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.