alors le blog

this whole midnight sun thing is spooky - it's eleven minutes to midnight and it's still pretty much broad daylight outside. so far i have yet to experience iceland in the dark, and chances are good i may not, at least not this trip.

busy busy day today: we went shopping for bare necessities for jonathan (some stylish velcro-strap tennis-shoes, kmart late 1980's style, to substitute for the trainers and hiking boots in the missing suitcase; contact lens solution; extra pairs of undies, etc) in akureyri, which is a weird, weird place; it felt like a movie set, like the Truman Show or something, exacerbated by the fact that we were (like at dinner last night) the only people staying in our hotel, and the only people walking around on the streets this morning. after shopping, however, we hopped in the trusty rental car and drove to the river-rafting place, where we piled into a bus with about twenty icelandic teenagers and two kiwi (!) guides, pulled on drysuits, and did a three-plus hour river-rafting expedition down a river whose name i am embarrassed to admit i did not find out. it was 1) beautifully sunny 2) quite fun and 3) arse cold. we swam at one point, and i had to duct tape my neck rubber thing closed because it was too loose (otherwise water would have gotten in, which it kind of did anyway); i do not recommend the subsequent pulling hair out with duct tape as a good time. several icelandic teenagers fell out of boats, flipped boats, etc., and it was actually a little bit scary during those bits because i kept imagining horrible drowning accidents when of course the only thing that happened was that they shrieked and splashed about a bit and then climbed back in and were fine, if a little bit more wet than they had been before).

After the river rafting we went for a horse ride which was GLORIOUS - our guide for that was a cute little finnish chiquita with blonde hair and pink cheeks who can't have been more than about seventeen but was completely professional and self-possessed and gave us lessons in tolting (the fifth gait of the icelandic horse; it is like trotting, except instead of being joggled up and down banging your bum every other step, it's like riding a large squashy sofa that goes a comfy 15 mph). The sun was coming down over the mountains, and the light was quite magical (the photos do not do it justice at all) and we got to do a little gallopy bit along next to the river (before fording the river. people who are 6'6" should not try to ford rivers while riding horses that stand about 4'6" i think is the moral of that particular episode. then to the local petrol station for hot dogs for dinner (bit of a contrast from last night, but it was the only place open by then at 10 pm. they were actually pretty good, and the hotdog is after all an icelandic specialty, so as good culinary tourists, we were going to have to have one at some point.)

then back to the hotel for a soak in the outdoor mineral hot tub (all the water here smells faintly sulphuric, which is exciting. is cleanliness still next to godliness if there are fumes of sulphur involved?) and then to bed, where i am a gnat's fart away from conking out completely. time to uploadear las fotos - jonathan took some gorgeous ones today, but unfortunately we don't have the right connector cable thingywhosit for his camera. too bad, eh.

j. as navy seal
on horseback
gorgeous view