Back Stateside- The Saga Ends

Hello all! Well we are back stateside.  We just landed in Boston and made it through all the immigration and customs things. We also, after 6 weeks, have parted from one another's company and we are each on our own now.  I am sitting in my terminal waiting for my flight back to Dallas, and I figured I would go ahead and write this post and wrap this blog up.  

All in all today has been easy going and uneventful.  We woke up, drove to the airport, and got on a plane.  For our flight over the pond we luckily had our business class seats again so it was very comfortable.  The flight was smooth and uneventful, aside from some great views of Greenland (characteristically all covered in ice, they rally got the names of Greenland and Iceland mixed up).  Really otherwise we just sat around and watched movies.  

This blog will mark my last post, aside from maybe uploading the time lapse videos (if they turn out good enough).  For those of you who followed it, I hoped you enjoyed it.  The trip was fantastic and this blog will be a lovely way to look back and remember it, and it has been fun to be able to share our stories with you.  Thank you again and I wish you all the best and say good bye.

Iceland Road Trip Day 4- Wrapping up Iceland

Hello all! Today was the fourth day of driving and our last full day in Reykjavik.  All in all we did not have much driving to do today, so we woke up and decided to go play 9 holes of golf.  We went to a little golf course in the town where we stayed that was mixed in with a handful of hot springs and bubbling gysers.  The course was pretty and since it was in a mountain valley it had a lot of blind hills and turns, which made it interesting.  The weather was also outstanding (it actually almost got warm)... Until the ninth hole when it started to rain hard.  Luckily we were able to wrap up the hole and get to shelter before it got too bad.  All in all it was a successful and fun outing and took up our whole morning.  I should also clarify, when I say "we played golf" what I really mean is Ben played golf and I walked around hitting a bunch of balls that went wherever they pleased. 

After finishing up with the golfing around noon, we loaded up into our little Jimny and made our way back to Reykjavik.  We got into Reykjavik shortly thereafter and after dropping off the camping equipment we decided to walk around town again.  Our first stop was to go and get a couple hot dogs.  After wolfing them down we went to a little coffee shop to get out of the rain that had started to fall.  Eventually the rain stopped so we just walked around town looking at little shops and stuff and laughing at how so much of the stuff for sale in Reykjavik as touristic things were just "designed" or "origins" in Iceland.  It was hard to find something actually "made" in Iceland.

After spending a few hours doing this, we loaded up into our Jimny again and headed to our Airbnb just outside of Reykjavik.  It is so nice to be in a house again with a real roof and a real bed... And best of all a shower.  For the rest of the night we are just cleaning up, packing, and get ready to fly back home tomorrow.  Anyway that is all I have for today, it was a nice relaxing final day in Reykjavik.  All the best and until next time. 

Iceland Road Trip Day 3- Black sands and black glaciers

Hello all.  Day 3 on the road and today we managed to stay on asphalt the whole day.   This meant the driving was smooth and easy going.  We woke up to pleasant, if slightly windy and cloudy weather. The first part of our day was just chugging down the road, there were some pretty views but nothing spectacular.  One exciting part was that we did get to drive through Iceland's only underwater tunnel, but otherwise we just went.  However the views really became amazing and the landscape very dramatic and active after we passed Reykjavik.  We drove past some absolutely amazing views passing a bunch of hot springs, waterfalls, volcanos, and glaciers.  We eventually made it all the way south to Vik and the black sand beaches (with the famous hexagonal basalt columns).  The black sand beaches were neat, but they were not nearly as black as most pictures make them look... In truth they didn't really feel all too special.  Check out the pictures below to see some of the great things we saw throughout our drive south.

After seeing the beaches and everything, we decided to head north again.  We were not quite sure what we were going to do tomorrow but we knew we needed to be up more towards Reykjavik.  On our drive north we decided to pull over and go walk up to one of the big glaciers we had seen from the road.  It was really neat to get up and close to the glacier and climb on it.  Though we did not climb too far or too much on it as it was terribly slippery (you know it being ice) and we had crummy shoes with no traction.  Check out the pictures to see the glaciers (it is a lot dirtier than you would expect, but with erosion and black basalt that happens).  

After the glacier, we pushed on north and eventually stopped for fuel and some dinner.  During our dinner (some sandwiches from a Quiznos) we went over the map and tried to come up with what we wanted to do tomorrow.  We decided eventually that we want to try and play golf tomorrow in Reykjavik, so we decided to push north further.  We saw that on the map there was a cool attraction called the mud pot so we stopped there and it was beautiful and impressive.  It was just fields of bubbling muddy hot springs.  Very cool to see.  We ended up liking the area so much that we decided to just camp there for the night. 

