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.