we went over safety guidelines, signed our lives away, and received our waterproof pants, coat, wool socks, hardcore boots, and a red fanny pack with crampons inside. Then we hopped on a bus to the base of the hike.
Our guide, Tay, was great. She was a little blonde girl from England, she was tough and very knowledgable. She provided lots of facts about the area and tips for safety to avoid what she called "splat moments." Our climbing group was also wonderful, a man from Florida, couple from Hong Kong, couple from California, and a really nice family who live in the Phillipines working for the US embassy (in keeping with the generous traveling spirit, they offered Mike and I their home for our layover in Manila).
We spent an hour getting to the ice, two hours on it, and an hour getting back to the bus. I was a little nervous having never worn crampons before, but quickly caught on and really enjoyed it (who knows, maybe someday we will tackle Mt. Rainier). The route was intense, the guides carve it out each morning and carve in stairs and add ropes where needed. We actually got to climb inside the huge crevasses and all over the giant ice walls. The glacier was bright clear blue just as I had pictured (Mike mentioned the true resemblance to Glacier Blue gatorade). There were crystal clear pools and waterfalls in every direction. The hike was challenging and contained some pretty steep climbs, and we all worked up a sweat (Britta and Jeremy - picture Angel's Landing on ice...)
By the end of the day, nothing sounded better then what waited at the end: the Glacier Hot Pools! The pools were clear blue, peaceful, and surrounded by a lush green rainforest. We stayed until our fingers turned to raisins and then returned home to make spaghetti and salad and promptly fall asleep.
This morning we woke up and made a breakfast scramble, had a traditional Christmas morning mandarin orange, and a mug of Via, and opened our gifts. Mike got me a chocolate Santa, sketch pad, and drawing pencils which I can't wait to use. I got him a travel note pad, a NZ deck of cards, and a locally brewed red ale. We are spending the day watching Christmas movies, and talking to our wonderful families who we miss very much (even got video chat to work with Aunt Chris and Uncle Steve in Seattle and Mike's cousin Annie in Spain, very fun!) and cooking a feast for two. We are making marinated grilled chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, broccoli, and salad. We have some New Zealand wine and our homemade fudge, and the Polar Express on tv. Life is great and I hope that everyone at home is surrounded by loved ones, enjoying laughs, food, and in the holiday spirit, we miss you. We have so much to be thankful for. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
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