ICELAND continued from page 31
ocean, grazing land, and mountain vistas that we had experienced on the south coast, but much wilder because of the wind and isolation. Each turn of the road presented
an even more magnificent view, with only the horses and isolated red and white farmsteads to witness our passing. The twisting road was constantly squeezed between towering mountains and tortured coastline until we crawled along the base of the mountains that look far down onto the roaring Atlantic. Again, history is everywhere.
This was the area where the first European woman to give birth in North America (Newfoundland) came from, according to the sagas. Iceland’s main industry is fishing, which explains the isolated towns in a clean sparse landscape with no trees to block the wind. We traveled through minute-to- minute sunlight, snow storms, ice
squalls and then back into sunlight, all of which added to the feeling of being in a far-off alien place. As the guy said, “You come to Iceland for the nature, not the weather”. On the last day I stopped at the
famous Blue Lagoon on the way to the airport. This turned out to be a pleasant surprise and not just something for tourists only. The tourist industry in Iceland is still in its infancy, so what we visited was a unique site, created by an eruption, that the locals used. It started with two shipping containers (change rooms) and later evolved into today’s sophisticated “health, relaxation
and good memory” paradise. The medicinal, warm blue water can even soak the edges off anyone who may have lingered too long in the welcoming pubs on his last night in Reykjavik. Back at the airport, I was
welcomed by the usual “We cancelled your ticket”, but was saved by Inga’s (Icelandair) determined begging, bullying and charm to get me on board. I departed with plans to return
as soon as possible before the chain stores and “Disneyland” tourism finds this naturally unique, fresh, friendly off-the-main-road destination.
40 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
www.bounder.ca
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