Dripping away, the clearest blue, tiny streams, heading for the grasslands. Millions of streams follow their course. They are one, but don’t know it yet. They’re heading for destruction, yet that’s where they’re meant to go. No wrong can taint their way.

They see mountains along their course. Impressive slopes end in subtle planes. It all seems to fit in a strange way.

Mountains fade away. The high plateau bears no life. No life, but for the lava. Lava fields accompany the grey water to its ultimate achievement. It all turns to stone. Ash and stone. An ash plane is a mirror for the sky.

The water cuts the horizon. It’s like a compass, pointing to the direction that makes sense. It’s going where it’s all going to end.

The road takes turns, following a strange course. You know you’ll be there, yet the road takes its time. It’s preparing you. Ash and stone around. You’re on Mars and it feels like home. Time stops for a while. It’s all so intimate.

The air feels different. It’s fuller in this ash desert. Your breath is full and it feels weird. You don’t know you’re going to need it. An universe of vapor is waiting. It’s far, but you can feel it. It’s what gives sense to this desert. It’s what makes it feel like home.

It’s there, and it’s breathtaking. Grey vapor on a grey plane under a grey sky. Somehow it’s perfect. The noise makes the silence absolute. The chaos of bursting water makes the stillness full.

Anyone who’s been to Dettifoss feels free. It’s how we should be feeling…

After a huge breakfast we made our way to the Hilton Hotel, where the SIXT office was. Again, we were met with a great smile and “There’s a small problem”.

We had asked for a Citroen C4. The people who had previously rented it were kind enough to hit it, so it was not rentable at this time. They offered another C4 with an automatic gearbox. We looked puzzled at each other: none of us had ever driven an automatic before.

“It’s easier actually”, she said. I don’t know whether it was the fact that she did not sound convinced or the fact that we were going to drive on some steep gravel roads that kept us skeptical.

In the end, we settled for a Ford Focus with a manual gearbox. Give us a manual anyday!

It was at this time that I realized I had discovered one of the traits of Icelanders, a trait I would come across over and over again. Problems don’t affect Icelanders. They just do their best to find a solution and move on. Problems are going to crop up from time to time anyway, so why take them to heart? Just solve it with a smile on your face and move on.

I did not know what to make of it at first: it was annoying, because nothing seemed to happen according to plan. It was also very refreshing to see people solving problems instead of complaining, which is what most Europeans do

We decided to visit the local Zoo. It looked more like a small farm that a full-featured zoo, with only local animals “on display”. This made me feel like having taken a trip to the countryside, it was a much more personal and quiet experience, rather than entertaining.

Photo by VisitIceland

We walked around the small streets, saw Hallgrims Kirkja, entered some shops, the usual cheesy tourist agenda that everybody abides to in order to get into the city spirit. All in all, interesting and relaxing immersion into the Icelandic experience.

Photo by Oli Haukur

Next day, we were going to escape the city limits and go for the Golden Circle, as they call it: Thingvellir (the rift), Geysir (the geyser), Gullfoss (the two-step waterfall).

A full day of walking around Berlin, feeling sleep deprived and a 3 and a half hour flight later, we touched down in Keflavik, Reykjavik’s international airport. It was 23:45 and I hadn’t slept for about 40 hours. We covered the 45 km to Reykjavik by bus, in what seemed a couple of minutes, as I slept most of the journey.

We reached our hotel in the end, and the receptionist greeted us with a friendly “You see, there’s this situation…”

“That sounds promising”, I thought to myself.

They had overbooked our room, as every respectable hotel does. Seriously. The only solution that they could come up with was to send us to another hotel in their network. A 4 star hotel right in the very center of Reykjavik, for the same amount that we had paid. Fine by us

Making our way to the Plaza Hotel on the cobble-stone streets of a cold Friday morning gave us the first opportunity to interact with some Icelandic people heading home after a night of hard drinking. We came across guys munching on their hotdogs (really popular snack in Iceland) and girls so drunk that they could barely stand. Interesting, but nonetheless helpful and friendly crowd. We followed their directions and we found our hotel in no time. A drunk girl even escorted us some of the way and acted as a guide, explaining us different things about the landmarks we were passing by.

Finally, some sleep.