Getting ready for Iceland

The flag is exactly where we are NOT going

It seems a long time since we last put fingertips to keyboard - our Sri Lanka trip, to be precise, so here we are once more, getting our kit together for the climatic vagaries of Iceland. Will we need swimming costumes? Are our polar bear defences ready? Do the thermal undies still fit?

Indeed, the question of underwear, overwear and intermediate wear has been tasking our packing skills. The issue is that although we shall be on board a ship, we have to fly first ... and we are going to much colder climes.

So, these and more are questions we have asked ourselves and eventually we have come to the conclusion that there's one simple answer - Layers, Luvvie. Here's Gabrielle with her carefully organised packing environment.

Order

And here am I in my disordered, chaotic packing pit.

Chaos

And of course, we are asking ourselves questions about how we entertain you, our lovely readers. Do we create some or all of the following:

• An interactive map of our route? Yes, possibly

• A photo set that shows the ultimate luxury in which we are bathing? Probably not

• Entertaining posts about the trips we shall undertake and (hopefully return from)? Definitely - top of the list

• Musings on life and man's (and woman's) tiny place in this huge universe? Gabrielle says no, because her place in it is not tiny.

Stay tuned and we shall keep you up to speed with how things are progressing in the Land of Ice. We depart from home on Tuesday 17 July and fly from Heathrow on Wednesday. See you on the other side!