Eldgjá

An excerpt from an entry:

Once I stop moving, I get cold.  I'm sitting here in the middle of nowhere, alone in Eldgja, the fire gorge (pronounced Eldgao).  Yesterday was my first day working here.  It was a little scary.  Well, that's an understatement, I was terrified.  Being alone face-to-face with nature is something I can't describe.  But there are a few tourists walking in and out throughout the day.  So even if I can't see them, at least I have the comfort of knowing there is some sort of humanity in my near vicinity.  

I did about 50 feet yesterday.  Frankly, it looks quite beautiful.  

A German man and his son stopped near me.  He had found two rocks on different sides of the gorge and announced that one was from the American side, the other from Europe.  "I'm just joking," he grudgingly added.  He noticed my piece and asked if it was a border.  "Kind of," I replied.  Then he asked, "Where are you from?"  "America," I smiled, stepping across to the opposite side.  

He immediately went into this long spiel about how American politics are wrong, unjustified, just not right.  I say this as if I see the matter softly, but in fact, his passionate words expressed to me exactly how pressing and unjustified U.S. politics are, not to mention annoying.  The way we bully other countries around, make laws for the world, and then find loopholes around them to allow ourselves to do what we've clearly forbidden others to do. 

Before he left, he told me my work was beautiful.  That made me feel pretty good, encouraged to say the least.  I was already starting to wonder if I was crazy for voluntarily choosing to come out here, alone, and haul rocks around--not much different than how I felt that time I was pasting sequin onto rubber snakes for my thesis.

Last night, I had dinner with Jon, an Icelandic tourist guide with an affection for all things Western, my hut warden Palli, and 14 old French tourists.  Then we went back to the kitchen on his bus and talked about the rich and resented farmers of the past, Halldor Laxness, singers and non-singers like Garthur Holm and Garthur Toll, and the health fish oil provides.  Apparently, Icelanders take a shot of cod liver oil every night.  I tried some...hmmm....no comment.

The final product.