Ísland is a truly amazing place and I was fortunate to travel with such a great group of people. That’s all down to Shelley and Mike who recruited 14 of us from their vast collection of friends. When the trip started, everyone but Sue knew Shelley and Mike. By the end of the trip we were all good friends
What has Ísland got going for it? So much to write about, but here are some highlights:
- Landscape, landscape, landscape! From barren lava fields to lush rolling green pastures, from ocean cliffs to dramatic waterfalls, from belching mud pools to powerful geysers, Ísland has it all!
- Environmental consciousness and good resource husbandry evident everywhere.
- Great soft water! The drinking water was pure and plentiful.
- Excellent hotels. All our hotels were uber modern and comfortable. The hotel in Akureyri offered a drink credit if you agreed not to have your room serviced that day. (Was that to save on laundering sheets and towels or labour cost?) Two nights’ credits equalled one glass of wine which is not insignificant because a glass of red cost 1,500 ISK = $18.54 CAD = $14.10 US at today’s exchange rates.
- Great food! Even the horse meat we tasted at Gauksmyri Horse Centre was good – you could mistake it for roast beef. I had two soups that were the best I have ever tasted – the fish soup in Danvik and the French lentil soup at the Geysirs. I admit I turned my nose up at the cod liver oil that was a staple at every breakfast buffet but enjoyed the very large range of *real* food on offer.
Strandarkirkja at Selvogur, southern Ísland - Pretty and/or interesting churches. I have only posted a few church photos so you will have to trust me. Here’s a cute little church built on a dramatic ocean cliff because once upon a time fishers who were lost at sea saw a lighted cross right there that guided them to land. They were of course delusional but people still give money to this church hoping for good luck. Íslandic folk lore is full of gnomes and elves and other magical spirits.
- The most efficient airports and customs anywhere! And nice, friendly locals, happy to provide directions to muddled tourists.
There is really only one thing not going for Ísland. Everything is very expensive because, of course, almost everything is imported. I took this photo at a quick snack stop where they sold hot dogs and hamburgers and ice cream and very expensive potato chips.
The designer chips at top cost about $11 CAD ($8.42 US) per bag, the cheaper Lays about $7.60 CAD ($5.80 US).
For the photographer, catching the early morning or late evening light was a problem. Sunrise was around 4 am and sunset 11 pm. So no golden hour photos from me! 🙂
The weather on this trip deserves a mention, but as I wrote in a previous post, this is the rainiest, coldest summer EVER since records have been kept! So don’t let the weather keep you from a future visit to Ísland!
I took a straw poll of my goup to find out what we did that really stood out for them. The black glacier visit with vodka on the rocks was far and away the most favoured. The ATVs ranked pretty highly too, and then a wide range of activities earned mentions. I think the entire trip was our favourite – an excellent outcome!
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