Back Home

"There is no real ending.  It's just the place where you stop the story." -Frank Herbert

I am in Iceland... For the time being anyways.  I am in the middle of a 4 hour layover before flying to San Francisco and eventually home.

Scotland was fantastic! I arrived to a light mist, which meant I once again was able to utilize my rain jacket.  In four weeks between Iceland and Britain I was rained on three times.  That has to be a record.  I also had a slight head cold, possibly from three straight nights of pub crawls in Manchester.

Most of Edinburgh is in the process of getting a face lift as the world famous Fringe Festival begins next month.  Buildings are wrapped in scaffolding and some alleyways are closed off.  Not even this was enough to ruin Edinburgh.

I spent a total of three nights there, once again in a hostel that was located above a pub (allowing me discounts).  I started by walking the Royal Mile, with Edinburgh Castle at one end and Scottish Parliament at the other with a mile of cobblestone street and historic buildings in between.  At the end of the mile is Holyrood Park, a nature area of about 650 acres with a few old volcanoes in the center.  The largest, known as Arthur's Seat because it is thought to be the location of King Arthur's Camelot, supplies magnificent views of Edinburgh.

By night I retired to the local pub scene and learned a few tricks.  For starters, Scotland will never be short on whisky.  It is near mortal sin to walk into a pub and order a shot of Jameson (ask for Jameson, neat, and it is essentially the same idea without the dirty looks).  My favorite pub was Greyfriar's Bobby, not because it was so unique but because of the story behind it.

"Bobby" was a Skye Terrier that belonged to a man named John Gray, a policeman.  Gray died and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard (located behind the current pub) and for the next 14 years his grave was guarded by "Bobby" until the pup finally joined his owner at the age of 16.  The dog is widely celebrated and there are a collection of sticks on his tombstone.

Because my time in Britain was coming to a close I was determined to see and do all of the things left on my list.  I had another full English breakfast, complete with black pudding.  Feel free to click the link to read about the ingredients.  I sat at The Elephant House, the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the first two Harry Potter novels.  I even enjoyed the street performers so much that I was part of a performance for about 10 minutes (yes, I have film).

Overall, this trip was exactly what I had hoped it would be.  It brought new experiences, new people, new cultures, and new stories to my life.  I saw things I had been longing to see for years.  It was almost daily that I would smile to myself and think "look where you are right now."

It seems fitting that on my first day ever as a traveler in 2011, I met Mike Scopazzo who shared with me the truest sentence I have heard yet.

"The worst day traveling is better than the best day at home."

Greyfriars Bobby Statue outside pub

View from Edinburgh Castle

View from Calton Hill

This is Manchester!

"Somehow the past is a safe place to explore our collective cultural neuroses." -Tom Hiddlestone

The entire time I was traveling and told people about where I was headed, Manchester and Edinburgh received the most praise, so my last two stops were wrapped in high expectation.

I arrived in Manchester on a humid, cloudless day.  Something, I am told, is very rare.  Apart from the social draw, Manchester tugged my interests in a few different directions.  First, it is the birth place of the Industrial Revolution, and since that is a major part of our curriculum I figured it would be a great place to spend a few days.  It is also the home of Manchester United, my favorite football club.

As soon as I had checked into the hostel I was off for Old Trafford.  To tour the stadium costs about 18 pounds but, jokes on them, I would have paid 100.  The tours are so popular that even though I arrived at 1.30 pm I could not get a tour until 3.10 so, with time to kill, I went to the team store and explored the Manchester United museum (they have an entire room dedicated to my favorite player, Ryan Giggs).

The tour took me all around the stadium, into the changing rooms and press rooms, and I even got to walk out of the tunnel.  Our guide was born and bred in Manchester and shared historical facts about the stadium, such as famous matches that had been played there, stories of players who had become legends, and even explained how most of the stadium was destroyed by German bombs during WWII.  All in all, my stay in Manchester was off to a great start.

