My wonderful wife, Ruth, reminded me that a year ago we were exploring Iceland, a life-long dream for her. I was her willing partner in this adventure, although she did the "heavy-lifting" of establishing our route and booking the guest houses.
Iceland is a place of such extraordinary and other-worldly beauty that it is has become the backdrop for series such as Game of Thrones and a number of movies.
Game of Thrones filming sites
Unfortunately the whole world wants to get in the on the beauty and this year 2.2 million visitors will invade a country which has a population of 330,000. Tourism has rescued an economy which reeled after the financial collapse of 2008, but many places of tranquility have taken on a circus-like quality. Because we rented a vehicle we literally went off the beaten path to explore some spots or started early so we could avoid the crowds.
On this National Quiet Day I recall bumping along a rocky road recommended by our hosts to a glacial lake where we were virtually alone. This path which passed sheep pastures was so rough we considered turning back, but it was worth picking our way along to a spot that was holy for me. I was quite moved, and felt the presence of the Creator. We skirted the lake on foot to get close to the glacial tongue, and even though it was overcast the experience was overpowering. There were essentially no human sounds around us.
I was aware that these glacial lakes are becoming larger and more spectacular because of climate change, but for the moment I relished the silence. I was also mindful while in Iceland that while the country uses geothermal energy to meet most of its energy needs, tourists are expending a colossal amount of fossil fuel to get there. Ah, yes.
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