February, 2025
Learning about Iceland, its history, geography, sagas and folklore centered us for traveling the Rim Road – a 900-mile adventure circling the entire island. Our experiences these past few days of meeting horses, sampling geothermal hothouse farm produce, visiting the sites of the Golden Circle, walking along a volcanic beach pounded by the violence of the wind-driven surf, letting our fantasy run wild with Icelandic folklore, walking up to a glacier and along the bank of an iceberg lagoon and seeing nature’s ice sculptures up close left us in awe of this country. The depth of visual experiences and moments so visually striking in this vast Land of Fire and Ice has become a dynamic force…What could be next? Could this journey continue to get better every day? Literally, what’s around the corner?
We’re traveling along the eastern coast of the country – a land of fjords, tundra and continuingly amazing landscapes. We’re on the way for a quick stop in Stodvarfjordur and a chance to meet some of the people living in the small French fishing Village of Faskrudsfjordur.
A fjord is a long, narrow inlet of the sea between high cliffs formed by the submergence of a glaciated valley.
The only native land mammal inhabiting Iceland is the Artic Fox. Horses and sheep have become a permanent part of the countryside, and if you’re lucky you might see a reindeer or two along the way. Icelandic reindeer do not look like the animals we typically see in America, that are portrayed in film and animation, and not what we have come to believe reindeer should look like. Then again, why would we expect it?
Stodvarfjordur sits on the northern shore of the fjord of the same name and is home to approximately 200 inhabitants.
In this small village Ljósbjörg Petra María Sveinssdottir turned her lifelong love of rocks, stones and minerals into a superb collection.
Our next stop was the French fishing village Faskrudsfjordur found along the waters of the fjord of the same name. The village is on the far eastern coast of the island and has a population, as of the last census in 2011, of 662 people. Founded and settled by French fishermen in mid-1800s the village became home to the fishermen and their families, who built the city, the harbor, and a hospital(!).
Following the winter solstice and the days upon days of no or little sunlight Faskrudsfjordur celebrates the first day in which there is one hour of daylight with a pancake festival. No one remembers quite why pancakes, but the smell brings a sense of memory, comfort, and connection to the folks living in this small village.
Greeted by the village’s welcoming docent we were fascinated to hear about what life is like in this isolated place. Not so different than anywhere else in the world! The city has a grocery store, restaurants, school, church, community and recreation center, hospital and medical clinic, craft workshops and local craft retail store. And would you believe, weather permitting, daily outdoor community-wide yoga/aerobics on the dock? We were privileged to tour a small northern lights museum and were overwhelmed by the beauty of the photographs proudly displayed and taken by 2 members of the community. A chance to explore the community’s craft store gave us time to consider buying locally handmade products made of wool. The gracious people of Faskrudsfjordur treated us to homemade cake and coffee. A wonderful visit.
Leaving East Iceland we headed west and somewhat north on our way to the Myvatn Nature Baths. Time to experience a relaxing soak in a geothermal lagoon! The Baths are only 65 miles south of the artic circle!
The vistas continue to be spectacular and ethereal…
Translated Jardbodin means earth’s crust, and presents a welcome entry to the Myvatn Nature Baths. Your host assures the reservation and hands you a locker key and towel. Once in the changing room and into bathing attire a required cleansing shower finishes your preparation for entering the lagoon. The warmth of the geothermal waters were especially appreciated after the brisk 10-yard walk from the changing room to the lagoon in windy (no, the wind never stops!) maybe 40-degree Fahrenheit temperatures. The wind chill hurried us along and into the waters.
Throughout the lagoon it’s kinda like the tale of goldilocks and the three bears…some spots are too cool, some too hot, and some just right.
Soaking in the lagoon, the body’s temperature was sure to rise above normal…and help with moderating that 10-yard walk back to the changing room. But to help that walk be less frigid, just about at the halfway point there was a “hot tub” – place for a warm-up before the last half distance to the changing room. Into the hot tub our party of six splashed. There was a young couple who had to move down to make room for us oldsters. I thanked the young man who responded with what I thought was an Amercian accent I recognized. I asked, and was told the couple was from Chicago… ” Nah” I replied, “where are you from? No one’s from Chicago; it’s gotta be a named neighborhood or suburb.” “Niles,” the young man stated. “Where’d you go to high school?” I asked. “Maine East, why?” was the reply. Turns out I went to Maine East High School only our graduation dates were 48 years apart! And of course, we had to travel over 3,500 miles to meet each other and compare notes on our teen years in the Chicagoland area. The last half-walk to the locker/changing room went easily and, bones properly soaked and with a relaxed demeaner we piled back into our transport for a couple of hour ride to our evening’s accommodations.
A quick note about gas stations in Iceland…they’re all convenience stores! A stop for gas turns into a bathroom break, get a snack or freshly prepared food/lunch stop, a chance to fill propane tanks or an RV dump, stock up on minor grocery items and/or souvenir shopping. N1 stops were one of the convenience stores on the Ring Road.
Traveling north and a little west from our relaxing soak at the Myvatn Nature Baths we had a scheduled stop at an N1 store. While there one of our party said to me: “Hey there’s one of you over there.” I guess I had overtalked my University of Michigan pride and wore enough gear to…well maybe be too much. “One of you” meant there were 4 more people displaying University of Michigan colors here, in Iceland, at exactly the same moment at this stop. Wandering over I greeted the group with the requisite “Go Blue” and was delighted with the salute in return. Talking for a moment we all compared the usual…where we lived, memories and dates of being on campus, connection to the University over the years, and eventually where we grew up. Everyone in the group was from Chicagoland, and one of the women in the group grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois. She was a graduate of Maine East High School, two years prior to my graduation from, you guessed it, Maine East High School! What are the odds of meeting two different groups of people anywhere in the world that within each group there was an alumnus from my high school? Redefine that definition of a small world?
We are now in Northern Iceland and had new landscapes to view on the way to our hotel.
Iceland has become a journey that is as mesmerizing as it is unforgettable. The country is an unsettling geological blend of beauty and foreboding, sculpted over centuries by volcanic activity, glacial movements, and the relentless fierce forces of wind and water. Its terrain is varied and can be surreal, and in our mind’s eye there’s a sense of walking through a dreamscape. Whatever our perception prior to arriving, the country continues to reveal its surprises day by day.
Barbara and Brian
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.“ – Henry David Thoreau
Aimless Wanderings 