Day 1

12 May 2016

After an arduous 11-hour layover at JFK airport in New York City, we were finally able to depart for Keflavik airport in Iceland. Keflavik is about a 25-minute drive from Reykjavik (Iceland's capital city). Our flight landed in Iceland at around 7:00am local time. We rendezvoused with our guide, Dr. Thorleifur, who graciously invited us to his home for a breakfast of fresh bread, butter, jam, meats, cheese, and coffee. After this, we walked a few blocks to one of Reykjavik's many public pools. This place featured indoor and outdoor swimming pools, three water slides, a sauna, and numerous jacuzzis (all heated geothermally). Dr. Thorleifur explained that Icelanders greatly value these pools and visit them almost daily. All patrons must shower beforehand, likely because of the amount of people who frequent this facility, and because less chlorine is added to pool water than in America (this I deduced based on smell, and am not 100% certain about). I sat in the sauna for less than 10 minutes and still felt as if I would lose consciousness... After a couple hours at the pools, our driver collected us and drove us across town to Reykjavik City Youth Hostel (Reykjavik Laugardular). We unpacked, napped there, then scurried down the street for a mid afternoon Italian lunch at a small bistro. After this, I resumed my nap until around 7:00pm, when our group hopped aboard a couple busses and headed for Furman alum and golf star Inga's house. Inga lives in a gorgeous, cozy home, with an incredible panoramic view of Reykjavik. Inga shared a meal of Icelandic-style hot dogs, watermelon and lettuce salad,and some exquisite Icelandic desserts (including fried pancakes and chocolate cake!). I was shocked to see that the sun did not set until well after 11:00pm, and that the temperature did not drop below the mid-40s (Fahrenheit) during our first day here. By this time, we had returned to our hostel to continue catching up on sleep lost during our five-hour flight to Iceland and layover in scenic NYC airport... Can't wait to experience more of this exotic island.

Until next time,

-B