We were planning to go to Iceland before Covid hit, and then the entire country was closed to us for a year. So to compensate, we spent the summer of 2021 traveling Iceland from an apartment in Reykjavik

HousingAnywhere Reykjavik

That went well enough that we had to spend the next winter as well.

In comparison to living in Boston, the only risk in Iceland is Iceland itself. Wear waterproof outer layers and long underwear, don’t do anything stupid, and keep the ICE SAR number handy

þetta reddast

Seeing the Aurora in Iceland is a little unpredictable given clouds. But on clear nights when the Aurora is reasonably strong, you can even see it from the periphery of Reykjavik

I mostly used AuroraForecast.is

Another thing that might kill you in Iceland is Fireworks

The Icelandic Search and Rescue Organization is mostly made up of volunteers, and funds itself by selling fireworks for New Years.

Every Icelander over 3 is required to set at least 10 off. Randomly

My favourite story was about a dog in Isafjordur who was frightened by fireworks and ran off

A week later, she was spotted by someone kayaking in the fiord. And so they called the ICE-SAR. Who rustled up a crew to rappel down the mountainside for her

And so the circle of life continues

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So maybe Iceland really is a deadly place. You might also be killed by the Kría, otherwise known as the Arctic tern.

While walking to Bolungarvik from Isafjordur, I spied an attractive woman ahead of me, walking a bike and looking very nervous. I considered running up to ask if she was okay, but didn’t want to be impolite

The next day we met her in Isafjordur. She said that a crew of Kría had assaulted her and one had bitten her on the head.

We usually wear hats and washable clothing, so maybe that’s why we feel invincible

The face of Icelandic Terror. Roughly 10" of death

On the positive side, unless you identify as a very small fish, you have absolutely nothing to fear from the Atlantic Puffin