Iceland -Day 2 - In Which Our Hero Has an Epiphany

 Day 2 - September 28

I kept waking up throughout the night, which is perfectly normal for me. I decided to just go ahead and get up 2 hours earlier than I intended. I still got about 10 hours of sleep, so I figured I should get a shower while I was up early. The blogs that mention the sulfuric smell of Icelandic hot water weren't lying. It's not extreme, but it's still there. Luckily, I like the smell of sulfur.

Yesterday, I figured that I'd wake up with a clearer head and that I'd have a different perspective on this trip. I was wrong. I still woke up with some major anxiety. The amazing Sophia (a friend of mine) kept pushing and pushing to break through my thick skull and make me think logically. Given the fact that she's from England and has lived in France and Japan, she knows what she's talking about when it comes to being a fish out of water.

I took a cab to the domestic airport. They didn't open for a good 10 minutes. So, me and this Polish man named Arik chatted while we waited to be able to go inside. When inside, we chatted until we found out that all domestic flights in and out of Reykjavik are canceled for the day, due to weather. Thus: I won't be going to the Arctic Circle. I blame those bloody Frost Giants from Jottunheim.

I tried to take the bus but they don't take card and only take exact change. Their app wasn't accepting payment. So, I called a cab and waited 30 minutes. I broke down. I called my dad. I cried and honestly considered ending my trip before the week was done. Suddenly, mid-conversation, a cab showed up. It wasn't the one I was waiting on. Nope. Arik had taken a cab back to the airport from the bus station so he could rent a car. The Polish man I had good conversation with earlier showed up when I was in desperate need of a ride. The cab driver was free to pick another person up, so I made my way back to the guesthouse.

After a few minutes to clear my head, I called dad back and told him I'm going to push through. I found out that I can change the pickup location for all but 2 of my trips, and that I can buy some physical bus passes around the corner from where I'm staying. So, I bought some passes. I bought 4 when I meant to buy 6. I wasn't thinking. It's literally a 2 minute walk from the front door of the guesthouse.

In the early afternoon, Arnar (my friend who lives here) messaged me and told me to look outside. It was spitting snow, here and there. So, I went outside to just take it all in. When I got outside, the ocean air was coming in fast. I could smell the saltwater, so well. The ocean is maybe 200 yards (182 meters) from the front door of the guesthouse. So, ocean air is the air directly outside. This smelled fresh, though. It didn't smell like sea lions and fish. It just smelled like fresh, ocean air. Looking at the white capped waves and the little flakes of snow while smelling the saltwater made me realize that this is something special and that I'm glad that I'm here.

After hours of staying inside, I decided to embrace the cold and go for a walk. I wasn't expecting freezing rain to hit me in the face in September but oh well. I walked to the Sun Voyager, since it's just a few minutes from the guesthouse and it's something I've been wanting to see. I think I may explore downtown even more, on foot, on another day that I have nothing booked. Most of t

he things in Downtown Reykjavik that I want to see are within walking distance from the guesthouse.

- Lance J. M.