Every photo tells a story.
Photos are often the primary vehicle we use to document our lives. If you have children, I bet you have thousands of pictures of them. Vacations, holidays, special celebrations can all be relived by looking back at our photos. Photos can help us recall not just that snapshot in time, but the emotions and stories that accompanied that moment. Photos may not on their face mean anything to anyone but you, but that’s ok. They don’t need to. They represent YOUR memories.
A few years ago my cousin called me with a crazy idea. Would I go with her on a small group hiking trip to Iceland? It was run by a friend of hers in London who specialized in trips to Iceland (and who later became one of my first clients - serendipity at its best!). I did not need a whole lot of convincing. I flew over to Iceland that September and joined up with the rest of the small group, including my cousin, who flew in from London. The group trip was amazing – so much laughter, hiking, incredible women and beautiful scenery - but it was only for four days. Since it took so long for me to actually get to Iceland, we decided to extend through the following weekend.
My cousin and I went east to the Wilderness Center, a fascinating living museum combined with lodging. The owner picked us up from the airport in Egilsstaðir and drove us to the Center. He was very nice, but seemed distracted. After about 20 minutes in the car he apologized for his distraction – apparently the President of Iceland would be arriving at the Center shortly. That was certainly not what we expected to hear! We arrived at the Center and were shown to our room inside the living museum. It was one of the most interesting rooms I’ve stayed in - literally alongside the exhibits in the museum.
This display was just outside of our room.
We put our things away and walked over to the kitchen to taste the tea and cookies the owner had put out for us just as the President arrived. There was little fanfare, just a couple of cars driving the President, his wife, and a couple of aids. We waited outside while he went in and presumably ate a few of “our” cookies (somehow I don’t think the spectacular spread was for us, but I digress) while chatting with the owner of the Center and his family.
When he came outside my cousin asked if we could have our picture taken with him. Not only did he say yes, but then engaged us in a long conversation - asking how we were enjoying our time in Iceland, where we were from, where we were traveling to within the country, and would we please tell our friends what a lovely time we had there?
It was such an unusual experience, one that would never happen here in the United States for a whole host of reasons. An experience that I will never forget, that’s for sure.
After he left, we sat down with the owner to plan out our time there. It was hard to imagine that anything would top meeting the President of Iceland, but of course we enjoyed the rest of our weekend immensely. We spent one day hiking with a guide through the wilderness and another riding the most beautiful Icelandic horses. My horse was nicknamed “Fighter” but luckily did not live up to her name.
We even saw an actual, wild reindeer. I had read that there were wild reindeer in the area and really wanted to see one. Just as I started to ask our guide about it, this one appeared by the side of the dirt road upon which we were traveling. I wondered if the President had anything to do with it - I had told him that I was hoping to see one…
Every time I look at my photos from that week in Iceland I am reminded of this story and many others. Particularly now, when we have been more or less housebound since March because of Covid, I can relive this special time and dream (and plan…) about more adventures with my cousin. For now, I’ll make do with these photos.
If you would like help finding the photos that tell your stories, please get in touch.