After my two weeks in the U.S., I set off for Iceland hoping to take in as much as possible, knowing I'd never be back here again. As I write this in my hotel room a few hours before leaving (I'm going out for drinks with Oru in an hour), I know I'll be back, perhaps as soon as September. Update: Additional material is being added post-return.

The country only has about 280K people. That's kibipeople, not kilopeople. Almost all of them speak English (but not a particular cabbie - see Day 5). I lived in a D.C. suburb with a larger population.

In these diaries I've written about my arrival and its ensuing hilarity, my first glimpses of the country, my general speechlessness at the incredible wonder of this place, some activities in which I partook, people I met, and reports on some of the most disgusting foods known to mankind. Which I ate. I've also included some travelling tips.

Here is my second first glimpse, the view of arriving in Keflavik from the U.S.:

Traveller's Tip
Bring raingear
The rain falls sideways in Iceland.
While I managed to escape almost all foul weather in my short week in the southwest, I got lucky and arrived during a heat wave which broke many records. Even though it doesn't get as cold as most of EUia or USia, most of the time the place is very windy. The normal temperature during the short summer is 11-15°C (about 52-60°F).

I'd originally intended to post these diaries about a day behind, but between poor Net access and having a lot of fun, this didn't happen. Instead, I took notes, fleshed out bits and have come up with something somewhat readable, at least in small doses. I have well over 7,000 words in toto prior to finishing sections which are still only notes, and I have some pictures which will appear on the HuSi version of this series.

I'm using this foreword to give you a chance to post some questions I might be able to answer or that I didn't think to scribble down. Alternatively you can tell me what a teasing wanker I am.

Here's another look at the green moonscape on the way from Keflavík to Reykjavík:

Note: I'll be using my m4d editurding sk1llz and personal connections to add links between diaries as they're posted.

Preface endnote:
I'm now back home and finishing this up. I almost didn't get in the airplane. In my chats with others, this is no atypical feeling.

At the Munich airport, I ran into the guy I'd met on the way over. It wasn't that surprising because of the Tuesday-only flights, but it was still nice. He was pretty sunburnt. We talked a bit after the cops had come up to me and started checking my passport and asking questions. I know I came off pretty weird being so tired from not sleeping the night before as well as the surprise of the confrontation. The cops were his buddies. We continued talking and I even talked with the cops a bit. They don't remember me - this was the third time in as many years the same guys have targeted me.

The guy was pretty sunburnt. I opened my carry-on bag and gave him a bottle of SPF 50 sunscreen. He'll need it next year when he goes to Tunisia. I can always get mum or bro to send me another bottle of the stuff before next July.