Iceland, way up north in the Atlantic, is a sparsely populated (less than 400K people) volcanic island filled with breathtaking scenery throughout the entire country. It has waterfalls, lush green areas, arid lava flows, high tundras, unique animals and a few active volcanoes. Here's some of the highlights of the trip.
Seljalandsfoss
Drama
Ya, let's get this one out of the way immediately. Iceland is expensive. A really lame toasted cheese sandwich, fries and a drink (btw, mostly pepsi products) costs $24US. Ouch! Being the smart traveler my friend and brought oatmeal for breakfasts and peanut butter and jam for lunch. That's a great idea if your luggage, which as all the snacks and food, get there the same time you do. When it comes 5 days later it makes it a little tougher to implement. Yes, we went and bought some items at the grocery story but it wasn't the same! Luckily (or not) I've had my luggage lost before so I always keep a spare pair of underwear and shirt with me. It created some interesting times (like not having my winter coat) trying to find a store that was open that would actually have even a t shirt to buy as we were in remote areas after the first day.Ring Road - the course
Our route was to take about 150 miles every day along the ring road and explore what there was to see. And, there is lots to see! Anytime you see a little "mac pretzel command sign" there might be something really spectacular that isn't even on a map or blog anywhere. And, I think that every little home either sits at the base of a waterfall or has the backdrop of a magnificent mountain. It is idyllic definitely! The contrast of the land climate against mountains and sea were truly spectacular.Most of the road is decent but it isn't paved all the way. We took a few shortcuts and side roads which were mostly decent and probably totaled about 400km of dirt road on our trip. That being said be careful as Iceland doesn't notify you about construction until you are at a construction area (sometimes 15km into a 20km one way road) and then they don't tell you what type of construction or have anyone out to help. I had to drive on a one way lane against oncoming traffic for 6km...it wasn't the most fun but we did survive.
Construction sign
Here is the link to the google map of destinations we took: Iceland Tour. The only modification would be to stay at Egilsstaðir so you could visit the puffins late one evening or in the early morning. You could still easily get up and get to Dettifoss before the tour groups started.Water, Waterfalls and Waterfalls - a destination
The land is filled with water from glaciers running over large lava rock formations and spilling into the waters below. It is definitely a beautiful sight to see in so many varied forms. There were so many unnamed waterfalls too as you went along the ring road - some of them I think more spectacular than the "named" ones.
Gullfoss
Godafoss
Dettifoss
And, who can go to Iceland and not mention the Blue Lagoon?! Its a crazy brilliant blue (thanks to the silica) hot springs that anyone can enjoy - it takes the chill out of the bones even when its 40F and rainy outside (like when we went).
Rifts, Glaciers and Ice - a destination
One of the crazy fun things I did was snorkel in Silfra to see parts of the continental rift of the North American and European continents. The water is some of the clearest as well as some of the coldest on earth (about 35F year round). Man, even with a dry suit when a little water leaked in it definitely took your breathe away...and your exposed lips took about 3 minutes to numb up before you could even think.
My lips had not yet gone numb but way thankful for the drysuit!
You can see way down the crevices!
The guide said you could drink the water as well because it was all glacier water...ice cold glacier water! Obviously, I drank some.On the west side of Iceland the main gig is glaciers. The glaciers are huge and some quite accessible. Jokulsarlon is a unique place where glacier chunks are breaking off and floating out to sea. They are massive and huge (ya, those mean the same thing but think massively huge maybe!). Along the beach they call it Diamond Beach as the crystal clear ice sparkles in the sun. Its quite dramatic to see.
Ya...there's no way I'm trying to say that word.
Volcanoes, Rocks and Geysers - a destination
Along the north the dominant feature includes jet black lava fields with snow capped volcanoes in the background. One interesting area has a unique type of peat moss that grows several inches (sometimes feet) think on top of the older lava flows. Its pretty interesting to see and really soft to walk on!
Seeing volcanoes and geyser areas is not new to me (I lived through Mt St Helen's and visit Yellowstone yearly) but it was still impressive to see. And, some of the geyser areas had amazing mineral coloration that you could walk right up too (a lot fewer regulations!).
A seriously hot steam vent with no barriers. Kind of fun...and dangerous!
At the same time, lots of geological features are found throughout the country - like this!:
Puffin, Reindeer, Terns and Icelandic Horses - a destination
There are 4 unique animals (okay, probably more but these are the main ticket items) which are in Iceland. The puffin is a small bird which nests in Iceland during the spring and summer. They are beautiful little creatures with bright bills during breeding season and only stand maybe a foot high or less. We saw these birds out on the far northeast island called Borgarfjörður Eystri (dont get me to try to pronounce it). This is a 90 minute drive out on a dirt road (sketchy at times) but totally worth it as you are really close. We also went on a boat tour out of Reykjavik but with all the waves (and rain) it wasn't nearly as good.
I was hoping to see Reindeer while there as they are somewhat rare unless you go deep inland with a four wheel drive road. We were lucky enough to not only see two small herds of reindeer but one stopped us on the road! Yay! These aren't native to Iceland but the Vikings brought them over in like 800AD.
No, I didn't see Dancer, Prancer or Rudolph...on this trip
There are arctic tern nesting everywhere this time of year. Buyer beware, these terns are pretty darn protective and will actually not just fake dive bomb you but brush against your head if you get too close. I took my life in my hands to get a few shots! They are beautiful creatures and very protective of their young which is admirable.
Fabio
Iceland has scenery to rival none other and friendly people. If everything wasn't so expensive it would be a top destination - and maybe is anyways. I'd highly recommend it to anyone. If you want to see some additional pictures please visit my photo album at TrekkingTrego Public Gallery. All pictures are available for purchase.CHEAT SHEET
Here's the nitty gritty on Iceland:HOTEL LOCATION: In Reykjavik stay down in the 101 area as you can easily walk around all the main attractions. You can do the city in a day easily. The rest of the country you need to stay in guest houses or camper it.
MONEY: Everyone takes a credit card so no need to exchange any money.
FOOD: Its just plain expensive. Fish and Chips from a street vendor is 25$. The only thing cheap are hot dogs. The grocery stores have more reasonable prices for breakfast and lunch items but beware except for Reykjavik they can close at 6pm.
TRANSPORTATION: Driving is easy with great signage (even if you don't know how to say the name of the places). Wait, great signage EXCEPT for construction notification. Check with like 6 people on road status because people's ideas of how good roads are a little skewed in my opinion!
DON'T MISS: Get out past the Golden Circle area and enjoy areas with much smaller crowds.
