In early June, Hubs and I rented a Chevy Spark for 8 days and drove around the
Ring Road in Iceland. Along the way I kept a daily log to our family back home
of our adventure. I thought you all might like to read about our experiences as
well.
DAY 1
We rolled into Iceland around 9:30am as opposed to 5am
due to a strike at Keflavik airport. We ended up in a row with extra leg room!
But, the exit row was behind us so we couldn't recline our seats. After flying
for 5 hours we got off the plane and onto a short shuttle. Then we had maneuver
through the airport. We didn't have to fill out a customs form or anything. We
walked down the "no items to declare" hallway and then they stamped
our passports and asked us how long we'd be in Europe. Then we had to wait for
the shuttle to go to pick up the rental car and that whole process took over an
hour.
So by the time we actually hit the road we hit it multiple times because
we got all turned around. We then stopped at a gas station for hotdogs since at
this point it was already after 1pm.
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| trollin' around at Geysir |
Once we got into Reykjavik we couldn't figure out the
parking meter. We walked into a local church for a few moments and then moved
our car to outside the Airbnb. We were so exhausted from not having slept we
napped in the car for about two hours while we waited for our room to be ready.
Which it was ready the whole time it turned out, but we had no Wi-Fi so we
didn't get the message. Once we got settled in the Airbnb things started going
more smoothly. The couple we are staying with tonight are a little older and
have the cutest dog. It's an Icelandic Shepard. It looks like a border collie
and a husky mixed.
We got some delicious coffee at a local place and met
some Americans who just finished an adventure similar to what we've planned and
they gave us a lot of helpful insight! Then we walked along the harbor and had
dinner at a place called the Lebowski Bar. It was all Big Lebowski themed. Then we got back to Airbnb around 7:30 and
fell asleep. We are trying to sleep now but it's so bright it doesn't feel like
10pm! We had some blunders, but overall I've loved out first day here!!
DAY 2
It's almost midnight and the sun is still out! We got
to see the midnight sun, but I'll talk about that later. Today we left the
Airbnb around 8am, had a quick, light breakfast, and hit the road. Of course
with me as navigator we got turned the wrong way.
We eventually made it to Geysir. Geysir is the reason
that all geysers are called geysers! Geysir itself hasn't erupted since 2000
since it only erupts after earthquakes. Strokkur Geyser is like Iceland's Old
Faithful and erupts every few minutes. We saw it erupt about 5 times.
After that we left for the waterfall Gullfoss.
Naturally, we headed the wrong way. Gullfoss was huge and gorgeous! It said
it's about as powerful as Niagara Falls but not quite as big. The best part
about Gullfoss was the gift shop where we got a map. :) Downloaded Google Maps
was not working for us. It's hard to know you're going the wrong way with no
Wi-Fi or data to help you! So we went old school. I can handle a printed map
much better. Plus, it had all the roads marked if they were gravel or paved.
After that we tried to go to a volcano called
Maelifell. We couldn't because the road leading up to a trail was blocked off.
So we headed toward our next Airbnb. We did pass Hekla on the way. That's a
volcano here that erupts pretty frequently in geology terms. It used to be
feared and thought of as the gateway to Hell. We also stopped for hotdogs again
at a gas station. Yummmmm!
The Airbnb we stayed at today is GORGEOUS. It's on a
little isolated farm. It even has its own "mountain" to climb. Hubs
and I climbed it twice :). The family has multiple Icelandic horses, two
rabbits, two cats, sheep, and cows. The sheep they release outside of their
property during the summer. In the fall they get on horseback and round them
all back up. Their ears are tagged so they know who's who. We didn't see the
cows either because they were out grazing. Apparently this is a tradition done
all across Iceland.
We ate dinner with the family, it was lasagna with
jelly as an optional topping, and then after I did go horseback riding! Hubs
followed along on foot and took pictures. He didn't want to ride. The horses
here have 5 gaits: the walk, trot, tölt, canter/gallop, and skaith. The tölt is
like a very fluid trot. I loved it! And the skaith is faster than a gallop but
smoother. They are the only horses in the world that can do all five gaits.
