This story is a part of the Stories She Told series. It has been modified from its original version. View the original on Instagram.
When I was 20, I took a semester off from school to *find myself* in Europe. It was a rollercoaster.
On my third day in Iceland, I drove my rental car (an Opel Corsa) around the Westfjords. A waitress had given me a map with an “x” where I could find a hot spring.
It was a long, beautiful drive along placid fjords. Clouds had lifted enough so that I could see some of the mountains and waterfalls, and I spotted my first-ever glacier.
I was completely alone at the hot spring and stood naked at the edge before chickening out and putting on my bikini. I floated, feeling proud of myself. I was finally a solo female traveler!
When I got back to my car, I checked Google Maps and I saw a shortcut along a base of a peninsula that wasn’t on the map the waitress had given me. I decided to try it.
Never think you know more than a local.
The dirt road turned to gravel then to rocks. As I accelerated, my car went “thunk” and scraped. I was in a rocky mountainside minefield. I thought it couldn’t get worse and kept going. I was wrong. I made a 37-point turn and thunked back down, trying not to look over the cliffside.
I drove to the hostel feeling like an idiot and a failure. The car was making a horrible rattling sound. This was supposed to be my big, independent adventure, but it was the third day and I was sure I had caused expensive damage and wouldn’t be able to afford the rest of my trip because I didn’t buy car rental insurance.
It was dark by the time I checked into my hostel. I was the only guest that night and sat alone in the kitchen eating the last of my bread.
Before I went to bed, I went out to look at the sky, which had cleared. For the first time since arriving in Iceland, I could see the moon. It illuminated the fields and fjord surrounding the hostel.
Then I turned around and saw the northern lights.
The northern lights, ribbons of neon green, filled the sky in front of me. I danced with them, turning until I got dizzy and lay down.
I watched them ebb and flow, moving across the sky, reflecting in the fjord. I had a good cry. I told myself it was going to all be okay.
And it was. (I still don’t buy car rental insurance)
