Ever since I met my sister in law, we had discussed taking some trip together to some out of the way place. My brother was included of course, but it would be our trip. I suggested Greenland as flights from the East Coast were available at the time. She was very adventurous and had Svalbard, Norway, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean near Russia, on her bucket list. It was far too remote, complicated, and frankly cold for me, even in summer. This talk gained more urgency as the happy couple were talking about expanding their family and such destinations would no longer be favored over the Disney Worlds of the world (gasp!) By this time though the relatively convenient flights from Baltimore to Greenland had been discontinued, however the economic crash of 2008 had made once untouchable Iceland now quite affordable. Devaluation of its currency was luring intrepid travelers to the small remote island on the edge of Europe, yet only a 5 hour flight from New York. After an enthusiastic conversation about the trip with my sister in law (SIL) and a shrug from my brother I booked us flights. As part of the package SIL insisted since we were not going to Greenland nor Svalbard we had to go to the remote Icelandic island of Grimsey. You see Grimsey was situated within the Arctic Circle, so she could then officially say she was in the Arctic. Actually I thought that would be pretty cool to do myself, so we made it a central part of our trip.
The day of the flight I met them at JFK Airport. We go into a bar for my ritual pre-flight drink when they shared with me some unannounced great news. She was pregnant! If we were going to be spending the next week together I had to know. I was thrilled for them but wondered how this would affect the trip. Her doctor gave her some precautions, and I lost a drinking companion, but otherwise she should be quite able to accomplish everything she wanted to.
After a few days exploring the provincial capital Reykjavik, the Blue Lagoon & the otherworldly landscapes of the south, we took a long and lonely bus ride through some spectacularly remote regions of this island to the northern city of Akureyri, a sizable town with all the amenities of a city, as it functions as the commercial hub for the north. “It’s a long way to Akureyri, it’s a long way from home”. (SIL never tired of my brother & I singing his little ditty for hours on the bus!) It made a great base to explore the secluded northern regions and have some amazing seafood. Furthermore, it made the Arctic a possible daytrip weather permitting. One forecasted nice day we left early in the morning for a 45 minute bus ride to the small port town of Davlik, where we grabbed a 3 hour ferry ride to Grimsey. As it was early, there was only a small convenience store open in Akureyri where we got a snack and a small cup of coffee. I needed a lot more caffeine but the bus arrived. I was feeling caffeine withdrawal on the bus but hoped the fresh sea air would wake me up. It sure did, but I should’ve been careful what I wished for.
The ferry was an interesting mix of postal/supply ship, and passenger ferry. It had a main seating room which featured a movie playing on a screen, 1970’s style, or you could go to the bow or stern and check out the scenery. There was a small coffee machine and a snack machine. I wasn’t exactly sure how to use them and what they dispensed but it didn’t matter, food and drink would soon be the last thing on my mind. After a few minutes we were out on the open Greenland Sea, an arm of the Arctic Ocean, and the huge waves that came with it. My poor brother immediately started feeling seasick. I was feeling uneasy myself and decided to hit the head. Yikes! The head was beyond disgusting because it didn’t flush and it really needed to! Another lavatory had a sign not to enter. My poor brother was in there making the best of the space. I couldn’t even imagine.
As my queasiness increased I decided to sit in the passenger area and check out the movie. Sadly the Adam Sandler movie playing did NOTHING to make me feel less sick. SIL was seated watching the movie, we shared some tired small talk and then I decided I needed fresh air badly, and not just because the movie stunk! The heavy rocking up and down as the ship crashed into the Arctic waves was taking its toll on me. I ran to the deck and tried to maintain my eyes affixed to the horizon. In my travels I have spent many days sailing and am quite accustomed to the movements of a boat. But the open ocean was different. I’ve also learned some tricks for the times seasickness may be starting to come up on me. So standing on the unsteady bow, feeling the cold moist air hit my face, and trying to pick a point on the horizon to fix my gaze at through the morning fog was not easy, especially with the oh so soothing smell of deisel! I was awake now, no need for that coffee. Besides, I’m sure it wouldn’t stay in my stomach. I was really struggling. I started pressing pressure points on both wrists, another trick I learned. I must have been a sorry sight: Grey looking guy staring wide eyed into the distance clamping my wrists for dear life, breathing hard and groaning. At some point I checked on my brother who had given up the ghost of the lavatory and was just puking overboard. His eyes were bloodshot red and his skin was green. The poor man looked like one of the villains from the comic books he enjoyed growing up (and still did). I felt helpless, as my grey sick self could barely keep myself alive. I did have a moment of conscience though. I needed to check on pregnant SIL. She must be absolutely miserable! I worried for her safety and that of her unborn child. I went back to the movie room, where a second Adam Sandler movie was unmercifully playing (isn’t the journey tortuous enough?!) She had her eyes closed and hands resting on her stomach. I felt awful, but the last thing she needed was her wretched brother in law near her. After 3 days, I mean hours, we finally docked at the Arctic island of Grimsey. Immediately I started feeling a little better. We survived!… at least I did. I even managed to keep everything inside somehow. When I got off I noticed my still green brother already ashore. He must have jumped off the ship before it docked! Both of us weak, we worried as we searched for his wife. She finally disembarked and we met up.
