Iceland Makes Me Happy

I have been quite a few places at this point; I think I'm up to about 18 countries and 45 states in the U.S. Even so, I can honestly say that Iceland is completely unlike anything I've ever seen. Descriptions are really hard for this place, please understand. Even as our boat pulled into port, my mind was bent with uniqueness that I hadn't expected. Generally, when at sea, the first sights of a land mass are little slivers of darkness on the horizon. I spent a while looking for this as we got closer to the island country. Eventually the number of birds on the sea was increasing faster than made sense. You can usually tell you're very close to land when you see a lot of birds. My expectations and assumptions were being challenged, because there were birds, but no land. Then, suddenly, the clouds cleared up a little and imposing mountains appeared where I expected to see a faint line on the horizon; and they were close too. I don't know how any clouds could possibly be thick enough to hide these giants.

Because we had an overnight in Reykjavik (Ray-kee-ya-vick) , we rented a car and explored the area; I'm glad we did. We saved a ton of money this way and had a lot more freedom to explore on our own time. We rented the car in advance from the Enterprise located in the same parking lot as the port welcome center. This recommendation came from my sister, Gisele, who honeymooned in Iceland with her husband, John, in November of 2017. A lot of the places we went were recommended by her, actually. Shout out to the O.G. Expeditioner. Anyway, I'd highly recommend renting a car if you ever have a day or two in Reykjavik. We embarked on our drive of about 2 hours, and again, my mind was blown by the scenery and terrain. So many of the areas we passed through resembled the mesas of New Mexico, but covered in the moss of Ireland. Other areas looked like the plains and rocky terrain of Utah, mixed with the forests of North Carolina. My favorite areas looked like the canyons of eastern Colorado mixed with Jurassic Park. The cliffs were so high that the tops were hidden in the clouds with the occasional bird (pterodactyl) flying in and out of the mist.

We eventually made it to stop one: Friðheimar (Fried-high-mer). As far as I am concerned, this is the best restaurant on the entire planet. The restaurant is inside the tomato farm greenhouse where they grow the ingredients that are used to make their incredible tomato soup. This soup and their amazing homemade bread are served on a farmhouse table buffet where you serve yourself as much as you want, as many times as you want. There are other, more expensive, items on the menu that are also delicious, but that soup... That's all I need in life. The tables are set with a potted basil plant and little scissors so that you can add it to your soup. The water on the table is fresh from a nearby glacier and has little cherry tomatoes at the bottom. After we were seated at our table, our waiter explained that they grow tomatoes all year long, never export, and keep everything as natural and organic as possible. So the greenhouse is heated with a circulation system that draws 200° water from a nearby hot spring. The plants are pollinated by 3,000 Icelandic bumble bees that buzz around throughout your meal. Instead of pesticides (which are barely needed anyway since the country has very few natural pests), they import flies from the Netherlands that eat any eggs from harmful Icelandic flies. The food, including the tomato cheesecake, was almost too much for my little heart. I left there feeling ridiculously full but so happy. No doubt the sunflowers the size of my head added to that happiness. If you intend to go here, plan for a long drive and to make reservations. We were told a million times that we were very lucky to get in without reservations. Don't tempt fate like we did.

Things only got better when we decided to stop at the Skógafoss (sko-guh-foss) Waterfall. I have to say, in all my years of traveling, this was one of my absolute favorite moments. Icelandic people don't seem to care how close you get to dangerous things; no ropes, no bars, no rails. You just do what you want. So, naturally, I got as close to that waterfall as I could before being inside it. The waterfall tumbles down 60 meters into about 2 feet of water that's level with the walking paths. I was soaked but I haven't smiled or laughed that big in a while. That was pure joy to me. I wish I could have taken you with me. Again, the cliffs on each side other waterfall looked like the land of dinosaurs. The black volcanic rocks and gravel beneath my feet added drama to the already intense Icelandic mood. I hated leaving there, but their air was very cold.

After this we intended to visit the famous Black Sand Beach, but ended up stopping to go to Lily's dream photography spot: the Solheimasandur Plane Wreck. The wreck was left by U.S. Navy pilots that had to crash land on a remote part of the beach. It makes for very moody photos. When we parked on the road the sign said it's a 4 hour walk to the wreck. We couldn't believe that - plus we're American and don't trust signage. We could see the beach from the road. Boy, oh boy, does Iceland continually bend my mind. We asked some people walking up how long it was; they guestimated about an hour. We still thought that was an overestimate. We could literally see the water! We started walking this gravel and rock road, and continued to walk for about an hour. It was cold and late (about 8:00pm), but still as bright out as it was at noon. My brain hurt imagining how the walk could have been so long when, visually, it made no sense

We made it to the wreck at about 9:00pm and were able to take a lot of nice photos because there were few people there. The walk back, however, was absolutely grueling. It was almost 10:00pm (still light out) and the walk felt like it would never end. We could see the road the whole time but it never felt like it was getting any closer. I had two bleeding blisters on one foot and virtually no will power. I was prepared to accept hypothermia. We finally made it back to the car and embarked on a 2 hour drive back to the port. At about midnight, we climbed back into our beds with sighs of relief. It was such a good day, but we were totally beat. So I guess that makes it a good day.

The second day there, our all aboard time was 11:30am, so we stayed close. We visited Hallgrimskirkja (Halls-grim-skirk-ya), a Lutheran cathedral built in traditional Icelandic style in the '80s. The 5,000+ organ pipes filled the church with beautiful light-hearted music that contrasted starkly with the moody weather and the harsh architecture. We toured around the city a little and headed back to our ship, where we watched porpoises play and mountains fade into the clouds as we sailed on to our next destination.

Some fun facts about Icelandic culture I learned: • Iceland has a naming committee that is overseen by the Department of Justice. Its purpose is to approve/reject proposals for new names parents are allowed to use in naming their children. Wikipedia describes their roll as determining whether names "are suitable for integration into the country's language and culture." With that said, there are less than 4,000 approved names that parents are allowed to draw from, none of which include letters that are not part of the Icelandic alphabet (like c and z). • Last names are not really a thing in Iceland. While children do have a surname of sorts that pairs their father's first name with either -son or -dóttir, it doesn't work as an American surname does, as the surname will be different each generation and depending on the gender of the child. • Everyone goes by their first names, including the president and celebrities. This promotes a social equality, that Icelanders find very important. • Reykjavik is the world's northernmost capital city. That's it for now! See you in Akureyri, Iceland! From: The Expeditioner