A Trip to Remember : Iceland
An Indian account of Iceland travels filled with crazy stories and personal emotions packed with mindblowing pictures
Travel is, for most of us, a blissful ride full of surprises, amazing experiences, countless pictures, and treats. But I think there is more to it than just sightseeing, Instagram stories, and social media updates. Traveling to new parts of the world can be one of the most valuable tools for personal growth out there.
Last year, I and my college buddies had planned for a long vacation together. We were tired of gift shops, town centers, old and new city bridges, and cobblestoned shopping streets. We realized we need something experiential into the lap of nature.
So we decided to vacation in Iceland (you already know by the title!) — a small country island situated just below the Arctic circle geographically isolated from the rest of the world.
While I was excitedly looking forward to the trip, a part of me was uncomfortable with possible mutual self-disclosure that might happen during the long vacation, even when they were close to me. It was just the feeling of the awkwardness of what people will think if they see what’s really going on on the inside.
At this time, I had no idea that this trip would later become the trip of my lifetime. I’d envisioned the endless amount of carbs I would eat accompanied by the breathtaking sights. But surprisingly enough, I never thought traveling to Iceland was going to be a life lesson in itself.
Next thing I know, we’d driven for almost 4500 km in 3 weeks chasing the waterfalls, thermal pools amid the mossy lava fields facing the glaciers and the volcanoes.
So let’s take a step back and see exactly what happened!!
Week 1
On 22nd August 2019, we embarked on our 14-hour flight journey from Bangalore, India with two layovers in New Delhi and Helsinki. We picked up a car because there is no other way to see the island. I was excited to have my first international driving experience. We started for our accommodation (Airbnb is your friend!) in Reykjavik when we were greeted by vast lava fields on the way and straight roads to the horizon.
Reykjavik isn’t the big city, but probably the homeliest capital city in the world. Almost everyone knows each other within the city.
Luckily, when we had arrived, the city was celebrating its anniversary with a marathon in the morning followed by a cultural night — music, food, alcohol, fireworks, or just fun.
We registered ourselves for the marathon without any prior practice or experience, to get the local feel. I am still proud of our act of embracing spontaneity — just to reiterate, it was not planned at all!
We got into our running gears and reached the race starting point. We were awestruck with the participation of the people from all over the world — the athletes, tourists, parents with their kids in the pram, war veterans, people in their wheelchairs. Indeed, it was an inspiring moment to run with them and see around the city.
To my utter astonishment, we successfully managed to finish the 10k marathon in just more than an hour which was decent for a maiden run. Since it was a personal feat for all of us, it was the highlight for the first week.
We spent our time in the Blue Lagoon the following day owing to our sore ankles and glutes. It is probably the coolest / warmest place on earth. Being a geothermal capital of the world, you will find a lot of natural or man-made thermal swimming pools.
Please don’t mind the smell of sulfur, it’s everywhere!!
After spending a beautiful day in the Golden Circle circuit, we drove to a small town called Hella. We bought some groceries and the Hot Dogs (that’s probably Iceland’s national food) to munch on the way.
We had a staycation planned in Hella for 3 days. Our cottage was located in the middle of nowhere amidst the vast green fields grazed by Icelandic horses.
This is the part where I will be reflecting on my personal takeaways from the week. To sum it up, It was largely a week of surprises, exhilaration, and spontaneity. We were gradually settling down and acclimatizing with the surroundings.
When you live with someone for days, you can’t hide your silly habits and guilty pleasures. It could be brushing your teeth in front of people, consistently losing your essentials in the public places or playing whacky songs before going to sleep.
But for me, it was the first step to give myself a chance to talk as I was getting comfortable with them. I felt that there was no need to avoid judgment by walking on the eggshells.
Week 2
On further driving south, our first stop was the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. Walking behind this waterfall was something to remember. Then we headed to a goliath of the waterfall which was the highlight of this week — The Great Skógafoss waterfall.
It was hard to grasp how huge this waterfall was, and how mesmerizing was the water falling from the hill. And as if this place wasn’t blessed enough, there was this rainbow formed by all the drops dancing in the atmosphere.
Amidst this scintillating experience, our car broke down and we had to wait for another 5 hours before the replacement. The very thought of killing time was frustrating so we decided to go for the hike along the Skoga river.
The hardest part of the hike is getting yourself up the giant staircase that sits next to Skógafoss. We started walking on the upstream and the landscape became vibrantly green, almost technicolor in its brilliance.
Towards the north, there were cascades, numerous waterfalls, and a few small canyons. Turn around, you were immediately treated to the views of the coastline. Seriously, what was this place!!
Had our car not conked out, we would have missed this spectacular experience — well, a true blessing in disguise teaching us to live in the moment rather than rushing for the plans ahead.
We got our new ride on time, thanks to our car rental company. Our next stop was Jökulsárlón lagoon — a mystical place where the glacier meets the ocean. Unbelievable, right?
We spent some time on the Diamond beach and spotted a few seals. It was getting dark so we headed back to our new accommodation. It was an eventful day, indeed!
We woke up the next day with a view of vast fields facing the glaciers at the farther end. It immensely tempted us to play a game of frisbee. By far it was the greatest start to the day!
Later that day, we visited the famous Reynisfjara beach characterized by its black sand. There was nothing so atmospheric watching the white ocean water hitting the black sand back and forth.
