Living In Iceland

African heat

2007-08-01T17:06:21Z

I've been in Ceuta since last Wednesday. The trip here was fine, but became extremely boring by the time we reached Granada, or at least that's how I felt it. There was a very difficult stage, when I was driving after Inge finished her first turn: she fell asleep in her seat, while I tried to focus on the road, driving very concentrated at the same time I listened to Sigur Rós.Suddenly, their song became a lullaby, and I couldn't help closing my eyes at least 3 times. I finally decided to stop at a petrol station and buy some drink with a bit of caffeine, and I chose an awful warm can of Red Bull, which I definitely think that should be forbidden everywhere in the world. Inge took control and drove from then on, until we reached Algeciras, where the car was supposed to be returned.
The ferry was not as crowded as we expected, and the security was not as hard as we thought, counting on the fact that the authorities were pretty much concerned about the possibility of terrorist attacks on the ferries and the area of Ceuta and Melilla, the two Spanish cities in Moroccan territory.

African heat remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Time to leave.

2007-07-11T06:21:44Z

It's 6:22, so my sis and I are a bit delayed, but everything's ready for the Great Drive.
I'll be back to this space soon.

Time to leave. remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Leaving tomorrow. Destination: Ceuta

2007-07-15T10:05:16Z

I went to a rent-a-car place before, with Inge, to pick up the car we need to go to Ceuta in. It's a Seat Altea. Cool driving, but strange feeling, compared to the car I'm used to drive in Iceland(Can you believe it?: an old 1986 Mitshubishi Lancer!).
The plan is as follows: we'll try to leave Vitoria at around 6am, and then we'll drive in turns of 250kms approximately. The distance between Vitoria and Algeciras is about 1050kms, and it takes about eleven hours to get there. Once there, we'll return the rented car and try to catch the ferry to Ceuta as soon as possible. The Strait of Gibraltar will be the next stage of the trip, but the ferry only takes about 45-50 minutes to cover the distance between Europe and Africa. By then we will have crossed the whole Iberian Peninsula and will have jumped from Europe to Africa.
La chica de la biblioteca has just dissapeared, and I miss her a lot, but that I cannot say because we're both supposed to be tough people. But I'm worried about her, and anxious because I haven't had any news from her for quite a long time. I really hope she didn't get angry at me because of what I wrote about her some days ago, when I first mentioned her in this blog (I wrote it in Spanish, after having gone out with a friend to visit some pubs, so it was a bit confusing).
Manuel wrote me a short message today, from Selfoss, telling me he had seen her at the library, just looking as pretty as usual. Lucky guy!: at least he can see her every day if he wants to!
See you in Africa. Gotta finish packing up.

Leaving tomorrow. Destination: Ceuta remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

I´ve been here for more than a month

2007-07-10T18:58:01Z

Yes, here I am.
After some weeks I can say I definitely live and work in Iceland.

I was in a car about three weeks ago, on the way from Selfoss to Reykjavík. After leaving Hveragerði, we went up a plateau covered with snow. Clouds of steam came out of geothermal power stations, and a line of snowed mountains sorrounded us. I felt the landscape took me out of the car, chewed me and spat me out into an oneiric place.

I hope I will have some more time to write about it soon, but believe me: so far, this is the most incredible experience I've had in many many years. The landscape is so different from all the places I had been to before, that sometimes it feels as if I was dreaming. Lava and ice, fire and snow, northern lights, volcanoes... It´s all so beautiful!

I´ve been here for more than a month remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Wake up!!!

2007-07-09T01:45:56Z

You, please dO wake up, and then you feel UnEqualLed!

Wake up!!! remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Stateless

2007-07-09T01:39:33Z

Listen to this one, mates, and then you tell me: Another Day

Stateless remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Attention!

2007-07-09T11:01:14Z

Hey!
Been a long time since I last listened to this album!