So we are here in Reykjamörk.  I am laying in the tent, it is 11:22 at night and it is still perfectly bright outside (24hr sun is weird).  Anyway I guess I will try to get some rest now (though I have not been the most successful over the last few night), so best wishes and until next time.

Iceland Road Trip Day 2- In and across the Western Fjords

Hello all.  Day 2 of our driving adventure and so far there is a strong consensus between us that driving is far better than biking.  Don't get me wrong biking is fun, but boy is it nice to be in an enclosed heated car when it is raining and cold.  Another consensus is that Iceland is stunning.  The views and landscapes are so dynamic and change all the time, just as you start to get used to a view it completely changes.  Anyway now to the post, and again I am writing this on the day, but given the state of wifi and such I do not know when this will post or if the pictures will post with it.

We began our day in the sunshine, just as we had ended our last day.  The 24 hours of light is bizarre.  I woke up at one point in the night around 2:00am and it was still as bright as it was at 11:30pm when I fell asleep.  When I first got out of the tent the sun was actually poking its head out from behind the clouds and it was nice and warm, but that did not last long and by the time we were making and eating breakfast it had gotten cold and super windy.  Luckily though we got the camp all broken down and loaded up before it actually started to rain.  

We started our day heading to the Western Fjords, where we had planned to sort of wrap our way all around them.  Driving along the fjords was nice all the roads were mostly paved, but the road did follow every little peninsula and inlet which made the driving slow going.  The weather also was not great, it was rather rainy and when we climbed the mountains it was super foggy.  This wasn't necessarily a bad thing as it gave everything a very mystic and enchanting feeling.  The pictures really do not do them justice, but they can tell the story probably better than I can.  

After about three hours of driving we pulled into a little hamlet that had a small restaurant and ate some lunch.  During lunch we decided that our goal of lapping the fjords and then the next day going to black beaches in the far south of Iceland was unrealistic, so we did some new planning.  What we decided to do was loop back a bit and take a rugged mountain road across the peninsula to the other sides and then drop a bit to the south of the fjords and camp there.  The mountain pass was amazing, slow going but super fun and some incredible views!  Check out some of the pictures to get an idea of the majesty.  The driving was super fun too with some rocky sections, some river fording, some muddy sections, and everything else to keep us entertained.  What was also fun about the pass was that it was so windy at points that the wind was coming in at just shy of a 90 degree angle to us, so when I rolled down a window to take a picture or something rain would just fly straight through the car.

On the other side we came out onto a real road and it was like we had teleported to an entirely new region.  I really cannot stress how dynamic the landscape is here.  Sure it is all somewhat barren and desolate looking but it is all different kinds and levels of barren and desolate.  I have taken so many pictures today, because every corner has something new and something beautiful.  The driving for the rest of the day was pretty straight forward.  It was mostly on paved roads and we just went in and out of the rain.  

We ended up driving a bit further than originally planned because it was raining at our planned stop and the campsite looked essentially like a swamp so we pushed on to the next campsite a bit further south.  We are having another simple meal of some pasta tonight.  It is kind of funny how we are now traveling in the most comfortable form (in a car) and yet we have the least amenities of the whole trip.  Anyway, tomorrow we will push on to the black beaches in the south.  For now that is all I have so all the best and until next time.

Iceland Road Trip Day 1- From barren to desolate

Hello all.  I am not sure when this will post, but I have the time so I figured I might as well write about my day.  I am also not sure I will be able to upload photos with this post, which is a pity because the photos really tell the story of the desolate and barren beauty of this place.  Also without the pictures this post will be rather dull or lacking.  Anyway with the disclaimers and such out of the way on to the actual post.  

Today we began our driving trip across Iceland.  As it stands right now we plan to drive sort of through the heart of Iceland on a dirt road and then make our way into the western fjords and drive around them, before heading to the south and going to the black beaches.  It will be a lot of driving, but there will also be some incredible views.  We have been told by many people that the western fjords are stunning and are not nearly as busy with tourists.  So with that as our plan we set out of our AirBnB to get breakfast and get camping gear.  We stopped and grabbed some good breakfast from a little cafe on the Barbour called Kaffivagninn.  From there we went and picked up our camping stuff.  This should have been simple and quick, which it was aside from loading the car.  I was carrying stuff to the curb while Ben went and got the car.  Apparently a meter maid was writing us a ticket and since Ben was there she was letting him leave but was yelling at him in Icelandic so he got in the car a bit flustered and then when came to exit the parking lot there was a car blocking the turn he wanted so he went the opposite direction.  Well this meant I came out and saw no car and no Ben (mind you the parking lot was all of 500 feet away).  Anyway Ben was trying to get turned around to get back to me and got stuck on a tourist road so we was moving really slowly, which left me standing with the camping stuff for ten minutes trying to figure out what in the world happened.  Eventually it all worked out, just as I was starting to get really nervous and we had a good laugh about it all.

