Nightless At 66 Degrees

Greetings from Reykjavik! Where the sun barely sets and does not go very far even when it does set. My first morning here I woke up and totally flipped out that I´d overslept, but it was only 4 am: what had happened was the clouds had simply cleared. That made more of a difference in the brightness than the mere motions of the earth.

Clouds, glaciers, mist, fog, ice, frost, steam, giant towering torrents of water, collosus ghosts of spray reaching up to meet the clouds. Did I say Switzerland had a lot of water? HA! Switzlerland be a veritable dessert compared to this volanic island.

Imagine miles and miles squishy moss like pillows mottled with lichen and flowers and trampled by horses not much taller than me, and you can see why so many Icelanders might still believe in Elves. Just a few hours apart i´ve sen coppery blue puddles that go from flat to 2-story high geysers and beaches that are as black as coal. In between these two trips was a giant cliff, the symbol of Icelandérs freedom, the oldest Democratic parliament. An inspiring site which made my 5 am conversation with a stranger on the street a little more meaningful: crawling home on one lane cobbled street that is the heart of Downtown Rekjavik, after a night of feasting and dancing, we were speculating on rock songs and Iceland and the European Union. Why wasn´t Iceland part of the EU? we two Americans wondered to each other. Freedom, the viking lad walking next to us said---Iceland is all about freedom.

And lots and lots of water.