We cruised our way through many fishing villages along the coastline towards Neskaupstaður — a small town in East Iceland. These self-sustaining villages with a population of less than 1000 gave an all-new perspective of these isolated communities.
It’s never been easier now to connect with the people in our lives. We’re all just a text message away. We can, of course, feel closely connected to others without having deep conversations all the time — bond over sports, jokes, or drinks. But there are times when we want to be able to say what’s in our hearts, and it can be difficult to know how to cultivate deeper conversations (DC’s).
As I had told before, I feel uncomfortable engaging with people over things that matter to me. But this trip gave me an opportunity to be vulnerable at times and break open the hard crust over my feelings & thoughts. Let me explain this!
You mirror the habits & traits of the people you spend the most time with. My friends created the space for my thoughts to transpire freely without judging them. These are people I care about and respect, so I’m naturally inclined to try to be more like them.
It’s just a matter of giving a chance to others whom you can trust. We started connecting at a deeper level with more honest conversations. And it was relieving like a therapy.
Week 3
We drove towards the northern part of the country — hiked through Hengifoss, Dettifoss, and Lake Mývatn. Now it’s been over a week since we have seen a large civilization. We reached Akureyri which is the second biggest city after Reykjavik — our base in North Iceland.
We went for the Whale watching in Husavik the next day but unfortunately, we couldn’t spot any. On coming back, we also ended up paying a hefty fine due to slight overspeeding. No wonder, it was the lowest moment for the group but it was a part of the adventure.
After having a grilled Arctic Char in lunch the next day, we headed to Hólmavík, a small village on the way to the Westfjords. Luckily, we stumbled upon a natural hot pot right next to the fjord. Hot pots are the geothermal hot springs known for their healing properties. So we thought — What better way to experience the Icelandic culture than to do as the locals do in the hot and steaming baths?
As part of the culture, you take a dip in the icy cold waters of the fjord and hop back to the hot pot. We were accompanied by some locals and a couple of tourists from Scotland. They insisted on experiencing the process as it gives you an adrenaline rush.
This was our first unenthusiastic reaction to a group activity, so we gathered the courage to take a plunge into the water. As we ran towards the water, I felt the initial shock and momentary numbness in the legs. I completely submerged myself for a few seconds and then rushed back to the hot pot.
As soon as I got back into the hot pot, I could feel the circulation kicks in and an incomparable energy boost internally. All of us felt rejuvenated like never before — totally worth it!
We watched the sunset while chilling in the pool without having any track of the time. After the night fell, the skies got clearer and suddenly took on a hallucinogenic cast. It was setting up the staging area for an astronomical show — Aurora Borealis.
Now imagine, sitting in a 35℃ cozy thermal pool in the wilderness during the midnight when the temperature outside is almost zero degrees, only to look up and see soft green shimmering and wavy patterns of light dancing in the sky as nature puts on a show. It was surreal!
I find myself lucky to have an unworldly experience of the northern lights for the first time. It was not just the highlight of the week, but for the entire trip.
Next, we had set our course for the Westfjords — the northwestern part of the country which sticks out like the head of an animal on the map.
We had the most spectacular drive there overlooking the fjords, beaches, fjords within fjords, rivers, waterfalls, thermal pools, and a lot of sheep, of course. The landscape was so stunning that it felt like driving through a painting. Seriously, I am not making this up!
After a good night’s sleep at Thingeyri, we got on the road with direction to the Snæfellsnes, stopping wherever the landscape caught our eye as particularly interesting.
Snæfellsnes was the perfect destination to conclude the trip. It was all of Iceland condensed in a small region with mountains, caves, gorges, craters, waterfalls, beaches, and ocean views. The most popular spot being the Kirkjufell mountain — it was even featured in Game of Thrones.
In hindsight, it was a week of periodic ups and downs with respect to the group dynamics. The low moments were mostly attributed to the misadventures which even led to slight agitation at times. The silver lining was the sense of collectivism among each of us — selflessly working towards the common goal.
We all know that healthy compromises go a long way. I believe “letting go” is the hardest thing to do in life, and all of us, in this trip, learned the right way to ensure the net emotional value of the group to be positive.
So one of us even introduced the “veto power” entitled one per person per week. It gave the liberty to veto any group activity as per your noninterest once a week. It could be utilizing the day time by doing outdoor activities or having a scrumptious long lunch indoor.
On a final note…
By now you already know, Iceland is so diverse and beautiful that it has inspired and influenced people like me for years.
It’s not just a country, it’s a therapy. It offers you peace & tranquility — a chance to reflect internally, far away from any distraction of a large city.
Since driving is the only way around, I am talking about mere exposure and road trip psychology. Let’s put it simply — the more we’re exposed to someone, the more we like that person.
You get a captive audience for your thoughts during the road trip. Hence, it provides a conducive environment to have free and honest conversations.
Moreover, no matter how successful and important you become, all of us are tiny dots in front of these natural wonders. Though I think it applies to anywhere you go in the world.
Lastly, having shared experiences can be powerful. It intensifies when paired with someone else; from watching northern lights to getting lost with no navigation working. Hence it is highly advisable to go for a road trip to a destination where you can bond with your partner, family, or friends without any distraction.
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