* * *

After seeing the old farms, my visit came to an end. In a way, it was good to come back to the heat of London, because the Icelandic summer weather had turned pretty chilly and gloomy. My next trip was with Dad in 1981; nothing much had changed and we met more interesting relations. Since then, both Dad and his double cousin Jon passed away, within hours of one another. That trip was an interesting experience as all trips with Dad usually turned out to be, but I will leave that for another time*. There are bound to be many changes in these last few years; all of us growing older and nearer to the end of the trail.

To my eyes, the country is rather bleak and severe. It must have been a miserable place before they took advantage of the hot springs and the abundant hydro power. I thought the Merid country was rather bleak, but now I can understand why the Icelanders were quite at home there until driven out by drought and low prices for grain.

As with all northern countries, booze is a problem, and they have tried to counter this by charging outrageous prices; a bottle of cheap California wine costs 24 dollars U.S. Everything is twice as expensive as here, so if you visit be prepared for the shock!

Our Grandparents took a big risk, coming to Canada. It must have been frightening at times. We can be eternally grateful they took a chance in helping to develop this new country.

The relatives were fascinated by Dad's speech. They said it was the old classic tongue and recorded it for others to hear. The relatives said our Grandparents were well versed in the classics, both poetry and prose, using words not now used in common speech but familiar to those who have studied the great sagas.

I doubt that I will return. We can be proud of what our family has accomplished, in both countries, and I have nothing but happy memories of my visits to the old land, and its people.

* Stephen Kolbinson was by then in his 90's. Somehow, he managed to talk his way through Customs in both New York and Reykjavik with an expired passport. He had forgotten to bring his new one.