Travel Journals

Grandparent Trilogy, Part III, July, 2023, Julien (Jade) & Me

ICELAND, LAND OF FIRE AND ICE

Part I (Aidan, Carol, Me) can be found in March, 2019, entries.

Part II (Wesley, Ellen, Me) can be found in January, 2024, entries.

Land of Fire...

...and Ice!

Iceland! The Land of Fire and Ice and the last of my three trips with my grandchildren. This trip was with a Road Scholar Grandparent & Grandchild Tour. It was Julien's (who prefers to be called Jade and use the pronouns "they/them") choice.

This journey with Jade held special significance for me. I was traveling alone with Jade, who was diagnosed early in 2023 as being on the autism spectrum. "High functioning," the doctors told Ellen and Ben. Indeed, Jade does well in middle school, has acted in school plays, has friends and is quite sociable.

When Ellen told me about Jade's diagnosis, the first thing that came to my mind was, Aha! That explains twelve years of quirky behavior on my grandchild's part. "That's just Jade being Jade" has been a common refrain in our family.

I'm not a stranger to autism. I've read a lot about autism, both fiction and fact, and as a special education teacher I've worked with a few children on the spectrum later in my career. (And how many, I have wondered, in my early years of teaching, before many children were diagnosed?)

But I've never traveled overseas with my students. Crowds and noise, not surprisingly, are stressful for Jade and can lead to meltdowns. Also, they are the most finicky eater I've ever seen.

So here I was, taking my grandchild to travel with two dozen strangers, to a strange place with strange food! An invitation to meltdowns galore!

I had my unconditional love for Jade on my side, but I needed a few practical tips. I was their only reliable friend on this trip. So I turned to an expert for advice, Jade's mother. Ellen gave me a clear and concise summary of Jade's challenges and techniques she and Ben have used to guide them through stressful situations.

Jade did have a couple stressful times, but together, Jade and I worked through them with some help. Shannon, one of our guides, made Jade's comfort and enjoyment her mission. And the other kids were great. But I give Jade all the credit here; Jade's good nature and friendliness allowed them to fit right in with the group.

Osric and Jade hung out together a lot.

Jade was always right in the mix.

Shannon became a person Jade could turn to and rely on.

Iceland is a rugged place, with a harsh climate, endless miles of treeless landscape, mountains and tundra. The near-endless winter night is hard on body and soul. From the first settlements of the Vikings to the present day, its people have had to be tough, inventive and self-reliant to survive. If I got the story straight from our guide, Inga, it is (or formerly was) Icelandic law that you had to take in strangers in need of assistance, food or a safe place to stay. To this day, law or no law, it remains a custom to take in travelers in need of help.

Each day after breakfast, we boarded our Road Scholar bus and set out on a new adventure. A look at a map told me that we stayed mostly in the southwest quadrant of the country. Once outside Reykjavik, the emptiness often stretched to the horizon. Towns were few and far between. We would often go for miles and miles without a sign of civilization, except for endless wire fencing and, occasionally a few sheep or horses grazing in true free-range style.

And this was within a couple hours' drive from Reykjavik. I wondered often what the other three-quarters of this island must be like. The "ring road" that girds the island calls adventurous visitors to explore. I find myself still thinking of returning to this wild island and driving the ring road. Whether I'll ever get to do it at this point of my life is questionable, but the thought remains.

Taking off on our adventure

Traveling Incognito

The lobby of a very interesting cultural museum (really!) in Borgarnes after a long first day.

Our home and base of operations for the first four days and nights was the Hotel Borgarnes in the town of Borgarnes, about seventy miles from Reykjavik. Our room had great views!

Our Room with a View

The Town Sculpture in Borgarnes

MONDAY, our first day of touring, was the day I'd been looking forward to for over six months. We set off after breakfast to ride to the top of Langjokull (Long Glacier), Iceland's second largest glacier. We learned that Langjokull is 31 miles long, 11 miles wide and 1,900 feet thick. Impressive numbers, but for me, not as impressive as standing atop the glacier.

And surprise! We were able to descend into the belly of the glacier. I was as excited as a kid.

A Monster Bus took us to the top.

Atop the Glacier


In the Belly of the Glacier

After lunch we set off to a swimming pool complex filled with water from one of Iceland's ubiquitous hot springs. We were about forty miles from our hotel. While the kids frolicked, we adults were content to hang out in the pool, the hot water swirling about us as we looked at the sun-drenched, green hills under pristine blue skies.

No photos of the pools. I decided that having my good camera near a pool with a dozen playful teenagers was not a good idea. I left it in the locker room.

...Which led to some excitement.

We were on the bus, about to depart for our hotel, Inga doing a head count. From across the parking lot, Jade came running. "Papa," he said. "Do you have your camera?" No; I did not! Jade and Shannon darted back to the locker room, retrieved my camera, and saved the day. For me, at least.

TUESDAY brought horseback riding and a visit to Troll Park. The friendly staff at Olvvaldsstadir farm was efficient in getting us fitted and mounted, no small feat for a group of two dozen. A few kids and adults chose not to ride. After Jade was all saddled up, they chose at the last minute to remain behind with the others.

Saddled up, ready to go.

Beautiful, right? You can't see the wind or feel the wind chill!

I thought I was more than prepared with enough layers of clothing for such a nice, sunny day. Once we got out in the vast open fields, reality hit with gusts of strong, chilly winds.

Trolls! Lots of trolls inhabit Troll Park. We split into two groups for the afternoon, played troll games and got acquainted with trolls. Strange creatures they are! The kids had a lot of fun testing their balance on a long log pole, their throwing accuracy and their playfulness. A great time!

