Iceland

Back to 2018 - Iceland

I am extraordinarily lucky in the people who are part of my life. One of these people is my friend Christy. I know that if I am ever in trouble, Christy will be in my corner, fighting tooth and nail (even if I'm the one in the wrong). Like all friends, Christy and I are similar in some ways (both crazy cat ladies, both Lady Gaga fans), and vastly different in others. Our biggest difference is travel. I do, she doesn't. 

I once asked Christy what country she would board a plane to get to. She answered 'Iceland.' So Iceland it was. We started planning our trip months in advance. First Christy had to get a passport...

I was in Turkey, Christy was in Canada, so the planning was done remotely. I didn't have a Lonely Planet guide, which was distressing for me. I have a bit of an addiction to Lonely Planet. Christy bought every travel gadget on the market. 

Finally the big day came. We met at Pearson International Airport in Toronto (I was back in Canada for the summer). We immediately hit some snags. I had failed to mention to Christy that belts need to be taken off when going through airport security. Of course one of her travel gadgets was a money/document pouch that was so firmly attached to the belt it would take an army to remove. After some swearing and shaking, we accomplished it (an army of two). Once we got through security, I realized that I had left all of my medications at home (I'm a seasoned traveller, not a smart traveller). 

Borgarnes

Day One -Welcome to Iceland!

Our trip through Iceland immigration was the easiest and friendliest I have EVER experienced. The young immigration officer looked at my passport, handed it back to me, smiled, and said, "Welcome to Iceland." NO QUESTIONS. 

It was about 6AM when we arrived, so Christy and I decided to get some caffeine and food before boarding the shuttle bus to pick up our rental car. We went to a very busy little coffee shop in the airport. Christy watched the bags while I got into line. Two coffees and two sandwiches, which we ate hunched over a counter, seated on stools. The cost when I converted it? CAD$50.00!!!!!! It was at this point that we realized we would be eating packed lunches and cooking dinner at our accommodation...

Borgarnes

Fun fact: the wind in Iceland is so strong, you risk blowing the doors off your car if you leave them open. You are specifically warned against doing this. We bought special insurance for this. Christy did the driving on the first day. Which was good, because I was swivelling my head right and left marvelling at the wild beauty of the place. We sailed past Rekjavik, through a verrrrrrry long tunnel (neither Christy nor I are big tunnel fans, and this tunnel was a conduit to many of the places we visited over the next week), around some stunning fjords until we arrived at our destination, Hyvanneyri. 

Hiamey

Another fun fact: if you are travelling to Iceland in the summer, book your hotel VERY far in advance. I was in charge of booking our hotel. I fiddled around so long that all the hotels I checked were already fully booked. I finally found Hotel Sol in Hvanneyri. It is actually the residence of an agricultural college. When we arrived and checked the room, it turned out that they had given us a room with one double bed. We asked (nicely) if there were any rooms with 2 beds. We ended up with an entire suite, with THREE bedrooms, a kitchenette, and dining and living area. Score!

West Iceland

Day Two -Geological Wonders

We set out the next morning for Thingvellir National Park. The landscape we were driving through was just so astonishingly beautiful. I was gasping and calling out so much that we made an agreement. When one of us yelled, 'Oh My God!' it just meant 'this is beautiful.' True emergencies would be marked by more vigorous cursing. 

West Iceland

The continental plates meet at this spot on the earth, so visitors are actually walking between the two geological continents. Mind-blowing!

Thingvallarkirkja, one of Iceland's earliest churches 

And then it started to rain...

Christy enjoying photo opportunities with people from around the globe

We left Thingvellir and made our way to Geysir, an area of intense geothermal activity. Yes, this is the source of the English word geyser. Because of its unique position on the Mid-Atlantic ridge, Iceland is one of the most geologically active places on earth - they have around 200 volcanoes and 600 hot springs. Over 85% of Iceland's homes are heated with geothermal energy, and some of the streets in Reykjavik are even heated so that people don't slip in the winter. 

Waiting for the geyser to blow

Thar she blows!

We then drove from Geyseri to Gullfoss, a massive waterfall. 

Gullfoss has an interesting history. In the 1920's, foreign investors wanted to build a dam here. The landowner refused to sell, but the investors obtained permission from the government to go ahead anyway. The landowner's daughter, Sigriour Tomasdottir, walked barefoot to Reykjavik to protest and threatened to throw herself over the falls if the plans for the dam went ahead. The falls were saved! There is a commemorative monument at the falls honouring Sigriour. 

Now to rant about one of my pet peeves about travelling - selfies!!! All around the falls, there were low fences, and signs saying don't come any closer. And what were idiot tourists doing? Climbing over the fences to get closer to the falls for @##$ing selfies. 

This was only our first full day in Iceland. Over the next week, Christy and I would keep making the mistake of pushing ourselves to do and see more and more because it was light ALL THE TIME. We would end up driving home when we were tired, and arriving at 10PM, one night we didn't get home until almost midnight. Our brains were telling us it was still the middle of the day, but our bodies protested. Something that we noticed was that businesses in Iceland closed promptly at 5 or 6PM. There was no adjustment for the added daylight hours as we do in Canada.