Hello, it’s Monday again!
As mentioned in the title, this is my final post from the wonderful Iceland. I have had a wonderful time here and would recommend it to anyone who is able to make a visit here.
I am writing this back in the capital Reykjavik after a couple of weeks in the rest of the country. Yesterday I returned from the Vik region in the south after enjoying a lot of geology. The natural beauty of Iceland is dramatic and very awe inspiring. Nevertheless, I have to admit that the weather here has not been quite so kind. There have been a few days with cloudless skies, but also a lot of rain. Thankfully I didn’t come here for a tan!
I have spent a good amount of time visiting museums and learning lots about the history of Iceland, as well as speaking to Icelanders. As we are currently in the throes of the World Cup there are Icelandic flags and football shirts all over the place. Trolls, elves and ghosts also feature in the cultural landscape, with some Viking identity added in too. As an aside, it was definitely worth watching the national team play in bar even if football isn’t really your thing (like me!).
I shall certainly miss the beach walks and steaming streams, as well as the volcanic activity unique to Iceland. One other thing that shall be strange is moving back to a latitude where there is darkness. I have become used to 24 hour daylight, one evening watching the sun dip towards the horizon before rising again in the ‘morning’. Sorry no pictures of this 🙁
Whilst here, I have become used to packing up my possessions regularly and moving on. This includes developing a routine for what goes where and in what order. This certainly makes you think what items you really need, rather than what you might possibly want or need. Most of my kit gets used at least every other day which helps prevent over-packing.
One of the joys of staying for a longer period in Iceland is hand washing laundry. There are very few laundry options here and those that do exist are really quite expensive to use. That travel wash suddenly becomes very handy! Such a great way to use part of your Saturday morning. Creating a bespoke clothes drying system is a skill that I hadn’t anticipated developing. I did manage to trip the socket ring in one of my hostel rooms using two heaters in such a system. Embarrassing!
Tonight’s activity involves preparing to fly tomorrow, re-arranging kit for the joys of airport security and getting a good night’s sleep. Tip: blindfold and earplugs. The best part of flying westwards is that a sleep pattern is much easier to maintain- going backwards in time reduces jet lag. I will eventually have to cross the international date line, but that is for the future.
So it is farewell to lovely Iceland, the next destination shall soon be apparent. As a spoiler, the weather is warmer and hopefully drier there.
Stay safe and keep travelling!
The sun shining on the harbour in Akranes, Iceland.