Iceland - Intro

Hey Everybody,

6/26

It is 9:40pm & I just checked into my room at an old farmhouse. I could have been here sooner and had a hot meal (it would have been my first and only meal today), but I must confess - reluctantly! - that there was a definite learning curve in the driving department. I could blame signs I can't read or a map that sometimes doesn't quite compute....but mostly I think I just needed the afternoon to get oriented. And I had plenty of time for that since I was back & forth on the same two roads a few times bouncing between places I wanted to see, but couldn't plot out because some roads I'm not allowed to take the car on, but I don't always know whether a road is paved through before I'm on my way. And some places are not in the rental car's GPS system best I can tell. I think it would be easier to rent an SUV so that more roads are accessible.... next time!

And yes! I did ask for help once. It didn't help....it took me the LONG way, or maybe (MAYBE) I didn't follow the directions exactly...

To add some drama to the whole driving thing....would you believe that the rental car I got is brand new?! Only 9km & I am its first driver.... Believe me when I say I have worried about gravel roads most the day because any damage to that car is on me. It's a great little car...good radio...and, luckily, good gas mileage! (Amy, tell Wim it's blue! I didn't plan it...but it matches my blue watch pretty well :-).

PS don't worry...I found Paprika crackers in a store, so I did eat something today.

6/27

I have slept, had breakfast and studied my map....am feeling much more oriented this morning. It rained overnight and seems to be clearing a bit now. The old farmhouse was quite comfortable. So, feeling refreshed and confident I took to the gravel roads for my first two stops.

No, that's a lie! My first stop was the gas station where I was unable to figure out how to use my card to get gas. You can buy it 24/7, but nobody was around to ask for help. So, I set out on my gravel road adventure anyway....got to the first one & decided I really should get gas. Turns out that's not easy to do....when you are on the edge of nowhere! I returned to the same gas station with less than 1/8 of a tank (but I didn't run out!), got help and returned to my adventure. And now I know how to use the automated machines; phew!

The rest of the day (until room check-in) was without drama. When I got to my room for the night I couldn't open the door. It's one of those doors that can be buzzed from inside & unlocks. I couldn't open it; the owner didn't understand....so I was stuck on the porch for nearly 20 minutes in increasingly cold weather (b/c I am in the north part of Iceland). But she and her husband are very nice and all is well now.

You probably want some photos, but it is NOT easy to photograph this place. Here are some Iceland facts instead...pics in post after this.

- pop. 320,000. Most people live in Reykjavik. This means that much of the time I share the road with sheep, the occasional diesel, and some cars here & there.

- there are 150,000 Icelandic Horses in Iceland....the Northern area has more horses than people. Many just look like a horse, but some of them are stunningly beautiful.

- Icelandic people did not have a word for "brain fart" in their native tongue, but it turns out someone picked it up on a US trip & shared it. They love the phrase! So glad we could contribute in a meaningful way....

- Kentucky Fried Chicken is said to be better here than anywhere else (accordingly to Icelanders) because they use their own Iceland chickens. I haven't tried it yet, but think I should test this theory! Only I'm not even close to a KFC.

- McDonald's and Burger King both pulled out....Icelandic law prohibited them from importing meat.

-As Iceland's climate has grown more mild in the last few years there has been at least one unexpected consequence: bees. They never had then until the last 3-4yrs.

Back to regular travel reporting soon (and hopefully less about getting lost, almost running out if gas, etc.).