It's Never Too Late for Your Dream to Come True: EPILOGUE

I can't believe that it has already been two weeks since I returned from Iceland.  It still seems like it was just a few days ago!  As promised, I wanted to post one last blog with my thoughts & reflections about my trip.  But first, a few factoids and updates:

• How many photos did I take?  I took nearly 2,000 photos.  That's a little over 200 per day on average with the most on any one day being 345 (Day 3).  Now this sounds like a lot of images, and it it is.  But, not all of these are good or even acceptable.  In fact, a number of them are downright lousy!  And, the vast majority are duplicates with slight variations in exposure, composition, etc. to increase the chances of getting one good shot.  So, to this end, I have whittled the nearly 2,000 down to about 220.  I am now in the process of doing final editing on these images and suspect I will end up with somewhere around 30-40 pretty decent photos (IMHO).  What will I do with these?  Well, besides posting on Flickr, I will frame a few, and I would like to put together a "coffee table" book with the best images.
• How'd I do on my list of photo opportunities?  Considering everything, I think I did pretty good.  I had over 80 locations on my list, and I visited about 50 of these, plus others that weren't even on the list.  Of the 30 or so I didn't visit, nearly all were 2 and 3-star locations.  There were only two 5-star locations I didn't get to, and in one case this was primarily because of weather.  In the other case, the site was closed for environmental protection reasons due to the excessive rain.  Overall, my list was extremely helpful in planning my trip, even though I didn't refer to it every day and the weather was often a major factor in deciding where to go.
• How many miles did I drive?  I drove 2,190 kilometers, or 1,360 miles.  That about 151 miles per day on average and nearly equivalent to the distance between Detroit and Miami!  I have no idea how many gallons (or liters) of diesel fuel I went through or how much this all cost (and I don't really want to know), but based on how many times I filled up, I think I got pretty reasonable mileage.
• What's the status of my primary camera? As you may recall, my primary camera, the Nikon Df, died towards the end of Day 2.  It never worked again, and I was forced to rely on my backup camera, the Nikon D700, for the remainder of the trip.  Fortunately, the D700 worked extremely well and in fact produced some darned good images.  As soon as I got back, I immediately sent the Df in for repair, and it should be back home tomorrow.  I really missed the little guy! 

Now onto my thoughts and reflections, which I'll try to keep brief (yeah, sure Russ).  Anyway, I'm sure that most of you after returning from a fun and exciting trip have found yourself thinking about the experience for a few days.  It is only when you settle back into your routine that the "high" begins to subside.  And, quite possibly you said that you would like to return to the place you visited someday (even though "someday" does not always come).  Well, in my case, I have thought about Iceland virtually every day for the past two weeks, and if someone asked me to go back next week or next month, I wouldn't hesitate for a moment.  I truly miss the place!  I have never experienced similar feelings before, and it is only now that they are beginning to wane.

Why so?  There are a lot of reasons, of course, not the least of which is the fact that I have dreamt about this trip for a long time.  And, the fact that I am now retried affords me with more time to muse and reflect upon the trip.  But, it is also due to the fantastic landscapes that Iceland has to offer.  There are many adjectives that I could use to describe these landscapes, like rugged, diverse, vast, untamed, alien or other-world like, intense, spectacular, grandiose, amazing or just plain awesome.  But one word keeps coming back to me: WONDROUS.  Iceland is truly a wondrous place, a place that was designed by God and is continually being reshaped by Mother Nature.  It is a place that is ever-changing and unpredictable, and it reminds me that we as human beings are relatively insignificant in the universe, yet we still have the power to irreversibly and negatively impact the fragile planet on which we live.

So, will I really go back?  I don't know what the future holds, but honestly I would like to visit Iceland again, perhaps in a couple years and this time with Mary Jo (she wouldn't like the campervan experience, but she would definitely enjoy the scenery).  And, now that the landscape photography bug has bit me, I am beginning to think about where else to go.  Places like the national parks in Utah, Scotland, New Zealand, the Faroe Islands and Novia Scotia/New Brunswick are quickly beginning to emerge as possible candidates.  So stay tuned to this channel!

In closing, I want to thank all five of you (just kidding) who have read my blog.  Writing this has been fun and part of the overall adventure!  With that, I will leave you with some parting images:

I posted a similar image in an earlier post, but I think this shot -- with the single individual perched atop the rock -- represents pretty well my feelings of Iceland as described above.

