Iceland 2012

Iceland 2012

09-13 February 2012

Pete, Chris, Christine & Me

Accommodation: Hotel Cabin, Reykjavik

Locals: Unintelligible and Viking looking but exceptionally friendly.

Geography: Black Lava Mountains and plains smattered with snow

Weather: Rain → Sun →  Sleet/hail/snow → Sun (repeat)

Day 1:

Landed in Reykjavik at about 1am, escaped London just in time as a massive snow storm hit Heathrow. Dinner at the Tin Goose after leaving the house at 4pm. Easy +- 3 hrs flight with amazing legroom and our 1^st glimpse of the Northern Lights. Phenomenal mystical green light spilt across the sky that moves and disappears and makes you wonder if it was ever there in the first place…ethereal, surreal and thrilling. Can’t wait to see more! Eventually arrived at the hotel and crashed into bed after a long overdue shower at about 3am.

09:30am wake up just in time to catch the tail end of breakfast. A very groggy bunch! But nothing a cup of coffee couldn’t cure. With white clouds peeling off the snow cragged mountains around us, we strolled into town along the sea shore, black volcanic rocks lining the whole way. Passed the lopsided glass opera house and into the harbour.

Looks so much like Hout Bay: same boats, smell and seaweed, but H2O a little colder!! Stunning clear sea green ocean and apparently one of the top 10 diving stops in the world. Who Knew??!! Found a whale watching tour for 8000 ISK (1pound = +-200ISK) and spent the rest of the afternoon chasing one poor humpback whale off the coast, avoiding the weather on deck and attempting to keep breakfast down. (Not the calmest of oceans!!). I think the whale had the last laugh though.

He swam in circles around the boat making us run from side to side to back in the Icelandic hail while our captain shouted “whale-12 o’clock”, “whale-3 o’clock!” Back to the hotel for dinner before ‘suiting up’ in every item of warm clothing we owned and heading out to hunt for some clear skies. A short drive to the south-shore and we were blessed with the most incredible sight. Solar particles blasted into the atmosphere creating shifting lines of green light that looked more like a moving impressionist painting than a scientific phenomenon. And just as suddenly as we saw them they faded and were gone. Back onto the bus, but 5 mins later another cosmic green light show! More alien than natural, the whole experience was made even more special by the singularity of the evening. All Northern Lights trips were cancelled for the duration of our stay.

Day 2:

Early wake up to catch the bus to the Blue Lagoon, a huge natural pool in lava rocks heated by geothermal waters and filled with silica and algae. Left a grumpy Christine to spend the day in Reykjavik. The bus ride took us south towards Kefvlavik (sp?) through a land straight out of Lord of the Rings. Black gnarly volcanic lava rocks, crusted and crumbly. A modern Mordor covered in patchy thick green moss and smattered with snow. A perfect landscape for the local legends of trolls, goblins and elves.

Arrived and were greeted by a very modern building. Everything done with a waterproof chip on a bracelet: locked locker in change rooms, buy drinks, order poolside massages…!!! Spent hours just ‘lolling’ in the heated steamy waters, drink in hand (Viking beer for the boys and Blue Lagoon cocktail for me). Steamed and sweated in the poolside sauna and steam room, massaged by the waterfall falling into the pool and did face masks with silica paste. Eventually dragged our lethargic bodies into the showers and back onto the bus for a snooze through the lava plains to Reykjavik.

Back in town, feeling refreshed we walked through the city streets up to the church. Walked past a heated pond for the ducks and swans, up Bankstraet and via a small café for a lunch of panini’s and pizza. Rounded this off nicely with coffee and a cookie from ‘C is for Cookie’ coffee shop. Really relaxed coffee shops and browsing stores all over Reykjavik. The whole atmosphere is very chilled. Big music and art scene so lots of shops to do with that. Stopped for a while at the church to admire the incredible organ, the sparse Nordic architecture and the view from the bell tower.

