There and back again…Iceland 2021

I am a big believer in taking long-ish breaks. You step away from familiar things for a while, and everything feels refreshed, even new, when you come back to them. You are transported to a different mental space for a period. Where you used to talk about deadlines and projects and funding, you talk about sheep farming and architecture. Taking breaks is as essential for self-care as brushing your teeth is for dental hygiene.

This year, I took a break for two weeks and went to hike and travel in Iceland. Iceland had one of the highest rates of COVID vaccination and had policies in place to allow only vaccinated, COVID-tested tourists. Iceland also has a small population and astounding natural beauty: unique moonscapes, grand glaciers, seething volcanoes, and earth that spouted hot water and sulfuric steam. We had to see them.

Our trip to Iceland had two parts.

Hiking the famous 34-mile trail in the Icelandic highlands called Laugavegur. This was the “mental reset” part of my trip, where I could scale down to the simplicity of living in nature, my days’ concerns constrained to eating, walking, cleaning up, and sleeping. This was a journey of a lifetime, and I have written more about it here.

Driving the 825-mile Ring Road around Iceland. We visited farms, glaciers, fjords, waterfalls, and quaint, lonely towns. We ate good (vegetarian) food, stayed at clean guesthouses, and took selfies at the northerrmost point on earth we have been to. I write more about this journey here.

So, what did I learn?

Every journey teaches you something. Sometimes the lessons are on the surface and easy, and sometimes they are deep. Some journeys give you both kinds of lessons. Our trip to Iceland was one such journey.

Let’s go through the easy ones first.

1. Iceland is breathtakingly beautiful. Did I say that already?
2. The land is as merciless as it is beautiful. The wind whips you about and the rain slashes your face. Iceland is on a hot spot where hot lava pours out of the earth, AND it straddles two tectonic plates. Just recently the country saw over 18000 earthquakes in a week and an erupting volcano. Thanks to this inhospitable habitat, lots of vegetation doesn’t survive here natively. But the resourceful Icelandic people have found a way to thrive. They grow vegetables in greenhouses using their abundant geothermal energy. They roof their houses in corrugated metal to circumvent the lack of wood and in response to frequent natural disasters.
3. People, like in other Scandinavian countries, are exceedingly trusting of others. It must be nice to not have to lock your door or your car, or leave your child in a stroller outside cafes, without worrying that someone is out there to get you.
4. Icelanders — even in Reykjavik — go out of their way to help confused looking tourists. Contrary to any Nordic stereotypes, we found the people to be warm and friendly.
5. There are too many unpaved roads, and Google maps doesn’t understand them. Brush up on your analog map-reading skills and get yourself a good map if you plan to travel in Iceland.
6. Veganism is well understood and catered to, even though native Icelandic cuisine has some “interesting” foods like rotten shark. Even in rural areas and fishing towns, you can find something explicitly marked vegan.
7. Weather turns on a whim here. So it’s best to have more days than less to hike, drive, and just see sights at leisure. On many days, everything might get socked in until late morning and afternoon. So your sightseeing time window will be small. Take your time and not be too aggressive to do too many things in a short time.
8. Trails can trip you up when you least expect it. If you plan to hike in Iceland, bring sturdy shoes. I have compiled more hiking-related tips here. Be sure to check them out.

But seriously, what did I learn? AKA, Life Lessons…

Now on to some of harder/deeper lessons.

1. Pay attention. When I hiked the Laugavegur trail, there was a time when the terrain became flat and “simple”, and I let my guard down. I began walking mindlessly. The outcome? I fell flat on my face and ate a bunch of volcanic ash. It was humbling, but it also made me snap back to attention. How quickly we slide into the zone of distraction in our lives, not paying attention to what we are doing? It is when we stop paying attention that we make mistakes. We do shoddy work, we blaze past any pain we inadvertently cause in others, and we become unhappy. Paying attention can be a hard skill to sustain, but one that is crucial in life.
2. Reading up on other people’s experiences is good (thank you for reading this far!), but know that each person perceives the world differently. What feels like climbing Mt. Everest for someone else might feel like just a moderately challenging hike for you, and vice versa. So do not let other people’s worries, experiences, and fears stop you — on your adventures, in your career, in your life. Take precautions, learn the map ahead, prepare, but set out on your journey. Do not get stopped by your fears about how something is too daunting, too difficult, too beyond you.
3. Focus on one step at a time. The terrain ahead may be tricky to navigate, but if you keep your focus, look at where you are putting your feet, and keep calm, you will get through even the most challenging obstacles. Do not let your imaginations unrelated to just the few feet in front of you distract and faze you.
4. Use successes to fuel future successes. If you climbed a difficult mountain or did something you were scared of before, feel proud of your accomplishment. Make a mental note and linger on what you just did. Next time you are up against something equally formidable, recall this success and use that to build up your self confidence.
5. In anticipation of my trip to Iceland, I binged on a number of Nordic-themed movies including the Amazon Prime series “Vikings”. There is a point in the series, when a beloved character dies, you hear these words: “Weep not…I have lived a full life.” What does living a full life mean to you? For me, it includes wins and losses, joys and sorrows, and LOTS and lots of rich experiences. Hiking the Laugavegur and road tripping around Iceland gave me many such wonderful experiences. There is so much that this beautiful world offers that we can fill our lives with. At the end of my life, I hope I can look back and feel the way this beloved character felt about hers. That I have lived a full life.