Attention! remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Two days and I'll be in Ceuta (hopefully)

2007-07-09T00:00:06Z

Here I am.
Just met Unai, Diego, Isa and Yolanda.
I'm right back home, after a Sunday visit to the centre of town (Vitoria), and it's almost 2am.
Everything seems to be in the right place. My friends too.
On the way back home, surrounded by the typical darkness you can only find in places like this at this time of the year, I considered several things: cows, friends, the political situation in the Basque Country (it really sucks!), music (Stateless and its album The Art Of No State keeps me busy enough), food (bacalao and its different recipes), Björk (and her forthcoming concert in Bilbao, next to the Guggenheim Museum), Paris (and its weather; a classic!) and the film written and directed by Miranda July I watched last night.
La chica de la biblioteca empieza a difuminarse en una nebulosa de olvido, producida por su falta de noticias... Quizás sea momento de pensar en que la principal razón por la que quiero volver a Islandia no era ella (inicialmente).
El tiempo tiene toda la capacidad de decidir.
"I don't owe you anything, mister..."
Besos, preciosa (in case you read this).

Two days and I'll be in Ceuta (hopefully) remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

14 days away from Iceland

2007-07-08T23:41:54Z

I left Iceland 14 days ago.
First I went to Paris, to visit Inge, my sister, and be there with her until the end of her university term.
To be able to remember that extra boost of adrenaline getting on the the train or metro gives you when you don't have the ticket, I didn't even buy one for the trip between the Charles De Gaulle Airport and Denfert-Rochereau, close to the 13th district, where I was supposed to meet my sis. Either Line B is safe from ticket inspectors or I was simply lucky. The funny thing is that, while I counted the stations left to my destination, I was not nervous at all: I actually had quite clear in mind that if the inspector caught me, I'd simply say "I don't have any ticket, so how much do I have to pay?".
The meeting with Inge was great: I had imagined that moment thousands of times, since I think she's always been the one I've most missed during my whole stay in Iceland.

14 days away from Iceland remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Saturday night

2007-03-31T20:15:46Z

Jesús was supposed to be in Selfoss by now, but he's taken the wrong bus lines in Reykjavík and hasn't even got to the place where a guy told him last night to hitch-hike. His plan was to come to Selfoss as soon as possible (that is, after recovering from last night's excess in the Capital), but I guess we'll be a bit delayed.
The plan is as follows: there's a party at Lucie's house in Hveragerði, so we are going there, we're gonna enjoy ourselves bathing in the hotpot there is in the house, we're gonna drink some cans of Thule beer I bought this morning at Vinbuð (the Alcoholic Drinks State Monopoly), listen to music I am going to annoy them all with, have loads of chinwag, etc.
What am I doing tomorrow? Not working, definitely: day off!!! So i think I should get rid of the morning lazyness I'm sure I'll feel and drive to Rvík.

Saturday night remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

The day after the match

2007-03-29T14:32:42Z

I went to the Icelandic course after picking Vera (Germany) and Manuel (Spain) up from their places. At the entrance of the school we go to we met Steffan (Germany) and Sebastian (Germany). While we were out there, enjoying the warm spring weather fading away into the cold of the new born night (and wearing sunglasses, to feel as if we were in warmer latitudes), two other classmates whose names I don't remember (from Thailand and Filipines), stepped off two huge cars, saying "bless, bless!" to their respective Icelandic husbands.
The first hour of the Icelandic lesson was pretty tiring, cause we were all tired by the time we got there (as every Wednesday). I remembered what Steffan said last week during the lesson: "Every day is Monday".
Suddenly, Anna Linda, the teacher, asked how many of us were married, and it was only the Asian girls who answered they were, after which I told Anna Linda that the rest of us had obviously come to Iceland because we were not married, meaning that if we had been married we wouldn't have been able to come here from our home countries. Anna Linda didn't consider that as what I really meant, and then she asked me if we had come here "to mate", and suddenly she looked at tha Asian girls and blushed within a matter of a second. Pretty embarrassing (for her, of course)...
After the first hour we had a break, and at the request of Manuel and Jesús (the other two Spaniards in the classroom), I asked Anna Linda if we could leave the lesson before the end, cause there was a football match between Spain and Iceland. I'm not really fond of football, but thought it'd be good to see such a match surrounded by furious Icelanders, wearing viking helmets and so. Surprisingly enough, Anna Linda agreed and let us three leave!
After three pints of Viking and a really boring match, Iceland didn't win, Spain didn't deserve to win, and we were not beaten up at the Pakkhúsid, the only pub in Selfoss, by all the dissapointed locals that had to stand our screaming and typical Spanish way of watching football during the whole match. They have an infinite patience, these Icelanders... I like them.

