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 !!

THURSDAY, AUG. 26 HOFN - EGILSTADUR

Today's drive featured breath-taking ocean views, more towering mountains, huge fjords and major disappointment. There was, indeed, a monster, but not what we had expected.

We left fishy Hofn and followed the Ring Road east and north, hugging the coast of the North Atlantic Ocean. The views continued to be spectacular, but we could not see any reindeer, puffins, or any marine life, as we were lead to believe we would. Travelling in a moving car prevents anything but a chance encounter. Near the island of Papey ( ! ) we entered our first true fjord and marvelled at how farms can cling to cliffs, sandflats and sea coast. Two long, deep tunnels were interesting and slightly freudian to contemplate. Either modern engineering or a very ambitious troll had been hard at work.

After a long day, we arrived at Egilstadur. We checked into our accommodation, with our sleeping bags, and asked what one does for interest in this area. We were told that a drive around the huge Lagerfljot lake, a very long and wide relative of Loch Ness, Lake Champlain and Lake Okanagan would get us to Hengfloss, a lovely waterfall. A hike of about an hour and a half would be required, but after a long day in the car, that sounded good. Sadly, we missed the entrance to the hike and instead drove around the entire lake, a spectacular view, but not one that we needed after a long drive. We wasted fuel and gathered frustration. The monster didn't live in the lake: he is the actual embodiment of our fears, angers and frustrations. Despite the nice drive, this became the worst day of the trip so far.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 25 VIK - HOFN

Four hours in the car. One road. Absolutely no doubt of our destination. Plenty of fuel and water. Sunshine and relatively clear skies. And virtually no chance of getting lost. If these are the ingredients of a perfect driving day, then today was our day.

We set off from Vik fairly early. As we motored east, we encountered a constantly changing landscape. Ocean vistas gave way to lava fields, which looked like a giant had laid down black sacks of flour one on top of the other and covered them with green moss, springy underfoot. Lava fields gave way to high, green cliffs reminiscent of the Scottish highlands. Cliffs gave way to mesas and mountains, green and sheep covered. Mountains gave way to glaciers. Myrdalsjokull was a giant dome of ice covering, ominously, Katla, larger sister volcano of Eyafjellajokull, and about ten years overdue to erupt again. Katla is also home of a mischievous witch, who consorted with trolls and men and corrupted all of them.

But when we headed east from Myrdalsjokull, we beheld the behemoth known as Vatnajokull, Europe's largest glacier. What a giant this one is !! We marvelled at the masses of ice to our left, sweeping down into black sandy flood plains to our right sweeping out to sea. Some vistas were green and bursting with life, others were stark, black and barren as a moonscape. Indeed, we felt that we had done some interplanetary travel this day.

Despite the variety, our road ran straight and easy for much of today's route. As a result, the driving was luxurious, with few challenges. Our Suburu ate up the miles easily and comfortably, but fuel was an issue. We need to learn how to use the Icelandic language pumps correctly and avoid waiting to the next sizeable town before re-fuelling. Tomorrow's run takes us a bit further east, then more northerly, through fjord and lake country. Apparently, we might encounter a lake monster on our route.

TUESDAY, AUG. 24 REYKJAVIK - VIK

Our road trip began in earnest today. We bid a fond farewell to our Reykjavik host, Olafur, and successfully navigated a quick departure from the capital. Under bright sunshine and fresh sea breezes, we refuelled the car and headed south-east on the great Ring Road, the national road of Iceland.

We continued to marvel at the land. Towering green cliffs undulated in the distance. Then, far off to the east, clouds gathered. We drew nearer to the site of the recent volcano at Eyafjellajokull. I wondered if the grey clouds were rain or ash. As we pressed eastwards, the rain fell darkly, and it would not relent throughout the day. But tell-tale signs of the eruption were present. Fields alternated between green scrub-grass and grey ash. Then, the land turned black, literally. We drove over bridges that covered wide, raging torrents of melt-water. The Ring Road had suffered severe wounds in the eruption, and it was under repair and reconstruction as crews struggled to contain and undo what nature had done. It was plain to us that, while Iceland had survived the ordeal, the scars were still visible.

We arrived at Vik in the early afternoon and basically cooled our heels at our guest house. This was our first "sleeping bag" accommodation, designed to save a little money. We remembered to bring our sleeping bags, but not towels or pillows, so a short visit to a local hardware store bought us our first Iceland souvenirs: two small blue towels which, when rolled up around our clothes gave us pillows !

