Latest / Her Journey Her Way / Would You Empty Your Bank Account For Iceland? Pascalle Did.
Transcript
- Rita Gardner: I'm standing in line at flyover in Reykjavik, Iceland. I'm waiting for the doors to open. And the girl next to me mentions she just drove almost three thousand kilometers around the island by herself. It was ten days in a camper van with no heater. She was eating ramen noodles and a banana. Now, it's about four minutes before the show begins, and I already know four minutes isn't going to be enough. I have some of the coolest friends on the planet. They left the comfort of their home, got out on the road, took the trips most people only talk about. I'm Rita and this is Her Journey Her Way, a She Travel Simple podcast. I've spent most of my adult life traveling. Here's what I learned. The places are beautiful, the people are better. Every one of my friends has a story, and every one of them knows something you're gonna want to know. That's what this is. Their stories. Their lessons, their way. You are not gonna believe this. I went to flyover in Reykjavik, Iceland, and while I was waiting in line, I met the most amazing person and I drug her back I like literally drug her back to my house where I'm staying and I said, I have got to ask you about your trip. While we were in line, she told me that she has been here in Iceland for five weeks and that she did a trip around the ring road and that she had done it in a van and I said You are very inspirational. You're amazing. And of course, I couldn't wait to tell you about this wonderful, amazing person. So here she is. Her name is Bascali and she is from the Netherlands. Hi. So let's start with five weeks ago you arrived? Yes, on the 5th of August. 5th of August. Yes. And you are from the Netherlands? Yes. And tell us What made you decide to start this adventure before we get into the adventure? I used to work a lot and I really lived for my job and and I was working nonstop and I was really overworked and not really happy with my life. So beginning of this year, I decided that all the money I made with working so much, I ⁓ would invest in some adventures and really trying to make the most out of life. I gotta stop you there. What you just said is Amazing. You decided to invest in life and adventures. Yes. Amazing. I think that is a lesson that everybody needs to learn and as soon as possible. So that's when I started the beginning of this year with some solo travels. I always did a lot of things on my own. I wasn't I was really enjoying my own company. So I took it a step further and I went ⁓ solo traveling. These were short trips at first. I did ⁓ two and then I started working in my own country but on an island of my own country. ⁓ so I did what's the island called? Terschelling. We have Wadde Islanden. I'm not sure how to say it in English, but they're like really small islands at the coast of the Netherlands and we have five of them. And I started working for a couple months in the summer at this island and met many new people and I love my work there. But to take it one step Even further, I saw an Facebook post from someone also from the Netherlands who looked for someone to come to Iceland and help her here. Get out. ⁓ And crazy as I was, I just sent her a message and I packed my bags and like a couple weeks later I was here. Okay. So you're at home in the Netherlands. Do you live with your family? Do you have an apartment? No, I live at home with my mom and my two sisters and my grandma. Okay. And when you told them about this Facebook post and what you wanted to do, how did they take it? Well, my mom knows I'm an adventurous girl, so she ⁓ she is used to some crazy things for me. She also knew about ⁓ the solo trips I did before, so she wasn't really surprised, but she thinks it's really ⁓ badass of me to do things like this and she really supports me in that. And I was away ⁓ for two months before I went to Iceland on the island I worked, ⁓ in the Netherlands. So then I did like a week family vacation with them and then I left ⁓ to go here again. So tell me about arriving here. You obviously flew here, you didn't swim here. So you fly in and this is the first time you're meeting them or did you do Zoom meetings with them to know the family that you're coming to stay with? No. I we did a ⁓ Zoom call once. ⁓ I had little information about the rest. So I was like a little bit nervous getting on the plane because then the reality was sinking in, like what I'm doing now is really crazy. But I just push my nerves aside and I just go for the adventure, and the worst that's gonna happen is it's not that fun as you think, and you go home again. So you're coming here to work with a family, and tell me about how they're compensating you and what the job entailed. Yes. This was really more of a vacation kind of thing than a really work thing. So I didn't get paid, but it was a really nice family which I knew from the Netherlands ⁓ as well. So we had like ⁓ contact in my own language, which made it easy. And they didn't pay me, but I could stay with them for free. I they were really nice with my days off and if I