Posts tagged “iceland

Eyes Open, Mouth Closed

Posted on 6 April 2015

“You should go to Húsavík,” my impromptu host in Akureyri told me. “I went whale watching there.” Clara handed over some brochures she had kept. Alright, why not? We got up early to go to Akureyri’s geothermal baths and then I rushed to the bus station. Luckily, I realized I was at the wrong station just in time—and the right one was just across the street. I settled into the minibus between my neighbors and we sped off into the morning. Riding a bus in Iceland is never boring. The landscape is enormous and beautiful and the weather overhead is rapidly shifting. The bus pulled over and we squeezed in even tighter to let on a father and son. Even though the bus was already…

A Momentary Change of Tune: the Liebster Award

Posted on 14 May 2014

Apologies for my absence, but I have been traveling! More on that soon, but in the meantime I wanted to gratefully accept KleesButterfly’s nomination for the Liebster Award. I’m going to break the rules a bit though–for I say rules should go if they hinder improvement. Or, you know, my self expression at this very moment. So, I’m taking the Liebster Award rules I was given and combining them with rules I have seen elsewhere to generate my own little acceptance post. About the Award Blogs with under 200 followers nominate one another to answer eleven questions about themselves, and increase interaction between new bloggers. To the people I’ve nominated: the rules are that you make a post about the award; answer the 11 questions…

The Value of Camping with Strangers

Posted on 27 April 2014

It’s daring, but not in the way many people think. Traveling without set plans, staying with strangers, relying on others rather than solely on yourself and your chosen guides—this is not a confrontation of the world, but facing up to yourself. I am less afraid of the evil without than I am of the gnawing within. Traveling sans hotels and itineraries means pushing yourself beyond the relative comfort of certainty into something much more. It means training your mind that things will be fine, even those beyond your control. It means that you’ll experience more than your own limited plans. It means that you allow your knowledge to be expanded by others. I am less afraid of the evil without than I am of…

My Fortuitous Decision to Hitchhike in Iceland

Posted on 15 September 2013

I am not an optimist. Tell me, “everything will work out,” and I will reply, “it doesn’t have to.” I just think that people usually find ways to cope with what comes. “But life eventually happens as it should!” There is no “should,” only, “this is how it is.” Thus, I am a planner. I try to hold the reins and steer my life as I can. I fight passivity and simply accepting whatever comes, as it does. Travel takes these elements of my person and gives them a good shakedown. I walked along the road toward Akureyri. My early morning flight had just disembarked and, with no bus in sight, I began the trudge toward town. My visit would be just one night…