Keeping the Faith

KEEPING THE FAITH

48 HOURS IN ICELAND

“Do you like Louis Armstrong?”

“In fact, I do. Yes, yes,” I nodded vigorously.

“I met him in 1958… It was so, so great. Sometimes I’m dreaming from this.”

He had a wistful smile as he recalled the moment he met Louis Armstrong at a show in Germany decades ago now. He was 23 at that time and him and his buddies volunteered to be ushers at his show one evening and they got invited to the backstage, the tour bus, and another show he did that evening. He had that distant look on his eyes, the one you get when you stumble upon a remarkably happy memory.

I was on a bus in Southern Iceland and I was sitting next to this affable 82-year old fellow from Hannover, Germany who guzzles 1-liter Cokes like it’s no one’s business and unapologetically admits to dropping six teaspoons of sugar on his daily cup of tea. We are on the same tour of the South Shore of Iceland and his excitable energy was welcome company for the ten or so hours we sat on the bus together.

And this is still one of my favorite things about travel, no matter where I go. When you’ve committed to learning and experiencing a place, a culture, you also open yourself to conversations with utter strangers. Travel breaks down age, color, and racial barriers. You let your guard down. At least, I do.

I was in Iceland for but a couple days on an airline stopover en route back to the US from Italy/the Netherlands. And Iceland – land of fire and ice, of volcanoes and glaciers. It was ravishing, enchanting, and magical. And while you can’t open an Instagram feed anymore without knowing what Iceland looks like, nothing compares to seeing all the glaciers, the mountains, the waterfalls, the sheep and the horses – in real life. It being a typical autumn day, it was gray, windy, and cold. Icelandic Indie music (Moses Hightower is what’s up) provided the right soundtrack for such a crisp but otherwise somber day.

And no Instagram story could portray how remarkably friendly and nice the Icelandic people were. I could blame the current state of American political environment for preparing myself up for the worst in people anymore (it’s a dismal outlook, I know), but the folks of Rejkyavik were genuinely warm and friendly. It seems like they’re alienated and untouched by all the divisive politics happening elsewhere in the world. It’s like I was in a bubble. It was disorienting, but I must admit, I was cautious in the beginning, but I freaking LOVE IT. If it wasn’t so expensive living here and if a glass of wine didn’t cost as much as an entrée, I would totally live here waiting tables or driving a tour bus, I don’t care.

But enough of all that crap. Here are some photos of an amazing day road tripping (it's one way of putting it) in the South Shore of Iceland. From Reykjavik to the southern end of the trip, it took 1.5 hours of driving. Most of the areas we visited that day was part of the Katla Geopark and has a UNESCO Global Geopark designation.

SOLHEIMAJOKULL GLACIER

"...In 2010, it was almost one kilometer shorter than in 1930. If the climate continues to warm, there is a possibility that the glaciers will have disappeared in 100 to 200 years." I'm at a point where I don't think we can change the minds of global warming deniers, but I honestly think that there are large swathes of population who don't realize the impact of climate change and the more we educate ourselves and think about these things, perhaps the better the future of glaciers and the environment in general will be. Think about it. That's all, thank you.

reynisDRANGAR

There is wind and there is WIND. We went on a day with wind gusts that will knock you off your feet literally. This is a black sand beach on the southern tip of Iceland and the main point of interest are these mountain of rocks that jut out from the ground that was formed by volcanic activity a very long time ago.

skogafoss

After a quick lunch stop at the town of Vik, we made our way to Skogarfoss, called one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Iceland. "Skogarfoss" translates to "Forest Waterfall" and stands at 203 feet tall and 49 feet wide. It is powerful and majestic.

seljalandsfoss

Just north of Skogafoss is another marvel. Towering at 216 feet, Seljalandsfoss is another beautiful waterfall among the many in Iceland. One can walk behind the waterfall and come out on the other side. There's also a series of waterfalls in a row. It's truly fascinating how everywhere there is water. It's so surreal and seemingly out of this world. It's so crazy to think a place this rich in beautiful natural beauty that is still relatively untouched exists.

reykjavik

Oh how I wish I had more time in Iceland, but it's definitely a place I'm already yearning to go back to and explore more of. On my final day in Reykjavik, I walked and walked sans an itinerary.

IF YOU GO

MONEY TALKS

Iceland is a very expensive place to visit, much more than other already expensive places in Europe such as Switzerland, for example. This is because a vast country the size of England for a population of 320,000 people – the economies of scale to make services run cheaply is just not there. Taxes are high, especially for alcohol – a whopping 80%! If you go, while there is an option to subsist on cup noodles or cooking some of your meals by staying at a guesthouse, I say just bite the bullet and stop converting in your head. Everything is going to be expensive – that’s just how it is. Just think that what local folks are getting in exchange is a living wage and a higher quality of living. Not everything has to compare to America, you know? Because guess what? Iceland ain’t America.

STAY

I stayed two nights in Iceland – one night at Base Hotel near the Keflavik Airport ($53/night + $35 taxi from the airport) and one night at Heida’s Home, a guesthouse, in Reykjavik ($102). Both times, I had to share a bathroom (no big deal) but had a room with a double bed all to myself.

TRANSPORTATION/TOURS

Because I was by myself, didn’t have much time, and didn’t want to negotiate with directions and road conditions, I didn’t want to drive. Rental car costs plus gas are too cost prohibitive for the amount of time I was staying anyway. So instead of paying for a shuttle to Reykjavik from the Keflavik airport area, I found a tour company that would pick up people from KEF. No other company did but Reykjavik Excursions, so I booked my South Shore Tour with them and saved $25 on a bus fare. On the way back to the airport, I booked a ticket without the hotel pickup and spent $25 on a shuttle ticket.

I was beat from traveling the entire week in Italy and Holland, and called an early night in Reykjavik. Otherwise, there were small bus northern lights tours that depart around 10 or 11 PM that would have cost $60.

Instead of the airport shuttle, I also considered going on a Reykjanes tour on my last day, which is near the airport and included hotel pickup and airport drop off. It would have been a way to see more of Iceland and its lava fields and hot springs ($95 including airport drop off), but I decided to walk around Reykjavik instead. I’m reserving this for my next trip, though!

DINING

There’s a plethora of dining options to suit whatever fancy you have – just be prepared to dole out dough. I went with my rule-of-thumb on these things and went with a restaurant with moderately priced food, but promising quality. Sumac was an excellent choice! They serve outstanding Mediterranean-inspired food, and although on the higher end of the price scale, I skipped wine and the bill came in under $50 with appetizers. Like I said, the food was exquisite and carefully prepared and the service was excellent. For breakfast/lunch pastries, I recommend Sandholt. Their Danish is marvelous (although the coffee is so-so)!

Remember that Iceland has some of the best potable water in the world given that it comes from some of the purest glacial sources there is. Take note though that when filling your bottle from the tap, only fill it with cold water. Hot water is piped from geothermal hot springs and therefore, very sulfuric (and smell like rotten eggs).

ETC.

Have you listened to Icelandic indie music before? For a tiny country of 320,000 people, the indie music they churn is fucking amazing. Because flights are so cheap in and out of Iceland anymore (food and lodging is a different story – more like a different chapter in a different book written in a different language, however). They’ve produced names in the music scene that have become recognizable globally – Kaleo, Of Mountains and Men, etc. - Iceland Airwaves 2017 is happening from November 1-5 this year and if I had not overspent my vacation days this year, I would have given going to this music festival a second thought. On June 21-24, 2018, one of Iceland’s biggest music festivals, Secret Solstice.

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#europe #iceland #hiking #travel #adventure