Iceland 2015 Day 1 to Selfoss

Finally the day has come to return to Iceland. This year it was more of a challenge to get that far than ever, and at that day of departure still the idea haunted me, is this a good idea? Can I actually afford it? But everyone who knows me, will understand that this one trip to Iceland once a year is merely all I have all year to take pleasure from. The rest of the year I just live to work to pay bills and keep other pockets filled. I save money the best I can by not eating, not granting me a lot of other pleasures. I spend only a few bucks a year on clothes, not a lot more on food, maybe 100 euros for having time spend doing nice things. And thats all I can afford in my life besides the regular costs. So excuse me, is it stupid to go to Iceland? Maybe it is, but it keeps me alive. I have nothing else to live for, and my second job at the airport I earned the money with to do this. So there I am, ready to go back to my one and only home is where the heart is.

It already started nicely at the airport when I watched the 2 planes coming in from Iceland. When the second plane (Krafla) I should be on came in, it vanished behind the terminal building, but just before it did, I noticed the landing was not going the way it should, the nose lifted up and I thought oh no he is going up again! And yes I was right, few seconds later it surfaced again from the buildings, taking sky again. Well this kind of things could easily freak me out, as I am already suffering thinking too much in possible scenarios, especially the worst. I kept my mind sane by thinking that rarely ever its caused by mechanical defects. It nearly always has to do with winds, fog, too short runway, obstacles, birds etc. Just a safety precaution, it would never go up if broken. And its wheels clearly came out.

So after 15 minutes it tried again, and landed. And our boarding process was quickly, no signs of mechanic problems. We took off and after some mild turbulence on the North Sea we reached my home. First time ever the whole flight was over sea.

Keflavik airport has grown in size and travelers, it took a bit longer for retrieving luggage and walking out this time. Still in 15 minutes though! I picked up my car and drove on to Selfoss, my first destination. Im so happy to drive in the beautifull landscapes of Iceland! The weather looks rather good. On the way to Selfoss I already look out for the place I would visit the next day. Having navigation is quite handy but the names of farms are rarely ever in the system, and thats how adressing in rural Iceland works. No streetnames, just ringroad, name of house and the town its part of. I think a special Icelandic navigation system would be quite handy but probably never be beneficial to develop. Every house/farm has a signpost on the road. You really dont need a navigation in rural Iceland, but it is quite handy to know about distances and expected traveltime.

In Selfoss I first do some shopping, buying food for upcoming days. I stay at a very cheap B&B, and despite it is all clean and tidy, beds are good, it doesnt feel right there. Typical a place to stay for one night. They guy who runs it lives in it too, or should I say the guests stay in his living space, using the same facilities etc. Kinda weird for me... to see the owner cooking diner, going for a shower or peek in his livingroom. It just lacks certain privacy. Shared facilities is for me no problem, but this is crossing limits. But its only for one night. Good enough!

On this first night I drove out with the idea to go to Seljallandsfoss to watch northern lights there. This waterfall is also illuminated at night which must be beautifull. But my navigation is really weird about distances. It said it was 42km away, reasonable. But after an hour driving I still was not even close, suddenly it was still 65km. Too much as I was afraid the guy at the BB would lock the door at night, so I returned. There was no northern light activity either at this moment, so returning was not that much a problem.
I woke up just after 2 and looked outside, the sky was all green with auroras, they were amazing, dancing all over. The kind I died for to see. As quiet as I could I tried to sneak out of this noisy house, just at the frontdoor, but forgot my tripod. My luck... so I tried some short exposure handfree shots. It was amazing! I saw a corona dazzling right above me, but so was the streetlight. I decided to just enjoy this show by just watching as taking pictures was getting me nowhere. In full happiness I watched it. My first night was a good welcome. I wish I stayed at another place though to fully capture this luck. But auroras were in the pocket!

I went to sleep after an hour. What a night!