Home Again

I came home late Monday night after ten days in Iceland and I'm still feeling disoriented. It's been a long, long time since I went on such a big adventure, one that makes the familiar unfamiliar when you return to it. I think an exchange of molecules takes place when you travel-- breathing in different air, drinking different water, eating different foods, seeing different sights, hearing different sounds. I imbibed a small draught of Iceland and I may never be the same. It's kind of freaky.

I'm trying to unpack back in to my usual life. There is laundry to be done, groceries to buy-- fresh vegetables will again be part of my diet, thank goodness-- gifts to disburse, and four nights of work ahead of me. Sleep schedules need to be recalibrated-- it stays light almost 24 hours in Iceland this time of year, and I didn't adjust well.

But I still want to hold on to all of it: dizzying bare volcanic cliffs, pools of silver light on dark seas, winds strong enough to lean into, water pounding down mountain sides, lambs scampering, terns screeching, the eerie bubbling call of snipe. The sound of no road noise. The spicy sweet smell of some plant or tree that perfumed Akureyri. The sulfur smell of geothermal hot water on my skin and the laminate coating of minerals in my hair. The strange caramel flavor of brown cheese-- perhaps best forgotten! The unbelievable fat-free richness of skyr. Trying to enunciate mouthfuls of baffling consonants: Snaefellsnes, Eyjafjallajökull, Hvoll, Vagnsta∂ir.

I have pictures, probably not as many as I now wish I had taken-- I find it hard to take things in and take pictures at the same time-- and I will share some soon!