it has been some time since i posted a trip to a foreign nation.  covid has had an impact.  i, along with thousands of others, have stayed close to home.  a road trip here or there, but all within the boundaries of the United States.

in a couple of days, yours truly will be embarking on trip to Iceland.  really looking forward to it.  will be there almost two weeks.

while many people have been to Iceland as a stopover on the way to Europe, and spent a day or two, less have spent two weeks there.

you might ask, why Iceland?   the answer is simple.  because i have not been there.  and because it intrigues me.

i am anticipating experiencing the volcanic rumbling that is a seemingly everyday occurrence on this island country that literally sits on the nexus of the European plate and the North American plate, or something like that.

i have experienced glaciers before but apparently the ones in Iceland are something else.

the landscape from what i have seen in pictures is so unique, so other worldly, so moon like, that i want to experience it.  i am really looking forward to day hikes.

i am told that the best way to meet the Icelandic people, and not other tourists, is to go to the local, small town thermal baths every evening.  i can’t wait to do this every night.

i can’t wait for this for two reasons.  one, i love hot tubs, and i am sure that i will love natural thermal hot lagoons too.  i have reached the stage in life where most of my joints — and some more than others — ache and seem to cry out for the soothing warm, hot water.

the second reason is that i will need to find a place to take a shower every day, and the thermal baths are a place to do that.  everyone is required, i am told, to shower before and after entering the baths.

you may ask, why, Neil, do you need to find a place to take a shower daily?  the answer is that i am not staying in hotels or b&b’s, or airbnb’s on this trip.  no sir.  i am renting a camper van — a regular 7 passenger van that has been outfitted to accommodate a bed and some kitchen necessities.  however, it does not have a shower.

i plan to get off the plane upon arrival in Reykjavik and immediately take possession of my camper van and spend the next two weeks traveling around the island country on its Ring Road, sleeping in my camper van every night.  so, as you can see, i will need to stop at a local thermal bath every day to make sure that i can get a shower, much less a wonderful thermal bath experience.

stay tuned.  i hope that you will enjoy the experience as much as i will.