I previously posted an image of Kirkjufellfoss waterfall with Kirkjufell mountain in the background, the classic shot that most photographers take.  But, the mountain is pretty photogenic in its own right, here with a rare blast of sunshine on its base.

So far, this is one of my favorites.  It was taken early on Day 2 and shows the Reynisdranger sea stacks with the basalt columns in the foreground.  It was a serendipitous shot in that there were a pair of footprints in the black sand going around the columns.  Another couple minutes and the waves would have washed these away!

My home away from home!

Me at the start of my trip at the Cleveland airport (taken by my brother-in-law, Randy).  Quite nerdy, eh?

Me at the conclusion of my trip (also taken by Randy), with a bit more facial hair!

It's Time to Go

Day 9 and the very last day in Iceland.  😢  While I was definitely sad, it was time to go.

I woke up leisurely at about 7:30 am, made some coffee and began the process of packing things up.  Like I did for the trip here, I transferred my camera equipment to my smaller backpack and carry-on bag so I could put the large camera backpack in my checked bag.  This was a little challenging since there really wasn't much space in the van to spread things out and organize everything.  I was able to set some big items out on the AstroTurf, however, which helped.  Next I cleaned the van and gave all the dishes a final washing.  One of the key things was getting all the black sand out of the van.  I didn't have any kind of a broom, but there was a snow brush in the storage area beneath the seats that did the trick.  I threw out any food, condiments and supplies that I didn't need for lunch or that I wouldn't be able to put in the "freebie box" at the van rental for incoming renters to pick from.  In the end, all I had left was a couple slices of bread, a half jar of peanut butter, a couple bags of boil-in-a-bag rice, a half roll of paper towels, and a yogurt, which the agent at the van rental gladly accepted.  All of this took over two hours, a little more than I had expected, but I still had plenty of time to grab some quick photos in Reykjavik before returning the van.

As I approached my first destination in the heart of the city, I started to search for a parking spot.  I noticed signs that indicated "pay and display" for parking, but down one street there were no signs.  After pulling into a spot, I looked at the dashboards of a couple cars, and I did not not see any kind of parking receipts.  I also didn't see any machine where you could pay for parking, so I thought, "This must be free parking on this street."  I went off to take pictures, and when I returned just a short while later, I saw this guy in uniform with some kind of electronic device approach my van and start to look at the dashboard.  Oh crap!  He's going to give me a parking ticket!  I approached him and said, "Excuse me.  I was just leaving."  He looked at me for a moment and replied, "Oh, Okay."  I quickly got in the van and drove away.  This would never happen in the US!!

After my last stop, I looked at how many shots I had left on my camera's memory card: seven.  A sign that it's time to go.  So I set off to return the van.  Despite the awkwardness in navigating  Reykjavik on my first day, I drove right to the van rental and arrived 10 minutes before the scheduled drop-off time.  While there was an hour grace period, I timed this perfectly!  Another sign.

Everything went well with the return (no damages, etc.), and the rental agent gave me a ride to the bus terminal, saving me the taxi fare, which would have easily been over $25.  As soon as we arrived at the bus terminal, there was a bus to the airport loading up.  I immediately got on, and we soon were off to the airport, where we arrived about 45 minutes later.  I checked my bags, went through security, proceeded to the gate and quickly boarded the plane.

Goodbye Iceland.  I'll be back (hopefully)!

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and I landed back in Cleveland safe and sound.  The only issue upon arrival was that since Cleveland Hopkins airport is not designed to handle inbound international travelers, you must exit through the main concourse.  Because this is a "secure area", TSA requires incoming passengers to go through security and checked bags to be re-scanned.   Pretty silly in my opinion considering you go through security to board the plane.  I suppose TSA either doesn't trust Iceland security or assumes you will be able to cleverly secure "contraband" while in transit.  I don't get it.

My brother-in-law Randy was there promptly to pick me up, and once we were on the road he produced a small cooler with two IPA's, chilled and ready to be drank.  Ahhhh, It's good to be back in the U.S. of A.!

Hallgrímskirkja, the Lutheran parish church of Reykjavik and one of the tallest structures in Iceland.  Not a very spectacular picture since it was heavily back-lit but wanted to include it anyway.

