Rainy Iceland

The grey drizzle reminds me of Olympia, and the girls´ layered dresses reflect it as well. Olympia, you´re on par with Reykjavik and Akureyri in fashion. We´ve navigated all the way around the south and east coasts of the island, and now we´re in the second largest city in the nation, Akureyri, with 17,000 inhabitants. The last few days have been grueling, 11 hours in the car, 13 in our destinations - just long enough to eat, sleep, eat, and climb back in the car - and today will be no different as we shoot across the north to the western fjords.

The landscapes have been beyond expectation. The island´s volcanic birth means that almost all the soil, rocks, sand and otherwise are black, not just the beaches. The black sand beaches in Vik were mixed with smooth grey pebbles that visitors stacked in mini cairns all along the rock walls bordering the ocean. The rolling lava fields were comprised of boulders carpeted in a grey-green moss that softened their edges. I dare you to count the waterfalls tumbling down every inch of the Eastern fjords, shaped by eroded rock faces covered in grass, with every trickle of water finding an epic launching point. We´ve left very few dirt roads un-explored, and even happened upon a settlement hundreds of years old nestled between the ocean and the hills, blocked by a fence a tantalizingly few yards away.

The food here has been stellar, 5 out of 5 dinners now. Lamb is a local specialty, the lobster tails are tiny treasures, and I´ve had grilled catfish and Arctic char and flounder sushi.

Now, we´re headed out to find a beach covered in quartz pebbles, hidden around a spit that we can only cross at low tide. I hope the guide book is right!