shelter; Brekkukot

September 2012

before my travel departures I take shelter in the summerhouse of Bjart, an independent shepherd who lives in the land of settlers. he explains to me the hard conditions under which he has to tend his sheep. fall, winter, spring or summer, at 64 degrees north you need to be prepared for climatic conditions, you might need a shelter. 

yet, in a landscape where experience can compete with dreams and imagination, is there anything to take shelter for? where the volcanic peaks are the starting point for european literary tradition you only need a proper rain jacket and a bag pack, so you can carry your experience back home...

before I departed for a trip around Iceland I started reading ‘Independent People’  by Halldor Laxnass. a novel about the live and work of a shepherd called Bjart. the reading of this literary work was a journey through the lands’ tradition and culture, and it enriched my experience as a traveler. now, back home, I can take shelter in these memories and in my imagination, both fed by another literary work of Halldor Laxnass: ‘The fish can sing’.