First Impressions on Arrival
Iceland is a wondrous destination for the outdoor adventure traveler whose pulse races at the thought of climbing glaciers, white water rafting, rock climbing, sea kayaking, and all other sorts of potentially perilous pastimes. So, it would be reasonable, for anyone who knows us, to wonder what in the blazes we, of all people, were doing there. Good question, especially since Matthew was toting his new cane along (more on that later). And the answer as it so often is, is Delta Airlines service additions. Delta is the only carrier flying to Iceland direct from the US aside from IcelandAir, and since it is such a hot summer time travel destination, they made a smart market move by starting service from New York-JFK 5 times a week. The route map says that they fly to Reykjavik, the capital city, which is not really true. They fly to Keflavik, about 60 kilometers south east of Reykjavik proper because that is there the international airport is located. NATO built it where they built it, so while there is an airport in Reykjavik proper, which we would eventually use, our entry and exit from Iceland took place in Keflavik.
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There really isn’t much in Keflavik aside from the airport and sea port facilities, and the first impressions of Iceland were of a rugged place with covered in grasses and wildflowers but mysteriously no trees except where they had been obviously intentionally planted. Silly me thought that perhaps Iceland was above the treeline but turns out that no, there used to be trees, but the early settlers, and I mean EARLY as in the 800s or so and the world’s first parliament, still functioning was founded here in 930, cut down all the trees for the construction of housing, ships, and for firewood. Let it be a lesson to us all that which appears inexhaustible in reality isn’t. The land appears excellent for herding and we would see a fair number of sheep and small, tough Icelandic horses. I was most taken with the enormous drifts of lupines in full bloom which reminded me so of the lupines I used to see as a child in the Sierra Nevada. It turns out that the lupines were imported to help control erosion losses and are now considered invasive by some people who would like to remove them.
Reykjavik
Reykjavik is a small city that has the distinction of being the world’s most northerly capital city and it is certainly the northernmost I have ever been. Its population hovers around 200,000 if you include the greater metro area, and considering that the ENTIRE population of Iceland is only slightly over 300,000 you quickly realize that Reykjavik is the only real place of note in the country. It is pleasant and clean with a mix of colorful corrugated iron buildings scattered amongst much newer constructions. Iceland had a very big economic boom followed by an equally big bust that left a fair amount of unfinished construction. The abundance of hydroelectric power on the island makes it a very attractive place for electricity intensive activities such as the smelting and refining of aluminium. And I spelled aluminium that way intentionally as it more correctly conforms to the IUPAC rulings.
A very distinctive feature of our time in Iceland and Reykjavik was the proximity to the summer solstice and the enormous length of the days. Official sunset was about 1am with sunrise at 3am. In truth, it was never completely dark and it was disconcerting to see the remnants of Reykjavik’s infamous nightlife wandering around drunk in the broad daylight of 12:30am one morning. The blackout curtains in the hotel came in handy!
The hotel was a family owned local venture and while the room was microscopic we managed. Another feature of Iceland is that it isn’t cheap. EVERYTHING from hotels, to meals, to activities comes at a dear price. Case in point was a falafel sandwich for dinner which cost somewhere around $30. Dinner for two at an average Thai restaurant was almost $100. The tourist economy of Iceland really only runs, and it runs hard while it runs, for three months a year, so they sock it to everyone who ventures up there. Communication was amazingly easy as Icelanders speak better English that most of you reading this do, certainly better than I do. And it is the only place I have seen French people willingly speak English. Realistically less than half a million people speak Icelandic so English becomes the lingua franca for everyone involved with tourism, including the tourist themselves.
The main sections of the old town of Reykjavik are highly pedestrianized making it an easy place to walk about while leaving the car behind. The older part of the city sits on a bit of a hill, but once you are up there, the walking is easy and the views out over the harbor are lovely. There are lots of small shops and places to eat, all eager to get your share of the annual importation of tourist kroner, the local currency until the euro comes on tap in the near future. The shops are invariably high end with local woolen goods and plenty of art galleries and such establishments. You don’t run a high risk of dodging lots of tacky t-shirt shops.
