Puffins! Puffins! Have you ever seen a puffin fly? I have! I´ve seen hundreds of puffins fly! (and nest and fish and swim…) If you haven´t guessed, I went out on a cruise to see the island where all the puffins nest today, and never have I seen so many puffins in my life. When they fly, it´s rather frantic – they never glide, and are always quickly flapping – and often they would take off in groups and circle the island. This blew my mind, because even though of course I knew puffins could fly, who has ever seen a puffin flock outside of the zoo?
I also got to chat with Magnus, the grandson of the man who captained the boat. He was helping out that day, and very excited about it (he was about 9 years old, I think). His English was very good, and he had a great since of humor. I think he was happy to practice his English on me too. I love learned about Iceland from the people here – they´re all very proud of their country, and know alot about it. Iceland is only about the size of Kentucky, and only 300,000 people live here, and most of the population is somehow related (even if you have to trace them back to the Vikings), so it´s more like a gigantic family community than a country like the US.
Also, I like Reykjavik very much. It seems a new surprise awaits me every time I head over there to wander. New hidden allies and churches and outdoor concerts and spontaneous art happenings…it´s a very vibrant city. I will be sad to leave it, although Stockholm is next!
Tomorrow I ride an Icelandic horse and try out the Blue Lagoon (outdoor thermal lagoon!), then the next morning it´s time to catch the 5am bus for the airport! See you soon, Stockholm.
PS – Did you know Viggo Mortenson (or whatever…of Lord of the Rings fame) is also a ´photographer´? And a mediochre poet? He is! In Reykjavik there´s a whole photography display of his: it´s all pictures of trees. Apparently, it´s his ´gift to Iceland´, as Iceland has almost no trees (there´s not enough light during the year for them to grow well, and Iceland is very volcanic). Thank you, Viggo. There´s also plenty of his bad poetry all over the walls of the exhibit. Apparently, he´s a really deep thinker.
