Today was my 9th day in the Land of Ice & Fire. I woke up at 7:00 this morning in my tent. I packed up all my stuff and took my tent down. While I was doing that I met a young man from South Korea named J.T., and he was camping in the tent right next to me. He has a patch on his backpack from all the different countries he has visited. Most of them are from Southeast Asia. I had all my stuff packed and was still holding on to hope that I could hitch a ride, but no one was leaving. I got a picture of me with my backpack on and the Icelandic flag sticking out of it, to show I’m backpacking in Iceland. The bus came at 8:00 and I had to pay full price for a bus ticket: 5,700 kronur. At 8:30, we were off. I waved goodbye to Skaftafell National Park as we were driving away. It was so, so magical sleeping in the view of three glaciers. We drove past that piece of the bridge destroyed by the jökulhlaup in 1996, and then across the sandur (sand deltas). A short way into the ride, we picked up a couple that hitched a ride from Skaftafell. Their names are Katherine and Joe, and they’re from Connecticut. We were talking about travels and they told me they were spending 5 days in Iceland and had been in Scotland for 5 days. The first stop of the ride was Kirkjubæjarklaustur. I was just there the other day, and I agreed to show Katherine, Joe, and Jon Kirkjugólf (the basalt columns. We had 35 minutes, and we all took the 500 meter walk across the grass field. This way I got to spend a bit more time and show others something they didn’t know about. I took a few pictures and then we walked back to the gas station. At 10:00, we were off. A few minutes up the road, we stopped at this field that had many piles of rocks stacked up. I thought it was natural at first, but people go there to stack rocks to remember people who have died. We then did a photo stop at a waterfall just up the road. We had five minutes and then we were off to Vík. From the window of the bus, I could see Mydrásjökull. It was cloudy this morning, but I could still see the glacier. We got to Vík at 11:00 and we had an hour and a half to burn. I walked down to the beach and strolled around and noticed the terns flying about. Those sea birds I was telling you about the other day are arctic terns. I’ll tell you one thing that’s really remarkable about these birds: they fly from the Arctic to the Antarctic every single year! I was standing with the bird watchers, trying to nail the perfect shot of an arctic tern. As I was standing there they would often fly down and squawk right above my head. One of the bird watchers told me they are very aggressive. After a few minutes, I walked up to the gas station (all while trying to avoid getting pecked) and got some Cool American Doritos. I wanted to go check out the church up on the hill. So I walked across the field and hiked up the hill. There was nothing really special up there, but in the distance I could see the sea stacks off the coast. The walk down was very relaxing and I got to see a little more of Vík. Back at the gas station, I met a cute girl named Amy, from Vancouver. We took a picture together and we went over to the souvenir shop. I tried on an Icelandic sweater, but I’m going to wait until the day before I leave to do any real shopping. I’ve spent a lot of money here as it is. I said goodbye to Amy and then we left at 12:30. The next stop was Skógarfoss, only about 20 minutes up the road. When the driver stopped, I opted along with Katherine and Joe to stay at the waterfall while the others went to the museum. I have been there already. Last time I didn’t have time to hike to the top of the waterfall, so I did that this time. The hike up was steep, and I took some other paths also to get different views of the waterfall. At one point I was sitting on a rock overlooking the falls. I then went up higher, to where I was completely above the waterfall. I started walking down a path that would lead me right to the top of the waterfall. It was all wet and I fell. A gentleman up there told me it’s too dangerous. I then walked back down and sat for a few minutes. Joe was building some of those rock piles that we saw earlier. I tried to build one, but I’m not that good at it. I then walked straight up to the waterfall to get up close and personal. However, I got all wet. There’s a legend behind this majestic waterfall. Legend has it that Þrasi, a Viking who settled in Skógar, hid a chest of gold behind the waterfall. Later, a young lad attempted to retrieve the treasure, but only managed to grasp a ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared once more. The ring was affixed to the door of the church in Skógar. On a sunny day, you can still see the gold