Coming to an end

Our last game of the season was against Fjölnir, the team I was originally in contact with and was going to play for. We ended up losing 3-0, but I got to meet Thorleifur, the coach who contacted IR for me. It was nice to finally put a face to the person who helped get me to Iceland.
Monday, I woke up ready to ride my bike to the club by 10 a.m. so that I could go to the Westman Islands with the 16 girls team only to find out they weren't going anymore. I decided to just hang out all day and had no plans. At 10:40 the apartment doorbell/buzzer/speaker rang and it was Dori. He was downstairs and was asking if I wanted to go with the U14 boys team. I had about 2 minutes to get dressed and grab a what I needed to take with me. To get to the Westman Islands you take the same road as you do when heading toward the Golden Circle but instead of turning just keep following the coast, so I got to see a part of Iceland I hadn't seen yet. It is about 2 hours from Reykjavik to the ferry which takes about 30 minutes to go to the Islands. These Islands are amazingly beautiful. I don't know how to accurately describe what they look like, other than just saying extraordinary.

It is mainly a fishing island and is very wealthy. They have a large club and they host a big tournament every year.  A little history about the Island: In 1973, a volcano on the main (inhabited) island erupted and a portion of the town was completely covered in lava. You can see a few buildings halfway covered in volcanic rock. Fortunately the boats were in the harbor and people were able to escape. Also, in order to keep the dock open they had to pump sea water onto the lava to cool it down and slow the flow. You can still go up to the volcano and feel that the rocks are still warm. Another interesting tidbit is that Keiko, aka Free Willy, is from Iceland and was reintroduced to the "wild" in the Westman Islands. They closed off a part of the ocean that met up with one of the islands as a habitat for him where he lived until 2003.

One thing that everyone who goes to Westman Islands has to do is swing on a rope from the side of a mountain. It was my turn and some locals were explaining the best way to do it. I listened and tried to do what they told me. I jumped and then started to twist around with my back towards the upcoming rock wall. Everyone down below was yelling "NO!" So I got myself turned back around. Unfortunately when I got to the wall I didn't push off hard enough and didn't quite make it back to the other side. I ended up just hanging there with no way to get back to the ledge. They told me to lower my hands down the rope so that I could just let go and fall down. I wasn't able to get me hands any lower and just decided to go ahead and fall. I wasn't too high up maybe 8 feet off the ground but it still messes with your nerves. After I let go my hands hurt for about 15 minutes. They were burning and aching. Even today they are still a little sore. It was definitely an interesting experience. It was fun and I would do it again. Especially now that I know how to do it right.

On the drive back to Reykjavik, we stopped at an amazing waterfall. It comes off a ledge so you can actually walk behind the waterfall. It was incredible.

I will post some pictures soon.

Today, Tinna's mom had us over for a traditional Icelandic fish dinner. We had fish, potatoes, rye bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and hard boiled eggs. It was fantastically delicious. There was also one other item she had me try. It was a rectangle mold of bits of lamb meat. That's all I knew when I took my bite. After I ate it and said that it wasn't bad I was informed that it was sheep head. They take several sheep heads and boil them for a long time which causes the meat to fall off the bone. Then they take the meat and put it in a pan (loaf pan). It has a similar texture to chopped brisket, but with a little gelatin to bind it. All in all it wasn't bad and if served it again I would be able to eat it, even knowing what it was. Definitely not something I would go out of my way to eat again though.

One more full day in Iceland and then back to  the real world. Tomorrow I am coaching in the morning, hanging out with Tinna and Linda in the afternoon, practice in the evening and then a goodbye party with my girls. I am going to be sad to say goodbye. It has been such an incredible experience and I hope I can come back.

Busy, exciting, awesome, adventurous Week.

Last week was crazy and awesome. On the 5th, my parents arrived and picked me up. We had to leave immediately for a drive up north for a game on the 6th. We drove about 5 hours to a teammates house in Olafsfjordur to meet up then head out for practice. After practice the team went swimming and back to the house, but my parents and I continued on 2 more hours to Husavik and arrived at 10:30 pm. We stayed at a cute guesthouse. The next day we played Völsungur and won 1-0. Getting a win and a shutout was a nice change of pace :) 

Our Guesthouse

Immediately after the game we went and got Fish and Chips then caught Silvia to try whale watching again. This time we were way more successful and saw both Minke and Humpback whales as well as some Puffins. I am particularly good at spotting Puffins, my strategy is to just look for the birds on the water that suck at flying. 