wanted to do something fun, they would really support me. I could eat with them and if I needed something, I'd just ask. I had a really lovely time. They're really nice people and I worked hard because that's what I love to do, but they weren't really strict in rules and anything. And what was the work that you were doing? I was ⁓ training the horses, they breed it and they ⁓ were trying to sell the horses they are breeding. But they had to be trained and they had a lot of horses. So I was just helping training with the horses. So were the Icelandic horses different than the horses you have at home? Yes. I ⁓ do have horses at home. But I don't ⁓ really had experience with the Icelandic horse, but I had really fun with ⁓ experiencing it. They had really lovely characters and also ⁓ the tilts is a whole new thing to learn and it was really nice to try it out. And what tips did they give you about Iceland? Like 'cause they've been here how long? ⁓ she l lives here for a couple of years, but she's been coming here for like ten years and she met him here, so he grew up here. ⁓ what what advice did they give you for traveling the island? ⁓ she was really nice. She told me about things she did here. He was like from here, so he was not really the touristy kind of guy. He was he was over it. Yes. It was normal. But she did try a lot of things and she just told me about what was really nice to see in the area and what things were fun to do and which things she did but didn't really find fun. But I'm really easy to please. So most things I did try myself to see w if I enjoyed it or not. But ⁓ yeah, she just told me about her experience and what kind of things I should look around in the area. And then your work with them has end ended after four weeks? Yes. ⁓ the twenty-eighth of August. Because this is just during the breeding and the selling season that they needed your help. Yes. It's not like there's another person from the Netherlands coming to take over. There were also some other ⁓ girls not coming from the Netherlands that helped her. So the twenty eighth comes and you decide you have a choice to go home or you were going to stick around the island for longer? I had some time left before I want to go home again. So I just extended my stay and I rented the camper van because I've seen the south of Iceland but I hadn't really seen the rest and it's such a beautiful country so I decided to do the whole ring road and started driving. And the ring road is how long? ⁓ I'm not sure how long it should be. Someone told me with the kilometers I drove. I could do it twice, but I drove almost three thousand kilometers. And you did three thousand kilometers around the island in how many days? I've been off since the twenty eight, so that's almost ten days, but I've been in the city since yesterday. So I think seven or eight days. I've seen like every corner of every fjord. I went like all the way. Because in northern Iceland there's a lot of fjords where it's to go from point A to point B as the crow flies is maybe what we would say one mile, but y but it's actually fifteen to thirty miles because of going around the bend and up and switchbacks. Yeah. Yes. It was mostly the west fjords. That's where I started. I started west, north, east, south and I started in the west and my longest drive was eight and a half hours on one day. Everywhere I've read said to do the ring road in a counterclockwise ⁓ path, but you've done it in a clockwise path. You did it differently. I did it differently. I had to think a little bit about it, what was my ⁓ plans ⁓ are going to be. But because I already seen a lot of the south because I stayed there for four weeks, I thought I do first the rest and then I can when I go back to the south, look again what I wanna do still here or what I've already done. ⁓ that's that's a great idea. Now you have to rent a camper van. Tell me about renting the camper van, what you looked at, your budget, what were your musts and your thoughts, and how did you decide on the one you got? Okay, I'm a really low maintenance girl. So I like to do everything budget and I don't need much. So I looked for a small one and a cheap one. And I just used Google for that. And I Googled the camper fans in Iceland and I I scrolled down a few of the popular sites and I choose the cheapest one. Perfect. With full insurance because I really recommend that with all the crazy roads that are here. Yeah. When we rented our van, we it was the same thing. Yes. So you say low maintenance and I I want I want this like brought forward because I think that this is very helpful for if people decide to travel. So low maintenance. No makeup. No. Hair in a ponytail or a bun or messy bun. All of us have musty buns nowadays. ⁓ at least here in Iceland. And in Iceland, correct me if I'm wrong, I've realized that from being here ten days that you can't do your hair because the wind will take it and do with it what it wants. Yes. And then waterfalls get it wet and everything. Yeah. So so low maintenance means No makeup, no hair, and your eating is low maintenance. You're living on what, ramen noodles? Exactly. Really