Iceland Journal - 26 May 2010

After a close call at San Francisco International Airport (weather delayed my flight to Seattle by two hours - the wonderful people at Alaska Airlines put me on a van to Oakland International Airport to catch a flight to Seattle that would allow me to catch the Icelandair flight to Keflavik) I am officially in Iceland! And I am tired. My flight was on time, but sadly Brian's is delayed by an hour. So I sit here with the lady from the car service and write this entry.

Once Brian arrived we headed into Reykjavik. While waiting for him, I spoke to a pleasant young woman who was a PhD student in Icelandic literature. Oddly enough she was an Icelander but studying Icelandic literature in Denmark. We got our rental car, which was roomier than I feared and proceeded to become lost almost immediately. We eventually found our way to route 1 (the ring road) and headed out on our great Icelandic road trip!

Our first stop was in Hveragerdi. We had our breakfast at a bakery and went down the street to the local bank. We then stumbled on a little geothermal park and got to smell the sulfur and see the bubbling water and steam. It was a nice little park and best of all, was free (at least we think so, and no one accosted us telling us differently). Then we hit the road again. We stopped at a roadside waterfall so Brian could take the obligatory photos.

Once we got in range of the recently erupted volcano (which by the last day of the trip I was able to pronounce correctly - Eyjafjalljokull) we were in for a surprise. The road had been destroyed in three or four places to protect the bridges from being washed out by the abrupt melt of ice and snow caused by the eruptions. I saw these same places on a National Geographic special (of which I am still trying to find a DVD) a few weeks ago at home. The ash in the air was incredible. Around Skogar visibility was down to only a few feet. It was scary to say the least. It literally looked like night had fallen in the middle of the day. Having grown up in the Central Valley of California I am used to being around thick fog and even driving in it. But nothing prepared me for driving through the darkness of volcanic ash.

When we arrived at our first farm stay, Sólheimahjáleiga in Mýrdalur, the visibility was still low and the wind high. We checked in, took a pseudo nap, and headed down the road to Vik to look around and find some dinner. We stopped at the grocery store and got some Icelandic Glacial water (which ironically was the same price or cheaper in Oakdale's SaveMart). We stopped down the street at a restaurant/cafe and had the soup du jour, tomato. I also had a nice canned iced coffee. 2600 kronur for the two of us. That's some expensive soup. Luckily the ash haze was minimal in Vik and we got to see the black sand beaches (also a little grey from the ash). We poked around a wool/souvenir shop (called Vikurprjon) and headed back. We hit the same low visibility on our way back to the farm. From the dining room where I am writing this, the ash haze is obvious.

When speaking to one of the ladies running the guesthouse, she said it was not harmful, but still irritating. They had to move a lot of sheep out of the area to protect them from the negative effects of the ash. She also tole me how hard it is to scratch a living off the land here. We have it easy in California when it comes to agriculture (an abundance of arable land and the high availability of irrigation water, yes I know there have been tremendous efforts to bring irrigation to the Valley). I learned later that only 0.07% of Iceland is capable of supporting crops! Brian and I am enjoying the red vines my WONDERFUL girlfriend Jenn gave me before leaving on my trip.

My Iceland Journal

A quick preface to my Journal entries:

These journals were written by me at a variety of times and places around Iceland in May and June 2010. Sometimes the tense jumps from present to past to future. I am not going to edit these tense changes as I think they lend themselves well to experiencing the trip as I did. I am going to add little bits of information when and where I think they will help the audience (getting smaller as I write more) get a better sense of what I experienced. I am by no means a professional writer, and I have no doubt that these journals could be more exciting. However, I think you lose some of the authentic experience if you edit too much. Anything I added ex post facto will be shown in italics.

So, here we go...

As some of you may know...

As some of you may know, I am kind of a nerd for Iceland. My trip there earlier in the year left me with an incredible sense of awe and appreciation for this small, mostly secluded North Atlantic island. It has been six months since I got home and I still have a sense of wonder and excitement about my trip. I have been incredibly lucky to have been able to travel as much as I have. But I cannot remember a single trip that has left me with such a sense of inspiration, even after I return home. The build up to a trip is always exciting and new. But sometimes the trip home leaves one with a sense of exhaustion and disappointment. Not so with Iceland.

In appreciation of this trip (and in recognition of the omnipresent holiday season) I am going to start adding my daily journals from the trip to this blog (and thanks to the mostly over-zealous interconnectedness of EVERYTHING ELECTRONIC and facebook, my facebook page too). I hope these will help my audience of two people enjoy the wonders of Iceland as much as I did. Of course, there is nothing like experiencing something for yourself. But this is essentially free (minus the always-too-large-for-what-I-get-compared-to-other-companies-Comcast-bill). So, keep an eye out over the next few days/weeks/months/years for these.

Also, I am thinking about switching away from AT&T for my mobile service. Ideas?

And Happy Holidays.

Iceland

My trip to Iceland starts tomorrow. I will be posting pictures and some commentary at http://lotrr2010.wordpress.com and will probably post blog entries here when I return.

Also, I found an old journal I kept when I went to France in 2006. It was pretty interesting (even though I am biased since I wrote it). I will be posting those entries here when I return from Iceland too.

I guess I better start packing...

Still Looking

Have you ever felt like you are looking for something, but don't know what it is? And you know you will never find it. But you look anyway?

I think, while planning my trip to Iceland, I have become aware of this feeling. One where I know I am looking for something, an experience, a moment, a sight, a feeling. But I don't know what it is. And I don't know how to find it. And I know I won't find it. But it is ok. It will be alright. I will have fun. And I will create lasting memories and experiences. But I somehow feel like it will be less than I am looking for.

I have had the dream of visiting Iceland for the past five years or so. And it frightens me. Not the country, but being able to make a dream turn into a reality. I am scared that it will not be what I think. But then I remember that it is a new experience, one that most people will never have. And it will become a part of me. Just like every other trip has. It will help shape the rest of my life. But will realizing a dream make it less important to me? Or make me feel like I have no where to go? I don't think so. I think it will make me a better person. And I will find a new dream. And I will keep replacing those attained dreams with other dreams until I die or dream the unattainable.

I'm not sure where this all came from...

Iceland, here I come!

Ok, so it is finally time to get some plane tickets and start planning my trip to Iceland!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw this today and was very excited.

If anyone has any suggestions, other than "have a great time," please let me know!