THURSDAY, SEPT. 2, FRIDAY SEPT. 3 REYKJAVIK - KEFLAVIK

The weather has turned foul and it matches the way we feel. We have hunkered down in Reykjavik and put in the time wandering, souvenir shopping, hanging out in cafes, and generally being bored and miserable. We are both tired and sick with head colds and we're in the stage of just wishing we were home. We know that, when we are home, we will look back on this trip with fondness and pride, but, right now, we're fed up.

We braved the rain on our last night and enjoyed a wonderful prix-fixe dinnerand met two wonderful young Canadian, Jen and Chris, who were enjoying all the highlights of a trip to Iceland. One of them, Chris, was on the final leg of a round-the-world journey that has included China, Russia, Estonia, and now Iceland. Jen, her best friend, joined her here and they will fly home together on our flight tomorrow. Their youthful energy and enthusiasm lifted our spirits a bit and made us feel better.

This morning loomed windy, grey and absolutely horrible. We enjoyed a farewell breakfast with our Willie Nelson host and talked about Cuba and Iceland's woes. We drove to Keflavik and saw the most beautiful rainbow in the midst of the storm. The car was dropped off, and here we sit in the airport, biding our time until the flight.

This journey will rank as one of our best and most taxing. But this is why we do it. Every once in a while, we emerge from the cocoon of our comfort zone and spread our wings. But we always return home, and, when we do, home seems so good..... better each time we return. Will it ever reach a point where the travel makes home look perfect, and never a place to leave? The answer, of course, is yes.... but only after we have taken our last journey. And that is not for some time yet.

Thank-you Iceland for letting us roam like a couple of gypsies for two incredible, beautiful, frustrating, painful, inspiring, hilarious weeks.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 1 BUDARDALUR - REYKJAVIK

How to describe today: the shortest drive and the most insightful.

The route was not long, not arduous. The sea never really left our view, and the cliffs, covered in soft downy green, seemed to come alive in the brilliant sunshine.

Our host in Budardalur, whose name we never knew, but I'll call Bjarni, proved to be the most open Icelander we have encountered on the trip. He engaged us ( or, more correctly, WE engaged HIM ) in a long conversation about his country at breakfast. The summary:

- the economic downturn was BAD... the banks, very small, failed in 2007 and all investment and retirement plans were badly managed... people lost everything and began to take to the streets to protest... anger directed at the banks and government.... government nationalized the banks in an effort to stabilize the situation.... not over yet

- foreigners from Poland, Estonia and other places have come in to take jobs from Icelanders... they don't try to fit into Iceland and don't even speak Icelandic.... locals are angry at the foreigners

- Iceland is at a crossroads... foreign youth form "gangs" and crime is on the rise... break ins and beatings, but no weapons yet... police are not effective and may have to carry guns in the future

- EU... will Iceland join? if so, how will it effect its fishery, which is Iceland's biggest industry... Iceland doesn't want foreigners to control quotas and prices and come into the territorial waters to fish, ruining fish stocks... will Iceland have to abandon the krona and use euros?

Clearly, opinions expressed were those of a 64 year old man in a small village, a village, where, it must be said, not much progressive seems to happen. There's no prosperity here, and the guesthouse was the quietest and least satisfying we've encountered.

But there's no denying that Iceland, as a small, peaceful, insular, predictable, and prosperous little society, is disappearing. The country is perhaps losing its innocense. Canada and other larger countries have already gone through the rapid social and economic changes. Iceland, small and insular, may be just starting and, to quote Bjarni, will go through " a tough winter."

We'll have to monitor what happens from our home far away. Strange to say, but, for two northern nations, Canada and Iceland seem to have little in common. We are not on each other's radar. Shame, really. Maybe instead of joining Europe, Iceland should consider joining us. Hmmm.... just a thought.

We checked into our guest house in Reykjavik that is run by Willie Nelson.... really !! A dead ringer for him. We went souvenir hunting and had a Brazillian dinner... Reykjavik is so cosmopolitan. The dinner and beer were good.

TUESDAY, AUG. 31 ISAFJORDUR - BUDARDALUR

Just when you think there's nothing newly spectacular to see, Iceland shows that it isn't quite finished with you... not yet. We set off from Isafjordur a little later than normal ( around 10 am ) after a very simple breakfast. Lou calculated a course along Route 60 and warned that it would be quite a road. She wasn't kidding.

