Destination I

Let’s start at the beginning – it seemed like a nice sign when I arrived at my gate last night only to realize that I had been upgraded to Economy Comfort on the plane. My row partner explained to me that he had to pay two times as much as I did for his seat – how lucky is that? It was a nice flight, as he and I chatted about Iceland (him being a native), had a wonderful complimentary meal and tried to sleep as much as possible. Not getting too much shuteye, we landed in Iceland and my very nice row partner (Stefan is his name) offered me a ride to Reykjavik which was a good 45 minute drive from the airport. This was excellent as I would have had to spend even more time trying to figure out how to get a shuttle service or pay for a taxi – luckily he was headed into Reykjavik too.

As we drove away from the airport, I noted it was an overcast day here, sun peaking through the clouds every now and then with an occasional shower. Stefan chatted with me about what there is to see in Iceland – but the best part so far was the fact that when you are landing you could actually believe you are landing on the moon, for the airport is in the middle of a huge dried lava bed! For miles, all you see is dried lava with more moss growing on it than you have ever seen in your life… and (what Stefan smiled about constantly) there are NO trees! It seems like the entire island is treeless – where you can see out for miles and miles!

On we drove as we chatted about how there are only two malls on the entire island, very few actual cities, and how small the population really is (which showed by the lack of cars on the main road we were traveling – the whole time seeing maybe two or three others). I must say, I am much happier being a passenger for the scenery was fantastic! I was so exhausted by this time that I couldn’t muster up the strength to take out the camera, even though he was kind enough to circle by the pier to point out Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower on Videy Island. I figured I could save this for the next few days as I explore the city of Reykjavik.

After reaching the hostel, Stefan and I said goodbye, traded business cards, and I set off to check in and set up my bed to sleep for a few hours. Even now, I still feel the weight of not sleeping enough, as it has been quite a few days since I have had actual quality sleep. Tomorrow is a new day however, not only to explore the city, but a full work day as well.