Overwhelming beauty

There's probably a point when you can no longer look upon wondrous things and still see them for what they are.

There's probably a point when you gaze at beauty, but no longer see beauty.

A point where the amazing is humdrum.

I'm not there yet with Iceland.

When I see the emerald green hills contrasted with the steel gray sky, I understand why the Vikings stopped - and stayed. I cannot tell you if it's worth enduring the harshness of winter, but I know that, in the two days I've been here, it has penetrated deeply into my soul. And if that sounds melodramatic, well, it is.

The second day started with me unintentionally trying to get a free breakfast at our hostel. I didn't know we hadn't paid for it, and they promptly told me in the kindest possible way. They could have at least let me take the toast that I'd started.

Breakfast was Belvita crackers brought from home and some French bread eaten on the road East.

Our first stop was also the most distant from Reykjavik that we'd go:  Jökulsárlón lagoon. Less than a century ago the lagoon didn't exist; the glacier covered the land almost to the sea. In my lifetime the lagoon has increased four-fold, and it keeps growing as the glacier retreats. When you look on that living field of ice, it's difficult to imagine that it once was larger. Now, the body of water left in its wake is a tourist attraction. Boats take visitors out to the icebergs that float slowly towards the sea. There's a variety out there, from kayaks to converted amphibious landing craft.

We walked amongst the tourists as they all stared in awe at the massive blocks of ice. My son and I, having found a secluded area, skipped rocks on the mirror-smooth water. I've never seen an iceberg before, and cannot imagine what it must be like to see their larger cousins out on the open sea.

From the lagoon we headed to Skaftafell waterfall. Along the way we stopped a few times to take in the views. The rental car company warned me to not pull over on the side of the road; the embankments are soft and will give way easily. We saw a vehicle that didn't heed that and had rolled down from the road. That led to a discussion on hospitals and healthcare and ambulances; it made us all realize how rugged Iceland is in the most basic sense. Yes, we had LTE coverage pretty much everywhere we went; but what good is that when there is no easy ambulance service and no quick trip to an emergency room?

One spot we pulled over two had gorgeous views of a tongue of the glacier extending down from the mountain. My wife and son walked over to where it ended, while I took a rest in the car; driving makes me tired, and while the jet lag wasn't too bad, I felt the tension of the past year drain away from me. It's hard to hold onto it in such a place. That stress will return, I know. It's waiting for me. Once I nearly stepped off a cliff rather than return to a world that cares so little for humanity; but it's not worth that sacrifice, and luckily I can let it go this time.

The hike up to the waterfall was steep and many people struggled. We hustled past them through a landscape that had more vegetation than any other we'd been in. Up and up we walked, and then down and down.

Honestly the waterfall was a disappointment. Beautiful, yes. Dramatic... not so much. It looked much like other waterfalls I'd seen back home, and compared to the cascades of the day before it paled in comparison.

We had to head to Reykjavik after the falls, a four hour drive away. Close to the city we encountered the only traffic of the trip so far, a backup that lasted a half hour or less. I was exhausted. Our Air B and B waited; Google didn't take us to the correct place, which was fine. Inside we found a wonderful apartment. After a short decompression we headed downtown for a hot dog. That's a popular thing to eat here, and it was wonderful; it was the sauce they put on, a thousand-island-dressing-like sauce that was creamy and had just the right sweetness. After buying a couple of things at the grocery store, we headed back to our apartment to wind down the day.

Iceland

I write this from the small Monk Cafe in the town of  Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Iceland. that's a lot of letters for one town name, and it takes about as long to say the word as it does to drive through the small village. My lodging for the night is Klausturhof Guesthouse. It is as quiet and peaceful a place as a busy soul could want. A light wind blows the sturdy trees. Clouds fill the sky. Outside, it smells like nature should: pure and clean, wholesome and honest. I am drinking an Einstock Porter. Normally summer is a time of lighter beers, but it's in the mid 40s outside, which is Porter weather.

There is really no way to describe Iceland. At least there's no way I've figured out from my first day. "Dramatic" is close. There's more to it than that, though. There are few trees anywhere we've been, which is the area around Route 1 between the Reykjavik airport and here. In one day I've seen more waterfalls than in the whole year prior, and each one is something out of a JRR Tolkien novel. No, even that master couldn't have dreamed up these wonders of nature.

Here's the thing about waterfalls. From far away they look like this steady stream of water cascading down in a never-ceasing flow. Up close, though, they are filled with little incongruities. A sudden rush of water in now one place, then another. Some areas veil thin, others thick. Humans are like that, too; except when we see those differences in a waterfall we admire the beauty of it, whereas we criticize and, sometimes, hate those same qualities in our fellow humans.

I have slept maybe four hours in the past thirty one hours. And those few hours of sleep were not peaceful in any way. Then we drove and drove and drove. I am not a fan of these vacations that make me drive all the time, though we always go to beautiful places and that makes it okay. I wish, though, we could sit still for a bit and relax. Just a little.

Now I'm off to bed, finally, the porter finished and my eyelids dragging down. It's been a long day. Walked almost nine miles all total. That's a lot on such little sleep.