The following day I started working on my list of museums, with stops at The People's History Museum (which houses the desk where Thomas Paine wrote "The Rights of Man"), John Rylands Library, and The Museum of Science and Industry.  Luckily, all the museums are free.  I got a domestic look at the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution and even stood at the foot of some of the oldest factories in the world (which have now been turned into hotels, mostly).  John Rylands Library, which is located in a neo-Gothic building, has one of the largest special collections in Britain, including one of only forty-nine original Gutenberg Bibles in the world.

You would think I was tired of museums after this but, no.  The next day I toured the National Football Museum, which put a heavy emphasis on the 1966 English team that won the World Cup (but made no mention of the recent 2-1 defeat to Iceland).  I also stopped by Chetham Library, which contains the room in which Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles began writing "The Communist Manifesto" in the 1840s.

The fortunes of the city began to fade after the explosion of the Industrial Revolution, but thanks to a resurgence in the mid-20th century it's the second most popular city in England.  My hostel, which was also in an old factory building, was in the northern quarter.  Bars and restaurants were plentiful and fortunately my hostel organizes pub crawls every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  I went all three nights.

The pub crawl really epitomized my favorite part of traveling.  The travelers.  Engaging with open minded people from different places all over the world cannot be mimicked in any domestic situation.  Our group was large, and included people from Argentina, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Turkey, Sweden, and Venezuela.

No doubt about it, Manchester lived up to the hype.

Old Trafford

Manchester Town Hall

Oxford and Nottingham

"To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge." -Confucius

I have neglected writing for a few days so I have some catching up to do.  I believe I left off on a train leaving Bath.  My next destination was the city of Oxford.

I was exposed to a taste of the academia that has made Oxford so famous before I even arrived in town.  I was on a platform waiting for my train to Oxford when three girls next to me began a conversation, all Oxford students.  The topic was the Brexit vote and, because the train was delayed, it carried on for around twenty minutes.  I couldn't help but marvel at the basis of many of the arguments and the way they carried on the discussion, mind you I know very little of the actual details of Britain's decision to leave the European Union.  This was not some half drunken debate between people at a bar about how Trump will "make America great again" or Hillary and something regarding emails where the facts they have were found by quickly scrolling through a twitter feed.  This was an actual, in depth, no bs, intellectual conversation.

Oxford was living up to my expectations.

I arrived at my hostel around 1 pm but since I couldn't check in for another two hours I had some time to kill.  I decided to try out the British version of Mexican food.  All you need to know is that California's is much better.

Apparently I timed my visit during Oxford's graduation so nearly every room, including my hostel, was booked solid.  Typically you get a younger, 20-30 something group at hostels.  Because of graduation we had families and grandparents and the like in ours so it wasn't the atmosphere I had hoped.

I started my sight-seeing by actually walking 3 miles north of town to a cemetery  (grim start, I know).  The University of Oxford, as old and prestigious as it is, has a few very well known alumni.  My objective was to track down the headstone of JRR Tolken, which thanks to signposts in the cemetery, only took a few minutes.  While most of the headstones had flowers from loved ones, this one was full of notes from adoring fans.

On my way back to town I had to make a stop at the university.  It is made up of several colleges, each with their own court yard, rather than some vast open campus.  The entire university has been around for centuries so the architecture is quite remarkable.  To the north is the university park, which includes a golf course, and some jogging trails.  Seeing as Britain is in some sort of heat wave, the park was well attended.

I went in the Museum of Natural History for a bit, and a couple older buildings such as Oxford Castle, but found the rest of the town to be just shops and restaurants.

I made the error of booking three nights in Oxford and had ran out of things to see in one.  Seeing as I was considerably the youngest person at the hostel and had two more days to fill, I did what I do best.  Ate from various cafes, drank from various pubs, and wandered.

I found that some of my initial awe at the intellects of Oxford was wearing off.  Most seemed arrogant and from very comfortable upbringings, yet stubborn that their view of a topic was correct.  There is also a slightly different accent in this part of the country.  Of course I would call it formal but the domestic term used is "posh" or "the Queen's English".  This might have contributed to tinge of annoyance with a few of the locals.

Finally, on my last night, two girls around 21 from Canada showed up and were placed in my room.  At last I had a crew near my own age to hit a few pubs with.  A good ending to Oxford.

