Ice Ice Baby - Iceland Adventure plus an Iceland Travel Cheat Sheet

Yo, VIP, let's kick it!  Vanilla Ice said it best in the 90's.  Iceland, with all it's ice (and water and volcanoes and animals) was a fun adventure, with a little drama thanks to Delta Airlines thrown in just to make it exciting.

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.

Finally, Icelandic horses are the hairy, stocky horses which remind me more of Fabio than anything.  I think the hair is useful in the cold damp climate.  Regardless, these horses are super friendly and dot the island.

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.

South Africa Side Trip: Pretoria and Cape Town

My latest Africa adventure ended with a speed through visit of South Africa.  We were able to hit two spots - Pretoria (to visit my cousin and his family) and Cape Town.

Pretoria has some cool features - like being able to pet lion cubs and cheetahs and the Apartheid Museum (well, maybe this is JoBurg, but close enough right?)   We also hit a Saturday food market which was yummy for my tummy.  Thanks to my cousins for being, once again, amazing tour guides!  I love you guys!!

I've got the tiger (I mean Cheetah) by the tail!

Those are SERIOUS paws!

Love these folks!

Next spot, Cape Town.  I fell in love with Cape Town.  One reason could be that after being in places where you can't drink the water for 10 days it is a welcome feeling to not stress about brushing your teeth and forgetting to rinse with tap water.  Refreshing is the word that comes to mind.  The other reason is that it has so much to offer.  We really did speed though the town with only about a day and a half to visit, thus, only hitting the highlights.  They were, however, amazing highlights.

Cape of Good Hope

The beach areas were all beautiful - just wish it was warm enough to jump in! 

The farthest southwest tip of the African continent is where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, maybe.  Yes, there is some discrepancy about where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean's but it's neat to see regardless.  Someone said it actually depends on the time of year - so maybe it was where the two meet...then again...maybe not?!  The drive from Cape Town is beautiful as you go past mountains on the one side and the ocean on the other side.

A little harbor just outside of Cape Town

Climbed to the lighthouse (ya, the tiny thing far away and up.  Shouldn't have eaten that second helping the night before!).

Boulder's Bay Penguin Colony

These little animals are just so darn cute!  I've seen penguins in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and now South Africa.  I still have lots of species to check off my list (Antarctica?) but it was fun to see these little guys.

Aren't they cute?

Table Mountain

They claim it is one of the seven natural wonders of the world (have you notice a theme of claiming things in the area?) and it is beautiful.  Due to time constraints we got up early and took the cable car up.  We were glad we did, by 10am on our way back down the que was horrendously long.  The vistas are amazing, they have a great free 15 minute overview talk and we got to see little Dassies.  How weird is this...these animals are related to the Elephant.  After you see the picture below you will wonder.  Yes, you read that right?!

View towards Lion's Head

No, I didn't hike this...not enough time sadly.

Queen of the Mountain (better than king of the hill any day)!

Dassie, more of a large rodent, really are related to an elephant - go figure?!

V&A Waterfront

There was a festival going on while we were there so the waterfront was filled with people and activities which made for a fun afternoon.

How cool -they have a swing bridge downtown.

If you want to see some other pictures please visit my photo album at TrekkingTrego Public Gallery. All pictures are available for purchase. 

Cheat Sheet - Cape Town

Hotel:  Cape Town really is amazing and easy to navigate.  Staying down in the waterfront area was perfect so you could walk to many areas and it is a pickup drop off point for many day tours.  They have great restaurants which are affordable and nice walk ways around town.

Money:  Be aware, the city was a bit hit and miss as to if they would take credit cards so having cash on hand is a must.

Food: Cape Town has a ton of different food options ranging in price from cheaper street food to the expensive fancy places. A few places we ate at and enjoyed were:  V&A Foodmarket and Step Brothers Restaurant

Transportation: We walked a lot as we were so close to the majority of places.  We used Uber to get around a bit farther out and found it to be cheaper than taxis.