simple eating, like just exactly ramen noodles, a banana. And also with the cold, I didn't have a heater or anything, but just ⁓ lots of layers of clothing and belling through it. And good hiking boots. Yes. That was that was something ⁓ i are your hiking boots low budget? They weren't low budget and they still have holes in them after this ten days and they were almost new when I brought them here. So they were used a lot. And did you wear the same shoes the whole trip? Like from when you got here a ⁓ a month ago? Yes, I did. I did wear ⁓ different boots while riding divorses and sometimes I wore them when I was training them from the ground as well. So not everything was done with these boots, but since I live in the camper van, I did all the hikes with these boots. And what did you need to buy for the camper van? What did they not provide that you found yourself needing? I rented the sleeping bag. The guy at ⁓ car rental advised that. He was asking like, Do you have a sleeping bag? And I was like, ⁓ no, did I need one? He like, Mm, I recommend it to you because it can get cold, this you can rent it from us and I was like, Well, sure if you recommend it. So then I was like a little bit in doubt if it that was the right choice because it also cost extra money. But it has been the most useful things because the co the nights were really cold sometimes. So yeah, that man is a lifesaver. Yeah ⁓ that's that's very good to know. Okay, so you you pick up the camperman and how did you decide where to go? ⁓ I really didn't have a plan. It was like I have ten days and I need to be back in time, and then I just started driving. I did ⁓ use my Google Maps And you can place pins on places you wanna go and you can mark it with like a heart or a flag, like you wanna see it or you you're loving the place or so I did a lot of ⁓ research on Instagram and Google and when I saw like a nice waterfall or a nice spot, they really recommended you to go. Then I put a flag there. And then in the morning when I started driving, I just went from the one flag to another. And when the day came to an end, like around nine or ten, I was just looking for the most nearby camping and I stopped my day and the next day we continue. So tell me about your cell service and your Wi-Fi. Did you pay for the Wi-Fi? No, I did not have Wi-Fi in the camper fan. You could ⁓ pay extra to get that, but I did not because I have a really big cell thing. Phone plan. Yes. And I don't really do much on my phone except Google Maps. So it wasn't really useful for me to have the Wi-Fi. And the connection service everywhere was pretty well. I was sometimes you just lost it for like half an hour, but then the road was also just straight ahead. So I didn't need my Google Maps. ⁓ how how was it finding places to sleep, the campgrounds? It was really, really f ⁓ easy to find them. It was just ⁓ with Google Maps, you could just look around and then you find them. They were really different places. ⁓ some of the places were ⁓ bit luxurious and you had like an inside kitchen or a warm place to stay or a nice shower and toilets that were warm and inside. And sometimes I was at a campground and you just had a washing table with a roof over it but no walls or anything and just a cool toilet outside. So and no kitchen or anything. So then it was a li bit less luxurious. So you just had to change your expectations ⁓ with the campsites. And how much did these campsites cost? How did they vary in range? And how did you pay for them? Like is there an app to pay for them? Some you can ⁓ some have a site and you can pay ⁓ them online. But some have just the warden walking around and then in the morning they knock on your door and then you pay for it the night you slept there. and they cost around thousand ⁓ two thousand ⁓ Icelandic krone. ⁓ two thousand Icelandic ⁓ so that's around fifteen to twenty euros, I think. Yeah, I think one thousand One thousand Icelandic is about seven Euros. So we have around fifteen to twenty one Euros. ⁓ at the campsites ⁓ were there things you would recommend? Yes, no, it's a really safe country because they don't really have ⁓ aggressive animals here. I did not stay much at campings. I arrived there around nine or ten and then would probably go f fast asleep. And then the next day I started early in the morning around seven or eight. So I just went to the campsite, I slept, and I just go again. So I did not spend a lot of time on the campsites to really experience them. And if I'm not mistaken, you cannot stay in your van anywhere but a campsite. Yes. You can sleep overnight at another place than a campsite. I did sometimes took a midday nap somewhere on the parking spot. So tell me about the things you've done on the ring road. ⁓ so let's start with the north. Tell me some of your favorite spots and the things you've done up there and what you would recommend. Well, I have to think about everything I've done. I've done so much in ten days. So it's really digging in my head what I've done and where I was because I was just driving up. Were there a lot of towns up there or were there a lot of waterfalls or was it were