Flora and Fauna

Here is our Óðinn reorganizing things at the world's most northerly Botanical Garden, in Akureyri (the garden is located just to the right of the 600 on thismap.) The garden is especially beautiful and highly recommended to everyone traveling to Iceland's lovely northern city.

I received an email from a University of Washington student who is coming here for a two month internship and who is having trouble finding lodgings. She will be arriving next week and has asked if I can help her out in any way. Do any of my local readers know of a room or apartment available for rent? If so, please either leave a comment or email me so we can help her out. Much appreciated...

Oh, and one more thing. Check out this blog. My parent's across the street neighbor is swimming the English Channel as I write (3 p.m. GMT) and this blog is keeping track of his progress with text (in Icelandic, unfortunately) and photos (which speak an international language, thankfully). He's also active in adult gymnastics, and trained for this swim by working out in the Atlantic waters just off of Nautholsvík, shown in previous posts. Go Benni Go!

Beach

Here's another shot of our lovely little beach at Nauthólsvík. I'm sure it was packed with beautiful bodies this weekend, as the weather here has been fantastic. I'm always so happy for tourists and other visitors when they get to experience real summer in full bloom on this often stark volcanic island!

My niece Mekkin (who was shown playing with dolphins in an earlier post) is here for the summer, and being fourteen years old is gainfully employed in the unglingavinna program the state provides. Teens (or unglinga) are paid a small but better-than-nothing wage to smarten up the towns and cities by planting annuals and plucking weeds, mowing public lawns and picking trash from park bushes. For most Icelanders it was their first real job, and I'm really proud of Mekkin for choosing to come here from California to improve her Icelandic (she was born here so it's all up there in her head somewhere!), immerse herself in her native culture and show her independence. I used to laugh at the sight of "lazy" teens laying about in parks, pulling weeds at the rate of two or three an hour, but I completely appreciate that nearly all of them choose to take on these jobs as opposed to laying about at home doing nothing for the summer months. When the weather is great like it's been, there's even the added bonus of grabbing a nice tan while they're at it!

This country is undergoing massive growth right now, if all the building and prettification is any sign. Iceland has an overall Can-Do attitude that's manifesting in improvements to infrastructure, the expansion of universities and colleges, an almost overwhelming number of new commercial enterprises and residential neighborhoods, and quite possibly, the application of our natural resources to new and more viable industries. I was wondering the other day if Iceland as a nation has attracted, through our genius blend of historical relevance (we are The Vikings) and size-doesn't-matter arrogance, it's almost incomprehensible prosperity, a la The Secret. The Law of Attraction states that if you believe something to be so, and stay focused on that belief, material reality will manifest that belief. We have always believed ourselves to be special, to be strong, to be survivors and to be creators, and we are. The evidence is manifest and apparent everywhere you look and listen on this best little island in the world.

Lagoon

For those who've never been here to Reykjavik and/or haven't experienced Nauthólsvík, that this photo is taken in Iceland might come as a charming surprise. This bathing spot, with it's imported white sand (from Norway I thinK? We only have black volcanic sand here naturally) and heated water (a hot spring is fed into a man-made seawater lagoon which heats the mix) is very popular with locals and is lined with bodies just like a Floridan strand when temperatures rise over 15°C.

I'd suggest getting up to Perlan (update, July 2011: Perlan is for sale, if your interesting in investing in cool architecture!) by bus, bike or car, checking that out, then walking down to this beach through the Öskjuhlíð forest and looping back up to to Perlan through the very beautiful Fossvogskirkjugarður, or Fossvog Cemetery. Check out areas 2 and 3 on this map for better directions. It's a very beautiful nature hike right in the heart of the Capitol region.

Chess

This super-sized chess game took place during the 17th of June celebration last weekend. The "board" is right there on the corner of Bankastræti and Lækjargata, and it's always cool seeing people, like the young man and woman shown here, matching wits on a grand scale.

Charm

So Sunday was our big 17th of June National Holiday, in theory celebrating independence from Denmark and the establishment of the Republic of Iceland, but in fact celebrating the birthday of Jón Sigurðsson, who I'll let you read up on all by yourself courtesy of the above link to Wikipedia.

The celebration downtown is a perfect start-of-summer chance for Iceland's up and coming to flirt, fancy and frolic. These three gents seemed so utterly charmed and amused by their pretty blonde friend, while she was doing a fine job of keeping them attractively at bay. The joy of youth!

(They saw me snap the shot, so I'm hoping I'm not invading anyone's privacy by posting this happy photo, but if anyone knows them and objects to this post, let me know and I'll pull it. I'm hoping that doesn't happen!)

Garden

A fancy garden in Eskifjörður, on the east coast of Iceland...

The woman who created this fantasy world is pretty much blind, so the tenth grade class of the Eskifjörður school took it upon themselves to pretty it up during the last week of school. If you're ever in Eskifjörður, you can see this garden for yourself...it's by one of the last houses on the eastern end of town.

Trail

This sign points to Stóragjá, or Big Rift, a very cool underground hot pool on the eastern bank of Mývatn. At least I think this is the right trail. I walked it once ten or so years ago and after a few minutes' stroll found myself next to a fissure in a big head of lava that a rope ladder descended down into. We were to strip to our skivvies and climb down the ladder into the darkness of the lava formation, something I wasn't so sure about. Peer pressure won out, though, and I took one cautious step at a time into the unknown. About four or five feet down my toe dipped into water, warm water, pleasantly warm, hot tub temperature water, and as my eyes adjusted to the dark I realized that I was in an underground cavern about the size of an average kitchen, with a high ceiling and filled with very comfortable water. I was totally blown away! There was a slight ledge that I could almost sit on and light from outside to help reveal the rough design of this natural wonder. The only drawback was my constant worry that something was about to grab my toes and pull me under. But that's nothing new...I've had a phobia about lakes and their unseen inhabitants for ages. It's something about the stillness of the water that gets me. Give me a roiling ocean over a lake any day!

Anyway, I'm pretty sure this is the path we took to the underground pool. When I Googled Stóragjá I got this pretty cool picture and the key information that guides don't recommend dipping into the water because it's laden with bacteria due to slow water movement. So I guess it's another "at your own risk" Icelandic attraction. All I know is, I'm glad I did it, but I'm more glad I didn't know it was a bacteria soup before I went in!