: : home     : : reviews     : : days gone by     : : litmag     : : who?     : : contact    

24 august 2000

letters from iceland, the end

(May 31) Well, Jason, this is it. Last day in Iceland. I've spent way too much money, I'm exhausted, and my face is horribly windburned. This has been the best vacation of my life! My flight didn't take off until 4:30 p.m., so I was able to get a pretty full day in. I decided to check out the Reykjanes peninsula, which is a seemingly endless, barren, hiker-unfriendly lava field. When you fly into Iceland, this is the first place you see. Nearly everyone equates the experience to making a moon landing, which isn't far from the truth. In fact, when NASA astronauts were making their lunar voyages, this peninsula is where they held their training. The place is brutal on the feet, though, so you need a good pair of hiking boots to go any distance. Imagine walking on a pile of pumice stones, then multiply that by millions.

It's worth it, though. Today I was finally able to fully realize what a precarious place Iceland can be. Geologically speaking, I was able to place one foot in Europe, and one in North America. I stood on the volcanic fissure that separates the American and European tectonic plates. In the middle of the vast, blackened lava field, you can clearly see this huge crevice in the earth. From time to time, it separates a little more, oozing fresh lava and setting off a chain of earthquakes that can be felt throughout the country. If you're into this sort of stuff, it is awe-inspiring, as well as humbling.

As with all of the natural attractions Iceland has to offer, you need to know where to look to find them. There are no billboards, no neon signs, no sprawling snack bar conglomerates. There aren't even barriers between you and the sights. I suppose they assume here that you've got enough sense not to run amok along the edge of a 300-meter waterfall, stick your hand into a boiling geysir pool, or screw around near a crater the size of three football fields. If you do, you get hurt. Period.

I like this "survival of the fittest" attitude toward tourists. They seem to have a low tolerance for stupid visitors.

For a change of scenery, I then walked along the seaside one last time along the high, rocky cliffs where thousands of arctic terns make their nests. The wind was brutal but I stayed for a little while. Grabbed a few small rocks to bring home. Enjoyed the solitude, and the sounds.

My final stop on the way to the airport was the Blue Lagoon, a huge geothermal pool in the middle of the lava. Here, you can soak in silica-heavy hot waters that are reputed to have special healing powers for people with various skin disorders. I spent about an hour in there, the perfect way to unwind before the long flight home.

So there you go. I certainly wouldn't recommend this trip for everyone. It can be too expensive if you're not resourceful, and you have to be in decent physical shape to fully enjoy a lot of excursions outside of Reykjavik. I wanted a unique holiday, and I got it. Next time I visit, I think I'm going to also include a trip to the eastern coast of Greenland, another destination to confound my mother.

I'm also bringing one of those eye masks so I can get some sleep. The midnight sun is great for a few days, until you awaken blinded again at 3:00 a.m. and want nothing more than to hurl a big hunk of lava rock through the window.

Good night.