the ice north was pretty quiet. I went wheel spotting, just that that was really awesome. It was ⁓ sometimes a long wait before you s ⁓ saw anything. But the people on the boat told you a lot about it and I saw dolphins and a will, so it was really cool. And where did you take that tour out of Okoroi? ⁓ Hussevik. Hussevik. Yes. And I also went to GeoC Spa over there. it was a really nice warm bed after my long drive of eight and a half hours. But it was a little bit boring. But the view was really pretty. But there was only like the bath and something you could get to get some drinks. ⁓ a bar to get drinks, but ⁓ I didn't really want that, so I just enjoyed the bath and the view, but they didn't really have a whole spa. So I also did that in the north. And the rest is more like northeast are most things to see. ⁓ I saw lots of different things there, waterfalls and canyons and all pretty things. I think about all the things I saw it's really nice to find the hidden gems. Like the not really the places where all the tourists go. They are really nice because that's that's the reason everyone goes there to see it. But it takes a little bit of the magic away when there are so many people around you instead of when you find a place and you're just there all by yourself of just with a small group of really nice people and you all connect there, that brings more of the magic sometimes. And what's your tip on finding these hidden gems? How did you come across them? I think it's really nice if you have a lot of time like me and then you can just start driving without a plan and then the spontaneous things happen and you can just if you see like a nice place or a nice view or you see a a sign on the road which ⁓ leads you to a nice spot and then you just have the time to stop there and have a look and sometimes this is really unexpectedly beautiful. So I think that's the best tip is to just Make time and room for spontaneous things and just go on your own adventure and not always follow the plan. Do you feel like you need to be a seasoned hiker, or could somebody who just walks one mile be able to see plenty of these sites, including the hidden gems? Well, I'm no seasoned hiker at all. I have no experience. I'm from the Netherlands, which is really flat country, so I don't do hiking at all. I'm really a vacation hiker, so I love to be active and do things like this on vacation, but that's not all the time. And I had Fun doing all the hikes, so I think everyone can do it. If I can do it, everyone can do it. So now tell me about the next part of the island, which would be the east side of the island. Yes. I had a lovely small village there I've seen. You have the mini rainbow road with a small church at the end, which was way more magical than the real one I've seen here in Vekiafik. So that was really a recommendation. And I think it was Beautiful landscapes to drive through because you had a few of the glaciers and all the mountains, and there weren't really much stops, but the roads were amazing. How how was the weather on the east side compared to the north side? That's a really interesting question because the weather really changed. ⁓ in the east, it rains a lot more. I went to Vik as well, and there they told me it rains three times as much as it does in Brikjavik. And I think it rains a lot in Reykjavik, so three times as much in Vik, which is more east. And when I was east, it also rained over there. And in northeast it was also way colder, so I had like minus degrees Celsius in the nights, even. So it was freezing and I had to defrost the car in the morning and everything. So the temperature changed now around the Wolverine Road and also the weather. Was your car diesel or gas or electric? Diesel. Yes. And did you find it difficult to find diesel stations to fill up? No, I did not. They do recommend that you pay attention to it because it can take a long time before you get hit a gas station again. But I just ⁓ prepared myself that when I saw it was needed I just put it in my Google Maps and put a flag up there as well and then I just drove around to buy the flags and then I wasn't there in time. Did you find that at the fuel stations you were able to get good f food or a ⁓ a fair amount of decent food or did you choose the bonus and the cronin. Yes, I did choose the grocery stores, but mostly for the price. I think all the food here was already expensive. So I wanted to ⁓ keep it a little bit budgeted for myself. And that was easier at the grocery store. So I was always prepared with enough food in my camper fan. So I only went there for the gas. So tell me about after the east side and coming around the south side, 'cause I know there's Diamond Beach there. Which is very, very, very magical. I did went to the Diamond Beach and there were none icebergs on the beach at all. Okay, did you go during high tide? ⁓ I'm not sure actually. I did heard that it's I well I heard already that it could change a lot, ⁓ if there were a lot of rocks or not, or so I was ⁓ prepared for Not really a disappointment because everything I do here was just an adventure itself, but I was prepared