We come to the land of the ice and snow

whispered tales of (electronic) gore

So we’re in Iceland. I had a wonderful day planned, I bought a cinnamon bun and a coffee and figured I’d hop on one of those e-scooters and take it to the ocean, to see something called the Recycled House, and write this post.

Except I dropped my phone.

It’s smashed beyond repair. I’m typing this on my iPad. Thankfully, a helpful local saw me looking under parked cars, and pointed out where someone had picked it up and left it on a standpipe. With all my credit cards and driver’s license intact.

That was nice. I was joking earlier with Sarah that I think there’s low crime here not only because of the social safety net, but because there are only 375,000 people on the whole island, and the cops know everybody who might steal shit. So, I was lucky that a local found it and not a tourist. For some reason I walked back to the hotel instead of using the scooter, maybe I felt it was haunted. I had to install the damn app on Sarah’s phone to cancel my ride. Because Hopp only does customer service through the app.

My photos are safe with Google, except for my photo of the scooter in front of the cafe. Here’s a waterfall. Waterfalls in Iceland are like castles in Scotland and Ireland; the first few are magical, and then you get fatigue.

We visited the Phallological Museum, a hot spring, the Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft, several waterfalls, a geyser, WWII bunkers, and a black sand beach with the ruins of a DC3 out in the barren dunes. Reykjavik itself is a nice seaport city, with friendly locals and delicious food. Everything is expensive, but the portions are positively American. Our favorite bar was the Dillon whiskey bar, where we chatted with a drunken sailor who wanted to show me the tattoos on his ass—only in exchange for seeing mine—and Tuffi, a whiskey expert who once managed the bar, and Krummi, an accomplished musician. We talked whiskey, music, bar fights, and whatnot. Good people, and I hope to meet them again.

WWII bunkers overlooking downtown Reykjavik

I’ll write more later, but we’re going out to see what we can see on our lazy day. I will write up our adventures when I get home. I already have a new phone ordered. I may not be addicted to social media, but the damn thing is useful with the camera, map applications, and so on.

So, I recommend visiting Iceland. You can do the Golden Circle and a few other spots in a long weekend or five days. We took seven, so we’ll be relaxing and having high tea this afternoon, catching a northern lights show, and trying not to fly home with a hangover.

My friend Amber has a Kickstarter for her kickass comic, the Winchester-Nabu Detective Files! If you’d like sassy New Jersey kitties solving mysteries, check it out.

Upcoming posts (other than Iceland):

The Clement Oak and the First Air Voyage in America

Diggerland

The Return to Hampton Forge and the Carranza Memorial

Burning Man ‘98