As we were walking away from Mt. Hverfjall, Antoine was telling me about this one time he was travelling with some friends and decided to sleep on one of the islands on a lake they were next to.
They found a boat docked somewhere at the shore and decided to 'borrow' it, which resulted in a great night and a fun adventure to talk about.
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They found a boat docked somewhere at the shore and decided to 'borrow' it, which resulted in a great night and a fun adventure to talk about.
At one point Antoine saw a spot he liked behind a little fence running by the side of the road leading away from the lava fields and it was decided we camp out by the lake. The cool thing about Lake Myvatn is that it is speckled with numerous small islands and islets and has a very interesting and irregular coastline.
Believe it or not - we start looking around for a place to put up a tent and we see a boat. An inocently and lonely looking green boat just waiting for us to take it. A quick moment of bewilderment (hadn't we just talked about it and hadn't Antoine just said how cool it would be to spend the night on an island..!?) and we're crambeling on the boat trying to leave the shore.
At first we had a bit of a problem to get the rowing working well - Antoine suggested we both take one row each and I didn't think it was a good idea. Luckily after a couple of circles we finally started moving in the correct (more or less) direction. However, the moment we kinda got out in the open water, I started feeling scared (it shows you our rowing wasn't all that great even once we were on our way..) - what if we fall over and all my things get wet? What if someone sees us and we get in trouble? What if there's a storm at night and something happens to the boat? What if we do something to someone else's property?
We put our bags in one place and then each 'explored' the newly occuppied space. I clearly remember especially one moment, when after having run across the little hills I came back to where our things were, sat down on a small stone, closed my eyes. Suddenly with that little gesture, I seemed to open my ears and nose - first I noticed the faintest smell of wild flowers in the air I hadn't felt the last 15 minutes. Then I focused on the noises - the sound of my heartbeat, the sush and woosh of the wind trying to conquer my hood, the delicate splashes of water on the shore beneath my feet, the few cars on a road somewhere a couple kilometers away. It felt so blissful, a moment of pure and simple happiness.
Also, after I reopenned my eyes I did so much wider than previously apparently, because I noticed what we docked at wasn't really an island - it was connected to the mainland with the tiniest strap of land.
Antoine thought of making a fire so we set off on a quest to find something easily flamable and in bigger quantities. Luckily, I have spotted some patches of hay (sic!) during my earlier exploration, so started running around carrying it over and left the fire starting process to the man. It was getting cold so I jumped into my sleeping bag and started writing a bit when Antoine called me out to sit by the fire. It was a great idea - immediately the heat warmed me up and the peanut butter sandwich filled up my stomach. Falling asleep was a piece of cake after such rituals!
The morning was chilly but doing you toiletries with that view is definitely worth getting a bit cold or a little wet.
Going back to get on the boat, I was really hoping it was still where we left it.. And sure enough - nothing was wrong with it. Nor with us.
Of course, none of my fears from the first boat ride came true. The story's moral? Just ignore all the 'what if's your mind is attacking you with and let yourself enjoy whatever comes along. Be it a boat just waiting to get borrowed, that cheap flight ticket just waiting to be bought, that guy impatiently waiting for your sign, those opportunities and possibilities life brings us every other minute.
And if one of the 'what if's tuns into 'once, it so happened that' - it'll probably make for an even better story.
I like to think life is a set of stories we write ourselves and like in any good book, the more varied the chapters, the more different genres mixed and twisted together, the more interesting a read. And like in any good book, you need some drama, unexpected turning points, friendships, quarrels, sorrow and gratifying love to make it complete and thrilling.
So get going with it and look for the next adventure!