So, check in to the hostel is at 3 pm, which to my utmost distress, is still 1 hour 9 minutes away! Sitting in a street facing cafe in Reykjavik, as I type this. Watching people go by. The girls next to me are eating chicken tacos, which makes me a tiny bit homesick. Yes, LA is home nowadays and yes, tacos do represent that city. Make peace with it.
Landed in Reykjavik today, amidst snow, a pitch dark morning and -1 degree Celsius temperature. Ecstatic. Not. Sun rise happens at 9.45 am here. Since I have friends who behave like parents on top of my own set of parents, I decided to wait for sunlight before I started driving from Keflavik to Reykjavik. The first thing that hits you here is the cost of everything! I kid you not, the car rental folks blocked approx. $3000 on my car as a deposit. This on top of insurance! Anyway, got my hands on an ugly red Ford Fiesta, and you will keep seeing a lot of it through my trip. It’s going to be me or my car in the photos. Usual humans did not accompany this time.
I was picking up a croissant, when I asked the girl at the counter about things to do in the city. Immediate reply was the church and museums. She highly recommended the ‘museum of penis’. I thought she was messing with me, but then, I did tip. So, Google says this (and no, not on my itinerary. Ugh.). Making a note of it, because full marks for weird quotient.
No list of Iceland’s museums could be considered complete without mentioning the Icelandic Phallological Museum. There you will find a collection of over two hundred penises and penile parts from almost all of the land and sea mammals in Iceland. Including parts from sixteen types of whales, seven types of seals and walruses, a polar bear and a homo sapiens.’
Northern Lights forecast is checked here – http://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/. The whiter the map, the lesser the clouds and better are the chances to see it. Tonight’s forecast is a 4. Which someone said, is pretty decent odds. So, I will be off at 8.30 pm to try my luck. Cannot. Wait.
The rest of the week is wide open. Golden circle, Vik, Jokulsarlon are definitely on the cards. Have been told to watch the weather forecast before driving every day.
P.S – Almost slipped on snow. Almost grazed my knee. UGG boots – You are being replaced with the hiking shoes. As of today.
A Little Bit of Sunshine 