Finally, after loading up it was off to the grocery store for food then on the road.  Well we ended up spending like two hours in the grocery store and the surrounding mall because we were looking for some travel mugs as well for coffee.  But by about 11:30 we were on the road.  We immediately started driving through the gorgeous countryside of hill, lakes, mountains, old volcanoes, old lava flows, geysers, and rivers.  We stopped at one big geyser and actually got to see it blow which was awesome (though I was not ready for it... So no pictures).  From the geyser it was straight to Gullfoss, a massive waterfall.  This was really cool to see and when there are pictures you should check them out.

After Gullfoss we left the paved road and began our journey on the gravel road.  This was really cool to drive through for many reasons.  First, the changing road conditions really kept you on your toes, as the road changed from smooth gravel, to massive washboard gravel, to mud, to large rocks, to massive potholes, and to any other almost off-roading terrain you can think of (including one small river fording).  Second, the views while driving around there were amazing, we drove between two massive glaciers so the terrain was fantastic.  I cannot really do them justice so you will have to see the pictures.  Third, the landscape changed a lot from barren almost lunar landscapes, to desolate Martian landscapes, to tundra, and everything in between.  Really the driving has been great so far.

Tonight we are staying in Blönduos a small little town in the north of Iceland close to the branch off to the fjords.  We will be tenting tonight so that will be fun, and we will be eating some basic pasta and sauce that we bought.  We simplified our lives a bit for the next few days.  Anyway I think that about wraps it up, I hope I haven't rambled too much but it was an exciting day.  But alas I will leave you all now, so best wishes and until next time.

Vacation Day 8- The long day begins

Hello all! Today we made it to Iceland!  The morning/ Brittish part of our day was pretty uneventful.  We woke up, got on a train, got to the airport then waited around until our flight left.  Unfortunately, our flight was delayed about 50 minutes so we had to wait a bit longer than expected.  But that minor inconvenience was made up for once we got on the plane and sat down in first class seats.  Yep that's right we are flying first class.  Well actually we paid for the upgraded economy class, but since it was full when we booked on our flights we are sitting/flying first class.  It was a lovely flight largely thanks to being a big comfy seats.

 

Anyway we landed in Keflavik around 4:00 pm and after getting the rental car and everything squared away we started heading to Reykjavik.  Even on this short drive you can already get a feel for just how different Iceland is from anywhere else, it is barren and just primordial looking.  The driving was overall uneventful (despite it being the first time Ben drove a manual in about a year), although he did stall out once... On a flat spot, at a traffic light, in light traffic, after having been driving for 20 miles.  But other than that one stall and some rough gear changes everything was pretty smooth sailing. 

Once we were checked into our AirBnB in Reykjavik, we set out to find food.  Following our hosts recommendation we went to a little fish shack nearby and had some lobster soup.  It was delicious, but not very filling.  Since we were not full we then went and walked to the best hotdog stand in Reykjavik.  It turns out that Bill Clinton thought it was the best hotdog in Reykjavik as well, despite this it was still pretty good.  From there we just started to wander the streets and make out way to the big church, Hallgrimskirkja.  It was pretty cool to see and going up in the tower led to some nice views.  Reykjavik is a town that really just sprawls and it is much bigger than I ever would have thought.  See for yourself in some of the pics below.

After the church, we slowly made our way back to our AirBnB stopping for coffee and dessert along the way.  It was a weird feeling walking around at 9 at night and it still feeling like day.  Which brings me to the title of this post "The long day begins", I chose it because quite literally we will not see night until we are back in the States.  So really our whole stay in Iceland is just like one really, really long day.  This should be really neat to experience and supposidly on clear days you do get a bit of a sunset that just lasts for like a couple hours, before it starts to rise again.  I am excited to see this, though it does mean we will not be seeing the Aurora Borealis on this trip.  

Tomorrow we will be picking up our camping gear and heading out into the wilderness of Iceland.  I am sure there are going to be many amazing views and great stories.  However, that being said I am not sure how strong the data or wifi will be, so I will try to post but I may not be able to post anything until we get back to Reykjavik.  So if I miss a couple days I apologize, and just be sure to check back on the 1st.  That is all I have for now so all the best and until next time.