When travel, talk to locals because they are the best sources of folklore and anecdotes. That's easier in Iceland than other European countries- Kids are required to learn English at school.
Small country
Population in Iceland is around 300,000, two thirds living in Reykjavik. The remaining third are shattered along the coast, since inland is mainly desert and glacier. Although some villages are tiny, they still have pool, school, shops and bank that may open one hour per day. Crime rate is low, maybe because everybody knows everybody.
The total number of livestocks in this country can be counted in thousands. All the +20 bird species can be listed in minutes. Sheeps are set free to the hills during summer to do whatever they want until September. The only natural threat is a kind of wild fox.
No rail system, because some say the population needs to reach one million to justify that kind of splurge. Although Icelandic are making lots of babies, it still would take a long time.
No McDonald's
McDonald's has pulled out of Iceland, gone with it the most expensive Big Mac across all countries. The official explanation is "operational complexity". You can say it's a rather small market, but hey, Subway, KFC and Domino's are all present.
Local green houses only produce tomato, cucumber, pepper and lettuce. But isn't that all the vegetables needed? McDonald's can even use trout to create a premium version of fish burger, replace normal yogurt drink with skyr, and cooperate with Nói Síríus for quality chocolate syrup.
Respect the nature
Nature has its way in Iceland, from the dramatic change in the length of day to the volcano eruptions and consequences. People talk about time according to how nature operates: when the first puffin comes, when the sun stays all day, and when northern light starts showing in the sky.
Along the ring road, we saw carefully positioned stones. Many stone piles are similar to those common in US national parks. The tour guide said these stone piles are all by tourists but locals are not happy about them. Wen you move a stone, you are destroying the vegetation around.
Icelandic people don't complain when nature destroys roads and bridges without notice. They practice drills, rebuild roads,a and thank nature for adding back vegetation to the lava field.
The hidden people
Although the official number of population is some 300,000, most Icelanders believe there are the hidden people. The story goes like this: when Adam and Eve left Eden, they settled on Iceland and had a lot of kids. One day, god came for a visit under vey short notice. Eve tried to wash all the kids clean to meet god, but didn't have enough time. So she hide the dirty kids. When god asked, for three times, "are these all your kids", Eve lied to god by saying yes. All mighty god knows everything. He said " what's hidden from me is going to be hidden from all humans".
According to the serious looking tour guide, humans can see the hidden people if they want to be seems. Sometimes the hidden people ask for help. We need to try our best to help them, because they pay with health ands happiness. Many stones and rocks along the ring road are believed to be houses or even a big church of the hidden people.
It is also believed that the hidden people move on New Year's Eve. On that day, bonfires is set all over the island to guide the way. Imagine warm yellow bonfires linked like pearls among thick white snow. It's really sweet.
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