Iceland

This post is coming five months past time, but better late than never. April of this year my spontaneity got the best of me as I was perusing skyscanner. I saw a phenomenally cheap flight to Iceland and made a spur of the moment decision to travel abroad over spring break. I booked a eco-hostel for $18 a night and planned out a week of adventures traveling across the island. My itinerary included the Snealfesnss Peninsula, the Icelandic South Coast, riding on Icelandic horses, blue lagoon, and the Golden Circle.

After spending about 20 hours in travel with a layover in Germany, I exited the Reykjavik airport and made my way (in the sleet) to the bust stop. It was a 30 minuet ride into town and I finally understood the hype of the Icelandic views. This Nordic island nation, is defined by its dramatic landscape with volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and lava fields. There are massive glaciers, and coastlines that brought me back to Dragon Stone and beyond on Game of Thrones.

I hopped off the bus in the Reykjavik town square and proceeded down the brightly colored streets with my green REI 35L pack and carryon in tow. The Eco hostel I stayed ad was only a 8 minuet walk from the square thankfully, and when I finally made it through the sleet all I could think about was how warm and friendly the atmosphere was. Mostly warm though. After finally checking into my hostel and getting my keys I lugged my suitcase up three flights go stairs and claimed the first bottom bunch I set my eyes on.

I became instant friends with my hostel mates and we went out to enjoy an icelandic micro-brewery. I stayed up far too late and struggled getting myself up for the complementary breakfast. I had to rush and scarf down my oatmeal and briskly walk to the bus stop. There was only one bus leaving for the Snealfesnss Peninsula that day and I was going to be on it.

As the above photos show, this was an absolutely stunning landscape! I was lucky enough to get some rare sun rays in early April on this easter morning on the Snealfesnss Peninsula. After some hours spent touring this location the bus made it way to one of Iceland’s famous black san beaches.

I got back to the hostel completely beat from the walking and adventuring. However, my fomo got the best of me when my hostel mates invited me out, and yet again I found myself at an Icelandic bar.

In the morning I had another bus to catch in hopes of visiting an Icelandic horse ranch. The weather was favorable and seemed like a good day to learn how to ride a horse. When I arrived visitors were given tours of the stables and were walked through options of riding trails. Therefore, next thing I know, I am suited up and mounting a horse names Solas. Getting on the horse and walking was fairly easy, I didn’t have a problem learning to steer my pony and we seemed to have great chemistry. My problems did arrive until our group split into the beginner and adventures riding trails. Was I a beginner? Absolutely, but was I going to skip the weenie hut jr. trail and try for the adventurous group? You bet.

It was all fun and games trotting along until we had to begin a gallop, let me just say it was a partially miracle and a product of my great balance which kept me on top of this four legged beast. My butt has never been so sore, now I understand why cowboys have a bow legged walk.

I hobbled off my horse and back into town for the afternoon. As I was walking by the pier looking for the next lunch spot I passed a whale watching tour gearing up to leave. Being the spontaneous person that I am I made a quick spur of the moment decision to join the tour. I was fitted into a giant red marshmallow full body suit equipped with a hood (this went on over my jacket). I was also given a life vest and what looked like a ski mask. The group and I make are way to the boat, and to my dismay it is basically a glorified raft/banana boat. This small size allows us to get closer to the whales. I get in my seat (banana bat style) one leg over each side with a handle in the middle (which by the way felt GREAT after horseback riding that morning) and the band starts going. The boat kicked up to 60mph and I understood then why I was in a giant marshmallow puff body suit.

We saw so many whales during our tour it made it all worth it. The small raft boat got us so close to the whales I could feel the spray from their blow hole, it was truly one of the most incredible experiences of my life.

The next day was a trip to the Icelandic South Coast, I met a wonderful Canadian named Sofia and we had a spending time for the day despite the freezing rain and wind. Her and I made our way to Vik and the South Coasts black sand beaches know for its incredible column rock formations. We also stopped by a glacier and an waterfall that you could walk behind. Unfortunately because of the consistency rain I didn’t have many photos from this day. Only cold wet memories.

The trip to the Golden Circle was another drizzly cold day. I have to be honest and say that after visiting Yellowstone National Park last year the Golden Circle, Iceland’s geothermal region was underwhelming. Additionally seeing their largest waterfall (which they called the Niagra od Iceland) was cool, but did not compare to the United States Niagra Falls. What truly blew me away was the Blue Lagoon. This geothermal pool has been converted into a spa-like tourist destination of dream and I was not mad about it. It was like resting in nature’s hot tub of magic. The best part would be the mud masks and the secret bar you could find if you wandered around in the misty water. After a long freezing day, with the rain still slowly coming down the best part about the Golden Circle was just kicking back here for an hour.

All good things have to come to an end, so after a week full of adventure I was headed back to the U.S with a memory card full of the best moments ever. During my long lay-overs in Germany I had the joy of editing all of my photos and sharing them online. Although I had the photos finished in April sadly it took me almost nine months to finally blog about the trip..oops.