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.