The other thing there are plenty of is bars and pubs and if you leave Reykjavik thirsty it is only you that can be to blame. The nightlife in the city is legendary and while I didn’t experience it first hand, judging by the sheer number of revelers on the street, the city was living up to its reputation.
Onward to Greenland
One of the highlights of the trip to Iceland actually took place outside of the country. Ever since I was a child, blessed or cursed depending on how you look at, with a map of North America, Greenland was on the edge of world, and realistically, how many people do you know who have been there? Some cruise ships stop during the summer but our method was to take advantage of Air Iceland, (not to be confused with IcelandAir which covers international routes) the domestic provider that also has flights to Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, both technically part of Denmark. Air Iceland realizes that people want to visit Greenland but that tourist infrastructure is limited so they offer day trips which serve the need. We flew to a village by the name of Kulusuk and it was my first landing on a gravel airstrip. Not bad, you hardly notice the difference. On the approach, we had excellent views of the bay filled with icebergs as the spring thaw, such as it is, was in full effect. The airport was built, again, by NATO because of a Cold War era listening post that was built there, which still operates in some Danish military capacity. The concept of villages and year-round settlements are foreign to native Greenlanders, but the Danes have been very effective at ending truly nomadic lifestyles with imported foods and medicine along with housing provided in settled villages. The grocery store even features California raisins, so they can’t be that deprived! Of course, the downside of these settlements is the reliance on an inherently unreliable cash economy given the limited resources, the loss of cultural knowledge about survival in the environment, environmental degradation around the villages and disease. But with television and Internet, who will complain too loudly?
Nonetheless, despite all the reasons I shouldn’t have been, I was charmed by Greenland and Kulusuk. The village of brightly painted corrugated iron reflects wonderfully against the ice and clear bay waters. We were invited into the home of a Danish man who was married to a local woman for a small demonstration of some traditional food preservation techniques, some local greenery fresh for the eating, along with examples of very intricate beadwork on seal skin. Overall, I treasured my time in Greenland, short though it was and I consider it, along with my passport stamp, to be a highlight of the journey. Suffice it to say that TSA would not approve of the security arrangements at the Kulusuk airport with no x-ray or metal detector checks, although the equipment exists. I guess the Immigration Officer considered us sufficiently low risk for being an invasive force headed to Iceland via the local Reykjavik airport.
One of the things I found most surprising about being in Greenland was the other couple on the trip with us, who were from all places, Atlanta as well. It just goes to show that we really are everywhere, even in Greenland!
Watching Whales
On our return to Iceland and Reykjavik we signed up for a midnight whale watching tour. Having never done it and since it is one of the biggest activities in Reykjavik itself, we took advantage of the very long days to really pack it in on this day. We did score sightings of dolphins and minke whales, but I can’t say that you really see a great deal. Shamefully, Iceland has resumed whaling, even though surveys of Icelanders indicate that less than 1% of the population even eats whale meat. Apparently, the hunt is intended to satisfy the demands of Japan. While I can’t complain too loudly since I happily eat meat raised for the purpose despite knowing all the reasons I shouldn’t, I do deplore the hunting and killing of wild animals when there is clearly no subsistence need to do so. Shame on Japan for ignoring world treaties and prevailing opinion (and yes, I realize all the situations in which the same can be said of the United States, but please, this is about the whales!).
The Golden Circle
On our last full day in Iceland, we drove ourselves around the so-called Golden Circle, which is designed to be an easy day trip to cover some of Iceland’s most famous spots. We started with Geysir, which as the name implies is a geyser situated among other geothermal phenomenon. While there is nothing wrong with the site, if one has seen the geothermal wonders of Yellowstone, it will fall a bit flat, but it is still impressive to see geothermal power in most any form since it tends to be an inaccessible and not well known phenomenon for most people.
Certainly more impressive is Gullfoss, the massive waterfall. The thing that impressed me the most about Gullfoss was that the channel that the waterfall empties into is so narrow that the flow seems to simply disappear into the Earth itself. You never actually see the river continuing on its way to the ocean as you know it must do.
With an early morning flight the next day that was the end of our brief adventure. I can recommend Iceland despite the costs because it is such a unique destination that offers the visitor natural wonders along with a magnificent sense of history from the Viking settlements, to the earliest constitutional and representational bodies, up to navigating a successful path through a changing and modern world.