Akureyri to Stykkisholmur
Trip Start
Sep 16, 1999
1
9
16
Trip End
Oct 03, 1999
Stykkishólmur,
Iceland
Wednesday, September 22, 1999
We went for coffee at Glaa Kahnan and had some figure 8 shaped Kleina Innihalds--twisted plain doughnut-like yummies--before heading out.
The journey west would be thankfully uneventful. Foggy in parts--but nothing like the east coast fjords. We stopped for lunch at something akin to a Stuckey's in the middle of nowhere. Skies were clear as we drove into town. So, clear skies and a corner room facing North, West and East, on a hill facing the fjord
"Town No More" sign
. PERFECT!Dinner was fancy at the hotel....delicate fish with wine/beer and cappuccinos. Bryan went over to a basketball court where a lone kid played and joined him for a game.
Again, I set the alarm clock for every hour. The night was like a dream. At 1:26 a.m., I sat in the window sill and questioned my eyes...was it? I wrote in my journal in the dark, "I think I may be seeing them, A white wisp like a cloud--white wisp like a cloud that goes and comes in the eastern / northern sky, never blocks the stars, same area, near mountain, Never blocks stars"
The next morning I remembered this as looking like fog coming over the mountain, faint, white and wispy. Coming together and separating. Funny though, there was no mountain there. It was like a dream. Lonely Planet says they are believed to be a gift from the dead or a storehouse of events--past and future. All I can think is "AGAIN! AGAIN!"
We would climb Helgafell today--silently and without looking back, so as to get our wishes
Watchful house
. Helgafell--Holy Mountain--is considered to have supernatural powers. According to legend, those who climb Helgafell for the first time will have 3 wishes come true, provided a few conditions are followed: You must climb the southwest slope, not looking back or speaking on the way; You must make your wishes facing east; only benevolent wishes made with a guileless heart are granted; you must descend to the east and pay your respects at the grave of Gudrun Osvifursdottir. This woman from the Sagas was married 4 times during her long life. Her 1st husband abandoned her. She was persuaded to marry his friend/cousin/blood-brother and enticed him to kill her 1st husband. But them, #2 was killed by #1's brothers. She ultimately remarried twice, but ended up living out her life as a hermit around Helgafell. On her deathbed, her son asks her who she loved the best. Her reply--"I treated the worst the one I loved the most"--is famous for its ambiguity. You cannot ever tell anyone what you wish for on Helgafell mountain. And we headed back into Reykjavik.
