There are two things I only do when I travel: exercise (walk) and take medications. Sleep medications, specifically. I used to use Nyquil, but for this trip I learned that they also make a sleep aid that doesn’t have all of the cold meds in it called zzzz quil. That’s been my go to for the past 5 days. It doesn’t make me as groggy in the mornings as Nyquil. Last night, I hoped that the hike from yesterday would have sufficiently worn me out to the point that zzzz quils would be unnecessary (fun fact: I have this completely irrational fear of becoming addicted to medication). I mean, I could easily have dozed off on the bus ride back from the volcano and had to force myself to stay awake. Well, here it was, 11:30, and I was still up. Since I didn’t have anything planned for early, I decided to ditch the meds and try to sleep on my own. Sleep mask firmly in place, I laid down in the gloomy daylight (cloudy all day yesterday) at almost midnight. One thing I’ve learned, even when I’m jacked up on the zzzz quil, is that sleep in Iceland is mind over matter. If you wake up and your sleep mask has moved and is allowing light in, you seriously have to convince yourself it’s 2am. I don’t care what time it really is, it’s 2am. Because 2am is the time when all middle aged teachers with a loving boyfriend at home should be soundly asleep. I woke up probably half a dozen times, quickly adjusted the mask, reminded myself that it was 2am and no I did NOT need to look at my phone to confirm (that would be the end of any sleep), and dozed back off. I managed to do this until 5:15am. Which by that time I was firmly convinced had to be at least 8am and time to start work. Yeah, not so much. But I am pretty pleased that my almost 5 hours of sleep was drug free! That said, I worked until 9, then my brain started fogging up, so I napped until 11. Well, 5 + 2= 7 which is pretty close to the 8 hours I require, so I’ll call it even!
The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent working. Then, it was time to head out on the day’s adventure! Basically, I was going from teaching school all day (well, grading projects), to being the student. Because today is the day I attend ELF SCHOOL!! Again, like yesterday’s trip inside the volcano, this isn’t for my personal entertainment. No, no, no! This is research for classes I am going to teach- mythology and folklore (I’ll be researching in Scotland, Ireland, and Romania as well this summer- yeah I know….).
It was a 2.5 mile walk to Elf School. I am FAR to cheap to take the bus. It’s like almost $5 one way!!! I’ll hoof it, thank you very much. But one stop I had to make before I went was to the bank to change money. This is something I hate, hate, hate doing, and try to avoid whenever possible. I prefer credit card, because I don’t have the energy to figure out what all those damn coins and bills are. I’m old and grouchy. Hell, I never even use cash at home. I hate it. I lose it. Plus, I then end up with this mountain of random currencies from all over the world stuffed into various drawers and bins at home. Hate it. But the banks here are closed on the weekends and I’m renting a car Sunday. Just in case I was in the middle of no where and wanted a snack and they didn’t take credit cards, I figured I better change $100. Of course, that might get me a pack of gum, a water, and some chips. 😕 Landsbankinn bank was just a couple minutes from the house, and on the route to Elf School, so off I went. Here’s how it worked…you go in and take a number. Watch the big screen for your number to pop up, and see which teller number desk you are supposed to go to. Seriously, that simple. No guns, no hermetically sealed double doors, no “one person at a time in the bank” rule. Civilized banking, at your service! She did try to give me two huge bills and a bunch of change, but I asked for smaller ones for the bus. Just in case I decided I didn’t want to walk back- I know the buses require exact change (and a kidney). When I got back home after the day and looked at the money, I literally squealed with delight! MARINE LIFE!!! Also, I did the exchange rate online. I got back $96 for my $100, which is about $40 more than what I got back from a $100 in Rome (side eye to Italy).
Bank only took about 10 minutes, and I had allotted 30 to be safe. Started the walk toward Elf School, and had a little extra time to explore anything that caught my eye. I walked by a convenience store to look for Dr. Pepper. And elves be praised!! Look what I found! Almost $3 a can, though. YEE-OUCH!! I can almost get a case for that back home!! I did pay $2 a can in Belize, but that was black market Dr. Pepper! Plus, I could eat a meal like a normal person for about $3-$4!! I passed on the Dr. Pepper, even though I was intrigued by that Dr. Pepper Zero, which must be like my beloved Diet Dr. Pepper. I’ll probably cave in tomorrow and get some. I just didn’t want to haul it in my back pack 5 miles roundtrip.
Then I saw a sign for a tattoo convention. I had an INGENIOUS idea for a traveling tattoo sleeve right before I left. I’m not brave enough, but Brian has one extra bare arm!! I told him about it and he got that look on his face…. Had he been here, we would so be there! And no, I’m not telling you my idea until we implement it! Cause we’re selfish like that! Here are a couple of other random things I saw along the walk…
Um, ok.
I’m convinced that that black glove is the one I lost in Paris!!
Want a decent meal? Take out a home equity loan. $60 for 3 courses. This isn’t a fancy restaurant. Just a regular one
I looked at the GPS and was still way ahead of schedule. Saw a Kronon on the side of the road, so decided to stop in. This is another grocery store chain. I must say, it is MUCH nicer than the Bonus by me, with a much better selection. Prices honestly didn’t look too much more than what I spent at Bonus. If it wasn’t so far from me, I’d rather shop there. I wasn’t comfortable being “that tourist” on day one in the grocery store, but I had nothing to lose at this point (hell, it’s day 6!), so snapped some pics of random things so you can see the outrageous prices.
$6 dollars for a bag with about 5 avocados- each one about the size of a toddler’s fist. Like all of those put together would make one of our big Haas avocados at home. $6!!