Around 9pm we climbed the little mountain twice (it's
a hill); it’s called Dimon. It’s not
called Dimon because it’s devil-like, but the name derives from Latin and
apparently there’s two. On the way down the last time it was about 11pm and we
saw the sun start to "set." This time of year the sun doesn't really
set it just lowers and turns this brilliant red color. It's called the midnight
sun. It was worth staying up late and seeing!
It's supposed to rain for the next few days but
tomorrow we will be spending about 7 hours in the car to get to our next
Airbnb.
DAY 3
Today we left the farm and drove for FOREVER (about
7.5 hours) to our next place. Along the way we stopped at another waterfall
called Skogafoss. We passed a lot of beautiful fjords and the largest glacier
in Iceland. It's called Vatnajökull. We went up to a section of it called
Svinafellsjökull and got some cool pictures. There were even little sections of
it broken off into little icebergs washed up on the bay. We got to walk of them
and touch them. They aren't solid blocks of ice or dense snow. They were like
tiny glass pieces all fitted together. You could hear the water melting
underneath them and the glacier itself. When I touched it, it fell into little
pieces in my hand.
Eventually we passed glacier lagoon where a much
larger section melts into to sea. It's really gorgeous because you can actually
see where the glacier water meets to ocean. After what felt like a week we made
it to Höfn, a coastal town, and had a really nice early dinner. I had langoustine
pasta (it's like lobster) and Hubs had the langoustine and lamb. It was all
very delicious.
We got back in the car and continued on our way. We
drove over a mountain called Oxi. You could see the snow left on the mountain
and hear the snow melting from underneath forming the rivers and waterfalls. We
actually stopped for a water refill from the waterfall water. Hubs was
convinced it was clean. It was crystal clear in the bottle and smelled clean. I
had Hubs drink it first of course. I waited a while and he felt fine so I drank
some, too. It tasted way better than the tap water here. (I looked it up before
hand, the tap water is safe to drink and it's said that Iceland has some of the
cleanest water in the world.) The waterfall water was honestly some of the best
water I’ve ever tasted. It looked cleaner than the tap water back home.
After a mere 10947590 hours in the car we FINALLY made
it to the Airbnb where we crashed. Well, Hubs crashed. I’ve been playing
Sudoku.
DAY 4
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| Dettifoss |
So today we left Egilsstard and headed about 2 hours
up the road to a waterfall. There were really two, Dettifoss and Skellfoss.
They were huge and beautiful! We passed Goðafoss somewhere along the way. That
means “
waterfall of the gods” because a lawspeaker allegedly threw the Nordic
gods over the waterfall to convert Iceland to Christianity. We didn’t stop for pictures, which I
regret, but the view from the highway was stunning. After Dettifoss we drove
another hour to a lake called Myvatn. We stopped here and had pizza. The pizza
had the regular sauce and mozzarella, but it also had smoked salmon, pine nuts,
and cream cheese! It was really good.
We realized over lunch that our rental car plan doesn't
include unlimited mileage but only 200 km a day so we've had go make some
changes. We changed our Airbnb locations because the rental place said we
couldn’t change the reservation to unlimited miles. So, very sadly, we did not
make it into the Western Fjords. That would have added another 6.5 hours in the
car one way but I still wish we could have made the haul. Once we got to our
Airbnb, where we are now, we got an email saying we could change it! It's been
a pain. But we still decided not to drive an extra 6.5 hours the next morning...
it's just too long! I didn't realize how big this country is.
We did go to a place called Dimmugorgir which
translates to "dark city." It also was thought to be a gateway to
Hell. It is a bunch of lava rock formations and a couple of giant lava tunnels
and caves. It was really neat! They even had a little cave set up like trolls lived
there. Haha!
We drove through a town called Akueryi and had burgers
with fries on them and ice cream cones. I had mine dipped in dark chocolate.
