Sunday, November 4, 2012

ICELAND - AIRWAVES ADIEU

Hiya.

So. I did so much better today. We woke up at 8:30 this morning, got ready, made it to breakfast by 8:50, and were out the door at 9:20. We power-walked in the early Reykjavik sun [the sun!] down along the coast. It was so gorgeous. I walked on some lava rocks and watched the sun on the mountains. We also found a sculpture of a viking boat, and it was beautiful. 

We ran back to the hotel - made it by 10. At 10:15 out snorkeling tour van came and got us, and we rode up to Thingvellir with our guide [named Joakim], a very nice Swedish man [Jim], and a couple from Sydney [I don't know their names, and also the husband was from Canada originally]. The drive was good. It took about 45 minutes, and we were in the back and couldn't hear much. But we saw lots of Icelandic horses. Also, a joke: What do you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest? Stand up. Hah.

We stopped a little inside of the Thingvellir park to sign wavers and pay for our dip. Then, we drove on to a small little dirt parking lot across the street from Silfra. The process of getting ready to snorkel was insane. First, we walked to the entry-site and were briefed [get in the water, let the current carry you, hands behind your back, turn left before you get into the lake]. Then we walked back to the lot and got our warm undersuits. So we stripped down to our thermals in the middle of the Icelandic wilderness to put them on. We also made friends with two Norwegian girls: Anna and Marina. It was very cold at first, but the suit itself was very warm. Next, we got our dry-suits. They were challenging to put on - the neck was difficult to get my head through. Plus, when the neck was actually where it was supposed to be, it was too loose and would let water in, so I had to wear a very tight collar over it. Then, all zipped up, we got gloves, fins, headcover, and a mask/snorkel combo. The headcover was also difficult to put on because I couldn't raise my arms very well in the suit, and the gloves were hard because my hands were cold, and the fins were hard because my suit-boots were big, and the mask was hard because I was wearing gloves, BUT I DID IT.

All geared up, we walked over to the water again. And got in. To the freezing cold 3 degrees Celsius water. Oof. It was actually the strangest sensation - the suit was a dry-suit, so I couldn't actually feel much, except for on my hands and head. It took some orienting, and my suit was fairly buoyant, but once I got sorted out, it was fantastic. The water was so clear [and sweet to taste, too!]. You could see forever. The rocks were covered in a yellow moss that collected air-bubbles and glittered in the sun [YOU GUYS THE SUN]. I don't know if I already mentioned this, but Thingfellir is where the Eurasian tectonic plate meets the North American plate, so we were snorkeling in a rift between the two in water from a melted glacier that had been filtering through lava rock for 100 years. You could look down quite a ways into the depths of the divide, which was neat.

The actual swim was about half an hour, and when we got out, a very nice guide named Jammi [with a great Eastern European accent] helped us out of our fins and then we got to walk back. Back at the lot there were some cookies, and also hot chocolate without cups. So Jammi helped us all out of our suits [none of us could feel our hands], and then ran back to the shop just inside the park and got some cups. Jessie [a very nice girl guide who was from Colorado but moved to Reykjavik with her Icelandic husband who she met in the tropics] gave us some cookies, and Jammi got back very quickly with the cups, so we also had hot cocoa. While Elisa and I were holding out cups [it was more worthwhile to hold them than to drink the contents], the first group of scuba-divers got back, and we had a nice chat with an Irish doctor named Aiden. He was just taking a little holiday - He'd spent a while in NY [during the storm], came to Iceland [during the storm], and was headed to Berlin next [probably during a storm, right?]. He was very nice and enthusiastic, but then he had to go dive again. About this time, all of the snorkelers were dried off and ready to go, so Jammi took us back to Reykjavik. There was some nice conversation - we found out that Jim was a vegetarian [also, that he wanted to find a wife to marry to get a visa for America], and that the Canadian fellow was a pescatarian. So that was neat. There was some discussion of driving rules, too, but I don't remember much. Jammi dropped us off at our hotel and gave us a hug, and that was that.

We ran up to the room, I jumped in the shower for a few minutes [because I still had no feeling in my hands], and then we were back out the door on our way to the Pylsa stand [again!]. I am not one for hot dogs, but as I said before, THESE ARE AMAZING. So I got a pylsa and a coke, and we headed up to Hallgrimskirkja. There was a great statue of Lief Ericsson out front. We got to the top, and boy was the view amazing. Maybe I'll post pictures eventually. 

After Hallgrimskirkja, we started walking towards Laugardalsholl to see Sigur Ros [!!!]. The walk was very long, but we did stop by the Museum of Phallology [yep]. They had very good shirts and a lot of penises [or, penes, as some pluralize it]. Then we left, and made it to the arena about 40 minutes after the Kirkja [even though the IA site CLAIMED that it was only a 20 minute walk from the city center]. The line started to move, but then stopped, then we got inside, stopped at the doors, went in, and then waited. 

And waited.

And WAITED.

Sigur Ros was supposed to start at 7, but they were an hour late. But then they started playing and all was forgiven. It was such a fantastic show. Utterly transcendent. There was a screen with projections in front of the band for the first three or four songs, then it dropped and we could see the whole band. They played lots of favorites [plenty from Heima], and even one that I'd never heard before. They played for an hour and forty minutes, then did a twenty minute encore. It was so great. Check instagram for a photo or two.

Afterwards, we bought IA posters, and walked back home. We got a little lost, but it was fun to see some side streets. This town is very quaint. When we got back home, we had some flatbread with smjor and skyr for a late snack, watched the snorkeling video from Elisa's gopro, listened to some Echo Vamper and 1860, and then started typing this up.

Tomorrow we'll be up early - we're doing the South Coast tour [I think? Maybe Golden Circle?]. Plus probably a visit to a public bath? And maybe the cemetery, another pylsa, and WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE.

Sweet dreams.

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