August 31st 2007
We ride out of the capital city of Reykjavik after just a few hours in Iceland… all ready for the scene to change. And it does, many times over the next five hours until after three towering waterfalls and six icy river crossings the bus driver offs the engine. We are on black soil-less ground and in front of us is the first glacier I have ever seen! I am happy to the brim. My heart is overflowing and true as icy water freed from lock of ice and fast running to the vast ocean. We drive through the glacier lagoon in the bus and continue on for another hour in the riverbed. There are no roads or bridges in Thorsmork National Forest but a surprising number of hefty vehicles are making their way to the various camps that hug the treeless mountains. It is dark when we arrive at Husaludar. The 15 other SEEDS volunteers from ten different countries are there already and have saved us some supper. Wild salmon, field greens and nut encrusted bread...WOW! We are delighted and surprised!
September 1st
3am. Karen and I laugh ourselves passed our excitement, over the edge of exhaustion and free-fall into each others dreams. 8:45am comes much too quickly in Iceland…a four hour time warp in the wrong direction. Outside the weather is persistent. Bright gray and striped with driving mist the wind smacks against my face and pants legs. We are volunteering to help repair trails and run the camp for two weeks. Thorsmork is a park in Southern Iceland wedged between two glaciers. It is popular for it's unique grove of trees. Apparently there were trees in Iceland before the Vikings arrived but they cut them all and the grazing sheep prevent any from growing back. Icelanders do not volunteer to lay rocks and sort garbage and the paying guests joking call us slaves. That night at dinner a news crew from Reykjavik asks us to pose as though toasting but the volunteers from the E.U. refuse to toast with water. It could mean bad luck, they explain seriously…no sex for seven months. Making a toast absolutely requires alcohol. The Icelandic crew goes back to their roast lamb and boxes of wine without cooperation from the slaves. They are a loud bunch, singing and laughing themselves hoarse. I begin to see the old illustrations depicting a fierce Viking people come to life.
Sept. 3rd
Iceland’s history is a collection of legends called the Sagas. I think the story of the three little pigs may have started here as well. The wind is howling like a wolf and it threatens to blow our house down with just one more blast from the south. I have never seen wind like this or rain for that matter. Sometimes there’s no wind but there’s almost always rain. If it’s not raining, it has just rained or it’s about to rain. This is some seriously challenging terrain. Volcanic rocks in varying degrees of wear make up the walkable landscape. What isn’t rocky riverbed is vertical and craggy. It looks like a cross between middle earth and the moon. Fast moving water is plunging off cliffs and carving deep channels in the landscape. We walked through a green canyon today about 100 meters wide, crossing the river eight times, until it narrowed into what felt like a cave but was really just the bottom of a ridge with a small glacier stream pouring through a slit in the mountain. We pick wild blueberries, crushing thyme beneath our boots. Heather is in pink bloom and majestic angelica crowned with seed head the size of a small canteloupe wave from crevices in the rocks.
Sept. 4th
We didn’t do much work today. The wind was wild and of course, it rained. It was a bit exciting though because we learned that the river we forded eight times to get to camp is now too high to cross. No one is coming or going till the waters calm a bit. Then we learned that the company in Reykjavik double-booked the cabin we are staying in and we will have to move out of it for a couple days. We have to pack and clean up but worst than that…it was suggested we stay outside in tents. No one is happy about that except Karen who isn’t ever bothered by cold wet weather. Tonight we invented a game. We each came up with five questions about our countries of origin. We then teamed up with two other countries and asked our questions to the other teams, giving points for the first right answer. There was the UK/Japan/Russia team, the Czech/Greece/Iceland team, Belgium/France/ Swiss and Portugal/Italy/US team. It was great fun and we learned a lot. It is the aim of SEEDS for people from different places to build bridges of understanding and friendships. It’s a new experience for me to work with people of different nationalities rather then just travel and experience a little of just one. To be with other travelers and work together, eat and play together…it’s very expansive. Everyone is on the same playing field, strangers together in a strange place…on the edge of the Arctic.
Sept.6th
Yesterday I hurt my back lifting rocks. I knew I shouldn’t have lifted that big square of volcanic basalt but did regardless. I was building a retaining wall around the edge of the natural "hot spot" and outdoor showers. Iceland has natural supplies of hotwater that people tap from wells and use for heating their homes and of course, hot tubs and showers. Today I couldn’t lift a thing so Anna asked me to show her how to lay rock. I was nervous about it. I said “It will just drive you crazy to have me telling you try this one, try that one” but she said, “No, I want you to be there”. I showed her what I knew about rock work and sat near by making suggestions, which she followed and together we built a fine wall. I can’t believe how respectful she was. Am I old enough now to be respected? They are all almost half my age. I admire them. They wait for each other on the path and give their hand out to help one another climb up the rocks. They gladly assist in everything no matter if it’s tedious or dirty work. I don’t see much ego playing out in this group. I am enjoying my time spent with them.
Sept. 14th
My friend Kathy told me once to pay heed to places with names like “dry ridge”. Two months later I bought some land on Frozen Knob. Twenty years later and I’ve picked Iceland as my first destination in a year-long worldwide tour. If I can remember Kathy’s advise, why don’t I get it? The Icelandic web site suggested clear skies and temperatures in the fifties for September. I packed a pair of gloves and a wool hat but then at the last minute I took them out. I can still see them, sweating it out in my closet while I poke around under benches in bus terminals looking for some forgotten polar fleece in Reykjavik. You may be thinking, “Oh for heaven’s sake Lisa, go buy yourself a cheap hat!” While there are cheaply made things in Iceland (like everywhere else) there are no cheaply bought things. For example, last night Karen and I went grocery shopping. We found a head of lettuce that was $6 and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s for $12 (30% off!). We decided on a small frozen pizza that set us back a modest 455 Kronurs which is around eight bucks. However, that was the first dinner we have had to buy and we’re half way through our trip already. I may not have realized that it would be cold in Iceland but I was prepared for the cost of living here. We decided early on that we would have to be creative traveling in the land of fire and ice. Our volunteer work in Thorsmork provided us with more then enough tasty vittles and a sweet little cabin in which to sleep for two weeks as well as new friends all over the world. Thank-you Oscar, Anna and Kirsty for a wonderful experience with SEEDS/Iceland!
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