I have a friend that lives in Nottingham so instead of going straight to Manchester I stopped there for a night.  Nottingham is a nice quiet town, probably because it was summer and most of the students were gone.  My friend Alex took me to a huge park and place they called "Batman's Castle" and we had lunch.  Little did I know that this "castle" was the actual building they used as Wayne Manor in the most recent Batman! I will include a picture at the bottom.

The next day it was back to the train station and off to Manchester, where I am currently.  I leave here Sunday for Edinburgh and then back to Loomis.

Oxford University

Duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh BATMAN!

Salisbury, Stonehenge, and Bath

"Bubbles!" -Dillon

I left London and headed to the town of Salisbury to meet up with some friends I met 4 years ago while travelling in Peru.  Tom and Becca graciously invited me to stay in their spare room for the two nights I was in Salisbury.

Salisbury is best known for its cathedral.  The English-Gothic style structure is topped by the tallest spire in England.  The spire is visible from just about anywhere in the town, but when seen up close it is truly awe-inspiring.  Salisbury also has one of four remaining originals copies of the Magna Carta.

The real highlight of the trip was meeting Tom and Becca's almost 2-year-old son, Dillon.  He is a man of few words, and uses mostly pointing to communicate.  One of his favorite words and all around things in the world is bubbles.  He goes mad and can spend the entire afternoon chasing them.

We went on a walk to Old Sarum, a hill outside of town with a few remaining Roman ruins.  It was the site of the original cathedral but, due to lack of resources, it was decided that it should be moved.  The legend is that they would shoot an arrow from the hill.  Wherever the arrow landed would be site of the new cathedral.  According to the story the fired arrow hit a nearby deer.  The deer took off with the arrow lodged in it, and eventually dropped dead 2 miles away at the site of the current cathedral.

It was nice to get a 360 degree view of the country side as well.  Especially since I am currently reading "The Pillars of the Earth", which is set in this region in the 1100s.  Thank you Julie Melbourne-Weaver for the suggestion and Mike Maben for lending me his copy.

The morning of the 15th I was dropped at Stonehenge while Becca did a small job for a neighbor.  I had been told I would be thoroughly unimpressed with the site, and thus had very low expectations.  I would say it neither blew me away nor let me down.  It is exactly what I thought it would be.  They have redone the visitor center and remarked the area around it so you can actually get quite close during the visit.  I made my way around, snapped a few pictures, and was heading back as the tour buses began streaming in.

In the afternoon I was back on a train and headed to Bath.  Originally not in my plans for Britain, Bath was suggested to me by a traveler I met in London, and since I had a free day I decided to check it out.

Bath is best known for two things: the natural hot springs and consequent Roman bathhouse set upon them, and the the grandest Georgian architecture in Britain.

I decided not to pay the twenty pound entrance fee to the baths, especially since I had already done the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.  Instead, I went on my own tour of the city, starting at the abbey, winding my way around town, and concluding at the Royal Crescent, perhaps the epitome of Bath's Georgian glory.

I was only in Bath for the one night, as I had already reserved a place in Oxford the following day.  So, after enjoying an ice cream cone at the foot of the abbey, I rented a room above a pub for the night before catching another train the next morning.

Bath Abbey

Stonehenge

Salisbury Cathedral

London

"When it's three o'clock in New York, it's still 1938 in London." -Bette Midler

I maintain that the worst part about traveling is, well, the travel.  I awoke at 3.30 am in Iceland to snag a ride to the airport.  My 6 am flight was delayed 2 and half hours but eventually our wheels touched down in London.  Whatever excitement I had as I trudged through the airport was quickly quelled when I saw the line for customs wrapped around the corner and out of sight.  Another 2 hours of waiting.

Like any veteran traveler, I had done my homework and knew which train I had to take to which station to get me from the airport to the hostel.  Alas, the station I was supposed to go to was closed.  Time for a "plan B".  After various other cancellations I finally got on a train headed into London.  From there I took the underground, weighed down with my bag, and walked the remaining 0.6 miles to the hostel.