We followed the coast out of Isafjordur and headed into more fjord country that defied description. We climbed more huge cliffs only to hurl ourselves down the road to the sea. Each twist brought new vistas that caused me to, at first, utter religious oaths ( "Holy Mother of God!" ) to be followed by more profane ones as the views became more unbelievable ( "holy mother - _____ !" ). The human vocabulary, in any language, is simply inadequate to convey the truth of how the wonder and grandeur of the Icelandic northwest evokes an emotional response. Maybe "holy cow!" is enough.

The downside of the journey was the road itself. At least half of it, maybe more, was glorified dirt track, some with good hard-packed gravel, other parts with thin, liquidy mud that I called "soup". Our car became a mess, caked with a good quarter inch of mud. That, plus the extreme changes in altitude and treacherous switch-backs on the cliff faces created conditions that Lou called "intense". That's the best word for it. It was an exhausting five hour roller coaster, not helped by my cold, which has now invaded my sinuses. But I loved it !! It took all my concentration and skill and I found myself narrating out loud at the best parts, as though I was a commentator on the Speed Network. Lou thought I was either crazy, or scared shitless. Maybe a little of both. Man, it was fun!!

Overall, I would have to rate the Iceland driving experience as the best one, surpassing our drive up the Dempster Highway in '96, or the US Southwest, the Canadian Rockies, the Scottish Highlands, the Coast Road in Australia.... they're all wonderful drives in their own rights, but Iceland is a mind blower. And, tooting my own horn, I'd say that I have driven with some pretty good skill and daring here. It helps that the car and tires are up to the task: I've certainly beat them like rented mules. They've stood up to all the abuse I can give them, and I will sing their praises. So, hail Suburu Imprezza and Yokohoma Aspecs !!

The reason that we are in Budardalur and not Borgarnes is time and fatigue. Sinuses and exhaustion told me that our original destination wasn't happening. Tomorrow, we've decided to drive back to Reykjavik for 2 days of rest in the same bed. Then Keflavik. That means that my rally round Iceland is, to all intents and purposes, over. It has been a sprint, not a marathon, and we're tired out. But it's nice to know that we can still do it when the heat's on.

MONDAY, AUG. 30 HVAMMSTANGI - ISAFJORDUR

Today, we drove with eagles - literally. Our route took us slightly west, then north, into the great northwest fjord country. The drive was fraught with challenges. My headcold has grown, and added to that was the first bout of traveller's diarrhea. The cramps came upon me halfway through the journey and, with no towns or village, no WC in sight, I had to endure. Add to this some of the most intense rally-style driving of the trip, and, to say the least, I was spent upon arrival in Isafjordur.

On the plus side, the drive was spectacular. We climbed high cliffs, drove across tundra, then descended into long fjords. Again, we had the sensation of flight rather than driving, and I had to concentrate hard to keep our car safely on the wet, often gravelled roads. The views were unbelievable. Along the bottom stretches, birds and more seals cavorted on the water. In the upper reaches, sheep with utter fearlessness stood their ground against our car's approach. Then, on high ground, a huge bird rose up on the wind currents and soared along side us. It was a golden eagle who joined us and flew along side in perfect formation. The bird was serene in its majesty, power, and freedom, paying us no heed as we drove in its wake, completely honoured to be in its company, completely in awe if its beauty.

Isafjordur is a fine, tidy fishing town at the head of a deep and long fjord. It is completely ringed in by some of the most dramatic cliffs imagineable. The setting was truly remarkable. We toured the interesting little fishing museum and had the BEST fish dinner of the trip. But the eagle.... what a sight !!

SUNDAY, AUG. 29 AKUREYRI - HVAMMSTANGI

My sore throat bloomed through the night and gave me a rough sleep and a bad start to the morning. Fortunes of war !!

After a hasty breakfast, we motored west through more impressive scenery. This day, however, we did not stop to take in the views. It seemed that, now that we have embarked on our second week, we are determined to make our evening's landfall earlier and secure lodging quickly. That proved to be a good strategy today as we made it to Hvammstangi around noon and secured a pleasant guest house right away. This allowed us to spend the afternoon searching for seals.

