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The Land of Fire and Ice

I went to Iceland in mid-January with my sisters and finally decided to share my experience almost six months later. If you’re looking for a cultural experience, Iceland is not it. It was a great trip, but I'm not sure why I expected something a little more exotic (besides the smell of rotten eggs). 

We stayed at an AirBnB apartment in the heart of Reykjavik. The city is easily walkable - the only thing that made it difficult was the extreme cold and wind. I read this a lot before my trip but it’s true - you really do get all four seasons in one day. We layered up and it seemed like nothing was enough - I had at least five (very warm) layers on every day and was still numbingly cold. 

Day 1: We arrived early in the morning and were jet lagged so we slept most of the day and explored Reykjavik at night. That’s when we realized that everything is crazy expensive - it’s hard to find a meal below $20. We explored for a couple of hours and then had dinner at Saegreifinn. We all opted for the lobster bisque and it was delicious. 

Day 2: We booked a day tour with Arctic Adventures that included lava caving and ATVs. We started the morning driving quads to the top of the Hafrafjall mountain. It was beautiful and definitely a fun experience but so, so cold (despite the space suits they made us wear). The only irritating part was that the person in front of us couldn’t drive that well so we kept having to slam on our brakes and couldn’t speed up that much. 

We then headed to Bláfjöll (Blue Mountains) for our adventure in the Leiðarendi cave, which is an underground lava tube in one of the most active volcanic areas in the world. At one point in the cave, the guide had everyone sit down, turn off our lights and asked us to be silent. We could see absolutely nothing and hear only the sound of water dripping. It was amazing and frightening as we were completely blinded by the darkness. The cave tour was interesting and educational - the guides really know what they’re talking about! The mountains and volcanoes surrounding the cave were breathtaking as well - we felt like we were on a different planet! 

In the evening, we stopped by Aurora Reykjavik to get information on the Northern Lights tours. It was a very cool place to sit and warm up with some hot coffee. They also had tons of crazy aurora-themed merch and gifts as well as virtual reality goggles. I’ll get into the disappointment of the Northern Lights later, but want to mention that the VR experience was better than the real thing! You could see the Northern Lights in so many breathtaking scenes. 

For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Icelandic Fish and Chips, so obviously we had fish and chips. It was everything we hoped for. We then went back to the apartment, peeled off 30 layers of clothing and snuggled up under blankets. 

Day 3: The erratic and extreme weather made us more exhausted than we expected so we decided to take it slow and not book any adventures. Since my sister is a donut fanatic, we had to try a traditional Icelandic donut, AKA a kleinur. It basically tasted like a stale donut. While that was disappointing, we made up for it with a vínarbrauð, which is a layered pastry with custard, chocolate, and all kinds of deliciousness. 

We walked around the Tjörnin Lake, which was frozen over, and explored parts of the city that we didn’t get to on the first day.

That night, we went on an aurora tour to see the Northern Lights. Sighting them depends on the aurora forecast as well as clear skies. While it felt like a ripoff, we didn’t want to take our chances driving so late at night with the sudden weather changes. We booked our tour based on the day with the highest aurora forecast and just had to hope it wasn’t cloudy out. We drove 1.5-2 hours out of the city to find a good spot. Apparently, all the tour bus drivers communicate and when we found a good spot, 10 more tour buses showed up within 15 minutes. We waited for an hour in the freezing cold with numb feet before the clouds cleared. Had our guide not pointed it out to us, we wouldn’t have seen it. It was a faint green light that lasted for less than a couple of minutes. The pictures she took on her DSLR came out amazing, but that is definitely not what we saw with the naked eye. A Norwegian friend told me he sees the lights a couple of times a year just randomly so it’s one of those things you appreciate when you’re not actively looking for it. I’m including pictures with my disclaimer that it only looked this good on camera. 

Day 4: We rented a car and drove the Golden Circle, which is a loop with some popular stops along the way. Doing a tour seemed like a waste of time and money as the roads are easy enough to drive (despite a little snowstorm that went as quickly as it came). My sister has some experience driving in the snow so we felt comfortable enough and all went well. Our first stop was the the geothermal exhibition at Hellisheidi Power Station. It was interesting but not really my cup of tea - my sister is in the energy field and she loved it. There were a couple of balconies with amazing views so I’m not complaining. 

We skipped the Kerid crater because it was too cold and snowy to hike and the pictures looked more beautiful in the spring/summer anyway. Next stop was the Stokkur Geysir, which is a periodically erupting hot spring. It erupts randomly but while we were there, it was spouting about every 15 minutes. We had just barely missed one so we stayed to see two more eruptions and it was really cool to witness. I’ve included a video but the people next to me added their own soundtrack.

Our next stop was the Gulfoss waterfall, and that’s when the snowstorm hit. We were miserable and I couldn’t get a good view of the waterfall but I took a selfie anyway. 

Another popular stop on the Golden Circle is the Þingvellir National Park, but it’s also one that is best enjoyed in warmer weather. We had to return our rental by 5 PM so we skipped the park and headed back to the city. Dinner that night was KFC because it’s easy and we were pooped. FYI, a meal at an Icelandic KFC is $15.