A former student had suggested I stay near the Tower Bridge, so I did.  I spent 3 days in Wombats City Hostel and let me tell you, a better hostel you will not find.  If Wombats had a hostel in Fargo, North Dakota I might consider going there.  The hostel has all you can eat breakfast, a huge basement bar, and the rooms are all equipped with a bathroom and shower (doesn't happen a lot in hostels).

Free of my heavy bag, freshly showered, and suddenly with new life, I was out to explore the town.  First stop was the Tower Bridge but not before I grabbed a quick bite from a food truck just below the bridge.  I walked across the bridge while eating my dinner and spent some time on the other side just peering in shops and restaurants.  I had always been weary of travel to Britain because of the exchange rate but because of the Brexit vote the Pound Sterling has never been weaker! It made me want to run up to an elderly British person and give them a hug (I didn't because I am foreign and therefore repulse them).

I returned to the hostel in time for the Euro Final which was being shown on a big screen in the bar at the hostel.  I met a traveler named Joe, from Los Angeles, who was at the end of his journey and would be returning home the following day.  Soon after, we were joined by a friendly, and rather attractive Canadian girl and suddenly we had a crew.  The rest of the night sped passed filled with conversations of places we had been and places we were going.

The next morning arrived quicker than I would have preferred, and let's just say I was moving a little slow.  Time was tickin' however so I was out the door by 9 am and ready to be a tourist.  A few things are different here.  For one, you can easily lose 10 pounds just by having a few beers (unfortunately, it's currency).  They also drive on the opposite side of the road.  I knew this coming here but wasn't fully prepared for how confusing it would be.  Seems simple enough, just look the opposite way you normally would when crossing the street.  But somehow in my brain that became quantum physics so at every crosswalk I perform what I have called "The out-of-town octagon" where I look in 8 different directions with dizzying rapidity.  So far, no injuries.

I spent the morning and most of the midday exploring Westminster and seeing sights such as The London Eye, Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace just to name a few, and enjoyed the sunlight by eating my lunch in St. James Park.

That evening I successfully navigated the underground up to St. John's Wood so that I could see the famous Abbey Road.  I sat at the striped crosswalk eating my dinner and watching tourists try and recreate the Beatles album cover while their music played through my earbuds.  One group of tourists seemed a little more excited than the others and when I looked up I realized it was John Cho and Karl Urban, who apparently are both in Star Trek and were in town because the premier was the following night.

The next day would be my last full day in London and I still had a lot I wanted to see.  I began with a tour of the Tower of London then headed West into the financial district of the city and in search of St. Paul's Cathedral.  The weather was a little nastier today and in no time at all I had whipped out my rain jacket and continued down the streets.  Some business men were prepared with umbrellas while others simply conceded defeat and walked on with drenched suits.  I eventually found the cathedral as well as a place to warm up and dry off.

Once the rain had finally subsided I was set to meet up with a friend for a few beers.  Jon lives in London with his wife and now 2 year old son.  I first met Jon and his wife 4 years ago in Mancora, Peru.  They are avid travelers.  Erika, his wife, will go to her 99th country later this year!

The rest of my final day in London was spent bar hopping with a few Aussies before turning in for the night.  Today, I will catch a train to the town of Salisbury where I will be staying with a couple I also met in Mancora.  I have a few more hours before by train so I am off to explore London one more time.  Cheers!

Really quick, to Reykjavik

"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles." -Tim Cahill

As I write this post I am in the final 12 hours of my time in Iceland.  Our last few days have been diverse and expensive.  What the East part of the island offered in breathtaking landscapes and remoteness, it lacked a certain social element we desired.  So, once again, we were back on the road at about 6 am and heading West.

Along the way we stopped at Jökulsárólon Lake which is filled with ice bergs that have broken off of Vatnajökull Glacier (the largest in Iceland).  The ice slowly melts away until it is small enough to be carried out to sea.

Further on we stopped in Vik, the Southernmost city on the island which offers some stunning black sand beaches and basalt columns.  The cliffs are densely populated with puffins that swirl about in the strong sea breeze.

