​Weathering the Storm with the WP#36

It has been an amazing week here in the Land of Fire and Ice and returning here after 2 years has brought my passion for this destination back into focus. I have met new people, both in business and personal encounters and re-connected in person with colleagues who I had not seen in these past few years, a direct result of the pandemic. Going through the immigration process along with the Covid protocol enlightened me and it seemed to work rather well, so if you are prepared for the process, having all your documentation, you should be fine. 
My time here a week ago, started with a re-connection with a very good friend, Sven, who resides here in Iceland, now for many years, but is originally from Germany, so it was nice to hang out and experience some of the island and just catching up for the day at which time, I was dropped off at the airport and met up with my group and off we were to the Snaefellsness Peninsula, a destination here in Iceland I had not been to in over 15 years, so in effect, it was a new experience, both in the places we explored, but the time of year, and for the record, the Snaefellsness, is where I saw my first puffins here in Iceland, in the wild, those many years ago. Other experiences, I had included hiking into a lava tube cave, which was certainly an experience and one I do recommend, but the landscape, and no I did not see the glacier, always covered by cloud cover, and the weather, did not deter from having a wonderful time. One of the other highlights was going out on the boat and having the Viking sushi experience. 

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After the couple of days out on the Snaefellsness Peninsula, we returned to the Reykjanes Peninsula where my conference, the second one in person, first since Croatia in June happened and it was wonderful to connect in face to face meetings, some old colleagues and some new ones representing Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands and I absolutely see potential from these meetings, so it was overall a successful couple of days and have even started doing some business with some of the contacts and others, we will see. The highlights during these couple of days included for me, a hike to the lava fields of the recently erupting volcano, and although the lava was not flowing, it was still steaming, so it was not a total loss. Overall, Vestnorden was worthwhile returning to and next year, it will be in Greenland, so we will see. 
The last part of this first week here in Iceland was my first self-drive in the north and the views of the ocean, the snow-capped mountains, Lake Myvatn and the waterfalls, for me the highlights, Dettifoss, Selfoss and Godafoss were the highlights of this magnificent and not as well ventured parts of Iceland, driving along the Diamond Circle Road was challenging as the weather posed some wet and slippery conditions. I enjoyed my short time in Husavik and Akureyri and now I am returning to the capital for the next couple of days and then the second part of my self-drive in the south where I expect to create new memories and re-connect on others, so stay tuned for the second week of the Wandering Puffin’s return to the Land of Fire and Ice. I have some amazing experiences planned and very much looking forward to. 
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