Vik features a wide expanse of beach nestled below dramatic, cloud shrouded cliffs. The most unusual aspect of the beach was the sand: it was jet black. It is obviously the product of volcanic activity, but it was so unusual for us to stand on a beautiful wide beach that was as black as night.

We drove around a promontory to get a better view of formations of sea stacks and were befriended by a border collie we named "Shep". Shep was eager to show us his beach, and, for value added, he scared up a sea lion off the shore which Shep proceeded to chase ( on dry land, of course ) and scold with loud barks. Shep saved the day, for the sea lion disappeared with a flip of its tail, and slipped below the waves. Good doggie !!

MONDAY AUG. 23 REYKJAVIK - THINGVELLIR- GEYSIR - GULFOSS - REYKJAVID

Our first real travel day in the car. We have rented a Subaru Imprezza and I was impressed at how the car handled: a true rally car !! Great suspension, nice acceleration, and a fabulous 4-speed automatic tranny with a "sport" option that lets you shift through the 4 gears like a formula 1 driver... no clutch, just a little twitch of the hand on the stick and you're in a new gear. Awesome !!

As we breakfasted in Reykjavik, we were pleased to note a diminished wind, milder temperatures and a rainbow over the town and the North Atlantic. A good omen for the day.

We recovered our car, thankfully still intact, and navigated our way out of the city. For a relatively small city, Reykjavik is very spread out and has more than its fair share of urban road confusion. A few much needed course corrections put us on the road out of town where I fully appreciated, once again, the thrill of the open road in a foreign land. Lou's navigational skills were spot on as well !

We began to appreciate the stark beauty of the land early in our drive. Iceland, as said before, possesses a look that is reminiscent of other places, but is uniquely its own. Cliffs and crags towered above the road and played tag with clouds of white and grey. The sky was immense and deeply blue. We broke through ranges of hills and overlooked tundra plains that were eternal. The famed Icelandic horses and sheep were everywhere.

We arrived at Thingvellir around noon. Here we saw in fine detail how the forces of nature shape this land. It is a rift valley and we were able to walk, literally, between two continents, Europe on our right, North America on our left. We descended between these two barriers of volcanic rock as though the Red Sea had parted for us. Besides geology, Thingvellir holds historic significance as the cradle of Icelandic society, for it was here, more than a thousand years ago, that Icelanders would meet in conclave in the world's first parliament. We stood at the "law stone", where any man could speak, and beheld the sites where stern justice would be meted out, where trade and barter occurred, music and games and all other matters of social interaction were held well before such things came into being in larger, more powerful nations. Here, too, Christianity came to Iceland, allegedly chosen by a pagan priest in a spirit of concilliation and compromise.

From there, we drove further inland, past immaculate white and red farms to Geysir and Gulfoss. Geysir is more evidence of the forces of nature that do battle just below the surface of Iceland. It was all new to us to witness scalding jets of water bubble to the surface from a dark well only to burst 20 meters into the sky. Then, a short drive to Gulfoss, a spectacular torrent of river water tumbling over rocks only to disappear into the mists of a deep chasm cut into the earth.

Afterwards, again thanks to Lou's navigation, we managed to find our way back to Reykjavik and to park our car just down the street from our hotel. A pleasant final stroll through Reykjavik's streets under lovely sunshine capped off the day.

Certainly, today proved the intimate relationship between Icelanders and their strange and lovely land. If Icelanders are different and perhaps even strange to us, it is because their island is different and, perhaps, a challenge to them. But, rather than try to conquer their land, Icelanders appear to have learned to live with it, and to accept its unique character, and to accept the gifts along with the challenges. We will learn more tomorrow, as we finally leave Reykjavik and travel the south coast to Vik: provided we learn how to refuel our car !!

SUNDAY, AUG. 22 REYKJAVIK

We have grown our winter coats. The wind has been constant for three days now, but rolling clouds have obscured the sun, dropping temperatures to single digits. We have been forced to dig out our fleeces and put on layers, perhaps earlier than we had hoped, but thank goodness we brought them. Our plans have also changed: instead of the Blue Lagoon, we remained in Reykjavik for a day of wandering.

Reykjavik is a handsome city in the Nordic style. The buildings are mostly low-rise, some colourful, all of them designed with well-defined, clean lines. The streets were jammed with pedestrians yesterday: today, they were mainly deserted, probably because it was the Sunday after a holiday of intense celebration and also because of the weather.

We covered a lot of ground and popped into a few shops, a couple of bars and cafes, and the Halgrimmskirkje. We did not visit museums or monuments, mainly because of fatigue. We tried to book accommodation for our next landfall, Vik, with no success. Tomorrow is another day.