Our day of driving concluded in the small town of Eyrarbakki.  Located on the coast, it was hard to imagine that this was the leading trade center on the island a few centuries ago.  Now it holds about 500 residents and the noisiest it was during our stay was when one of the houses across from the hostel was mowing her yard.  The town has one bar, which is opened one day a month, and 2 restaurants, both with sporadic hours as well.  There is also a prison on the outskirts of town that was very quiet each time we drove past.  Apparently, in Iceland, if you are sentenced to a prison term and the prison is full at the time, you just carry on living your life until a spot opens up.

From Eyrarbakki we decided our trip would end in Reykjavik, the capitol.  Iceland has a little over 300,000 residents, and 2/3 of them live in Reykjavik.  At the city center there are dozens of shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants, but we had none of them in mind as we headed into town.  Apparently, the best hot dogs in the world are in Reykjavik (seriously, google it.  I'll wait...) so we HAD to give them a try.  After waiting in line for about 20 minutes it was finally our moment of glory.  I've never been great in these situations and often get overly excited, which I did and promptly ordered not one, not two, but three hot dogs.  They were delicious! Best ever? I am still not sure.

Back at our hostel we met another traveler from Oregon and a girl from France.  The four of us got along very well and decided to go out to see this famous bar scene we had read about in Reykjavik.  The night life doesn't really find it's momentum until about 1 am and for some context, we started around 9.  First we stopped in an English pub, then an Irish bar, then an American sports bar, and then a few others, each becoming more crowded than the last.

The night wore on and time seemed to have a mind of it's own.  Soon the streets were crowded with locals, all looking their best.  Although the sun had set, the sky was still glowing and the wind had picked up greatly.  At the mercy of our bank accounts and the realization that I am not 23 anymore, we retired around 2 am.  Getting old is tough.

This morning, Brian and I set out on the same streets as the previous night, this time looking for coffee.  Although it was 9 am, the streets were mostly lifeless and most shops still weren't open.  Iceland very much has the island mentality down pat.  A chocolate croissant and large americano later and we were feeling much more energized and alert.  The runaway locomotive of energy that had engulfed the streets only hours previous was only now starting to grind back into motion.

For the last time, we piled into our rented SUV and drove to the airport to return it.  Brian and I said our goodbyes and he boarded his flight back to Portland while I caught a cab to my hostel in Keflavik.

Keflavik is rather unremarkable and has the feel of an Eastern European city to me.  All of the buildings are concrete and mostly unfinished, the air is cold, and the people unhappy.  I had read that you should only stay here if you have an early flight the next day, since it is near the airport.  I am spending most of my time in my room, repacking, checking flight info, and writing this.

Tomorrow I will catch my 6 am flight and be in London in time for lunch.

       

Chasing Waterfalls

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." -Albert Einstein


Brian and I have ventured East, and the scenery has only improved.  Due to our unpredictable sleep schedules, we awoke at 4 am on July 4th and decided we might as well hit the road, which proved to be a good decision.  We had about 8 hours of driving ahead of us and many stops we wanted to make along the way, so a few hours head start would be beneficial.  On our itineraries, we had hoped to stop at 2 magnificent waterfalls, wreckage of a crashed plane (I'll explain later), the town of Vik, and a lake famous for it's glaciers.

Now, I am not a geologist, so I will explain the scenery in the most accurate way possible, but no promises.  Iceland has over 100 volcanoes.  Many are so close together that they form mountain ranges, and atop those mountains sit massive glaciers.  As the glaciers melt, they run off all sides of the volcanoes, causing more waterfalls than one can hope for.  Less than an hour apart are two of the most beautiful waterfalls one could ever see.  Seljalandsfoss allows you to walk all the way around/underneath it, which granted us some amazing photo opportunities.

Further on down the road is Skogafoss, a waterfall with a legend attached to it.  According to the story, the first viking settler buried his treasure in a cave behind the falls.  We climbed to the top of the falls to gain a different perspective, took some photos, and were back on the road.

