The land of fire and ice – 1

 Early last year, I was making plans for what would be my only international trip of the year and as always, it turned out to be a trip that I would go on by myself. I had picked the destination a year ago – Iceland, the land of fire and ice. Some Instagram posts had inspired me to explore this island filled with beautiful waterfalls. I imagined it would be a hiker’s paradise. I might also have the opportunity to see the northern lights. Before long, I had booked the flight tickets and stays. All the travel blogs I read in preparation had one thing to warn me about – that it was going to be an expensive trip, especially the food and stay. I assumed I would counteract some of the priciness by choosing to travel in the shoulder season rather than in summer and by opting to stay in hostels. Over the next few months, I would be a constant lurker on the visitingiceland subreddit, learning about how tourists were spoiling this pristine location, not giving the locals, the sheep or the horses any privacy. People also suggested tourists learn some Icelandic before visiting.

 There were some other life-altering events that I experienced in the months leading up to the trip. I found the perfect partner (in life and) for my travels who did not need any coaxing to start applying for the Schengen visa to join me on the trip. About a week before the start of the trip, it was not a solo trip anymore. We rebooked some of the stays and were all set. Try as we may, we could not book the same flights at a reasonable price. So, we decided it might be a good idea to fly separately, especially on the way back, in case things do not go as well as we had hoped considering we only knew each other for a couple months.

 I was not excited about my 7.5 hour overnight flight to Reykjavik. I hoped to catch some sleep so that I would be ready to explore as soon as we touched down. When the crew came by with drinks, I was pleasantly surprised when the couple seated next to me offered to pay for my drink if I chose to have one that was not free. I decided to go for it, wondering why they did that for me. I foolishly did not ask. However, they did start a conversation a little later. I learnt that their names are Kevin and Yvonne and they live in Montana. They shared a lot of details about how they came upon some inheritance and were traveling to Ireland on this trip with family, with a connection from Iceland. This was their first international trip ever. They wanted to celebrate that they were able to travel and thought buying me a drink was the best way to do it on the flight. They were kind and humble, reminiscing about their jobs at a mental health facility in their city. They were fascinated to learn about my life as well, telling me they were nowhere nearly as smart as I am when I revealed that I am a software engineer. They also invited me and my partner to visit them and stay in what appeared to be a Bed and Breakfast that they were newly setting up. It would be free of charge!

 We spoke for a long time and they gave me some food for thought. I contemplated about the fact that I could choose to splurge and travel wherever I wished to at less than half their age. They had spent their life giving to their community and even wished to share a part of their accidental bounty with a stranger. They had not made it their goal to accumulate as much wealth as they could in life and live a materialistic life. As much as I try to justify that I spend money on travel, which is an “experience” that opens our minds, rather than on objects, it is materialistic. The fact that I have chosen the path that rewards me the most rather than those in need, makes me materialistic, perhaps. They seemed to be doing fine without having traveled wide and far. I need to think about being grateful more often than not, in life.

 I landed in Iceland after the night of little sleep, groggy but excited. My partner had arrived two hours before I did and was patiently waiting for me. As soon as I saw him at the gate with a handwritten sign on the phone welcoming me, I could not help but feel lighter simply knowing that I had someone to rely on and would not have to take every single decision myself while visiting the island. It seemed like a rainy and windy day, just like most days are in Iceland. I could truly appreciate how powerful the wind is only after I saw a sign on our rental car that warned us about the car door flipping due to the wind. Once we were on the road, I understood it better. If we did not hold the door every time we opened it, we might have to go back without a door.

Reykjavik is the capital city of Iceland. The international airport serving the city and the western part of the island is located in Keflavik, a town to the south of Reykjavik. We decided to spend the rest of our day nearby in the Reykjanes peninsula and to head to the city for our stay only in the evening. The wind and the cold made sure we were not drowsy at all. I surely did not know this at the time but the first spot in our itinerary was iconic – earth-shattering, if you will! Amidst the lava fields is the bridge connecting the north American and Eurasian tectonic plates. This is where it started dawning on me-why it is the land of fire and ice, not just ice like the name suggests. Glaciers cover about ten percent of the land area of the country while there are more than thirty active volcanic systems. My limited understanding of the matter made it difficult for me to fathom that they could co-exist. How could there be glaciers when there were so many volcanoes? Is the heat not sufficient to melt the ice? I hope to learn all about it some day.

We created many more opportunities for ourselves to experience the wind and to test how well we opened and closed the doors of our small car when we visited the Reykjanes lighthouse and the nearby ridge named Valahnukamol. The gloomy weather against the black lava rocks looked hauntingly beautiful. The clouds parted and made way for the sun rays occasionally so that we would not miss how lush green most of the island is. We made another stop to see the Gunnuhver hot springs and were in Reykjavik soon. After checking in, we walked to the historical center of the city to grab some dinner. We were pleasantly surprised to taste some amazing vegetarian food at a restaurant. It was also a reminder that eating at restaurants two or three times a day during the entire trip would not be sustainable financially. We passed by the largest church in Iceland on our way. It is called Hallgrimshirkja. We posed for a few quick photos in front of it and called it a day.

The first day only gave us a glimpse of the unique geology and landscape of Iceland. We were yet to see the beautiful waterfalls and venture out of the south west, unlike most visitors. I was curious to see how the rest of the island would be, especially the more remote areas and wondered if we would be able to manage without being able to converse in their language. The ten-day long trip would be nothing short of an adventure.