We drove up the the west side of the Vastnses Peninsula on a gravel road. We enjoyed the endless vistas of rocky land sweeping down past isolated farms to craggy cliffs and then a huge expanse of fjord to the cliffs of the far shore of the far-away peninsula to the west. Stunning ! But we began to dismay as time and distance sped by with the only animals in our view being the sheep and horses that are ever-present. The weather matched our moods also: cloudy, grey, cool and windswept. We thought a couple of dirt tracks would lead to seals, but only a fleeting view was our measly reward. But then a long trail which we hiked lead us to about a dozen fat grey seals languishing on rocks and four to six playing tag in the water at fairly close range. Often, the playful ones would poke their heads above the surface to peer at us with intelligent and quizzical looks. We began to wonder who was studying whom.

A local legend calls the seals the "sea folk". The tale goes that when Pharaoh and the Egyptians were chasing Moses and the Isrealites into the Red Sea and were drowned when the sea collapsed on them, Pharaoh and his men were re-incarnated as seals. That explains that, while seals live in the sea, they have the eyes and internal organs of men. Well, it's a cute legend, and it does account for the fact that they are mammals, but I don't get the eye thing: they're not human at all. Their eyes are large, round and black, with no whites: they look other-worldly. So the legend has its contradictions, as does everything in Iceland.

We enjoyed a lovely coffee-lunch in a delightful old farmhouse near the seals. Icelanders love their coffee and, generally, make it good, strong and rich. We enjoyed how the coffee warmed us up and lifted our spirits as the wind howled and the rain sprayed. But we have also come to love Icelandic pastries: crumpet-like pancakes with smoked salmon or poached egg, spice cakes and, best of all, wafer-thin sugar crepes which complemented the coffee perfectly.

As we continued around the peninsula, the weather improved radically and dramatically. The sun broke through and the external temperature climbed to a high for the trip of 1 6 degrees celsius. We saw many more seals basking on a sand bar and spit of land, but were not able to get close. We befriended more horses in a nearby field. We have grown very fond of these sturdy and gentle creatures, and will miss them when we leave.

As we returned to our guesthouse, we decided to try something a little different. We bought sandwiches and soup for our dinner at the guesthouse. This is because Hvammstangi on a Sunday night makes Vik look like Las Vegas. And, we need rest. Our trip is certainly taxing our strength and stamina. To be fair, we are coping extremely well, but we are in our mid fifties now, and have been driving to a new place and new lodgings every night. On past trips, we have often deliberately planned to remain in a place for a few days in order to unpack, get used to a bed for a while, and stay out of a car, train etc. This trip is different: it's a true road trip and our only multiple day stop-over was at the start. Now, it's an eleven day race around the island: we're halfway through and we're getting tired and sick. Also, an in-house meal is less expensive than some of the restaurants we've been visiting.

A final note: we met our first gregarious Icelander today. The young woman who sold us our sandwiches spoke excellent English and actually kibbitzed with us about the weather and breakfast. As always, Iceland will throw a curve when you're expecting a fastball.

SATURDAY, AUG. 28 HUSAVIK - MYVATN - AKURERYI

Today put the "ice" in Iceland. We were greeted by very cold temperatures in Husavik that eventually got .... much colder !! We left Husavik and drove past the penis museum ( no joke, a museum devoted to displaying penises of several animals from blue whales to shrew: no humans on display, apparently, but several doners have stepped up ! ) into the hinterland for Myvatn. We encountered temps outside the car of 3 degrees celsius and little pellets of SNOW ! Snow in August.. now I'll believe anything is possible and likely in Iceland.

Myvatn is a strange lake. As I wrote yesterday, it is quite large and very shallow. We parked and finally were able to get out on the land with our hiking boots. Our first of two hikes took us away from the lake through a lava field that featured eerie dark formations. It was strangely reminiscent of Bryce Canyon in Utah, except for the colour and lack of "hoodoos". There's something vaguely exciting of walking among weird rocks that appear to be atype of super-natural life standing at perfect attention, ready for inspection. The second hike took us to the lake, past lava towers in mid water, looking like spikes along the back of some prehistoric reptile slumbering beneath the surface. Mixed in with the natural vegetation were a couple of curious and well-tended flower gardens that looked like they belonged in some proper upper-class English lady's back terrace instead of a windswept Nordic version of Middle Earth. Expect the unexpected in Iceland.