The day after the match remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Been here for more than two months

2007-03-26T10:02:06Z

I'm writing a diary, but forgetting my blog. Doesn't matter: I'll mend it, promise.

I've just finished having breakfast: skyr (the Icelandic version of yoghourt, but millions of times better) with 100% pure milk, straight from the cows I work with, cheerios, half an apple and a bit of sugar. The important thing is not to avoid one of Iceland's most famous things: a spoon of Lýsi, that is, cod liver oil. My mother told horrible stories about how disgusting cod liver oil was when she was a child (children used to be given it every day), but once you get used to it it doesn't taste that bad, and as Óli says, if you don't have it one day, you'll get a cold the day after (don't ask me why).

It's a bit weird starting this new entry of my blog after a gap of over two months without having written anything, but I want to see the contrast (I already spoke about contrast in my first entry) between where I was and where I am now.

I get up at 6:45 every day, and go to the cowstable to start with the usual things. I clean, give the cows concentrate and hey, and help Óli (my boss, the farmer, and my "Icelandic father") milk all the cows (34).
I've only done this for more than two months and feel as if I had done it all my life. And I must say I love it. But I'll write about my tasks at the stable some other day.

Now, the question is: how am I feeling here? This is wonderful. I was with Manu last night (a guy from Salamanca I met at the Icelandic lessons) and I told him I feel as if I had found balance and peace in my life. I go to bed every night, close my eyes and sleep for hours as I had not slept for ages.
People are amazingly friendly and have a great sense of humour. There was this cow at the stable I was not particularly fond of called Ljá (she kicked me very often) and Óli decided she should be sent to the slaughter house (not because she kicked me, but because she was not giving enough milk). I know it will sound cruel, but a couple of days after, I was having a cup of tea in the kitchen, and Óli told me: "I gotta go to Selfoss, to the slaugther house. I'm taking Ljá back home". This is the kind of sense of humour I'm talking about.

I really must make and effort and keep writing about Iceland, because it really is worth it. But I'd better say bye for the moment. I will be back soon.

Been here for more than two months remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Six days left in Vitoria.

2007-01-15T10:45:17Z

I haven't got there yet, but need to write some words before catching the plane. I'm interested in the contrast there'll be between my feelings today and the ones in a few weeks' time.
A month ago I didn't even expect I'd be here, right now, stuffing my backpack with gore-tex gear I'll be using very soon in the coldest place I've ever been to.
The whole story started at the end of last summer. I had just read a series of articles about Iceland by John Carlin, and thought to myself "I must be there". After a short research I found this Employment Agency called Ninukot. They offered work at farms, fisheries and hotels, and it didn't take me long to send them an application form. My choice was to work at a farm. However, by the beginning of last December, after having received no answer from the agency, I had just given up the idea of moving to Iceland. My plans seemed to get stuck in Vitoria, and the prospects for the beginning of this year were quite blue, since my sister was moving to Paris at the beginning of February, and I was going to have to stay in here, while she'd be enjoying her new life in one of my favourite places on Earth. Suddenly, one day I came back home from the school where I teach English and Spanish, checked my mail and found out I had been sent a job offer in Iceland. It took me only three days to ponder the proposal, but I finally decided it could be a chance I should never reject. Four days later, I had already told my boss I was leaving my job at her school and bought my ticket to Reykjavík.
And this is it, the beginning of a story that has not even started yet. The real beginning is just a few days ahead.

Six days left in Vitoria. remains copyright of the author joneguiluz, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs