Iceland

(In need of adventure)

The land of Ice and Fire ... but mostly ice. Who decides to go to Iceland in February? This guyyyy. As my last trip out of the UK before my trip back to Aus I was hoping to get a glimpse into the beauty hidden in the country to the north and to have a bit of an adventure outside of London!

I knew that getting around may be tricky so in order to avoid having to organise buses etc. I opted just to get a rental car. It was my first time driving in two years, it was on the other side of the road to what I'm used to, and let's not forget the ice and snow covering a large majority of the roads but hey it was certainly doable and there were only a few issues in the end ... but more on that later.

(Hey babe)

(suck it up, bitch)

I arrived quite late on a Monday night and had arranged to stay with my friend Stefan. I spent the next day wandering around Reykjavic and just kind of hanging out. Reykjavic can sort of be 'done' in about half a day. You could stretch it out if you really wanted to but it's a very small city. Iceland's population is really small so everyone seems to know everyone else - even if it's simply recognising them on the street. Fascinating.


So the next day I set out in the car to explore the Golden circle which is a series of popular sites to see that sit largely on a closed circuit from Reykjavic. Some of the sites are pretty lame (geothermal plant I'm looking at you) but I did decide to check out the more natural elements. A rift valley between two continental plates was an opportunity to stretch my legs (and my first time slipping on ice in Iceland). The geyser was a satisfying experience in natural wonder - that thing goes off about every 10 minutes ... every 10 minutes. Finally, Gullfoss waterfall was a mighty power to behold; the force and temperature of the wind was rattling let alone the water below.

(Crapping my pants at the prospect of driving)

(Strokkur being the BEST)

(Gulfoss raging beneath me)

Organising myself isn't really a strong point and Iceland was no exception. I was really quite fortunate to meet a travel buddy very early on who was willing to come exploring with me. The added bonus was this travel buddy, Rafal, knew Iceland extremely well and knew exactly where to go. So after spending a night somewhere around the Golden Circle the PLAN was to go grab him from Reykjavic and then haul ass to the east side.

The PLAN, as it were, was thrown awry by a severe storm. Only in Iceland has the weather ever been such a dramatic obstacle to overcome. The hostel owners were giving out free nights accommodation to try and convince people not to brave the roads as they can be extremely dangerous. Kris, however, had places to be! Things to do! So early the next morning while the weather looked fine I set out in my lil' bright red car to get back to Reykjavic. The owner of the hostel advised me on a route and off I went.

(I'm not hearing a 'no' ... oh wait shit)

To cut a long story short I ended up in a mother fucking BEAST of a snowstorm. There were points where all I could see was white. Literally that's all I could see. This ordeal went on for about 40 minutes. There were two or three times when I thought "shit. I'm not going to get through this" but I plowed on as there wasn't much other alternative. I noticed at a point of moderate visibility that a car on the other side of the road had got stuck and could see people desperately trying to shovel snow away while being stung by the blizzard. I got through it and I can laugh about it now but Jesus Christ! The rest of the day was a bit of a write off!

(Hanging out with Jesus and friends)

We finally begun our adventure the next morning by driving for 7 hours to a glacial lagoon out to the east. I didn't really know what to expect from the words 'glacial lagoon' but I was very pleasantly surprised to find a beach full of massive chunks of ice. It sounds simple in theory but it was oddly satisfying to experience. The drive there took us past vast expanses of pure white snow and around striking mountains that fill the landscape. Snow is not my natural element so to be surrounded by it was fascinating. The whole landscape was transformed into a beautiful black and white painting. We managed to fit in two other glaciers that day before settling down in a hotel to avoid yet another barrage of wind.

(I'm cringing too)

Early the next day we began to make our way back to Reykjavic stopping at various sights along the way. The weather had become noticeably sunnier which miraculously melted a lot of the ice (SCIENCE!) which suddenly gave rise to a completely different landscape to the snowy fields on the way there.

Black beach - a cave of icy stalagmites, black sand and the ferocious sea blasting the foamy white water across it.

(Yassss)

(Yass black beach yasssss)

Dyrhlaey Lighthouse - The southernmost point of Iceland not only gives you a fantastic and uplifting thrill it's also an opportunity to sit among the flying sea birds as they circle en masse on the warm air.

(My hair being stupid in yet another country)

(So picturesque I can't even ...)

Waterfalls - All very impressive but the last one we visited was especially beautiful. Rafal showed a hidden route around the side that places you front and centre of the powerful waterfall. Not only does each breath in fill your lungs with icy air but god damn you get soaked. ha.

(Probs better in summer but still pretty rad)

(POWER)

(Rafal isn't much of a smiler. It's on the inside)

Geothermal pool - hidden away from sight this geothermal pool was quite cold except at the point where the volcano-heated water entered... and there we huddled for warmth.

(The water was NOT as warm as expected. Worth doing though)

Our trip came to an end and I returned the rental car with a slight scratch that I managed to hide pretty darn well (thanks to a red crayon and a well placed droplet of water). I spent the rest of the day at a film festival and finally at night saw some of Reykjavic's night life which was actually pretty amazing. I was genuinely impressed. Walking around at night before catching my bus to the airport also afforded a view of the AURORA BOREALIS over Reykjavic. I saw it you guys. I finally caught a glimpse in my last few hours in the country and although it was somewhat obscured by the lights of Reykjavic it was still pretty. It was a bit of a teaser though ... I'd like to come back in the future and see it in all of it's full glory - away from the city lights.

Iceland was an incredible experience. It is as beautiful as it's reputation admits but it's a simple beauty. A really sweet beauty that arises from raw elements - sunlight reflecting off lakes, vast open spaces spotted with curious little houses, steam pouring into the sky from volcanic vents. If you simply put the word 'Iceland' into google images you will be smashed in the face with beauty. I feel in winter a lot of it was hidden away (still maintaining a different form) so I'd like to re-visit in the summer months. This was only a small sample of what Iceland has to offer and next time I can't wait to see more.

Ah yes, the scratch in the car. We ended up buying a pastel and trying to colour it in. Failing that we put a drop of water on it when we returned it and no one picked up on it. Swish!