Sept. 16 - We're now in our third day in Iceland, and will finally take the time to put down a few notes. We've been blessed with good weather, which isn't always the case here, as conditions can change at the drop of a hat. It's been around plus 12 the first two days, with the only rain coming at the end of our tour yesterday. This morning is sunny, so we'll soon be out and about to enjoy the city.

Just a couple of words about the trip over. Start off with a little adventure, we like to do. Left the car at Park'nFly, and headed to the airport. Just as we started for the entrance, I realized I'd left my regular glasses in the car. Have to have them, so what to do? Fortunately, Park'n'Fly has a good number of shuttles running, so I hopped on the next one and went back to the check-in lot. Once there, I looked for my car, but it was gone, as we were in the Valet lot, and one of the attendants had already moved my car. So I explained my problem to several of the car jockeys, and they started a search. They move the cars to about 8 different lots, and because mine had just been moved, the jockey hadn't come back yet to post its location. So they called the manager, who put out a search, and they finally tracked down the car, brought it back, and I retrieved my glasses. Then back on a shuttle so we could check in.

That put us a little behind schedule, but, fortunately, we'd left home in lots of time, so were able to hasten a little dinner down before going to a transfer site, as we had to take a shuttle over to another smaller terminal. Iceland Air must be on the economy rate for airport fees, as from there they bussed us to the plane when boarding time arrived. Nice new plane with attractive staff (all tall blonds with hair tied back in attractive buns...no rules for hiring like Air Canada has, it seems) and a female captain. But the seats had only the bare minimum leg room, the plane was full, so it was a long 5 hours. Gail's pills didn't work, so neither of us had any sleep to speak of. No complimentary service either, except for a cup of tea. The pains of Economy flying. Can't say we enjoy it anymore.

We arrived at 6 a.m., to a very crowded airport. Looks like the majority of incoming and outgoing flights are early morning, so the place was jammed. Once we got through immigration and bag retrieval and customs, we were in the departure lounge, where the only food/coffee source was a very busy Dunkin' Donuts, if you can believe it. No seats available, so once drinks were obtained, I left Gail managing the luggage while I went to find bus transport into the city, which is about 45 minutes away. We had been told by Heida, our hostess, that we couldn't check in until mid-afternoon, but we could leave our bags at 9. So that worked out, as we were dropped off at bus-stop number 9 just before 9, not having a clue as to where to go from there. Turned out it was just around the corner and down the street half a block.

Heida's Home is a 13 room shared accommodation facility, so we have a kitchen and shared bathroom. It's been just great, as we are central, can walk to most places of interest in the city, and have met some nice folks in the kitchen, from Italy, Japan, the U.S. and elsewhere. Heida is a very nice woman, and helpful. So this has worked out well.

Once we dropped our bags off, we went a walking...all over town. I had already booked a tour for the next day, but we found an info center to get more ideas as to what to do, and were directed to a great bakery for breakfast...jammed with tourists, for good reason, as the offerings were just fine. From there, we headed over to a meeting place for a guided walking tour we had been told about at the info center. Our guide, Nanna, was just great, leading about 25 of us for two hours here and there with lots of stories, history, and insights into the life and spirit of Iceland.

Reykjavik is a very nice city, well maintained, clean, safe and interesting, with a fine waterfront and lots of neat streets. The culture goes back to the 10th Century, back to when the first settler came here from Norway in 930. (He escaped from his home country with his family and possessions in his boat after having killed two men.) Iceland also established the first true democracy in the world, which still exists, so there is lots of history politically as well, which I won't bore you with at present. Religion has been Lutheran since Martin won favour, bringing an end to the Catholic presence until recently, when a fairly large number of Polish people starting settling here, bringing their faith with them. According to our guide yesterday, 90 per cent of young people from 20 to 35 don't acknowledge any religious beliefs, claiming either agnosticism or atheism. So religion in general is in serious decline, similar to many other parts of the world.

Safety is part of the culture. There are no Armed Forces, police are not armed, and there has only been one recorded shooting of a person by the police, who then apologized to the family. In order to carry a gun and use it, an officer has to get permission from superiors. Guns, if any, are registered, and owners have to go through a serious course, and a demanding security check. Criminal offences tend to be of a domestic nature. So walking around the city is a very relaxed experience. Should also mention that Icelanders seem to be pretty heavy boozers, especially in the winter-time when there are only 3 hours of daylight, and depression can become a problem. All liquor is sold through government stores. But there are lots of bars to go to.

After we went back to Heida's and got checked in and settled, we hit the street again, wandering along the harbour, into the new and very impressive Cultural Center, and finally over to a market store that Nanna recommended for its reasonable prices. We bought a few things, including a couple of pizzas, and ended up back in our kitchen for supper. Restaurant prices, and all prices, for that matter, are very high, so we felt enough fatigue, having been up for 30-some hours, to want to have something simple for supper, then crash for a good long sleep.

Speaking of prices, my yardstick is usually how much a beer costs. Generally, it's 10 bucks here, but we found a happy hour pub that gave us two beers for 15 Canadian, which was similar to back home. A burger can easily be 20 bucks. Last night's dinner in a pretty basic but good restaurant was 100 Canadian. So best to forget about the cost of things and enjoy the surroundings, which is what we're doing.

Yesterday we did the Golden Circle tour, organized by Grey Line. Highly recommend it to anyone thinking of coming here, as it's well-priced in relation to many of the tours here, and was very well organized. We had a great guide, who gave us all sorts of insight into many aspects of Iceland, he being a retired older gentleman, a former Civil Servant in the Heritage and Education Ministry. We were about 9 hours on tour from start to finish, and as luck would have it, only had rain for the last small portion of the tour, the rest of the time quite pleasant with temps hitting plus 13.

What did we see? The first stop was to see the dividing point of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, plain as day in front of you, demonstrated by a significant cleft in Mother Earth. Hard to grasp that along this fault line is such a significant point of separation. On one side, you are in the North American side of the world. Walk over a bridge, and you're in the Eurasion side of the world.

This location is also the site of the original Parliament, dating back to the 10th Century. It was decided in the early years by the regional chiefs that laws were needed to maintain order, so a meeting was convened, and agreement was reached on a number of principles that governed the society of the island. This is still a place of significance, still a meeting place at important times, such as when Iceland declared independence from Denmark in 1944. For centuries, people trekked from all over the island for two weeks of meetings and celebrations and revelry in June of each year. It was neat to stand on top of a rise overlooking the tectonic area, the No Man's Land, where the assembled masses would gather to hear the leaders, learn of the laws, and hear the punishments for crimes that might have been committed during the year.

From there we went on to a wonderful waterfall, then to a hot springs area, then to a significant religious area, and then to a smaller waterfall, and finally to another rather primitive hot springs (in the pouring rain...short visit). In all, the tour was just what we needed, and when we considered whether or not to do another the next day (today) we decided we'd seen a lot, and didn't need a second, as we would prefer to wander the city again, maybe visit a museum or other point of interest. A long tour, considering we have to be at the bus stop tomorrow morning at 4:15 a.m. to catch our early flight to Glasgow, just didn't make sense.

Here we are, then, about to put on walking shoes and hit the streets for the day. Sunny and hopefully pleasantly warm, so it should be fine. We have really lucked out with the weather. More later. Stay tuned.