Iceland boosted their tourism not long ago by implementing inexpensive flights to the island making it accessible to those of us that couldn’t previously afford it. Wildly successful, the influx of visitors was overwhelming. The problem was, their pristine wilderness wasn’t ready for the impact of the masses. Enormous tour buses came in droves. If you stopped on the side of the road, six more cars would pull up behind you thinking you knew about a secret spot. Saddest of all, there aren’t bathrooms readily available at trailheads or even in the little towns. The result is people defecate wherever they want & leave their used tissues, with no attempt to bury the gift they left behind.
Truth be told, it aggravates the heck out of me to see people be so disrespectful. Trampling sacred meadows, climbing over barriers, dropping trash or pushing past you on a trail. Actually PUSHING YOU. When you lay hands on another human without their permission, you & me have a problem. It’s not a cultural thing. (I never want to hear that lame excuse again.) It’s a HUMAN thing.
I asked a dear friend who travels a ton if he got annoyed by this behavior & his reply was, “You’re not deep enough in the wilderness.”
This particular day, I had stayed at Hotel Vōs & asked the lovely owner to recommend a local spot not frequented by the masses. After four days of trying to avoid tourists, I found myself at the edge of a high-walled lake, ALONE. Not another soul in sight. And this was the view. Spectacular as it was, I’ve featured the view off frame to the left on my new website (Go take a look!). Hekla glacier in the distance with the teeny bonus waterfall on the right, I couldn’t contain the joy in my heart. My face was bursting from the smile I was wearing. I was finally deep enough in the wilderness & this was my reward.
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