Want one of those pre-roasted chickens to take home? That’ll be almost $14!!
$22 for a pre packaged grocery store kit of sushi. HOLY CRAP!
Kept walking. Definitely wasn’t in the touristy area any more. This was “local” Iceland. Businesses and such that tourists wouldn’t be interested in. Home decor, electronics, etc… Very “Main Street USA” before the big box stores came along- except more upscale looking. I soon arrived at my destination….ELF SCHOOL!!
I walked in and headed upstairs. The door was locked, and there was a couple sitting outside. I started talking to them. Now, if you know ANYTHING about me as a traveler, when I see or hear an American, I run the other direction. Literally. If I can’t run, I stare at the ground, stare at my phone, try to blend into the background and not make contact. But something about them was a really cool vibe. I have traveled to 4 continents in the past few years. I have run into a lot of Americans. These are the only ones I actually felt drawn to converse with. It’s a big deal for me, people. (Yes, I’m Ameriophobic, so sue me.). Anyway, we started talking about where we were from (they’re from Minnesota), what we were doing in Iceland, what we were doing in Elf School…I told them about the Elf Stone I saw on Day 2. A father and daughter from New Jersey showed up, and a couple from Quebec. Then, we were ready to begin. We met Magnus, the headmaster of Elf School. (Side note: How cool is it that he’s been married to his husband for 30 years and adopted two little girls from Africa!!) We paid ($65 each) and he gave us a nice sized book about elves! I sat next to the lady from Minnesota (Connie). I took a couple of pics of our classroom, which was more of a study room in their home. I didn’t feel comfortable filming or taking pictures during class.
Let me begin with this. Elf School is not for everyone. Neither is medical school, law school, or high school (god, I hated high school!!). If you’re going there with the idea that this is some slick tourist operation and there’s some high tech, well rehearsed and regurgitated lecture about elves, you will be sadly disappointed. If you want to sit in a room with a man whose passion in life is all of the unseen things, a man who is kind of like an eccentric grandfather who will tell you rambling stories about elves in between going off on decidedly non-elf tangents, and quite possibly tease you often (the lady from Quebec was on the receiving end of that, thank goodness!), then you will be quite pleased. I was quite pleased. 🙂 He started by telling us how humans with psychic abilities are the only ones who can see the elves and hidden people. Then he started talking about how psychic ability is inherited. It must have been all over my face (or he’s psychic! Except he’s never seen an elf…), because he looked right at me and said, “Are you psychic?”. I said yes, and told him the story about how I was the black sheep (had to explain that analogy!) in my family for a lot of reasons, but my ability to see and feel and know things others couldn’t was one reason. And how when I learned I was adopted at age 36 and met my birthmother and half sister, I learned that it ran in the family. 🙂 Not something I talk about very much, especially because I have so much conflict with it because of this darn scientific, logical brain of mine, but I felt comfortable enough sharing there. Because if you can’t talk about your weird 6th sense in Elf School, where can you discuss it?!
Over the next hour or so, Magnus told us various stories of encounters people have had with elves and hidden people. You’re probably thinking, what’s the difference. Well, there are about 14 known types of elves. Anywhere from a couple of inches tall, to almost a meter tall. And elves are kinda what you think- flower elves, tree elves, nature elves, house elves (shout out, Dobby!), etc… The hidden people though are unique to Iceland. These are human looking, just like you and me. You’d never know the difference if you saw one walking down the street. But for the most part, they are hidden unless you have the ability to see them. They live in rocks and cliffs and things. The story goes that Adam and Eve had a lot of children. God came to visit one day, and said he wanted to meet all of them. Eve brought out some of them, but there were others that she hadn’t washed yet, and she was embarrassed for God to see them. Of course God, being God, knew there were more children that had been hidden from him. And he said that from then on those children would be hidden from all mankind. Hence, the hidden people. Fun fact, I believe more in hidden people than I do in God… Like seriously. Weird, huh?
After a few stories (and several tangents and teasings of the poor woman from Quebec- but it was all in fun and harmless…he’s not mean), it was break time. Magnus’ husband brought us WONDERFUL bread, butter, and Icelandic pancakes, that were made from a recipe given to someone by an elf!! 🙂 The pancakes are more like crepes, and filled with whipped cream and some kind of berries. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. There was tea or coffee as well. During the break, Connie turned to me and said I didn’t have to be afraid of dead people. Come to find out, she’s a medium and paranormal investigator!! I’ve never met such a person, and I immediately understood why I felt comfortable with them from the very beginning.
More stories, and being the Hermione I am, I asked a lot of serious questions (of which there really were no answers, thus is the nature of this stuff). After about 3.5 hours it was time to say goodbye. Seriously, I could have stayed another few hours. I really wanted to talk more about various hypotheses and explanations and such. He did say I asked clever questions. 🙂 We got our Elf School diplomas and took a group photo. I’m hoping he’ll send me a copy of that.
After class, I offered to take Connie and her husband to see the Elf Stone by my house….my fee would be one car ride to said Elf Stone! They agreed, and we all got in the car and headed downtown. As we walked to the stone, I told them a little history of the neighborhood that I had learned (and felt like a proper tour guide with all my names and dates and such!), then showed them the stone. We exchanged information, hugged, parted ways, and I was happy to have made a new friend. 🙂 It was a short 2-3 minute walk to the house. Fed the cat, ate a sandwich, worked, blogged, did some research on my road trips that will start in a couple of days, and stared at the light pouring into my room at 10pm, 11pm, 12am, 1am…..fine zzzz quils. You win. But maybe I better research zzzz quil rehab centers in Los Angeles before I doze off! 🤔