that it it wasn't gonna be how you see it on the pictures. ⁓ but actually I had a really fun time at Diamond Beach because if you're at the Diamond Beach, you can also go to the lagoon. And it was really pretty because there you could see the icebergs and they were so pretty and blue and there were lots of seals because I was at the end of the day and they were really close and there were like swimming so many seals and you could see them. So heading west towards Vic, tell me about things you've seen along that. You have a really beautiful hike there, ⁓ with a canyon. I don't know all the names and the words from here. I know the starting letters and that's where I'm. No, it starts with an A it starts with an ⁓ correct? Or an H. A G. ⁓ I think, yes. Or an ⁓ I know now I forgot as well. There's a lovely canyon hike there between the lagoon and Vic. Yes, there are two I think even. One is with an F and one is with a G. The one with the F is a little bit easier and the other one was a pretty difficult hike. You could do it halfway up and then you had like a really amazing view already. ⁓ but you could also do it like to the top, which was pretty steep, so I was pretty tired and the weather was for one day my whole trip the weather was bad. But that's why I made a lot of friends, because then you have to be your own sunshine. So I just started talking with all the people and we had so much fun and together at the top we enjoyed the view. I've seen a lot of the south because I stay there for a long time. And I think on the south you can most enjoy the glaciers there and the really beautiful mountains. You have the popular ⁓ waterfalls, ⁓ Celyan Falls and Skoga Falls, Kvernu Falls. And you have another one by Salianz Falls, I think. ⁓ Skoga Falls was really nice, but I was there early in the morning, so it was quiet. Skoga Falls ⁓ closer to Vik. ⁓ it was massive. It's also from Game of Thrones, I think, which I haven't seen, but that's where it's popular from. It was one of my favorite waterfalls. I was there early in the morning, and that are really good times to be somewhere because it's pretty quiet and then you just get that really magical feeling from a popular place that is quiet. So I really enjoyed it. And you can also do a pretty beautiful hike behind the waterfall. So if you climb up the stairs and then you take the path behind it you have a lot of waterfalls as well. You can there's like twelve of them. And that's also a beautiful hike to take. You can do a whole round which is lots of kilometers right out of so you said Vic it rains three times more than Reykjavik. Were you able to go to Vic with it sunny? At all? ⁓ I did go to Vic. I went there multiple times because I stayed in the south, so it wasn't an easy drive. It was an hour drive. ⁓ I Don't think I've seen it sunny, but I have seen it dry. So I think I can be called lucky with that. I went paragliding, so it wasn't really a nice You went paragliding and you're just bringing this up now. Okay, tell me more. Tell me more. I did ⁓ I went paragliding. I was ⁓ in Italy ⁓ in May and I wanted to go paragliding over terror, but it was just just off season, so it wasn't possible anymore. So it was like, ⁓ on my next trip I'm gonna do that. I went paragliding before in Switzerland, which was really cool. So it was just it's such an amazing feeling to fly through the air that I wanted to do it again. And it was really cool. ⁓ there's one company doing it with lovely people and it was really, really fun. I'm speechless. I don't even know what to say. Okay, so you went paragliding. Yes. Tell me all the things you've done. Like the I've done gloves. So I mean on on Iceland, so you went whale watching. Yes. You went hiking. Did you sit in one of the hot baths? ⁓ yes. The natural hot baths. Yeah, the regular is it called, I think. Yes. It's which is also a really nice hike from three kilometers, I think. And then you get like ⁓ Then they give you the hot spring so then you can just relax and then you hike back. It was really fun. And I went late at night. ⁓ so it was quiet as well. And I was the center. Sounds like that's the trick to go either first thing in the morning or late at night. Yes. Yeah, 'cause I've seen some of these places be crowded as well. Which is also fun. I have lots of fun pictures to send to my friends with like the behind the scenes fun li like welcome in Iceland and then like a hundred of tourists on the phone with a small waterfall behind it. It's really fun. Okay, so and what else have you done here? ⁓ I went on a snowmobile on the glacier. I went ice climbing on the glacier as well. I went snorkeling in Silfra between the the tectonic plates, yeah, yes. It was really cold, but it was really awesome. I saw a lava cave from the inside. I did ⁓ two zip lines. One was in the canyon with a hike, so we hiked and we did a zip line and then we hiked a little bit more and we did zip lines again. And one was the really long zipline in Superman style. So then you were hanging from your back and it was also really cool. So this budget friendly trip is so I can spend more on experiences. Okay, so the accommodations