Humpback Whale Diving

On Sunday we took a detour and continued up North a bit more to see some more sites. We attempted to find a Puffin colony, but all we found were cows. 

Running away from the cows

The next stop was Ásbyrgi, a horseshoe shaped canyon believed to be the hoof print of the god Odin's 8-legged horse.

Ásbyrgi

Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe was the next destination and we accidentally took the wrong road there. The road we took was supposed to be closed to passenger vehicles for good reason. It was a one lane unpaved road with no shoulder or guardrails. It was the bumpiest hour in a car I have ever experienced. The result was fantastic though. 

Dettifoss

Going off plan but heading back to Reykjavik we stopped at Hverir, an area that smells like the worst rotten eggs ever. It is a sulfur field and has some pretty interesting geography and sulfur pots.

Hverir

We finally made it back to Reykjavik after a weekend of driving, driving, and more driving. The next morning we woke up and got on the road again. It was my dad's turn to see the golden circle.

Strokkur Geysir

We got back in time for practice and then grabbed dinner at my favorite place Saffran. The next morning was our horseback riding adventure. The Icelandic horse is awesome. It's small, sturdy, and has an extra gait. Who knew?

Icelandic Horse with Hair to match the rider

When we got back we grabbed some food and I headed back to the hotel for a nap while my parents explored downtown. We had against Haukur that night and we lost 3-0. The first half I dominated on corner kicks and crosses so in the second half they put 3 girls on me. I thought I played well, just played a better team. The next day we woke up early and walked down to the Arctic Adventures office to be picked up for our final day of Adventure. We went arctic rafting and it was incredible. I had never been rafting before and was really nervous, but decided I was just going to suck it up and enjoy every part of the experience that I could. I was the first to jump off the high cliff (6m). It was amazing, and kinda terrifying. 

I also jumped out of the boat mid rapid, and played a balance game standing on the end of the boat. I was pretty good at balancing while facing inside the boat, but the minute I turned to look outside the boat I fell in. We played some other fun games and mom got pushed in by dad. We got in a 12 passenger van with monster truck tires and drove out to Langjökull, a nearby glacier to go snowmobiling. Mom got her own while dad and I shared one. I was terrified and that wasn't made any better when a group behind us flipped their snowmobile. After they fixed that and switched drivers went a little further they flipped again and the passenger was trapped under and injured her leg. I didn't want to take my turn driving after that but decided I had to. How often do you get to drive a snowmobile on a glacier in Iceland?  I was tentative, but ended up enjoying it. Not something I want to do often though. 

Had to say goodbye to my parents the next morning which was a little easier than when my mom and sister left in June, because I knew I would be home in a week. I am so thankful for my time in Iceland and that I got to share it with my parents and Erin. I just with Ryan and Corey could have come too. Maybe next summer ;)

Whale Watching

Had a blast with mom and dad this weekend. We won our second game 1-0 then went whale watching in Husavik. We were fortunate enough to see minke whales and humpback whales. It was fantastic. My mom got soaking wet, but my dad and I were up on the roof with the captain and the guide so we stayed nice and dry. Today, we drove back to Reykjavik and stopped at some pretty cool spots along the way. Asbrygi, Dettifoss, Godafoss, and Myvatn.

Better late than never (right Tracy?)

Well, I haven't posted in two weeks. OOPS.

Not much has happened the past two weeks, just work, coaching, and practice. We did win our first game last week. It was 2-1. The goal they scored was a deflection off one of my players and I almost had it.

I helped out at Rey Cup. It is a large tournament and I was there all day everyday for about 8 hours. I was in charge of warming up IR goalkeepers. We had several teams competing, but I helped out with 3. Overall all of our teams did pretty well. The last night of the tournament they had a huge barbecue for all the participants. There were hamburgers, grilled lamb, and grilled pork but no hot dogs. The lamb was delicious. After that my team had a party and went downtown. It was a lot of fun hanging out with the girls away from soccer.

In just a few days my mom and dad are coming for a visit and I couldn't be more excited. We are going to do a lot of exploring, mainly up North, and also give whale watching another go. Hopefully we get to see some Humpback whales for my mom's sake. We are also gonna go arctic rafting, snowmobiling on a glacier, horseback riding, and drive the Golden Circle one last time. It is gonna be awesome.

I am headed back to the states on August 18th. Still working out details, looking for a job and housing.

Everything in Iceland has been such an awesome adventure and experience of a lifetime. I am so thankful that I had this opportunity.