Our last day - some final thoughts

Iceland is an easy country to travel in. Everyone has been friendly and speaks English. However, they are concerned about losing their native tongue, and have become protective of the Icelandic language. It is descended from the old Norse language. Many Islandic people can still read the old Norse sagas because the language is so close. Instead of using English words for technology terms (computer, etc) a committee on the Icelandic language often coins new words for technology by combining or repurposing existing words, rather than adopting foreign terms. For example, "tölva" (computer) is a combination of "tala" (number) and "völva" (prophetess), literally meaning "number prophetess." Similarly, "sími" (telephone) uses an old word for "thread." Still, we’re glad they don’t mind communicating in English because it’s a hard language to learn!

Mid-June was a great time to visit as flowers were in bloom everywhere (we found two native orchards) and we saw puffins and whales. Temperatures never got too cold, though expect wind, gray skies and some rain every day. It never got dark while we were there. Sunset was after midnight and sunrise was a couple of hours later. Most of our hotels had some type of darkening curtains, but they weren’t foolproof.

Driving in Iceland was great (right side again, whew!), and the roads are well marked and in good condition (although there are very few paved roads to the interior). We saw lots of people, both foreigners and locals, camping. However biking would require a lot of travel on the major roads.

You don’t need cash - every place accepts credit cards even for small amounts.

The plaza outside the hotel where we stayed (three different times) was used by skateboarders (none very good) and motorcycle guys (apparently just gathering to chat). They all went home by 10 pm. Wish we had taken a picture of them.Okumaya devam et