What was: Day 86 - Iceland

Getting to Iceland was...an experience. In an airport-ian miracle I made it intact, without any major diseases, and with all my luggage. (Re: the disease comment - in China I landed with influenza and was in a hospital within a week). My cousin Marisa recently married a fellow from Iceland (I missed their wedding, what with being in the Arctic), so I stayed with them for a few days while waiting for my flights to Greenland. These flights only happen once a week, so I'm really glad I had someone in Iceland to put me up, so I could recover from not having slept in 2 days.

Speaking of flying, I have to say I seem to have totally recovered from a short-term fear of turbulence. Flying never used to bother me, then I went to China and after the worst flight of my life (turbulence, horrible landing, major illness) I was suddenly significantly nervous when plane rides got bumpy. But now - even with rough take offs from snowy runways, tiny airplanes, bogus airports, it totally doesn't bother me. At all. Excellent.

Wish me luck when I fly through Russia, however.

Iceland's pretty cold. It's also extraordinarily clean and strangely geometrical in the cities. Marisa and one of her friends took me out around the countryside for a day to show me some of the natural wonders.

Landscape and natural steam vent:



Iceland is largely volcanic material. That makes for some interesting land formations and dark earth, in addition to the hot springs and steam vents.

Hot steam and icy grass:



Walking to Iceland's famous geyser (Fiona and Marisa). It is cold, although I'm pretending not to be.



You know, this just doesn't seem safe.



Big deep blue hot pool that of course people have felt the irrepressible need to throw their loose change in:



Ah yes, and then we drove to the Golden Circle:



A close up of that rainbow, if you will:



Dead Leaves and the Icy Ground (I am so clever):



Bonus points to anyone who caught that reference who I normally wouldn't expect to catch that reference.

And finally - really truly authentic Icelandic ponies!



Iceland's a pretty neat place.