Organ pipes in Hallgrímskirkja.

The Harpa concert hall.

Inside the Harpa Concert Hall looking upwards through the unique "windows".

Another view from inside Harpa, this time in black & white.

Part of the Perlan building, which is a museum about Iceland with an observation deck overlooking Reykjavik.  What makes it unique is that glass domed structure sets on top of six preexisting storage tanks containing geothermally heated hot water.  (sorry, I din't take a photo of the entire building).

The dome of the Perlan from the observation deck.

Another shot of the dome, in black & white.

UPDATE: Day 8

I realized that I had forgotten to include a photo that I really wanted to share in the Day 8 post.  I could have easily updated that post, but I thought a separate post might be in order so that everyone would see the photo.  Of course, this is a golden opportunity to include a couple additional photos!

As some of you may be aware, geothermal power is a big thing in Iceland, but the fact is that 100% of the country's power -- that's right, 100% -- is from geothermal.  So, power is plentiful and I assume relatively cheap, not to mention environmentally friendly.  And Icelanders are quite proud of this fact.

There are several geothermal plants in Iceland, mostly in the southwest part of the island.  Water is pumped down through "bore holes", which in turn is converted to steam by the hot temperatures beneath the surface from lava, etc.  The steam then drives turbines, which generate electricity.

The geothermal plants are interesting photographically, especially the large steam pipes that often traverse up the mountains.  I was inspired to take some photos of these by one photo in particular that was taken by Danish landscape photographer Mads Peter Iverson.   Here they are (black and white, of course).

Steam pipes at Hellisheiði Power Station, Iceland's second largest.

More steam pipes at Hellisheiði.

Reykjanes power station.

All good things must come to an end

Editor's Note: I am actually safe and sound back in the US as I publish this.  I was unable get this posted before I left because of travel.  But I am committed, if nothing else than to myself, to finish these last remaining blogs!

Day 8 and my last full day here in Iceland.  I can't believe my adventure is almost over.  It has gone by pretty fast, but I have enjoyed every minute of it (well, almost every minute).  But, I am tired and ready to come home, my creative juices shot.  Experiencing a different culture is exhilarating, but there is nothing like coming home to the good ol' USA.  That said, I do plan on two more blogs after I get home, one for my half day today and another with an epilogue of sorts.  The latter could be week or so after I have recuperated and mentally processed my trip.

As I indicated in my previous post, my destination for Day 8 was the Reykjanes Peninsula, which is south of Reykjavek, the capital.  It was quite a long haul, but the weather was nice and scenery was amazing.  Have I mentioned that Iceland is a beautiful place?

I found a campground in Grindavik, which is small fishing town at the southwest corner of the peninsula.  This was by far the best campground I stayed at: very modern, clean and well equipped.  Best of all, showers were hot and included in the campground fee (about $17).  I took a long, hot one, my third and last one in Iceland!

The weather forecast was good the day before, but true to Icelandic form, the weather changed quickly.  You guessed it: rain and wind.  This time a fog also rolled in.  Not a problem, however, considering what was on my list that day, and in a couple cases, I think the foggy weather actually helped the image.  In fact, a few of the locations I visited I wasn't initially that excited about, but I was pleasantly surprised with the images I got.  So there ya go!  Lemons → lemonade.

I had one more spot to hit, which was actually back into the southern region.  After that I wasn't sure what to do.  I had one other 5-star location on my list, Thjofafoss, but it was in the wrong direction (over 2 hours from Reykjavik), and based on my experience thus far, the weather probably wasn't going to cooperate.  So I made the executive decision to skip it (there's next time, right?).  I did however seek out an "alternative" waterfall with a similar name, Thorufoss, that was considerably closer.  On the way to Thorufoss I encountered the dreaded pavement ends sign again.  Fortunately, though, the waterfall was just beyond the sign.  When I got to the viewing point, the wind was so extremely forceful that despite my camera being on a tripod and me pressing down hard on the camera, the images were still blurry!  Incredible!!

I found a campground that was only about 15 minutes from Reykjavik.  They didn't take credit cards, just cash.  I was fresh out of Icelandic Krona (except for about $3.75 in coins), but surprisingly they took US dollars.  I had a $20 bill in my wallet, from which they guy easily made change.  The other thing that was interesting about the place was that area where the campers were parked was covered with scraps of AstroTurf.  You could tell because you could see the white sidelines.  While it looked weird, it actually prevented the area from getting muddy and full of ruts. This guy was thinking!

