Iceland

The most remarkable thing is the water. The water in Iceland is real. All the time because it comes from natural springs. You could open up a hose, start filling designer bottles, label them as "Pure Glacial Spring Water from Iceland" and sell them. Best of all you would be telling the truth. You can even drink from the streams. I like that too.

The hot water in Iceland comes from natural geothermal springs; this means that in addition to having geothermal spring water in every bath, you never run out of hot water. Never. How great is that!

Little Boys and All Day Light

When I was a very young boy, a teacher told me there were places in the world that never get dark, fascinating. You have to see it and experience it to understand it. With an open mind, because I am sure people that live in this environment adapt and get used to the nuances.

Even though the longest day is in late June and I was in Iceland in May, the darkness never came! When you look online and see that the sunset is 11 pm and the sunrise is 3 am you think, oh, it must be dark between those hours. But it is not! It is the same light that we have in most other places for about 30 to 45 minutes after the sunset, or before the sun rises, only it never gets dark. I loved it.

Now mind you, the winter is dark all day. When I asked whether all day darkness was depressing, a wise Icelandic man told me "You go outside and look at the stars, they are so bright, and there are so many you will feel they are jumping out of the sky at you." Can you imagine? We have to go out to a desert or the mountains to see the stars, and even then we do not get to see them as you will in Iceland.

On top of that, if you are a moon lover like me, can you imagine? And the northern lights. I can hardly wait until this winter so I can go back.

Camping and Wildlife

There is nothing to be afraid of in Iceland. The largest wild animal is a fox, and come on; you can deal with that. It may be less than manly for me to admit my biggest deterrent from camping is a fear of coming head to teeth with a bear or mountain lion. Or getting eaten by mosquitos or some other pest. And for you that are afraid of snakes, there are none.

Camping in Iceland is like visiting our planet before it became industrialized before it became overcrowded and slightly taken for granted. Iceland is a new continent and not very many forms of life have had a chance to inhabit it and influence it yet, Including people, of which there are only about 320,000 in the entire country. I have never lived in a metro area that small. So you can camp and never see another person, I like that too.

Not A Travel Pitch

Travelling is good for the soul; you get to see other places, other people, other perspectives. You leave your environment and routine, and your comforts. That too is good.

When I travel, I feel alone and get scared. It forces me to look at that fear, the feeling of being unsafe in the world as a human being. But then I find out there are people that care for me and are there for me. I met many new people, and they were legitimately helpful, and interested in me. You may be thinking "sure they are; you are a foreigner," well of course. They are interested in other perspectives and experiences, we all are. That is the point. Human beings are interested in each other. You get to find that out when you travel.