osk: Geysir

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Good Weather for an Airstrike

{This post's title is "Viðrar del til loftárása," a song by Sigur Rós. It was the first song we listened to in the car today.)

Today we had a great, long drive with Kristján from Iceland Unlimited for our tour of the Golden Circle. We had the best time even though it was very misty and drizzly. It wasn't a downpour and none of us melted. It actually cleared a little bit when we were at Gulfoss.

Our first stop was Þingvellir, site of the first Icelandic parliament and also where the Eurasian and North American plates meet at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Along the way, we listened to great music, talked politics and humor, ate lunch at a nice place at Geysir, watched (the original, accept-no-substitutes!) Geysir go kerflooey about three times, and then stopped last at Gulfoss, which was spectacular.

Photos are better than words at this point. (Oh, I forgot to tell you that clicking on the photos makes them bigger, but you probably knew that.)

Þingvellir

(I really love moss and lichen.)

Strokkur, Geysir's little brother. (Thank you, Karen Pas, for the correction.)

Gulfoss

On the drive back to Reykjavík.

And as a part of this whole journey that has been so incredible, we were on the Icelandic news tonight. Recorded this morning and aired tonight. It feels like I'm living someone else's life.

Nitey nite from Iceland.

Why We Are Here

Pippa was born with a Grade III brain bleed caused by a lack of oxygen. This brain injury led to her being diagnosed with cerebral palsy just before her second birthday and shortly after turning 4, she was diagnosed with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a rare and severe form of intractable epilepsy.

She had a wish to go to Iceland because of her love of Sigur Rós. Pippa's grandpa Barton wrote a referral to a certain large wish-granting organization and was very specific about her unusual wish from the start. This organization deemed her medically eligible and told us that her wish would be granted. We were very disappointed when a rep from our state's chapter of this organization said that her wish could not be granted because they don't send children to Iceland (and I won't even get into the details of her callous, condescending attitude).

An outraged friend channeled her upset into an online fundraiser that raised all of the money for Pippa's trip — and then some. About halfway into the fundraiser, the larger organization told us that we had been misinformed and that they could actually send Pippa to Iceland after all. (Insert exasperated sigh.) At nearly the same time, thanks to a flurry of donations, including from Sigur Rós themselves, we made the majority of our goal in one insanely wild weekend. Once the fundraiser was all done, we were able to tell them to give the money to another child as we wouldn't be needing it.

Although the whole experience started with frustration and heartache, we all believe that this is the way things were meant to be. We have gained friends in Iceland before even setting foot there, and we have been showered with so much love and generosity that has humbled us and made us beyond grateful. This blog will cover our trip in photos and in words. This is the story of how a wish came true.