Yummm. The burgers had a sauce on it that tastes kind of like the seasoning the
softball park used to use on its fries. It was pretty good! The town is
situated on the western side of a fjord. The birdlife is insane here!
DAY 5
Today we started with a whale watching tour. We saw
"Puffin Island." The puffins were so little and cute! We did get to
see a whale; actually, we saw many whales! We saw porpoises, hump backs, and
Minke whales! It was so cool! It was some sort of feeding frenzy so many
species of birds and those three species of whales were all gathered in one
place.
The rest of the day we spent going through the town
Akueryi and driving. We got to our Airbnb early. It's an "apartment."
Really, it's an old style house that's been added on. But we are in a newly
renovated original part. It's so cute! Apparently it's how most middle class
Icelandic people lived 70-80 years ago. I love its layout. It has a separate
mudroom, then stairs up to the main living area. The washer was under the
stairs. Upstairs was a small hallway with floor to ceiling storage, a shower on
one end and the WC on the other. There was a living room, which I believe used
to be a bedroom, a bedroom, and a tiny little kitchen with an eat-in table. It
was so quaint and the views were breathtaking. The views everywhere in this
country are breathtaking. The little town where we are is small and surrounded
by water. I’m falling in love with this country life.
DAY 6
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| Egil |
So today we left Skagaströnd and went to Borgarnes.
There we went to a museum called the Settlement Centre. We learned about the
history of Iceland and one of the Viking sagas called Egil's Saga. I had no idea
sagas were that intense! There was definitely enough action, drama, romance,
and plot twists. No wonder this one saga got its own audio guided museum exhibit!
After that we headed to our Airbnb, dropped off our
stuff, and headed back onto Reykjavik for dinner. I had red fish and Hubs had
rainbow trout. We both had lobster soup. Yumm! Shark, puffin, and whale were
also on the menu, but we supported the “Meet Us! Don’t Eat Us!” campaign.
Now we are back at the Airbnb resting. All this
driving around really zaps your energy!
DAYS 7-8
Our last full day in Iceland! We walked around
Reykjavik looking in shops after a delicious brunch down on the Harbor. We
popped into the Saga Museum, but didn't go through because we weren't sure we'd
have time since we still needed to drive out to Keflavik and had a reservation
for the Blue Lagoon. Plus I think Hubs was “museumed out” after yesterday. Then
we headed about 40 minutes down the road to our last Airbnb in Iceland. We
lounged around a bit, picked up some snacks at a local supermarket, and then
back to the Airbnb to get ready for the Blue Lagoon! At the Blue Lagoon we had
to take showers before and after. I saw a lot of women who were not shy about
their bodies. You could tell who the Americans were because they were the one
showering in their swimsuits or walking around in a towel.
The Blue Lagoon was awesome! It sits on the North
American and European tectonic plates. It's a man-made lagoon and wasn't all
totally planned. It's a byproduct of a geothermal plant. There were silica mud
masks and algae masks. There were also a ton of Asians with selfie sticks. We
were there from about 7-10:30pm and got to see the sun "set."
This morning we had breakfast at the Airbnb and then
went into the little town near the airport. Then we returned the car and now we
are at the airport with two hours before our flight. We have one more night on
Boston at the Airbnb from our second day there and then we fly out around 8am
with a quick layover and will get in about lunch time, around 12:30. Anyway,
it's been a beautiful trip. The people here are so kind and speak excellent
English. They scenery is stunning. I wish we had more time to do more outdoor
activities and sight-seeing. I believe Hubs and I had a thorough trip
considering how much we got to see and do in such a short time. If we had to do
it again, I’d want to stay for at least two weeks and make more side stops
along the way. But honestly, you can’t go wrong with anything you do here.
What do you expect while camping in the desert? A clear view of the
night sky? A warm fire and a cold beer? How about a thunderstorm? Bro was the
next to scurry off and into the car when a bright bolt of lightning woke him
up. Hubs and I attempted to stay in the tent but then our lopsided tent began
to flood so we had to abandon ship. We joined Bro in the car. Overall I wouldn’t
change a thing. It made for quite the bonding experience!
