once upon a time in iceland

I can't say that I ever had Iceland on my to-visit list.  Not that it wasn't intriguing when I thought about it, but I just didn't think about it much.  However, when I started looking at the possibility of flying through Europe to go back to PNG, it cropped up as a possibility and one of the best routes to get a ticket through.

The more I researched, the more I got excited.  There were tour options to see the northern lights and lots of beautiful places throughout the country.  And so I kept researching and finding things I wanted to see.

A few days before my departure, I still hadn't booked any tours or activities although I had thought about it a great deal. 

The day before I left, I closed the open window on my computer with tears in my eyes.  I wasn't going to book anything.  My energy level kept plummeting as I worked to finish everything on my to do list and the thought of trying to do more was debilitating. 

Yet again, here was something that I was giving up because of my illness.  How many times do you get the opportunity to go to Iceland and I wasn't going to be able to do much if anything.  I still had an idea of catching a bus into Reykjavik to wander the town, but hadn't made firm plans. 

And then I arrived in Iceland and it was cold and gray and gross.  Part of me was really thankful it was because it took a bit of the sting out of what I perceived as my loss.  I slept for the better part of my first 24 hours there . . . not even kidding, it was about 17 hours!

On Wednesday, when I woke up, I decided to take a walk around Keflavik to see if I could find something to eat.  Two hours later, I found a small grocery store.  My feet were tired, but my heart was happy.

You see, once I left the B&B I found myself two blocks from the ocean.  And when I got to the ocean's edge, I found a hiking trail along the coast.  And when I started climbing said trail, I found a stunningly beautiful view.

I was standing between two of these pillars/monuments/? when I looked to the left and saw people moving on that cliff.

So I went to see what you could see.  This is looking back at Keflavik

Don't you love the rocks???

And the view?

The trail was made up of some interesting volcanic rocks.

And sometimes it was hard to see the trail. 

This lighthouse was in the distance and I kept walking toward it, but didn't feel like I ever got closer so I settled for a picture from a distance and turned around.

And saw this view.

There were lovely benches all along the way (one way to help find the path) to enjoy the beauty from.

Did I mention it was cold and windy??  It was also sunny, for which I was thankful as it snowed not too much later.

Look what else was along the path. 

The largest bird population in Iceland is the Eider duck, whose down is exported as one of the best natural insulators.

Back in town there was another lighthouse, although not as pretty it was unique all by itself.

So I didn't get to do what I had hoped and planned.  I didn't even get to take that bus into Reykjavik.  However, I was able to find peace about it and on top of that a fun little adventure by the sea. 

Early Friday morning (at 2:00am), when I settled in my window seat of the airplane there was a big, bright, beautiful moon shining down on us.  As we took off, it was almost as if it were still daylight.  From the air by moonlight, I saw miles of beautiful coastline, snow-peaked mountains, and giant glaciers.  And it was lovely. 

When you struggle with chronic illnesses, it's easy to get caught up in what you're missing out on; what you lose.  I don't want to be in that place and I'm thankful for those 2 1/2 days in Iceland where God showed me how much I don't miss out on and how much I do have to be thankful for in the midst of the illness.