I managed to get to sleep around 6 in the afternoon yesterday, meaning I sprung awake today at 3 AM. Not ideal, but at least I’ll be functional during the morning. It also gave me the unique opportunity to poke around the city in the wee hours, when no other sober, sane soul is out on the streets.

Allow me first to confirm a nasty rumor about Iceland’s hot water. Yes, it does have the distinctly lovely odor of sulphur. Yes, this means that a shower smells like the restroom of a burrito joint on two-for-one day. Fortunately, the scent doesn’t seem to cling too much, and Icelandic soaps seem to be perfumed to cover up any remaining traces of pungency. I’ll still probably pick up some cologne somewhere, just in case I’ve been obliviously walking around smelling like a latrine for the past 36 hours.

After my stinkbath, I suited up and headed out in search of brekkie around 3:30 in the morning. The helpful night clerk pointed out that no restaurant was open at the moment - although there were a few pubs still serving - but there was the Icelandic equivalent of a 7-11 convenience mart down the street, called “24″. I can only presume the store’s purpose was to defeat terrorism by feeding hungry Americans in the dead of night.

Once in the store, I picked up a tub of skyr, a bottle of Toppur - Icelandic soda water, bottled by the omnipresent Coca-Cola Company - and a curry-flavored Pot Noodle. What I forgot to pick up was hot water for my Pot Noodle or a spoon for my skyr. Oops. I did, however, find the world’s greatest tinfoil.

Sweet.

I ended up munching on my skyr using the foil lid as an impromptu spoon while sitting on a park bench under the statue of Ingólfur Arnarson in Arnarhóll, a public park centered around the aforementioned statue. It rests at the top of a small hill, and the benches there provide a damn nice view of the downtown area against a backdrop of fluffy clouds and a golden western horizon. I think the sun was just peeking up over it as I broke my fast.

Heading back down into the city, I wandered randomly around the streets a bit, looking at the various statues that are sprinkled liberally throughout the downtown area. I honestly have no idea who most of them were, since any sign that existed was in Icelandic, and the gray, flat light wasn’t particularly conducive to good photography. I’ll try to get some decent shots later on, though, hopefully before I post a link to the day’s photo gallery.

So sorry for the lack of content during this month of May. Between work and travel, I’ve had barely a moment to upgrade WordPress (again!) and insert more anti-spam plugins into the restless machinery that drives this site forward.

However, I’ve finally gotten some time to start writing up the Moroccan Chronicles, which shall begin appearing - backdated for my convenience - over the next few days. I’ll try to get them all up before the Next Big Thing hits.

As it turns out, it will hit on Wednesday night. I’ll be going up for a month-long visit to Reykjavík, and I’ve finally remedied my cameralessness, so I promise the introduction of photography. Sobriety, however, is not guaranteed.

Back from Morocco and I’m, somehow, Still Alive.

Accept this video in lieu of content until I can post actual stories.

See you in a week, provided nothing terrible happens.

HOT4GOD

I know I’m in the South, but that’s something I honestly never expected to see.