Icelanders, as I said yesterday, come across as being very laid-back and reserved. They flow across this city as people who know exactly who they are and where they live. Despite Reykjavik's relatively small size ( about 200,000 people ), there is a somewhat chic and sophisticated air to the place. If the people are not overly demonstrative, they certainly seem to be confident, satisfied and comfortable in this town. There's no reason for them to get excited, to be anxious or worked up about a way of life that keeps them healthy, well fed, content, and mostly employed. Thus, the Icelandic character emerges: reserved, stoic, rugged, and resigned to their rocky, stark and windswept home. They are stylish without ostentation, sure of themselves without arrogance, urban without frenzy. They may just have it all figured out.

A final note about today's weather: our landlords and a couple of people we talked to today insist that this is unusual. One girl in the 66 degrees North store said she was "embarrassed" by the cold wind. I don't buy it. I think this is really an Icelandic August, and that the publications and the Weather Network were all lying to us. We'll see !!

SATURDAY, AUG. 21 REYKJAVIK

Jet lag. Fatigue. Culture shock. Biting cold weather. Encroaching old age. It's all here and we're loving it !

We arrived in Iceland after an excited sleep-deprived night at home. Our flights and connections, through Toronto to JFK in New York and then to Keflavik, were flawless, thank God. Even our luggage was re-routed through JFK and actually arrived at Keflavik. No problems, right?

When we first landed at midnight at Keflavik, our first clue as to how strange Iceland would be was the security check to get INTO the country. Only Cuba ( another unique and strange country ) does this. When we exited the airport, we were assaulted by a cold wind that took us from North American heat and humidity to a climate that reminded us of late November. All that was missing was the Grey Cup.

Our first night's accommodations were a small "scandanavian" style cabin attached to a motel about three minutes from the airport. First discoveries were that heat was mandatory and a radiator was found in the bathroom. Second was that when Icelanders say "hot water" they mean it... we were almost scalded by the geothermally heated water. We were in serious zombie land as we looked around our little cabin. Fatigue guaranteed sound sleep.

Today, we picked up our car and enjoyed a pleasant drive into Reykjavik. We navigated successfully into the town centre through some of the most starkly beautiful land we've ever seen. It's reminiscent of Newfoundland, the Orkneys, the highlands of Scotland and the Canadian Arctic. The most unique feature was the rock: black and pitted, it is the evidence of past volcanic activity. We know of Iceland's violent reputation, of course, but to see these geologic footprints makes it all real.

Once we got into the city centre, our luck changed. We managaed to hit Reykjavik on Culture Night, also shared with the Reykjavik Marathon. The result: streets were blocked off from traffic, and those streets which were open were choked with cars and pedestrians. I was worried about changing paint jobs and side mirrors with kamakaze Icelanders. Our stress levels were through the roof, no fault of ours. We ditched our car behind the Halgrimmskirjke, found our hotel, checked in, and left our car to its fate.

After a rest, we ventured into the mayhem of Reykjavik on Culture Night. The weather turned cold with a brutally biting wind. The crowds were immense, despite the bad weather, and we wandered among them, dazed, directionless, disoriented. We managed to hear, however, some amazing music interspersed with the almost comical, made-up lilt of the Icelandic language. It is a strange language to our ears, and it almost sounds like the language my brother and I made up when we played with our toy soldiers, and tried to speak German or Japanese in the mock battles. After much wandering, we fortified with pizza and wine, and staggered back to our hotel for an early night, only to be assaulted by a thrash-metal band playing on a street stage next to our lodgings that would make Skinny Puppy sound like folk music.

This may be the theme of our trip. There's much to look forward to, but there may be much that tests us. Early impressions are that Iceland and Icelanders may not be easy to get to know. But, if we persevere and are willing to go more than half way, the country and the people may turn out to be worth the effort.

PROLOGUE

Lou and I have just returned from our 2 week romp through Iceland, one of the most unique countries on earth. We are literally trying to catch our breath, recover our sanity, and relieve the bad sinus infections we both caught on the trip. And, of course, make sense of what we've seen, learned, experienced, and remember.

I kept a journal on the trip. At the end of each exhausting day, I took pen to paper and scribbled down what we did, what we saw, what we ate, what we smelled ( you'll see why later ) and how we felt about everything. Now that I'm home, I am going to try to publish these in blog form, along with some of our photos.

I'm doing this in a separate blog from my regular one because I think this experience was so different, so strange, that I wanted it to stand alone from my other ramblings. So, the new blog, johnsicelandadventure is born. Happy reading.