Day 5: We booked a Glaciers and Waterfalls tour with Arctic Adventures. This was by far my favorite day of the trip. Let me first mention that one thing I really wanted to do on this trip was pet some fluffy Icelandic horses. If you don’t know about them, they are so special that Iceland doesn’t allow any other horses to enter the country to avoid breeding and an Icelandic horse that leaves the country may never return. Among other things, they can perform two additional gaits (besides the usual walk, trot and gallop) called a tölt and a skeið. They’re also known to be extremely friendly to humans. Look them up if you’re interested - they are pretty cool animals!

Anyway, at this point in the trip, I just didn’t think I would get to see and pet these majestic creatures. We got on the bus to head to the south shore and on the way, our bus driver pointed out some of those cute fluffy horses on the road. He then pulled into a side road and said that it was okay to get out and pet them. That made my trip. I did have to sacrifice on the fluffy because it had rained so their fur was wet and matted. However, the experience was amazing and they're so friendly that they wanted to come with us on the bus.

I’m not sure what this dude was doing.

They were posing for me! 

Next stop was the��Skógafoss waterfall. We got really close to fully experience it and ended up getting drenched on our first real stop of the day.

Onward to the spectacular black sand beach of Reynisfjara, which is known for its famous basalt columns and caves. The waves are strong and unpredictable and there have been many fatalities, so we were warned to stay far, far away from the water. There’s no land between the beach and the south pole, which is what makes the waves so ferocious. Despite following instructions and staying far from the water, a wave still snuck up on us so the many warning signs are not exaggerating. 

We then headed to the Sólheimajökull glacier for a hike, which was the scariest experience but the most breathtaking view. All of the tours tell you that the hike is easy, and it really is, but they don’t tell you how dangerous it is. We were fitted with our crampons and given ice axes and safety instructions. We also had to wear harnesses (like for rock climbing) but they’re not actually attached to anything. The guides just need something to clip onto if you fall into a pit, which is a possibility.

Most of the hike was on ice but bits of it were on black dirt. The hike up wasn’t so bad - we just had to remember to really stomp so the crampons could grip the ice. If I forgot to stomp with one foot, it would easily slip, so it was still pretty stressful. There’s also the added danger of slipping while holding the ice axe the wrong way and having it stab you, so there were a lot of different things to remember. When we finally made it to the top, the view was worth it. Words can’t describe it and pictures don’t do it justice, but I tried.

Hiking back down was terrifying. The rest of the group seemed to have no problems with it, so our guide made me go to the front of the line so he could keep an eye on me. The trick is to stomp down while shifting your weight back (in almost a sitting position). He told me to “stomp like a thug.. you know, like Snoop Dogg.” I knew what to do but couldn’t execute - I got inside my own head and thought I wouldn’t make it down in one piece. Thankfully, I did, but if I hadn’t, that glacier would have been a pretty spectacular final view. 

Our last stop for the day was the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. Not only is it breathtaking, but you can walk behind the waterfall! It’s a slippery climb to the top and only parts of it have rails but after the glacier hike, I wasn’t complaining. 

We went to Habibi for dinner since it was close to our apartment and had some yummy Middle Eastern food. It was nice to have something cheap and flavorful for once. When I say cheap, I’m talking $15 a meal, because that’s the lowest it gets in Reykjavik.

Day 5: This was our final day in Iceland. Our flight was in the evening so we booked an early time slot (9 AM) for the Blue Lagoon since it’s on the way to the airport. Although we were used to the hot water smelling like rotten boiled eggs at this point, that didn’t prepare us for the stench we smelled as soon as the bus drove into the parking lot. After a few minutes, we became one (or should I say three) with the stank and didn’t notice it anymore. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa located in a lava field and is fed by the water output of a nearby geothermal power plant. The water is renewed every two days so the lagoon is self-cleaning and they’re very particular about hygiene - everyone is required to take a shower before entering. 

The weather was about 30°F and the water is 100°F on average, so it wasn’t fun getting in and out of the lagoon. Once we were in, we had to move around to find a comfortable spot because some parts were too hot to handle but a step in a different direction could mean a slightly cooler water temperature. They also offered free silica mud masks so we applied those and found a spot to relax. It was really dark when we got in but by the time we left (a couple of hours later), it was bright and we could see the beautiful surrounding mountains. It did rain for a few minutes and that was really painful, especially because there’s nowhere to hide from it! Other than that, it was an amazing experience and I would highly recommend it. It was the perfect relaxing end to our trip. 

[pegacornisaurus]

Came across this confused-looking horse in Costa Rica, on the drive to Monteverde. The views were beautiful and scenic the whole drive/boat ride/drive, but my car sickness was less than pleasant on the bumpy roads. The most beautiful part was seeing horses grazing along giant hills off in the distance nibbling on trees - they look so free and fearless without saddles on them.

[pegacornisaurus]

Would definitely go back to Costa Rica. Canyoneering sounded frightening but was so amazing and worth the anxiety I had before the initial jump off that ledge! 

[pegacornisaurus]

#confucius #quote #wordsofwisdom #success 

[pegacornisaurus]

Missing Oxford at the moment.