A Trip to Iceland

Here's a fact that is very, very close to the truth. In the years 2007/08, I drafted up a list of several interesting places that I wanted to travel to. Of the dozen or so destinations, three really stood out. New York City, Fort McMurray in northern Alberta, and Iceland.

New York, because as a country boy...I was intimidated by it...the sheer size and reputation.
Ft. Mac because of the Wild West stories, and the cool machines.
Iceland was on the list because it seemed like a really "out there" place to visit...in my mind...kinda like going to Mars.

Flash forward to this unfolding of events that was completely unplanned and nearly impossible when I wrote down my list.
1. Finish my work tour of duty in the Fort McMurray area ( the resulting photos and video are elsewhere on the blog...more to come ) I get off a plane from northern Alberta. I have pretty much made up my mind not to return to the type of work that I was doing...for oh so many reasons.

2. Start packing my bags for a trip to NYC. This means no work boots or bitumen stained pants. This means khaki shorts, white collared shirts and sandals.
A five hour plane trip to Newark, and a bus and a taxi to the Upper West side of New York City ( NYC story to follow in the future....teaser..I absolutely LOVE the city ! )

3. After several days in NYC, make the trip out to JFK airport and get on a plane bound for Iceland.

How and why did that happen?

There is a huge back story to the whole thing, but I'll keep this tale all about Iceland. The reason that I was getting on a plane at JFK and heading to the Icelandic international airport in Keflavik was my girlfriends doing.
 My girlfriend at the time was an experienced world traveler.On top of this she liked to celebrate milestones in her life with trips by road, air and boat to significant destinations. Iceland was a specific choice for a special purpose. Elinor had been training furiously to run a marathon for the first time in her life. She wanted to run her first marathon as close to her 50th birthday as possible. She checked all of the planned/scheduled marathon races on the planet, and found that the annual Reykjavik Marathon fit the bill.
 As an added bonus, our mutual friends Michael and Bonnie Klein had connections with Icelandic residents of the city. The happy result of that was that Elinor and I were invited to stay at their house in the hills over looking the city and port of Reykjavik.

I'm going to tell different stories about Iceland in different posts. There is so much to say, and I don't want you to have to face an entire encyclopedia when you open up the blog. In this installment, I will give you an overview of the trip, arrival and first impressions.

After slogging through New York traffic out to JFK airport, I went to the restroom to change. I needed to swap my shorts, lightweight shirt and sandals that worked well in the sweltering heat of early September, New York. It was exciting and scary to get changed in a JFK washroom. I kept thinking that a security crew was going to bust in at any moment. But no. The washroom was relatively quiet, and the guys who did come in were busy with their own agendas. I emerged from the airport bathroom in loose khaki pants, a heavier dress shirt, windbreaker jacket and casual shoes. And then started to overheat in the crowded airport.

JFK is huge, but all the people that work there are extremely friendly and helpful. There is no way in the freaking world that I would want to drive into the airport complex....no way in the world.
The way to arrive there is bus, taxi, train...or my personal New York favourite...a town car. ( cheaper than you would think...and a ton of fun )
Once inside the terminal, it all makes sense. The usual stern, no nonsense immigration/passport/security people ask the usual questions and wait for you to stutter, sweat or say something inappropriate.

I'm sure that they are just itching to catch you at some bogus lie, so that you can be dragged out of the line-up...taken in the back room for a professional style beating...and then put in a crate and shipped to God knows where. Or not.
They always give you the withering stare.
"OK you can go" is what I always love to hear. Clear sailing after that.

Christ...at the rate this story is going...we are never going to get there.

The flight on Icelandair takes about 6hrs...plus or minus. The plane was fairly full, partly because of the influx of runners coming into Reykjavik for the race. The high point of the Atlantic crossing for me was flying over the southern tip of Greenland. Actually seeing Greenland with my own two eyes was cool in itself...but also spotting my first ever icebergs was an added bonus.

Here is where I will stop for a second to repeat the old adage about this part of the world.

It goes like this..."Greenland should have been called Iceland...and Iceland should have been called Greenland"  The reasons are astoundingly simple...Iceland is mostly green. OK...so it's moss, lichen and hardy grasses...but green. Not west coast Canadian green either.

When we were approaching the airport at Keflavik, the scenery outside was bleak. Overcast, windy and rain. The terrain was low rolling hills and mounds of volcanic rock covered in a short carpet of green fuzz. It kind of reminded me of 500 years after a geological Apocalypse...and the life is just starting to come back.

Keflavik used to be a military base for American operations in WW2. The current international passenger terminal is located 50 km from downtown Reykjavik. Regular bus service will take you closer to the city, where you can get a taxi or other bus to your destination.

Special note...All of the local businesses of any size...have absolutely NO interest in Canadian or American dollars. None, Zip Nada. We will talk about Icelanders and money transactions later...I promise.

I have to tell you, my first impression was...how long are we staying here, and what time is the next flight outa here? My second, third and other impressions got better...a few slipped back a few notches.

I'm going to leave you with a few photos and mini-stories. The biggest thing that bent my mind out of shape..was the large number of North American style 4x4 trucks and SUV's...diesel F-350's in Iceland ...really???...1980's Ford Econoline vans...what????....monster tire Hummers...OK... now just get the heck out...that's too much to bear.
Future Icelandic posts...The Marathon, the people, the geography and terrain...and other misc. tidbits.

Icelandic lake...close to continental plate divide and 1000 yr  old parliament site

I was fascinated by all the big tire 4x4's...so I took lots of photos. ..Hey, after all...this is a guy's blog

Who woulda thunk...that you'd see a hot rodded Ford Bronco in Reykjavik?

Diesel powered Ford Excursion

Huge hydraulic crane at a construction site in Reykjavik

There's a lonely picture if I ever saw one

Walking to the sign-in for the Marathon with people from New York and Florida....the NYC fella kept popping up all over the place...super friendly and enthusiastic..

At the site of the 1000 yr old parliament and close to the split between two tectonic plates....you will see more of this in a later post