Ice, Ice Baby! A week in Iceland!

Arriving in Iceland, Eliza and I were met at the airport by Stefan, whose wife Gudmunda had offered to have us to stay with her and her family. Gudmunda, Stefan, and their three energetic children live in a suburban home in Reykjanesbær, where we were welcomed with a pillow fight on the couch and dinner with the family, before Stefan took us out for a tour of the Reykjavik Peninsular.

The Reykjavik Peninsular stretches around 50km’s in the south-west corner of the country, and is the least ‘earthly’ place I have ever been – with volcanic geysers, lava cones and craters, and The Bridge Between Two Continents – a man-made bridge which spans the visible gap between the tectonic plates of Europe, and those of North America.

Iceland is Europe’s most sparsely populated country, with much of the land uninhabitable due to volcanic and geological activity. A recent history of flight-delaying volcanic eruptions, the country’s stunning natural beauty, and an impressive capital city have led to a tourism boom in recent years, which alongside Iceland’s fishing industry, and world leading geothermal and hydroelectric power ventures, has made the country the fourth most productive, and fourteenth most developed in the world.

Keflavik Airport, which is now the country’s international airport, was formerly a US military base, and the influence of the US on the architecture, vehicles, and suburbs of the area is still evident today. Fortunately for us, English is spoken widely, which is no real surprise, as with a population of only 300,000, Icelandic language is of little use when communication with anyone outside of the country!

Gudmunda and Stefan were an absolute treasure trove of information, and spent hours telling us about their country, the unique natural attractions Iceland has to offer, the issues and difficulties these attractions provide, and the great hospitality of locals with visitors.

Our first morning was spent in Reykjanesbær, shopping (we hadn’t really planned on going to Iceland, and therefore had no warm clothes!), before walking the main street of town, and visiting a number of galleries, shops and museums. Iceland’s geographical position made it an important land base for the Vikings on their path between Scandinavia and Newfoundland, and our afternoon was spent at a Viking museum, where we learnt all about the history of the country, the Viking history, and then struggled a bit to maintain our attention… and ended up playing shadow puppets in one of the museum exhibits.

With a new understanding of life on the complete opposite side of the world to our homes, and after a couple of days of great food, hospitality, great conversation, and some amazing pillow fights, Eliza and I were off to Reykjavik, the largest, and capital city of Iceland. The city has a population of approximately 120,000, and is the country’s major sea-port, as well as holding the title of the northern-most national capital city in the world.

We spent the day wandering the picturesque town, avoiding looking at price tags (it’s an expensive country!), and checking out the local markets and café’s, before booking ourselves on a whale-watching tour and ‘Puffin Island’ trip to keep us occupied for the afternoon.

Iceland is known for it’s marine life, with 23 species of whales found offshore, along with thousands of puffins, and seal colonies. Of course, we managed to choose a dud day to whale-watch, and while we only managed to see a couple of fleeting glimpses of a Minke Whale, we had an absolute ball! The trip consisted of around 60 people, 40 of whom ended up puking their guts up downstairs for most of the journey, while a small selection of people (ourselves included) spent the day on the upper deck, where we really managed to embrace the elements. I am fairly certain the torrential rainfall on the three-hour journey doubled Australia’s average annual rainfall, with ferocious winds and rough seas, and our skin-tight bright red water-proof overalls really completing the image for the day. While there were only fleeting sightings of the one whale, we still had a great time, visiting a small island, which is home to thousands of Puffins, and getting some spectacular (yet cloudy) views of the city and surrounds.

Early the next morning, it was time to head off in search of the unexpected, as Eliza and I got the local bus to Thorsmork – a small camp at the base of the Tindfjallajökull and Eyjafjallajökull Glaciers. The journey was only about three hours to the camp, however involved dozens of river crossings, limited sealed roads, a stop at the impressive Seljalandsfoss Waterfalls – and cost an arm and a leg! Just three hours on a crowded local bus set us back around $80 each!!!

Arriving in Thorsmork, we settled into our wooden cabin, before grabbing some lunch, and set out to see what all the Thorsmork excitement is about. The camp lies at the base of a mountain range, and with only one day in the area, Eliza and I (well, more me…) decided to challenge ourselves, and head out on a seven-hour hike through some of the most spectacular scenery we have ever seen. Of course, with no plans to go to Iceland, let alone to spend seven hours hiking through creeks, glaciers, rock-faces and volcanic landslides, we were dangerously unprepared for what I had managed to get us into, however miraculously our summer clothes, supermarket shoes, and disposable plastic wet-weather gear got us through the trek – albeit with a few nasty glares from the serious hikers!

The trek was absolutely breathtaking, and the Thorsmork district is one of the mort spectacular places I have been on earth. Eliza needed some encouragement along the way (I had a secret stash of Haribo Peaches for this exact purpose), however once we reached the top of our first summit, there was absolutely no question as to whether the effort had been worthwhile. From the summit, we looked down over the snow-capped mountains, glaciers and sheer cliffs faces of the surrounding mountains, while a series of rivers, streams and lakes dotted the ground below us.

Our trek then continued on from the mountain top, where Eliza and I found ourselves following a pristine creek-bed, before cutting in-land through a spectacular creek and valley, where a series of steep ash-mud-slides and cliff-faces awaited us and our supermarket quality climbing equipment. Reaching the top of yet another stunning mountain, our trek took us back down to the creek-bed below, which after some spectacular, yet dangerous photo stops, and a steep decent down a vertigo-inducing ridge, was welcome solid ground for the world’s least prepared trekkers!

With legs, arms and back aching, and with no desire to partake in any further physical exertion, the next morning we were up early, with plans to head to Jukosarlon glacial Lagoon. Of course, as with all great plans made in the month of Awful-August, my friends Stan and Stacey had other ideas, and unfortunately we had to change our plans and head back to the capital city, where we spent the next couple of days re-sorting our travel plans out. While I was disappointed not to have seen all of what we had planned to in Iceland, we made the most of what we did have, and spent our last couple of days in Reykjavik, exploring the many shops, boutiques, café’s and courtyards of the city, and resting our weary legs after what I am certain will remain one of the most scenic experiences of my life.