For us, one of the benefits of travel is the people
you meet. We had several interesting groups with whom we interacted, but
three in particular.
The first occurred when we went to the waterfall at
Dettifoss. A woman came up to us and asked us if we knew where the trail
was. We had scoped it out, and the three of us headed out. Soon her
boyfriend came along, and after we visited the waterfalls, they invited us to
go to the crater and then to the bistro with them. At the crater we had
to stop before a pile of ice, as we didn't think our car would make it . . .
someone had gone through that day, however, and we wondered what kind of car
they had. More about that later. Anyway, we walked up the crater
and then went into Myvatn for lunch. Hans is a urologist from Germany who
studied in Louisville, and his girlfriend, Karinna, is a graphic designer.
We had a lovely time with them and then parted ways. We did learn
about an Icelandic artist whose works we had seen but did not know what was
significant about them. Now we know!
As we were leaving Dettifoss, a young man told us
to notice the snow because it looked like nature on LSD. He was right,
and I couldn't forget him because he had red hair and a red beard. Later that
evening, while we were in the Nature baths at Myvatn, three young men, one with
a red beard, entered the pool. I asked him if he was the same person we
had met at Dettifoss, and he said he was. He also said his friends were
embarrassed by his comment, but frankly, we thought he captured the sight
perfectly. We spent about 25 minutes talking to them about their start-up
company, their education, and their future. Hans previously mentioned to
us that if you meet once, you will meet twice . . . so far he was right.
The next morning, as we went to breakfast at Vogur
Farm, who should walk in but the three young men, Chris, Tom and Martin.
We spent a little more time with them and this time, we got their
information. We would like to keep up with them as they join the world of
start-up companies!
Finally, when we were in the Icelandair Hotel
Klauster, we saw a party of four sitting a ways from us. We exchanged
pleasantries but did not really talk. Two days later, when we checked in
at the Icelandair Herid, guess who was staying on the same floor in the same
hall as we were? Yep. Meet twice. We talked a little further
about our trip, and the next morning we discovered that in two more days we
would be staying at the same Guesthouse.
When we arrived at Hoffstedir, they were already
there, and we spent the evening talking about our trip, their trip, and the
many wonderful things we experienced. Lorraine, Judy, and David are
siblings, and Ron, Judy's husband, joins in. They have a wonderful
rapport, but the coolest thing was their trip to the Emigration Museum.
We had wanted to go there, but it did not work out. Their
grandparents emigrated from Iceland in 1904, and in their three hours at the
museum, they found out where their grandparents' farm was, how they met, what
ship they left Iceland on . . . it brought chills to me to listen to the story.
We also found out what kind of car went through the snow - their Ford
Expedition. Judy admitted that she was quite nervous, but the guys were
very casual as the car nearly got high centered. So now we know who the
daring ones are!
Don and the guys stayed up late (the women all went
to bed), and we had breakfast together the next morning. Again, we
exchanged information, as Judy and Ron live in Calgary. Sounds like a
stop-over the next time we go to Alaska.
We also met a man and his son from New Jersey who
had been climbing the glacier. We were able to help them out when they
lost their passport and didn't have any Icelandic money. We traded them
20,000 K for $146. We both were happy! And then there were the many
people behind counters or in hotels that we met - not a bad one in the
group.
Traveling is a wonderful thing, and the people we meet makes it better.
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