20.11.12

Kuku Kamping

After spending a few days soaking in Reykjavik, we loaded up the camper van that would be our roaming home for the next few weeks. Ted pretty much learned how to drive manual transmission upon picking up our kamper, which was parked on a hill. After freaking out many times and exclaiming that we were never going to leave Reykjavik, he managed to get it to Birgur's house to load it up and embark on the island rounding.
Ted's manual transmission education, after the hills and one way streets of Reykjavik were left behind, consisted of driving narrow, steep and winding dirt roads, next to sharp cliffs into fjords, sans guard rails. Twas a trial by fire...
But somehow, Ted still found the time to take photos out the window while driving, using both hands.
 Kuku camping consisted of driving until we felt like it was a good time to stop, 
and searching for spots suitable for sleeping. Our first evening, we parked next to a really nice Icelandic couple who invited us in to their camper to swap stories, compare cultures and repeatedly ask us to stay at their "huge house right next to the president's house" in Reykjavik upon our return to the Capital city.
They lent us some chairs and a table to eat our semi raw curry (our propane supply ran out halfway through cooking it). Their dog kept us company while we finished our first dinner on the road. She was a lovely pup, very patient as she quietly waited for scraps.
Cooking in the camper was complicated at times. The wind would get howlin' and too bitey for our weakened soCal souls, thus driving us into the confines of the Kamper to cook.
There wasn't much space inside, and it could get messy. Ted is probably smiling at some sort of elbow-whack spillage.
We eventually wised up and raided rest stops/travel centers, taking maps to then use as place mats, effectively guarding our sleeping area from spaghetti saucings, oatmealers and curry splashes.
Life in the kamper also included various smells co-mingling/mutating and whenever we would come upon a nice and sunny spot to stop the kamper for the night, we would clean and air out Mr. T.  
 Also! When the sun never sets, you can brew sun tea while you sleep.
We met a number of interesting fellow campers, and spotted many, many noble road warriors. Observing these graceful beasts had us thinking about potential mobile living quarters we would want for the future. Here are a few of the notable ones.
 (This couple adds another decal to this map for each country they take their road warrior to)
Some people had camping style worthy of envy
Others took camping to whole new levels of amazing/mystifying.
Ted and I found our own rhythm for resting
and researching
Kamper life was amazingly simple and beautiful in that simplicity. The rhythms of living in a vehicle was surprisingly difficult to leave when we finally returned to Reykjavik.


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