Road Tripping Around Iceland

Our last full day of road tripping. It was our first 
day without strong winds.

 If we were geologists, our happy place would be Iceland—in the summer at least.  Kathy and I are not, but still Iceland was nothing short of amazing, and we are glad we finally got to go there. We wish we had gone a few years ago before it was so crowded, even in the cold autumn. Through June of this year, visitors to Iceland increased 14% over the same period last year, and the years before it also had big increases.  It was a busy mix on narrow roads of tour busses, sprinter vans, and people like us renting small vehicles.

 

Simply Beautiful and Stunning

We were privileged to view this twice with
different lighting and clouds, as we missed
a museum sign and had to backtrack 13 miles.

But once we got on the northern side, it seemed rather lonely at times as we circumnavigated 1200 miles around the island over two weeks. The miles passed quickly, even at a 54-mph speed limit. There were so many places where we wanted to pull over and take a photo, or simply marvel at what we were seeing. But we couldn’t, hence, you’ll see a few windshield photos in the link below. We’ve never seen so many waterfalls in our lives, and stunning ones at that.  What wasn’t pastoral and green was “recent” geology in action, some of it reminiscent of the Columbia basin and Yellowstone. 

 

Wildlife

It was roundup time, so these were some of the few sheep we
saw that were still out and about before being herded into large
sheds for haircuts and warmth in the upcoming winter.

And unlike Yellowstone, about the only form of non-bird wildlife we saw were unique sheep, goats, and horses, all brought by the Vikings and protected by strict import controls. In fact, the estimated 800,0000 sheep population is double that of Icelanders, 60% of whom live in Reykjavik.  By the way, 20% of Iceland’s population are immigrants or guest workers from all over the world, mostly in construction and tourism. Iceland couldn’t pull it off without them.

 

Logistics

How did we (Kathy) plan this trip? We engaged an Icelandic company called Nordic Visitor. We gave them our parameters for costs, time, and activities.  They designed the itinerary, rented the car (complete with a robust WIFI hot spot), and booked the hotels for a reasonable price. We were on our own for food and entrance fees*.  After visiting family in the UK, we flew three hours on Icelandic Air from Heathrow. The flight home two weeks later was a miserable seven-hour flight, and we will never fly Icelandic air again!

 Geothermal and Hydro Power

A geothermal electricity and hot water plant we visited
outside of Reykjavik. The photo link includes a photo
of Kathy demonstrating the diameter of the hot water
pumps that surge through the buildings of Reykjavik.

One of Iceland’s delightful features is its geothermal pools and power production. Electricity is cheap and many cities and towns are heated thermally with piped in heat. Our hotel floors felt so nice on our feet, laundry dried quickly, and like many Icelanders, we slept with an open window on a cold windy nights with clean consciences. Interesting fact:  Iceland exports tomatoes! Their greenhouses are geothermally heated and lighted with cheap electricity. 

 Food

Note Kathy's expression after ingesting the shark meat, but before
a swig of the local brew to wash it down.  The post-drink photo
in the photo link shows her much happier.

The food was excellent! We took a five-stop walking food tour of Reykjavik and tried everything but the horsemeat. And we lived to tell about eating fermented shark meat, which tasted like ammonia. The
dinners at our isolated accommodations were date-night, Michelin Star quality, kind of like what you would see in The Bear Hulu series, with priority given to presentation and locally sourced food.  Not cheap! Even a small pizza and two wines for lunch could cost $50.

 

Northern Lights

The camera makes them look
impressive. This was the
most colorful one we were able
to photograph.

Yes, we got to see the Northern Lights.  But here's the secret--they look better in photographs. In real life shivering outside they look like streaky cloud formations. Our photos are not enhanced; otherwise, they would be more colorful.

Will We Return?

As amazing and beautiful it was, no. We’d do it in a heartbeat for the first time, but we have too many other priorities on our bucket list while we still can undertake this type of active trip. Maybe with better weather we would have hiked more, but the windchill factor made for some cozy times in the hotel, hot tub, or even in the car. Even the rental car agreement didn’t cover door-hinge damage caused by strong wind gusts!

 

Fjaorargljufur Canyon. Don't ask me
to pronounce it!

More Photos

Here is a link to more photos and some very short video clips. I have organized them in groups, starting with waterfalls, then geologic formations, glaciers, road trip scenery, Reykjavik, and food.  Enjoy!

 

What We Can, While We Can.

What We Could, While We Could

 

Pay to pee! Only tap accepted.

*Security cameras note your license plate coming and going into the parking lots of major tourist attractions to enforce the entrance fees, typically $7-15 via phone app.  We never once used any cash the entire trip.  Even the pay toilets cost $3-5, payable by Google or Apple Pay. (Note: another turnstile photo is in the photo link.)

PS:  It wouldn't be a post from the other side of the pond without a gratuitous photo of our four-year-old grandchild, Hazel.  We got to be there when she mastered her new bike and became a fearless speed demon. And we also got to walk her to her first day in public school kindergarten. What milestones!

"I'll race you down the hill, Grandpa!

"