Travel Dino

Travel is a pain in the ass. It's worth it; I'm sitting at the table watching fields of geothermal steam rise in the distance, against one, two, three, four, five layers of hills and mountains, like an artist's collage. And at night I smell stone and lichen in the air when I step outside into the arctic wind. But still; laundry is a pain in the ass, cooking is a pain in the ass, my training schedule has gone to shit, I'm going to bed as my loved ones get off work, I have mediocre bagged Earl Grey instead of loose-leaf Korean green tea.

Solo traveling is both more and less of a pain in the ass than traveling with someone. When alone, I see more of what's around me. I write more. I can follow my nose, utterly attuned to what my body wants to do next, where it wants to go. On Sunday I drove black gravel roads among southern Icelandic farms, vaguely lost, fascinated. No worries that this wasn't interesting enough, that there was no clear point to the wandering. When alone, I don't need to coordinate, consult, line up schedules.

But the freedom to drop into my own experience is a double-edged sword. With the right traveling companion, I don't get lost in my head. I get pulled in directions I wouldn't normally go, tempted out of my routines of grocery stores and books and aimless wandering. I have someone to marvel with, and a home base when I want to wander and come back. Then of course there are the logistical advantages. Someone to compensate when I'm groggy and stupid. Someone to watch my bags at the airport when I have to pee.

On this trip I have the joy of both modes. My first week in Iceland is solo, then a visitor, then a week solo, then another visitor, then I head home. I've traveled with both friends previously, so I know we're compatible; traveling alone and traveling with someone each have their perks, but traveling with someone whose style is starkly incompatible has no perks at all.

Of course I always travel with Travel Dino, who I realized yesterday hasn't yet made an appearance in these newsletters. Travel Dino is a great companion, although since he's an inch tall and has exceedingly short arms, he's not the best at guarding luggage. We've been to six countries together and several states; hiked, flown, bussed, taxiied, boated; stayed in hotels and apartments and cabins, and slept in my Forester in remote forests.

Tomorrow, Travel Dino and I drive the rental Tucson back to Reykjavik to meet up with real live travel companion number one. We'll all enjoy the city for a couple of days before returning to the cabin and exploring the local terrain more than I have done so far.

I'm already looking forward to following someone else's nose for a while.