As weary as my brother was he was so concerned about his wife. She acknowledged his suffering, which was very obvious, but then stated that she was fine. We both thought she just didn’t want us to worry, but the more she talked, the more I noticed her fine gait, her demeanor, her healthy color. Mrs. Pregnant was fine! The expecting mother, who was supposed to have morning sickness and be susceptible to many physical inconveniences had no problem on the very choppy boat ride with Mr. Sandler, but the two healthy and not pregnant men with her were the ones who resembled death. She even was ready for lunch! My brother never wanted to eat again and I needed an hour to get my land-legs back.
While hearing my brother propose creative alternative ways to return to the mainland we toured this Icelandic outpost. It was summer so it did not seem that Arctic. The island was a grassland with many sheep, which creepily stared at us everywhere we went, Hitchcock style, especially when they were on high ground. By the way sheep eyes are weird. Take a look next time. Almost demonic. Arctic terns divebombed above us trying to steer us from their nests. Hitchcock on steroids! We saw the world’s northernmost golf course, took photos at the post marking the Arctic Circle and toured through the small village of Sandvik. Eventually with all this exploring my brother and I even worked up an appetite and joined his wife in wanting a local lunch. As you can imagine the menu in a small restaurant in the middle of nowhere was quite limited. As usual, fish like arctic char was available, but I had seen that everywhere. One meat unique to Iceland was puffin. I had been reluctant and excited to try it. Seabirds are not particularly appetizing. However, earlier we tried guillemot, which wasn’t bad. I also wasn’t sure how well my stomach would hold up so soon after the rock & roll ferry ride. Nevertheless it might be my last chance to try it so I did. It is a very dark meat like a well done steak, nothing like poultry, kind of gamey and tasted fishy. Very strange. As an animal died for this meal I felt obliged to finish it. Puffins probably don’t have to worry about me anymore.
As we concluded our meal my brother started getting very nervous about the ferry ride back. I was somehow optimistic. It could have been my response to anxiety, ignorance! We chatted with a local who assured us the morning rides are rough, but it should be smooth sailing back. My brother was not convinced but I held on to that nugget of information as if it were gold!
As the boat left, the skies could not have been clearer, a stark contrast to the foggy ride in. About twenty minutes into the smooth ride it dawned on us that maybe we wouldn’t relive the morning madness. I became giddy as I became aware of the stunning arctic scenery around us. Beautiful snow capped peaks, a stunning fjord, blue water, how did I miss this majesty before? I was probably concentrating too much on the foggy horizon to notice the spectacular setting around me. The three of us stayed outdoors, despite the chill, and relished life and the environment around us. This time the 3 hours flew by.
The north of Iceland held one last horrible surprise however, on a bus tour to Myvatn. This tour included stops at a lovely, less touristy mini Blue Lagoon, a rugged landscape where trolls live, Mars, and a stunning lake surrounded by volcanoes called Myvatn. We were forewarned to be prepared for insects, but there was no preparation for what we experienced. After walking to the lake shooing midges away from our faces we were swarmed upon. Midges were descending upon us in the millions. While harmless, it was terrifying. It turns out they were attracted to dark colors. My brother had a black coat on. He was fortunately unaware of the horror movie SIL & I were watching while looking at him from behind. He looked like he was wearing a living coat! In one of my foodie blog posts I wrote how I would never eat insects. I should have qualified that with a “purposely”. I ate many that day. I did not find them to be nutty like many connoisseurs say they are. In short, they were gross! In a moment of genius I took a sweat rag I carry, and put it around my face to keep them out of my mouth. A fellow tourist later commented how jealous he was of me. With my protein intake reduced, but still not eliminated, after we took our photos we could not run back to the bus fast enough! Even so, everyone on the bus was swatting at midges for the next 20 minutes as we rode to our next destination, and coughing them up the rest of the day. We were told that Myvatn is the native word for midge. Whether true or not, that should be put in guidebooks.
Still, despite the longest bus rides of my life, the seasickness, the Hitchcockian sheep, birds, & bugs, I loved the north of Iceland. The seafood was some of the best I ever had, the landscapes unbelievable, and I survived being way out of my comfort zone. Moreover, it turned out be a trip that SIL, myself and even my brother truly found amazing and still recount to this day. I even tell my niece about what she did while inside her mommy in Iceland!