keflavik international airport, iceland (11)
Halló visitor.
This will be a short post about my last hours in Iceland. I’m at Keflavik International Airport. My traps and back hurt like crazy from lugging my heavy backpack. I’m a 15 minute walk away from my gate and my flight leaves in an hour and a half. It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Keflavik, and it was really nice to to see Reykjavik in the sun. I wish I had an extra day just to explore Reykjavik again, because last time it was pretty difficult and a bit gloomy in the rain. I was also lacking sleep and experience with Iceland. One day I’ll come back, and give a bit more time to the things I rushed through. I will also definitely get a 4x4 vehicle this time.
I woke up at ASKA to all of my possessions intact, thank God. I took a luxurious shower in my shower. It was very satisfying to take a shower in a clean room with no one else around. The morning was kind of a pain in the ass. I went to one Dekkjahöllin tire shop, but someone told me the owner of that location was on vacation for the week, so I had to go to another. They charged me $150 for the tire. I’m very tired of paying for random bullshit. So, that was that, and I was determined to grab coffee from Reykjavik Roasters and a pastry from Brauð og co before I left. I parked and I just had to go look at Hallgrimskirkja again. It was cool in the rain, but it is unbelievably impressive to look at in the sun. Reykjavik is so colorful on a nice day. Everyone is cheery and tourists are plentiful. I got a triple shot mocha and went and grabbed a cheese pretzel. At this point, I was very strongly considering returning my van an hour late to walk around Reykjavik for a bit, but I decided that would just feel rushed again. So, I left Reykjavik.
Pictured: Glorious Hallgrimskirkja in the sun.
The drive to the Happy Campers headquarters was honestly terrifying, because my van was a bit slow, so I was very afraid of having another flat tire. I didn’t have one, though. The return was kind of a pain, because they charged me 37 EUR for random tickets I got. The lady was pretty annoyed about it, even though I’m paying. I guess she must just really care about people following the parking rules? I also have to pay 7 EUR for the coffee press I lost. Luckily, my Plus insurance covers some dings I got on the paint of the van. Returning the van was a bit sad. Me and the Renault have been through a lot these past 9 days, and it’s served me well and never failed me once. Well, apart from the tires, of course.
Pictured: The Renault Kangoo. Small, but mighty.
Anyways, I got the return done and hopped on their shuttle. It was an interesting ride because the shuttle van is way smoother and more luxurious than my small one. The van driver lady was from Croatia. She’s been in Iceland for 10 years, and with the van company for 5. Apparently the shuttle van that they replaced last year also got flat tires constantly. I guess that’s just an Iceland thing.
Everything’s been fine at the airport. Security was a bit of a pain in the ass. My backpack is also comically heavy now; I’m hurting bad from carrying it for about an hour. I’m gonna go to the gate now. See you in the USA!
Bless bless,
Ayaan