We visited a lovely waterfall called Godafoss. This is where our Thingvellir visit came full circle. The pagan priest who decided that Iceland would give up the pagan gods for Christianity in the 9th century returned to this area, his home, after his decision. He is said to have taken all the pagan idols and dolls from his home and thrown them into the swirling waterfall. Thus, the waterfall of the gods, or Godafoss, came to be.

I began to drive fast after that. My throat began to burn and I fear that I'm getting a cold. But the view coming down from the high plateau and looking across the fjord that is home to Akureyri was another of those majestic views that almost makes you faint. I had the sensation that I was flying, not driving. There was absolutely no margin for error on that road: a slip or a skid and you would be airborne, hurtling to certain death into the cliffs and water hundreds of meters below. We descended safely to the bottom of the road and drove into Akureyri, a well-kept bustling northern town, and Iceland's second "city".... just in time for another cultural festival. We got ahead of the street closures thanks to two quick-thinking assistants at the visitor centre. We enjoyed a nice beer sitting in the setting sun at a cafe, a fine meal of Icelandic fish for Lou and lamb for me, and now contemplate an early night in order to beat my sore throat. All in all, a fine day in the frozen north !!

FRIDAY AUG. 27 EGILSTADUR - HUSAVIK

If yesterday was the worst day of the trip, today would be the best. Our drive out of Egilstadur was truly amazing, and this is after several days of superlatives. We turned inland and lost the coast, but were rewarded by a huge climb that put us on the top of a large plateau. Despite the fact that Iceland looks small on a map, the land itself is immense. The plateau was largely endless rolling lava fields hemmed in by pallisades of mountains. The lanscape was mostly lunar, grey-black with huge lava mounds. Periodically, some green appeared to break up the monochrome. Why "Lord of the Rings" wasn't filmed in Iceland, I'll never know.

As we neared the Myvatn area, we came across another location that was not of this planet. But instead of looking lunar, this field was red clay-mud, and was covered by mounds of mud pots, or geothermal mounds that vented super-hot steam from 200 meters down into the earth. At some places, the water bubbled up in a black thick soup that gave forth the foulest stench imagineable. It was right out of Macbeth's witches' cauldron.

Myvatn is a large lake that is maybe 12 to 13 feet deep at its greatest depth. It's name means "midge water" and is home to blackflies, midges and pseudocraters. We hope to explore this area in more detail tomorrow.

Finally, we arrived in Husavik, back on the ocean. It is a sizeable and charming sea-town with a small but busy harbour and colourful buildings. Our whale watching was a cold three hours tossed on the North Atlantic, but we enjoyed the company of two rather shy minke whales, who allowed us to tail them in our sturdy little fishing tub called "Sylvia", before they gave us the slip and disappeared into the vast ocean. Unfortunately, the major species of whales ( humpbacks, fins, bowheads, and blue ) had left these waters for warmer areas about two weeks earlier. Similarly, the puffins had all gone out to sea to feed and enjoy the warmer waters. We timed our trip about a month too late to really see these animals. But the minkes were fun. It is always special to see our powerful yet gentle marine cousins, whose intelligence and personalities were ruthlessly destroyed by Icelandic whalers in the recent past. Fortunately, minkes are not considered endangered because they are not extensively hunted due to their relatively small size. An average adult minke is only about 10 meters long. However, larger whales are back in the gun sights, so to speak. In 2006, Iceland resumed commercial whaling on a large scale. This has caused great division and controversy among Icelanders. We must say that we saw whale on more than one menu in Reykjavik restaurants, but we will not eat any of our marine cousins.

Seafood is a different story, and a fine fish dinner ended our day. Our spirits have been lifted by our relative good fortune and we hope to continue it. The weather is still largely good, though it has turned noticeably colder in the north. And the Icelanders are living up to my first impressions. They are polite and friendly enough, but so reserved and "cool": not a lot of yuks or giggles with them. I used to think that Germans were the most reserved people on earth, but Icelanders make Germans look like Latinos !!