My hosts are great. Let’s start with that.

I met them during my time in undergrad at Andrews University, where we were all members of the choir.

International choir geek reunions are entirely underrated.

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Day 2 of Icelandic adventures!

I’d booked a double feature, starting with a bus ride to the Blue Lagoon, a natural pool in the lava rock stemming from a geothermal energy plant. Of course, an enterprising businessperson saw the potential and it is a heavily commercialized spa with lots of tourists and with fancy multi-purpose wrist bands that can do everything from buying your meal, to unlocking your locker, to making you eggs benedict on Friday morning. I indulged in the silica face mask and the 100 degree Fahrenheit bath soak (strange to bathe with so many strangers. EDIT: I should clarify that I consider it strange to bathe with any number of strangers greater than 0), then gave my wrist band back since I’m not really sure I like eggs benedict.

 

Back on the bus, for an afternoon trip around the “Golden Circle”, a loop of geological and historical highlights of Iceland. First was Thingvellir national park, the site of the Althing (Alþingi), the first form of parliamentary government of historical record. This area was chosen as the meeting site for the Althing due to its accessibility and natural sheltering by a deep gorge with high walls. Apparently, this gorge is directly over the fault between the North American and the Eurasian tectonic plates, and the walls of the gorge are a result of tectonic drift. I kept imagining the ground splitting and our path turning into a steep drop to the magma chambers below. I was never worried, though, because I played a lot of The-Floor-Is-Hot-Lava as a kid and honed my skills well, if I say so myself. All in Althing, the geology was spectacular, and I was sorry we had only 30 minutes to explore it.

We got back on the bus and the tour guide had to defuse an escalation that emerged when people tried to swap seats by moving other people’s things. I realized the only thing we learn after 2nd grade is not how to control our emotions, but rather that it is more socially acceptable to roll our eyes and huff/puff when backs are turned, and that throwing tantrums still works if you leave out the part of throwing yourself on the ground.

Next stop (besides making passenger swaps at a horse farm and a hot water bath – only humans made transfers, though I wished a horse could have come along*) was Geysir, which is the name of a place that led to the English word for a gushing hot spring – 10 points if you can guess it. The tour guide spoke to us again in 2nd grade fashion, reminding us that the signs that told you not to touch the hot springs water was there so you didn’t dip your hand in the boiling brook just to test it out. Makes me wonder how many people have done just that…
We all watched a geyser shoot up a half dozen times, then back on the bus for our final stop.

*Side note for GOT fans (I am not one of your kind, sorry): I saw Aria’s horse! This is exciting to me because 1) people around me were excited and 2) I’ve been told Aria had a sword, and that makes her my best friend/hero.

 

Gullfoss – Golden Falls. Perhaps the most beautiful experience I’ve had in my life.

The river Hvita courses through western Iceland, cutting a gorge through the lava and, at the point of Gullfoss, sending up to 2000m3 per second over the cliffs. I’d seen some pictures, and I’ve seen my share of waterfalls, but I wasn’t prepared for what met my gaze as I crested the hill.

There were just a handful of lazy, cottony clouds floating in the clear blue sky, with the sunlight beginning its change from early afternoon white to late afternoon gold. I was walking quickly, my boots crunching in the loose basalt gravel as I hurried to use every one of the 40 minutes we were given to explore the area. The air was crisper than at Geysir, without the hint of sulfur that the hot springs huffed. I weaved through other pedestrians as I made my way down the path and over the crest of the green-covered rocks and was stopped in my tracks by the immensity of the thing. My eyes swept back and forth over the upper falls, a wide cascade of water gushing over the lip and falling into a boiling pool of frothy, crystal clear glacier water. I took a few steps forward to see where the pool emptied and was hit so hard that tears came to my eyes (again, as I write!). I was absolutely overwhelmed by the enormity and awfulness of the Gullfoss. The lower falls fell in a diagonal sheet into an abyss, flanked by moss-covered stony cliffs that stood as sentries to the centuries of its majesty. I could do no more than stop and stare (and sniffle, just a little). Anthems such as How Great Thou Art filled my mind’s eye as my vision was filled by the fury of the water. A promise arched up from the boiling mist in prismacolor fashion. I stood and watched for a long while before finding another vantage point and repeating the sequence again.

Such a contrast between the Blue Lagoon and Gullfoss. The first, a pool of people with their cameras of various types, all trying for the best selfie or the best picture of them floating in relaxation (the only floaters I saw were having their picture taken). The second, a camera-toter looking for a show-stopping shot of an age-old natural wonder, being stopped in her tracks instead. We live in a time that allows us to process and package and pocket our memories such that we do not have to hold them anymore. We work so hard at capturing memories that we forget to live them.

 

Today, I was reminded to live in my moment. And I think that moment was shared with the Author of all creation.