Don't Miss: Read above, we really hit the major sights and there is more to see.  Guess I'll have to go back again!

Dabbling in Dubai - A Dubai Cheat Sheet

One of the cool factors about flying Emirates from the US to Africa is that you have the chance for a free layover.  Depending on the ticket Emirates will provide you with a hotel, hotel transfer and even meals!  Who can pass up an opportunity like that?  Certainly not TrekkingTrego!

So, what do you do with 20 hours in Dubai?

Burj Khalifa - Worlds Tallest Building

First, you better go see Burj Khalifa.  Being the tallest building in the world it is pretty amazing.  What's even more amazing is that you take a single elevator up 124 floors in 90 seconds and the ride is as smooth as a cadillac!  Yes, I know I'm an engineer but it is pretty amazing.  The view down to the ground gives you a good perspective on things! Of course, all you see are tall buildings and sand!  If you look hard enough, you can see where the latest Star Trek movie was filmed.

Notice how hazy it is, and that's at 830am!

Second, the fountains are nice to see if you are there in the evenings.  We got in just before dark so after checking into the hotel we quickly headed out to the Dubai Mall (largest by size in the world - not that I care for shopping but google said so <g>) and watched the fountain shows.  They range in timing from about 3 minutes and not super spectacular to 7 minutes of wow. After the show go walk around the mall and eat an expensive bowl of cereal (two flavors for 3$).

Watch out Vegas, here comes Dubai

Inside Dubai Mall was an ice rink

My favorite store - buy a bowl of cereal!  

Third, see a lot of other really tall and fancy buildings around the marina area.  They have twisted buildings, they have the famous Al Arab building, and a lot of other buildings still under construction.  It is a growing place with a lot of hustle and bustle.

Burj Al Arab

Lastly, go old school and take an abra wooden boat across the Dubai Creek for a little nostalgic ride.  It only takes about 15 minutes and 1 AED.

Cruising down the river...well, putting down the river.

It was definitely a blitzkrieg of a trip through Dubai, and with the heat so crazy (110F with 80% humidity and blowing dust) we didn't explore much more.  In fact, we were a little bit like the Wicked Witch of the West as we were melting as we quickly visited the Persian Gulf.  Nonetheless, we were able to see a majority of the tourist spots and have a little adventure in the process.  Dubai - check!

Stay tuned for a post about the rest of the trip!  You can view additional pictures in my Public Gallery. All pictures are available for purchase.

An Uphill Battle: Avalanche Peak

As a kid I was jealous that my brother went on a hike to summit Avalanche Peak in Yellowstone National Park.  I was too young to go at the time and by the time I was old enough the park system had stopped doing ranger led hikes.  I always looked across Yellowstone Lake at that peak wondering what the view was like from up there and thinking it was the one that got away.  Well...not so anymore!

This summer for the 100th anniversary the NPS brought back a lot of their guided hikes so I took advantage and hiked to the top of Avalanche Peak.  Located on the eastern border, Avalanche Peak is one of the highest peaks of the park at 10,568 feet and is rated as the toughest hikes in the park rising 2100 feet in just over 2 miles. And I'll say this - there aren't a lot of switchbacks!

We started the hike on a beautiful morning with a group of 8 people...with only 2 of them being from the US. I felt a little out-numbered! When in large groups you tend to move much slower than if you were on your own but this group did a decent job of walking at this high elevation.  We made it to the summit in about 2.5 hours and then descended in 1.5 hours.  The first half of the hike is in a lush wooded area with wildflowers and a stream.  You have to watch where you walk though as it is loose gravel on top of a dusty trail.  The last half of the walk is in sharp contrast to this as it is on shale above the tree line. 

 

Along the way we saw marmot and deer! 

The best reward however was the spectacular vista of the greater Yellowstone region.  It was breathtaking (in more than one way!) and I don't have to wonder what the view was like anymore.  It's definitely a great hike which I would recommend to people.

 

You can view these and additional pictures in my Public Gallery or by clicking on the Photo Gallery Tabs above. All pictures are available for purchase.