Playful Trolls

Scary Trolls

Hungry Trolls

Apparently, trolls are pretty big.

Jade was not impressed with Icelandic cuisine. They picked at their food, getting some good stuff here and there, and munched power bars in our room. We also found some good stuff in grocery stores during our free time explorations. Then came the magical moment. One of our planned group meals offered options and Jade was a happy camper!

Grilled Cheese and Fries! Yum!

WEDNESDAY took us to an island bird sanctuary far out at sea, a model Viking "long house" and a family-owned and run dairy.

Getting to the islands was half the fun.

A refuge for thousands of birds

Puffins!

Calm Seas, Dramatic Skies

Dramatic Skies

On the trip out to the islands, the crew dragged a net. On our return trip, they hauled in their catch of the day and we had snacks fresh from the ocean.

Surprise! Fresh-caught sushi!

Scallops!

The crabs we returned to the sea.

Early Vikings

On the way to the dairy farm through wide open, beautiful, empty landscape, we made a short visit to a tenth century Viking long house. These primitive earthen dwellings were cramped and dark on the inside but kept the punishing cold winds out.

At the same time that the Vikings were living in this primitive environment, to the south Vikings were establishing a parliament and a fledgling democracy. Any man with property could travel to parliament and state his case or grievance and be heard. (Like the rest of the world, Iceland was a long way from extending democracy to men without property, women and minorities.)

A recreated long house (circa 1000 C.E.)

There was time for a little role-playing (aka, horseplay)

At Erpsstadir Farm, while the some of the kids tried their hand at milking a cow and all of them (and the adults) sampled some pretty good ice cream, I spoke with the farmer about the farm that he and his wife started and worked while raising their family. Now in their fifties, they are thinking about retirement and travel.

They have been looking for a buyer for a couple years with no success. "No one wants to work this hard anymore," he lamented. He and his wife hoped their children might take over, but like rural youth all over the world, their kids' eyes are turned outwards to a larger world.

I wished him well, said good-bye, and went off to get my own ice cream cone.

THURSDAY took us to Thingvellir National Park, an amazing greenhouse tomato farm, the Golden Waterfall and Geysir.

We first visited Thingvellir, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was home of the ancient parliament.

Thingvellir is also a national park situated at the geological spot separating the Eurasian and American land masses. Here, amidst beautiful settings, tectonic plates have shifted over millennia, leaving fissures all over the landscape. Inga informed us that Icelanders call the clusters of fissures "fissure swarms."

Thingvellir Fissure

Thingvellir, Facing East Toward the American Continent

Frioheimar Tomato Farm is another family-owned and run operation. It is a model of year-round hydroponic farming that has grown beyond anything the owners had imagined. Heated year-round by natural geothermal pools, a sophisticated lighting system that mimics regular daylight hours throughout the absolute winter darkness, the farm has expanded from one tomato greenhouse to several vast greenhouses that grow cucumbers and other vegetables. Frioheimar produces almost all the tomatoes consumed by Icelanders. Indeed, Jade and I found them in grocery stores in Reykjavik.


Tomatoes, cucumbers and a growing array of vegetables are grown year-round indoors in heat-controlled and light-controlled greenhouses.

Tomatoes from this farm are found in grocery stores throughout Iceland.

The modern greenhouses are enormous.

Having a little fun at Frioheimar farm

Gullfoss (the Golden Waterfall) In a land with thousands of waterfalls, Gullfoss is the queen of them all.

The Golden Waterfall

Where all that water goes.

STROKKUR GEYSIR, the geyser from which all others take their name, was the last stop of a busy day.

Simmering underground pools

FRIDAY We were back in Reykjavik. I am certain that Reykjavik is a lovely and interesting city. Having spent the week in the wild and fascinating countryside, however, I felt a letdown as the road widened to a multi-lane highway and our bus was swept into the flow of more traffic in five minutes than we had encountered in our entire week. Our one-day adventure in the city wasn't in the city at all. Early in the day we boarded a whale-watching boat and had a whale of a good time.

As we headed several miles out to sea to where the whales hang out, another grandparent and I wagered a beer on how many whales we might see. She said we'd see fifteen; I got bold and said twenty. We stopped counting after spotting more than three dozen whales!

Two humpbacks, sociable whales that often breach together.

The best photo I could get of a whale diving.

Taking a break from watching whales.

AND FINALLY, MORE PHOTOS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

The wide and wild expanses of Iceland

Some of the thousands of Iceland's waterfalls

You can fish near this falls if you buy a one-day permit for around $1,000.

Icelandic Folk Dancers

After-dinner entertainment at Hotel Borgarnes

Icelandic Horses are a source of great pride to Icelanders. No horses may be imported into Iceland, and if someone chooses to take their horse out of the country, it can never return.

We got to mix with a special group.

The Pride of Icelanders

Some of this and a little of that...

The Entire Road Scholar Group (minus our guides)

Jade's family has a thing about grocery stores in distant lands.

Some down time on a tour day

They removed their shoes.

Water from this geothermal spring is piped over 70 miles to provide heat and hot water for communities. Over that distance, the water temperature loses only 2 degrees.

Jade and I had a very cool experience wandering the city on our last day. This realistic movie had me lifting my legs to avoid hitting mountain peaks as we soared over them.

And seriously, folks, if you've ever doubted that Europeans have different sensibilities than Americans...

Icelandic Phallological Museum

Reykjavik, like most cities, has its attractions. Inga, our guide, is very proud of her parish church in her neighborhood. Inside, she demonstrated the church's beautiful acoustics and her own marvelous singing voice by spontaneously singing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.