Keith Walker - Icelandic Adventure
Posted by Dan Kammerer on Jul 12, 2016
Following Keith’s retirement (File Photo), he and Val were initially on their way to either Arizona or Hawaii, until Keith saw an advertisement for a trip to Iceland. $750 per person covered the flight and 5 nights accommodation and seemed to good to pass up! They decided to go to Iceland instead.
Iceland has 80% of it’s energy come from Geothermal. Consequently, their energy costs are very low. There are 26 outdoor swimming pools in Reykjavik, which are open all year round. Swimming is a very social environment and the Icelanders will sit in the geothermal pools visiting. The island of Iceland is about the size of Southern Alberta with a population of 330,000. 2/3’s of the population live in Reykjavik.
History;
When the Vikings arrived, there were no indigenous people on the island. They still speak the language those Vikings spoke over a thousand years ago. No other languages are allowed into their vocabulary. Leif Erickson, sailed out of Iceland when he discovered Newfoundland. He brought his wife with him, which was most unusual at that time. They remained in Newfoundland for about a year, but found it too cold, so they relocated south to New York, where his wife gave birth to a son. They lived in the New York area for about 4 years, and then returned to Iceland.
Tourism is the #1 industry, followed by fishing. Keith showed a number of photos showing the panoramic views of the volcanic mountains that surround Reykjavik. Reykjavik is a modern European city, but all the street names seem to start with a “K”, so keep a good map. Keith and Val took a tour of the Golden Circle, which is an 8 hour tour. On the tour they were able to see several geyser’s, glacier’s and the first house of Parliament. Iceland horses are about the size of ponies, but don’t call them that. They are very special to the Icelanders and they don’t allow other breeds to come onto the island. If an Iceland horse leaves the island, it cannot come back. Although it’s inexpensive to go to Iceland, once you’re there, it can be a little more expensive than originally planned. Keith almost paid 30,000 kronas ($30) to go for a swim in the hotel swimming pool.
Thanks to Keith for sharing his experience with us.
Minute People:
Ted; Stampede Raffle is almost here. There are about 10 spots remaining to sign up to sell raffle tickets at the Stampede. If you haven’t signed up yet, please do. Also, everyone who has pre-sale ticket books please bring the funds and ticket stubs to the meeting next Tuesday, July 19th, as Ted needs these prior to the start of Stampede. Thanks
Dan: Thanks to everyone who has let Dan know which committee you wish to join this year. For those who have not responded yet, Dan will be sending out a reminder. The committee’s will be decided by the first business meeting in August.
Robert Rickey;
Robert and his wife Pamela (member of Rotary Club of Medicine Hat) are working on returning the Rotary Stampede float back into the parade this year.
The theme is ‘World Peace and Understanding’. There will be a Globe, about 8 feet in diameter pulled on a flatbed. A copy of their Presentation was forwarded to all Club Members July 12
The time involved would be a couple of hours or so.
Contact Pam or Robert at; 403-487-1676
Or e-mail Pam at; pamelarickey@trentu.ca
Paul Harris presentation;
Dan had the honour of presenting Craig Elder with his Paul Harris plus 5 pin this morning. Thanks to Craig for his continued support of the Rotary Foundation.
Sgt at Arms Clare had a few fines and a number of Happy Dollars.
John Hallett drew from the deck, but it was not the Ace of Spades (Beep Bop Boing!! Play Again!)
Meeting ended approximately; 8:20 AM
Cashier; Keith Walker
Greeter/Newsletter; Bill Cooper