Above 63

The summer season is over and things are getting quieter.

As you may know, I travel a lot and I enjoy being a tourist (even this extended stay still qualifies me as a tourist). Sometimes when I travel I stand out like a sore thumb. On those days there is a neon sign over my head saying, “HE’S NOT FROM HERE!” Other times I can blend in a little better and I get asked a question by someone using the local language (that happened yesterday). Like all travelers, I make plenty of mistakes along the way. Yet, I also enjoy watching my fellow travelers navigate their new landscape. This year I get to see their patterns repeat over and over because I’m staying here for a while and the visitors keep on rotating through the neighborhood.

“I like to travel to experience the uncertainty and the surprise.”

Tourism in Iceland is big business. It accounts for 23% of the economy. Like many places there is that like/dislike tension with tourism. If you look across the Reykjavik skyline, you see new buildings and hotels being built to accommodate the tourists. They expect more tourists to be coming in the future. This projection is not without good reason. The scenery here is spectacular and the country is relatively close to Europe and North America (flight times: London: 3 hours, Paris: 3.5 hours, New York: 5.5 hours, Minneapolis: 6 hours). There is not the same kind of anger like we saw in Spain this summer, but there is a tension that people talk about.

There are the Usual Gripes Against Tourists–Tourism isn’t quite what it used to be. Social media influencers and strong marketing have put a number of tourists cities around the world under high pressure. Reykjavik is one of those places. I live at the edge of the downtown/harbor tourist district. Behind my building is one of the major hotels. I see the out-of-towners every day. I also see the locals as I walk to work or do my regular shopping. I can often tell them apart from one another. Sometimes I can discern who is an ex-pat working and living here. There is something different in how the locals and ex-pats they carry themselves. Some things include:

• Locals know where they are going. This may sound simple, but just walking in a straight line with a little speed does wonders to disguise the fact you are not a local.
• Locals understand the pedestrian patterns and don’t cluster to block the sidewalks. A pack of people on the street usually signals out-of-towners.
• Locals have a different relationship with their mobile phone. Locals are usually focused on texts and social media, not maps and navigation (yes, you can tell by how they handle the phone).
  
  There are other signs as well. Rest assured I am guilty of all of these telltale tourist signs and more. However when I travel although I try to avoid doing these actions as much as possible.

Why am I a tourist? Last year a friend of mine asked me why I like to travel–specifically she asked about international travel. She asked the question in a way that my answer needed to be more than “I like to see cool things, and encounter different cultures.” Although that answer is true, I dug a little deeper and told her that “I like to travel to experience the uncertainty and the surprise.” It was the first time I had thought about it like this. I’m not someone who likes complete certainty and endless routine–I am comfortable with ambiguity and the unknown. In my work life and personal life–I’ve always tried new and different things. Although it often looks like I know what I am doing–I’m often “out of control” and not quite sure about what’s going to come next. However, I realized that I am seeking this out in my travel as I seek surprise and enjoyment.

Even though this is my 3rd visit to Iceland, there have been moments of surprise and enjoyment (as you can read in other blog posts). To be clear I am not seeking high-risk adventures–I value my well-being and health. It is the simple and I am seeking surprise and enjoyment. Google reminded me of that recently. I was out on a hike in August. I was exploring a neighborhood I hadn’t been in before. I found a local park along the shore with a statue that I was admiring. Lost in the moment, Google Maps captured me at that spot. The point was that I got out and enjoyed a moment that was unplanned, unexpected, and a true surprise.

This brings me back to the packs of tourists. They probably are not so terribly different from me. They are here because they are most likely seeking a little surprise, some uncertainty and ambiguity as well. But travel is hard–and a bit scary. It is tough to be “out there” in strange environments. Heading off into a neighborhood is uncomfortable even if you know it is safe. It make sense that the tourists are clustered together and moving slowly. Uncertainty does not lead to confidence in what the landscape may hold. They seek support from each other as they cluster. They may be annoying to the locals, but they are hesitant adventurers. Still, they do walk slow and block the sidewalk when I’m heading to work.

Still there are moments when even the tourist cluster won’t be enough to protect them. Reynisfjara beach is one of my favorite places. The rocks on the cover page of the blog are from there as is the recent photo. The YouTube video is more surprise and excitement than I’m looking for. I feel bad for them, but it is a reminder to pay attention and be careful of the local landscape. In the end, we all travel to explore the unknown, and while the tourists I encounter may move slowly, they remind me of the shared joy of discovery.

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