Just down the road was a stop I had planned to make since I began my research for this trip.  For a nation that never fought in WWII, Iceland has a direct history to that time period.  The allies used the island as a base, and the Americans stayed for decades after.  An American plane ran out of fuel and crash landed on a beach in the southern part of the island.  No one was killed in the crash but the wreckage is still there to this day.  Determined to find it, we parked our car just off the road and began what would become a 4 km trek over black sand beaches until we found it.  The plane is relatively intact, apart from missing both wings and it's tail.  I will attach photos of all the sights at the bottom of this post.

The search for the plane took longer than expected so we decided to forgo the last two stops we had planned and hit them on our return trip in a few days.  Once again, we hit the open road, and nature presented us with remarkable landscapes.  Jagged mountains carved by centuries of glaciers spilled out onto lava fields which transformed to black sand beaches.  Although the island is only the size of the state of Indiana, it takes a long time to get anywhere.  The speed limit never rises about 90 km/h (55 mph) although we have a tendency to drive faster than that as there are rarely anyone else for miles and miles.  It should be noted, since no one told us, that Iceland installs cameras randomly around the island to catch people speeding.  You know because as you drive by you see a flash of red light and your heart sinks.  So far, we have gotten 2 tickets, but Brian was driving both times (haha!).

For the last 3 hours of the drive we hugged the perimeter of the Eastern fjords.  Each fjord has a small community attached to it, which I believe survives on fishing.  We stayed in a hostel that was in the second largest town in the East (which I will not even try and write because most of the characters are not from our alphabet).  It is the 28th biggest city on the island with 1,118 people.  Fun fact, Brian and I discovered that Las Vegas is the 28th biggest city in the US so we basically stayed at the Icelandic version of Vegas.

The next day we hit the road and retraced our tire marks to the city of Hofn, which is essentially nothing.  It is the largest city in the South East, and after miles of solitude I suppose it might as well be a metropolis, but a population of 2,167 is hardly impressive.  It was founded by French settlers as a fishing community so it has both French and Icelandic influence.  We had time to kill since we couldn't check into our next spot for a few hours, so we walked around town and did some grocery shopping before hitting the road again.

We have a cabin for tonight in a remote corner of Iceland.  We did a little exploring today and found a waterfall about 2 km from the cabin.  Because of the consistent mist from the falls, a thick layer of moss had grown on the surrounding rocks.  It did make the climb up them a little softer than expected but the moss was so thick that it masked the holes between rocks, meaning one misstep could send you plunging between two boulders.  Luckily, we were able to get up close without any incident.  The rest of our day is going to be spent enjoying the view and planning our final days here.  Brian flies back to Portland on the 9th and I am off to London on the 10th.

We plan to head back to Reykjavik on the 8th and do a little partying before we depart.  I will have one more post from Iceland before my journey continues.

              Seljalandsfoss                                                 Skogarfoss

              Plane wreck                                                          Fjord

The Haves and the Have Nots

"Beauty is power; a smile is its sword." -John Ray

After my first full day in Iceland I feel that I am becoming familiar with what the island does and doesn't offer.  A few things that are just about impossible to find here: a place that serves breakfast, any Iceland soccer apparel on match day, or a large quantity of trees.  If none of those are deal breakers for you, then you're in for a treat.

Iceland has a plethora of natural wonders, wind, and the world's most beautiful women.  I mean honestly, they are drop-dead, slap-yourself-in-the-face-so-you-know-aren't-dreaming, pick-your-jaw-up-off-the-floor, blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauties that will make you hate yourself for not being able to say something clever in Icelandic... Or English (or even create a full sentence).

Anyways, let's talk about nature.  Brian and I left the hostel at around 8 am and drove through the Golden Circle which includes 3 main sights: a national park, waterfall, and geyser.  We hiked between the European and North American tectonic plates, which drift apart about 18mm a year,  spent a few minutes watching the boiling water be shot from the sky in Geysir (yes, that is the name all "geysers" were derived from, and finished it out with a stop at Gullfoss one of the largest waterfalls in Europe and a very popular tourist attraction.