My plan for the next day was to pack my bags, clean up the van and then head into Reykjavik before I had to return the van at 1:00 pm

Hot springs at Gunnuhver.  The smell of rotten eggs (hydrogen sulfide) was very strong and actually infused my clothes a little, so I had pleasure of smelling it for a while!

Sea stacks at Reykjanestá near Grindavik

Publicly accessible lagoons at the famous Blue Lagoon.  The Blue Lagoon is a man-made lagoon that is the result of the nearby geothermal plant.  It is a major attraction and draws thousands of visitors every year who pay a ridiculous amount of money to swim in the warm, mineral rich water.  This was the most cars and tour buses that I ever saw at any one location!  I didn't bother going in but was able to enjoy the brilliant greens and blues (and whites) caused by the entrained minerals (particularly silica) in this free area.

A closer look at some of the rocks and water at the Blue Lagoon.

And yet another abandoned farm.

The hot springs at Seltun.  The colors are amazing.  Again, the smell of rotten eggs was strong. 

More moss and lichen on lava rocks.  The green plant in the background is Lupine, which blooms in June, so I was a bit early.  They are everywhere.

Another tiny, old church located near the Ocean.

A set small elf houses that were located behind the church.  You can find these throughout Iceland.  A rather significant percentage of Icelanders truly believe in Elves and build these houses as a resting place for elves during the harsh winters!

The "alternative" waterfall, Thorufoss.  This was the least blurry of all the pictures but you really can't tell unless you zoom in.

The dreaded pavement ends sign!  The number is the speed limit, 80 km/hr in this case or about 50 mph (which was too fast for me, especially if there were potholes, as was often the case).

My one and only selfie.  I am standing on the divide between the two tectonic plates on which Iceland sets, the Eurasian plate (on my right) and the North American plate.  Officially Iceland is considered to be on the European continent, but technically it is on two continents!  That might help you next time you play trivia.

Around the Peninsula

My primary goal for Day 7 was to continue driving around the Snaefellsnes Peninsula starting with the sunrise over Kirkjufell mountain with Kirkjufellfoss waterfall in the foreground (the classic photo).  According to my one app, this would occur around 3:38 am, give or take a few minutes, and the weather forecast early the previous day indicated there would be minimal to no cloud cover at that time.  Later on though, it looked liked clouds would be moving in.  But I figured it was still worth a shot.  Even with some clouds it could be a great composition.  So, I set my alarm for 2 am, and I was on location shortly after 3.  I was the first one there (surprise), which was glorious.  There were some low level clouds hanging over the mountain still, but I took some shots anyway.  Then the weather began to worsen.  More clouds came in, the wind picked up, and it started to drizzle.  Ahhh, Iceland weather!  I waited a little hoping it would improve, but it didn't happen.  It just kept getting worse.  So I headed back to the van to make breakfast (an omelet, by the way) and wait it out.  The weather eventually improved but by then other peeps, mostly other photographers began to arrive.  Everyone wanted that same shot, including me!  I headed back out and took a bunch of photographs, sometimes in the same footsteps as the other photographers (and vice versa) -- pretty amusing.  The sun never did break through the clouds as projected.  It may have done so later in the day, but it was time for me to move on around the peninsula.

As I got further west, the sun finally did come out, and it became an absolutely beautiful day.  However, at several of the locations, I would have actually preferred overcast/stormy skies or at least more clouds.  Landscape photography is funny that way.  Sometimes you want sun, sometimes you want fluffy clouds, and sometimes you want something else, but not always is this what you get.  It's really the luck of the draw and being in the right place at the right moment.  And if this doesn't happen, you learn to deal with it and try to make something out of what you have.  So that's what I tried to do.

After hitting all the spots I wanted to visit in the peninsula, I set my sights for Reykjavik and further south to the Reykjanes Peninsula for my last full day.

The reason I was there: Kirkjufell mountain and Kirkjufellfoss waterfall!

A cool modern church in Olafsvik.  (See the blue sky and clouds?  Gorgeous!)

A tiny church up on a hill on the east end of the peninsula.