Tried the local public toilets on the street corner before winding our way through the streets back to the hotel. But not before finding a pub to watch the rugby and to buy a woollen hat (as you do!).

 After a quick freshen up at the hotel we caught the bus back into town. Found the pub, but sadly no rugby as the French ground was frozen (6 nations France vs Ireland – I really need to find more girl friends!). Turned out to be a real one horse pub and with no rugby we were entertained by old country and western songs from the Dolly Parton era…?!? Nice Tuborg beer though. Next was dinner at a restaurant whose name I couldn’t begin to pronounce let alone spell. Fortunately, the boys’ threats to eat puffin and mink whale proved empty and we enjoyed a delicious meal of steak (Pete) and Icelandic Cod (Chris and Me). Not to be outdone by the late starting locals, we headed to a dark woody bar with Polar beer on tap and some very friendly locals. (Note to self: never ask an Icelandic barman to recommend a drink. The result will be a delicious albeit deadly cocktail.)

Had a great chat to Hanna, a local lady I met in the bathroom twice and then at the bar. She takes hikers all over Iceland, up the mountains, volcanoes and glaciers. Didn’t/couldn’t last much longer after the cocktail so back to the hotel and crash into bed.

Day 3:

Early rise for our last day out and about. Booked on a Golden Circle Bus tour. 8 hrs of sightseeing into the interior of this incredible country.

First Stop: One of the early Icelandic settlements now occupied by a very American looking church. Icy wind and rain chased us quickly back onto the bus in spite of the beautiful view across green hills to the sea. Drive through local farm land with many an Icelandic ‘horse’ on show. (Really the size of a large Shetland pony, but don’t dare call them ponies!)

Next Stop: Gullfoss, the Queen of Icelandic waterfalls, a roaring mass of water thundering down 2 tiers of volcanic rock and carving a massive canyon to the sea. Beautiful and Icy. Would definitely give Niagara falls a run for its money.

Back onto the bus to brave more icy roads before reaching our lunch stop at Geysir geothermal field and hot springs. After warming up on thick Icelandic meat stew and feeling the effects of a simulated 5.0 magnitude earthquake. We hobbled over the ice like drunk penguins to see the hot springs. Incredible to glimpse the violent, incessant churning happening just below the earth’s surface. Bubbling mud and boiling water and steaming earth, broken every few minutes by an explosion from Strokkur, the smaller more reliable sister of Geysir after whom all other geysers are named. (‘Geysir’ = Icelandic word!).

Eventually back on the bus after a slightly longer stay caused by an oil leak. Drove through a complete white out where the only thing we saw was an isolate dogsled disappearing into the snow.

Final Stop:  Pingvellier National Park. What a way to end the day! A massive inland lake indicating the start of the visible crack/rift between the Atlantic plates!! The mid-Atlantic rift literally splices Iceland in half making it the only country (I think) to span across 2 continental plates: The North American plate and Eurasian Plate. Where the earth’s crust is literally being ripped apart, crystal blue water bubbles up. And to add human to geological history, this is also where the Vikings used to meet once a year to make laws and settle disputes. An incredible UNESCO World Heritage Site!!

Nearly got left behind after straying from the path and falling waist deep into the snow!

Easy drive back to Reykjavik, before a low key dinner and bed.

Day 4:

04:30am wake up for 5am pick up to the airport. Easy drive and check in before wandering through duty free spending our last krona (and a little more on volcanic earrings!!) Bought some of the unique Icelandic sweets (a frequent mixture of chocolate covered liquorice!?!) and a T-shirt for Pete. Eventually onto the plane and back to England flying over grey seas and snowy land that looked just like a winter patchwork quilt.

Home and once again it strikes me how fast 4 days can go and how much can be fitted into 24 hrs. Iceland has been an incredible surprise with more rewards than we ever expected, not least of which included the Northern Lights. The friendly locals, fascinating geography and history are just a few more reasons to visit this hardy country. Definitely one to tick off the list and perhaps put on the list again for another visit…? Who knows, we’ll see.