We concluded our Golden Circle expedition and retired to the small, seaside town of Eyrarbakki.  When we arrived, we were the only people staying in the hostel so we promptly capitalized on the silence and took a 2 hour nap.  I realize that in both my posts so far I have alluded to the necessity of sleep, but the 24 hours of daylight has thrown my circadian rhythm completely offbeat.  As I write this, it is 10:36 pm but outside you would think it was noon.

After a brief siesta we were back to Reykjavik, about an hours drive, to watch the soccer match of Iceland vs. France.  Iceland has never qualified for a major tournament but have taken Europe by storm and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Euros.

 I spent a large portion of our time before the game trying to track down an Iceland jersey, scarf, or even beanie but to no avail.  The patriotism in this country is remarkable, or at least it was on match day.  Manikins in windows donned Iceland jerseys or had flags draped over them, all employees were decked out in the red, white, and blue of Iceland (some even with painted faces), and stores were closing up prior to game time.  Over 8% of the country had actually ventured to France to support the team and I even heard, though I have no way of verifying if this is true, that all but 70 citizens watched Iceland defeat England in the previous round.

Brian and I carved out a bit of grass on a hill in front of the big screen with about 15,000 locals and watched the game, well really just the first half.  By half-time France had a 4-0 lead so we decided to begin the drive back to our hostel.  Tomorrow we will journey to the East side of the island, making a few stops along the way at landmarks that have caught our attention.  I will be sure to include pictures of those adventures as well.

For now, I am going to finish my rum (don't judge me, Hemingway did this while writing too) and retire.  I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July.

But seriously, the women here beat out Colombia which I didn't think was possible.

                                   Gullfoss                                      North American/European tectonic plates

Iceland

"Recovery from complete and utter exhaustion facilitates creativity." -Philip Gary Smith

I'm tired.

I realize that's an awful start after 4 years of silence on this blog, but it's true.  I woke up at 3.30 am (local time in California) to say goodbye to my little brother who was moving to Arizona.  My flight to Iceland left at 2:15 pm.  The plan was to stay awake, have a few drinks at an airport bar before my flight, and sleep most of the 9 hours we were in the air.  I will say that I executed the first half of the plan to precision.  The trouble came when I boarded the plane.

Long story short, I had an aisle seat, my chair didn't recline, and I sat next to a couple that was a little more "hands on" than I would have appreciated.  Luckily, the girl diagonal from me was watching movies most of the flight so I got to enjoy silent versions of "Zootopia" and "Dark Knight Rises".

Nevertheless, we made it Iceland at 5:45 am local time.  It is now 3:20 pm locally so I have been awake for something like 4,397 straight hours and am delirious.  I have also discovered that my power adapter doesn't work with my 3-pronged laptop charger so I need to solve that problem at some point.

Anyways, let's talk about Iceland.  I am traveling with my friend Brian Crow, who lives in Portland, Oregon.  We tend to be flexible with our itineraries so we get along just fine.  We got our rental car around 7 am and addressed the biggest issue we had immediately.  Our empty stomachs.  The problem is, Iceland only has a population of around 320,000 and a large percentage of them have gone to France for the upcoming soccer match.  No where on the island was open to sell breakfast at 7 am on a Saturday.  We drove around Reykjavik, a city that holds 2/3 of the population, for an hour before finding a gas station that sold food.  It also needs to acknowledged that they might have more Subway restaurants per capita than anywhere on Earth, although none are open.

With our stomachs full and our spirits higher, we headed for the number one tourist attraction, the Blue Lagoon.  While outside there was a biting wind and temperatures around 46 F, inside the water it was anywhere from 96-102.  A very relaxing start to our Iceland experience.

After we had a good long soak, it was back in the car for the hour drive to Selfoss.  Due to exhaustion we decided this would be our last stop of the day.  We have set up camp here at a hostel and are trying to stay awake until the respectable 8 o'clock hour and hopefully cure jet lag.  While the first day may seem uneventful to you, it has been a struggle for us.  3 coffees and a 5 hour energy proved ineffective.  Tomorrow we have a lot of hiking planned so rest is needed, as is food.  For now, I am going to conserve my laptop battery.  More to come soon.