A mountain (sorry I don't know the name) in Snaefellsnes National Park.

Moss & lichen on a lava rock.

Djúpalónssandur black lava beach

Djúpalónssandur beach again looking the other direction and in black & white

BudarKirkja or the so-called "Black church" (in black & white, of course).  This is a favorite of photographers.

The door knocker on the Black Church

SPECIAL EDITION #2: You Gotta Be Kidding!

Just a quickie post as I start wrapping up my trip. Today was my last full day, and I need to post Day 7 and Day 8 (today).  Tomorrow will be a short day before I catch my plane, and I plan to take a few photos around Reykjavik.  Then I will likely make make one final post after I get home and process my adventure.  Give me some time on that one!

In the meantime, I thought you'd be interested about what things cost in Iceland.  While I cannot speak to every consumer good, I do have an idea of the cost of food and gas since I have of course been buying these.  In a word: EXPENSIVE!  Also, while I didn't buy any here, beer, wine and alcohol is also expensive based on what I have read on line (I did however buy some single malt scotch in the duty free store after I landed, and the prices for that were pretty reasonable).  Consequently, I have to believe that most everything here in Iceland is expensive.

I think the primary reason for the cost of goods is the simple fact that Iceland is an island, and a relatively small one at that.  The climate is harsh and much of the land is not arable anyway, so agriculture is not very big here (there are LOTS of sheep, but I don't know if this is for meat production or just wool, but in either case, lamb meat is expensive as well).  And, I didn't see much industry to speak of, though I'm guessing there is some light to medium industry around Reykjavik in particular.  Of course, fishing is big, but man cannot live on fish alone!  As a result, most everything must be shipped or flown in.  How do Icelanders afford things?  I have no idea, and I will leave that to you to figure out.

Anyway, I thought I would share with you a few examples.  First, gas.  The campervan I have runs on diesel, which right now costs about 200 Krona per liter.  100 Krona is equivalent to about $0.94, and a liter is slightly more than a quart.  So doing the math, this means diesel is going for a whopping $7.83 per gallon!!!!  Fortunately, I think I've been getting pretty good mileage, but that price is still insane!

Now food.  Food prices are crazy too.  While some items, such as pasta, rice, bread, some condiments, etc. are not too bad, meats, fruits and vegetables are outlandishly expensive, especially when fresh.  But even canned and frozen vegetables can be costly, for example.  Following are some examples in pictures (and these are from what is considered a "discount" grocery chain in Iceland called Bonus, which has a pig in their logo!).   To figure the cost in USD, keep the math simple and just divide by 100.

Boneless/skinless chicken...that's crazy!

Pork chops.  Better than chicken!

Icelanders LOVE hot dogs.  I don't know what why, but you will see many different brands and varieties, and you can buy cooked hot dogs everywhere, including gas stations.  Cost is pretty reasonable, which may be why they love them!

I thought cheese would be cheaper, and to be sure you can find some less expensive brands/types, but I found this pretty surprising.

Quite a bit more than we pay for yogurt, but I could live with this price.  Skyr is a very popular brand, and it is very good.

Ground beef, perhaps a couple pounds or so.  Nuts!  (Yes, expect for plain ol' salted peanuts, nuts are very costly too)

Icelanders like their dried fish, usually Haddock, and there are many different varieties, usually pretty expensive.  I bought a cheaper and smaller package just to try it.  It wasn't too bad, but then again I like some weird things.  The fish is thinly sliced and air-dried, so I suppose this would make it fish jerky.  A better analogy, though, might be pork rinds since they are crunchy.  Fish rinds?  Nah, I like fish jerky better.  Burps after eating this stuff is pretty interesting, however.

I can't imagine Icelanders eat many salads with this price (or perhaps they are really small salads).

Can you believe this one?  The only produce that I found halfway reasonable cost-wise was carrots, so I ate a lot of these.

Now that's just not right.  By the way, I saw quite a few American brands here.

Another American brand.

Even canned veggies are costly.  I was craving mushrooms one day and bought a can that cost over $2.  $2 for fungus!

Not too bad

Cereal.  Also, notice the door on the right.  That's a walk-in cooler.  They have all the refrigerated items, such as milk, yogurt, meat, cheese, fresh produce, etc. in these kind of coolers.  Pretty neat idea, and it may be more energy efficient.