Everything is a long way apart, so the eleven of us (plus our guide and driver, so 13) are spending a lot of time on the bus (it’s not a full-sized bus – 18 seats including the driver). And, guess what, the skinny on Iceland that everything is expensive is true. I can deal with that – we’re only here five days, but man oh man, we just had two sandwiches, two bottles of water, and a shared piece of apple pie for lunch, and it was $40.00!
Now, when we do stop and go for a short hike, or look at the spectacular falls, or go on the zodiac boats, Iceland is amazing. The scenery is something else – a cross between otherworldly, Mad Max, and the moon, especially if the moon were made of green cheese (or moss, whatever!). It reminds me of places I’ve been, and nowhere I’ve been. I get hints of the Scottish Highlands, New Zealand, Patagonia, Antarctica, and Ireland. I’m surprised more people don’t live in Iceland, but it also has to be a hard way to make a life.
Don’t get me wrong, we’re glad we are here. But there are some places I can not wait to get back to (even if I have to wait), but so far, Iceland does not make that list. And yet, here I am, riding along on the bus, blogging and working, looking at stunning green cliffs, and there is a beautiful waterfall. No, make that two waterfalls. Now, three. And here’s a fourth. Remarkable. Maybe I have to reassess.
The Icelandic people are very friendly, and those who we have dealt with do not mind at all using their English skills. I have to believe, of course, that they learned long ago not to expect any tourists to speak the language. I will note that punctuality is not a thing here, which surprised me, as I suppose I expected some sort of ruthless Nordic efficiency. Service, however, has been great.
Other notes. . .the food, for being expensive, is all good here. Not great, but we’ve not had a bad meal yet.
It’s very cool seeing the sheep all scattered around the fields and hills. There have to be the most black sheep I’ve ever seen. I know what you are thinking – have they any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full. We did learn from Giorgio that the sheep hang in three – the mama, and her two lambs. And sure enough, everywhere you look, there are groupings of three lambs. If there is a fourth, it sure enough is a ram. If there are only two, well, the missing one may have been on my plate last night.
Out in the eastern part of South Iceland, all of the bridges are one lane. Given how little traffic there is, it is no big deal. If there IS a car coming the other direction, whoever is closer seems to have right of way, whilst the later arriving car waits patiently. My theory is that one lane bridges are cheaper, while Rich posits that they are less likely to be swept away in a flood. I don’t know how to break it to him, but he’s got to be wrong (again!).
If you are coming to Iceland, use Reykjavik as a jumping off point, nothing more. There is not much to see there, so do not plan to spend more time than the day you land.
The most annoying thing about Iceland deals with restrooms. A lot of places you are expected to pay to use the toilets, whilst other places have a tip can. For a group of people mostly in their 50s, being able to use restrooms easily is surprisingly important (younger readers, see what you have to look forward to?). And, since there are no trees or forests, there are often no places to easily sneak off and use the facilitrees!
1 comment:
I’m a bit surprised at your relative reticence toward Iceland, my brother. We had the benefit of driving a personal vehicle around the island with our three children - aged 10, 9 and 6 at the time. Fortunately, we left the dog at home. While three kids in a cramped vehicle can lead to much noise, crying, yelling, complaining and pain...it also led to some spontaneously fun memories. The time I followed the GPS on the car to take a “shortcut” and we spent three hours on a rocky road that we were sure was going to give us a flat tire (or is it tyre?) - and we were far away from the middle of nowhere. Yet, we saw scenery that we’ll never forget. Or the time I took the shortcut over the mountain in the north of the island as the gas needle was pinned below empty. To say that we were driving on fumes through fog in the middle of the day would indicate that I could see more than five feet in front of the vehicle - which I couldn’t. With each passing kilometre, I judged how long it would take me to walk to the town on the other side of the mountain to try to find petrol. I loved the place! And I learned an important lesson: beware of shortcuts in Iceland.
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