were budget friendly, but the adventure was not. Can you Estimate at all ⁓ how much so personally I would never wanna look at that number. I would just do it. But do you have any idea? It was really a lot. I called my mom almost crying yesterday because my bank account became empty and I'm not really used to spending money because I worked so hard for so many years and I'm really careful with my money. I've always been. And I wanted to learn to be less careful so I could learn to live, but now the reality was hitting that I really lived, but that the money was getting less. But it cost a lot, but I haven't bought anything beside the experience. So I did like one pretty magnet souvenir, and for the rest I only just did experiences. And I love to invest in doing things and making memories instead of things to bring home. That is fantastic. I love that. I really love that. So the price you pay is that uncomfortableness for a few hopefully moments when you open that bank account statement. But if I said you have to take one of those off, like is there any that you would say, I wish I didn't do that? No, really I don't. I do think that there maybe are some things that I that o one or two w which I was thinking about, like should I have done that? But then I think about the people I met or the things I've done and then I think no, it was I think you did would have missed something. Incredible. That's it. Because right, if ⁓ we met at an experience at the flyover experience and even if we walked away saying it really wasn't worth the money, which I'm going to say I think it was worth the money. It was really cool. It was really cool. I I almost cried during that but we met. We met and to me that makes it priceless. Yes. And to hear your stories and now being able to share those stories is incredible. And I'm so thankful for that. So I love I love how you said that. ⁓ you invest in the experiences. That's that's fantastic. Anything else you did? Is there anything left to do? I know where you're gonna go tonight, and but tell me about what you did. yesterday 'cause Yes, yesterday this I I am so sad I didn't know about this, but I am coming back to Iceland. It is one of those places you just you just know you need to come back and and do more. So tell me about what you did yesterday. Yes. I climbed the mountain, ⁓ the Folker Cloture, ⁓ through a Via Ferrata, which is ⁓ getting more popular now all over the country, all over Europe as well. ⁓ it's like Rock climbing. So you're ⁓ you get a harness and you get clips, so you can attach yourself to a rope and then you just climb through the rocks really steep upwards ⁓ on the mountain. And then there was a really big bridge ⁓ to cross between two mountains which you walk over and you had amazing views of Ranchiofake. They were like planks, like things you see in in in reality shows where they test your courage. Right. So have you rock climbed before? No, I did not. I went ice climbing, which was pretty difficult. So I was a little bit scared that this was gonna be as difficult. But it wasn't as all at all. It was tiring. We all were really warm when we got to the top. But ⁓ I don't even really have much pain right now in my arms and in my legs. So it was really doable. It was really fun. Do you need to be strong to to rock climb like this? This blew my mind that that number one, it was even here and I didn't even notice it. But now I wanna know, can I do it? Yes. It's pretty new, so it's it was isn't strange that you didn't know about it. yes, I think lots of people can do it. I come off like I'm strong, but I'm not really I don't do lots of fitness or I'm not really a fit girl when I'm at home. I'm only that on vacation. And when I'm at home I'm really busy and working and all that stuff. So I usually just don't have time to do all the active things I do over here. ⁓ and it was really doable. So you don't really have to be strong. You just have to have the mentality to push through and go through with it and you have to ⁓ watch where you put your feet so you have to pay attention and put your mind to it. And you have these hiking boots that have holes in them. Did you wear those or d do we need special gear? Like if I come back do I need to bring anything to do this? Besides No, not no not really. If you have just sturdy boots you can hike with as well, then that's fine and they give you everything you need. Okay, so and then what will be the last thing you do before getting on your plane to head back to the Netherlands? Well, I'm going to the Blue Lagoon tonight to just enjoy a little spa moment because of all the really intensive days I had with sleeping in the cold, but also the great hikes and adventures I took. So I'm just gonna relax a bit and then I fly home on Monday. You'll be a well deserved treat for yourself for being so courageous and adventurous and Fearless and spending money on experiences, which is great. They say it's a must do in a racky fic, so I'm really curious. So all of this you've done alone. At any point did you wish you had a group of friends that you were with? Did you miss having company? Yes. You always kind of miss having company, ⁓ mostly on the beautiful moments that you're a little bit sad, you can't share it with someone. But it's really fun if you do things by yourself because you don't have to adjust to anyone. So it really is your own adventure and you can always do what you like and what you prefer. Of course you always miss some people around you, but I have really great friends at home and we keep in touch when I ⁓ need some company. I imagine by being alone you were able to meet more people than you would have if you were either with somebody or in a small group. Yes. 