shining through the waterfall. I then walked over to the shop and got a chocolate milk (mjölk in Icelandic). At 2:15, the bus picked us all up. The next stop was Seljalandsfoss. I was there the other day too! Katherine, Joe, and I walked over and checked out the two little waterfalls to the left of the main waterfall. The flies were out and about, bugging us. After a half hour we went back to the bus. Katherine and Joe were telling me that because it is so expensive here, that they’re taking home rocks for their friends. As we were on the road, I saw Hakla on my right side. The weather wasn’t too good, but I took a picture anyway. I wanted one the other day when I was with Ísak, but it was raining. We then stopped at a gas station in Hvöllsvollur. But, I just relaxed on the bus because I’ve been here already. After that, we made our way back to Reykjavik, passing through Hella and Selfoss, and stopping briefly in Hveragerði. We got to Reykjavik at 5:15 and I got Katherine and Joe’s email. I started walking back into town and it was finally a bright blue sky today. I took more pictures because the buildings had the sun shining on them. In 9 days I’ve taken over 1,200 pictures. In 3½ weeks in Australia I took about the same amount. I stopped at the Salvation Army and locked my bags away and called Ísak. He had to go pick up Þorbjörg, so he told me to call him in about 30 minutes. In the meantime, I walked in a t-shirt a few blocks to the giant chessboard, but the pieces weren’t there. I did talk to this couple form the U.K. about their travels. It was such a nice day to relax. After about 20 minutes I said good bye to them and started walking back to the Salvation Army. At the courtyard near there, I saw Katherine, Joe, and J.T. again. They were having a beer to relieve the stress of a long day. I sat with them for a few minutes but realized I was late calling Ísak. I ran straight away to the Salvation Army and called him. He asked if I was up for going out to eat, and I said “sure.” He picked me up about 5 minutes later. Ísak, Þorbjörg, and I were off to dinner at a restaurant. We stopped at one place first, but it was too full. We then walked over to this restaurant called Sólon. It was my first (and likely only) time visiting a nice restaurant in Iceland. For dinner I ate pan-fried lamb with wok-fried noodles, salad, and a side order of French fries. It was one of the cheaper dishes, but it was still 1,790 kronur (about $30). While we were eating, I showed Ísak and Þorbjörg my pictures from Skaftafell. It was a very nice dinner; much better than all the other junk I’ve been eating. I keep talking about how this is such an expensive country, but Ísak reminded me that the money can be fixed, and the memories will always follow me. He’s right! As we were walking to the car, this guy on a bicycle called me a redneck and said he hates Americans. I don’t think he is Icelandic. But, this guy at the basketball court (during high school) used to call me a redneck and I would be like “how could I be a redneck, I have no hickeys.” Anyways, as we were driving back to Ísak’s house, I got the perfect pictures of Hallgrímskirkja. It was a sunny day, so it looked a lot better. We got to Ísak’s place at 8:30 and just relaxed. He had talked about going to the Iceland VS. Serbia soccer match, but he decided to watch it on TV instead. I checked my email and wrote to a few people. Tonight is the summer solstice; with the longest day and the shortest night of the year. I checked to see what time the Blue Lagoon closes so that we have plenty of time tomorrow. I had planned to walk to the campground tonight, but Ísak offered me a ride at 11:00 PM. The sun was still out! Ísak and I stopped for gas and stuff to drink, and his sister saw him and bugged him for a ride home. We then drove about 10 minutes to the campground. We agreed to meet at 5:00 PM at his place tomorrow. I then paid for a camping spot and pitched my tent. I went and took a shower because I hadn’t had one in three days. I dried myself with my shirt because I had no towel, much like I did in Australia. By then it was after midnight and it was still light out. It’s like magic; it’s like it’s not supposed to happen. I went through the left-behind food basket, hoping there was a tea bag, but there was nothing there! I did meet a pretty girl named Ketsia as I was scrounging through the box. She’s from Montreal and is here for three months on a hiking trip. I’d love to spend that much time here! At about 12:30 I went and lay down. Tomorrow, I’m off to the Blue Lagoon with Ísak and Þorbjörg. Before I go, I might ride an Icelandic horse, because I haven’t done that yet. I’ll see you tomorrow after another special Icelandic day.
