Unbelievably, snow has appeared on the hills around LA and the locals are all in shock at this Siberian-style weather, I feel it may be a sign that it's time for me to leave town.

Unfortunately though, Thelma has still not arrived, I've got all the Customs paperwork in place, and so she'll be stored here once the ship unloads. Chritmas at home is beckoning me, today I'm flying up to Seattle to catch up with friends there and then to England via that well-known hotspot - Iceland (the country not the supermarket).

I've been offered the fantastic opportunity to do some off-roading and a quick tour around Reykjavik while I'm there on my 10 hour stopover. The locals assure me the temperature should be above zero...

I'm not sure how I'll cope with the cold, it's only five days since I left the sweltering heat of the Yucatan, and where my room mates at the dorm thought it was particularly hilarious that I was going to Iceland as they were heading back down to the beach.