'Cause you were more approachable. Exactly. I do travel alone a lot. ⁓ and I always love being by myself because you're more open to the world. It sounds a little bit ⁓ magical, but you're like more open to every experience with other people, but also you're more in the moment usually and you just experience everything on a whole other level and you just meet new people. It's really great. And you don't feel awkward sitting in a restaurant by yourself or being at one of these tourist places like whale watching, sitting alone. No, I really don't actually, but I I've never really had that feeling. So I I was a little bit lucky to be born with that. Some people have it a little bit more difficult with that. ⁓ I can't imagine how that would be. But I don't really have that. And if I do, I just connect with the people that are there and I just start talking with them and asking about their experience. ⁓ I was at a waterfall and I was someone flying a drone and then he would show me the waterfall from really up close with his drone, which was really cool. Or I made a friend with a Polaroid camera at one of the waterfalls and now I have a Polaroid from him, so that's really awesome as well. And yeah, sometimes I do a hike and then there are people who come up and chat to me, or I offer them to take a photo. I did a whole photo shoot with a couple who got engaged right in front of me and I was like, ⁓ my gosh, I wanna take pictures for you and because they had a camera with them. So yeah, you're just way more open to all those kinds of experiences when you're by yourself and then the awkward just fli flews off you. If someone were to come and wanna experience Iceland, what's the minimum amount of time you think that they should be here to do? Well, I don't know anybody who could do all that you've done, but I you did all of this in ten days, really. No, I did like ⁓ I had a lot of days off when I say it's a family. So I did d lots of the activities I did in the four weeks I worked and all my days off I did an activity. So I in the ten days I almost only did the ringroads. driving and seeing all the nice spots, but I barely did any tours or anything. Okay, so what what would you say to people who are sitting at home and thinking, ⁓ Iceland is so beautiful. I wanna go, but I don't know that I can. Do have any words of wisdom for them? Iceland is a really easy country, if you ask me, because it's really the people are friendly and it's not a dangerous place to be. The roads are easy to drive and everything is really open for tourists. So they're really ⁓ happy to help. So it's an easy country to to choose to travel to. It is really pretty and you feel like you've never seen enough. So take enough time to see it. They say you can do it in seven days. I think it is possible, but I would say at least ten days. Yes. At least ten days. And ⁓ one thing I've noticed is that there's a lot of English. So if you can speak English everyone speaks English. Everyone speaks English here. Is there anything about Iceland that you did not know before coming here that you learned that totally blew your mind with either the culture or the people or traditions? I don't really think there was anything that really blew my mind, but I kinda eased into it because I started with the family, which was half Icelandic, half Dutch. Just so I could ease into the culture here and I didn't really get shocked. So I think I was lucky with that and I don't really have things that really blew my mind. What do you think the chances are that you'll come back to Iceland one day? I do really wanna go back. ⁓ I already know exactly why. There is one hiking trail and it's a multiple day trail to take ⁓ in the highlands. And I didn't do that at this moment because I didn't have the car to bring me there and I did not have enough days. So I think I wanna come back and do ⁓ that trail. So just come specially for the trail and because the rest of the country I think I've pretty much seen. But the highlands I really want to see. So I want to come back for that. And you do have a boat that goes here as well. I've flew now with the plane, but I think I want to go by boat next time because it makes a stop on the Faroe Islands and I want to see those as well. I am blown away by your your wisdom, your courage, your tips and I am so thankful that I ran into you at Flyover and I am so thankful that you were open to come back to my apartment that we're staying at and ⁓ and do this podcast. I had so much fun. It is it has been such a lovely experience. Good. I'm glad.