On Vestemanyaer

We were stuck an extra day on Vestmanyaer, an island off the coast of Iceland, when the weather got bad and the ferry wouldn't run.

It's a small island with an active volcano that blew in 1973 and covered the place in ash.

On the first night I gave the girls in the restaurant a lesson in making the proper martini, American style. There were 3 of them tending bar, waiting on tables. They had Beefeater gin and dry vermouth behind the bar and the chef found an old shaker in the kitchen. This is what you do, I told the girls: mix 2 1/2 parts gin, 1/2 part vermouth. Put some ice in the shaker and swirl it around. Please don't shake it up like you see them do in the movies. It makes the drink too watery.

I left the girls to their work and returned to my table. Two of them brought me the martini and walked back toward the bar. I watched them watch me as I tasted the drink. Perfect, I yelled across the room, an old fish canning factory the young people had turned into a restaurant.

The next day was so windy it was difficult to even walk upright. Pellets filled with watery sea sleet and old ash from the volcano made it impossible to see out of the car window's. We spent 3 hours in the local museum. The docent joined us periodically, lighting up displays, showing us how to work the video, telling us stories about the island and its history. The islanders were fantastic improvisors, they had to be, they had no choice. When I told the docent that we were stranded for the time being, but the next ferry might leave at 5:30 p.m. she said it wouldn't leave, that the wind's up too high. It happens all the time, she said.

We went down to the dock in the evening. She was right: all ferry service was cancelled for the day. Maybe they'd be running next morning.

There was an internet cafe on the main street. We went inside, cold, our faces wind-whipped, and ordered coffees, understanding why coffee plays such a vital role in Icleandic life and in the novels of Halldor Laxness. Lea Ann read Laxness and I thought about the American political situation: that the problem is one of certain material expectations going unmet, and the impossibility of sustaining a level of materialism that will continue to meet expectations.