Iceland Part 14 - Final thought

Spook looking for a toilet in the Icelands' wilderness

So that was my 2 weeks in Iceland. I truly had the time of my life and the best two hours of my life for sure. If I could change anything, it would be having a smart phone, as my old mobile is not the best for looking up weather websites. And as I only found internet in Egilsstaðir, Akureyri, Reykjavik and Skaftafell national park (that were open) this was the biggest hurdle for me. I was as flexible as the weather, but when you don't know the forecast, it's tough to make decision. I will be returning during summer, and I can't wait to do the Interior and visit more of the wild, unspoiled and breath taking landscapes and sights. And do off road driving and crossing rivers. Woop woop!

Stokkur ready to go. All the sights in Iceland are free. You don't even have to pay for parking. Huge plus and huge difference if you live in the UK. Money you save, you will spend elsewhere. Guaranteed.

Any country can have a bad weather, but at least with Iceland you know you're going to get it (and with the UK but we are not covering the UK now). You can come prepared. And do not go reading sci-fi stories of great weather during whole stay in Iceland. You will only end up being disappointed. One thing that will not disappoint will be the sights. I have never seen such long stretches of wilderness and unspoiled nature. I have bought a t-shirt in Reykjavik that says: Iceland the best kept secret. I don't think Iceland is a secret at all. It's just that people get so obsessed about their weather and choose not to go and they are missing out on something much, much better.

And we have a take off! This is Stokkur. The Geysir is dead and has been dead for quite some time. Every warm water that squirts from the ground at regular intervals and looks like this is called geyser. You could say his legacy lives on.  If you're comming here and you are lucky for it to go off, you can see it from way away. Some blasts are smaller than others.

While waiting for Stokkur, you can admire these pools that are full of minerals hence the colour.

And the final thought is:
Be prepared for the worst, hope for better, but most importantly have a great time! Iceland has all the ingredients you need for a trip of a life time.

Iceland Part 10 - Hitch hiking

In this part I want to tell you about Hitch hiking in Iceland. Don't do it!! The travel guides are quite encouraging about it, saying it's a cheap way to get around and that in Iceland it is safe to do so. In Iceland you will feel safe. However, when you go past Golden Circle, the traffic eases, to some parts where you will not see car for miles/hours. Icelanders do not commute from town to town in hoofs, like it is in Europe. Out of a Ring road it could be days. Also as I already mentioned, the weather changes, and I cannot stress enough the amount and ferocity with which the water falls from heavens.  I have always used the term “horizontal rain”, but have seen the true meaning of it in Iceland. Iceland is so popular because of its unspoiled natural beauty and its wilderness. They do not have shelters/bus stops every couple of miles. Also distances between towns are much greater.

Can you see yourself hitch hiking day in, day out in these conditions? (btw this is primary surfaced road :-) )

Picking hitch hikers is up to you. I picked up one, who was Icelander and it was the longest 40 minutes of my life on the island. Not stopping was not an option, as to avoid him from the track I was driving, would mean steering the car into a massive drop. Plus I had one of my Samaritan moments: this was in the middle of nowhere, with no chance of anyone driving by in the next couple of days, and a very high chance of torrential rain arriving in the next couple of minutes as I have managed to overtake it on my way. You could say, God has listen to his prayers (He's obviously multilingual) and have send me down :-) It was quite funny that when he flagged me down, he had a beaming expression on his face. (This was one of the 5 beaming expressions on any Icelanders’ face I have seen in all my stay. They prefer to match the weather with their face expressions). This very quickly disappeared, when he realised that I wasn’t an Icelander (too pretty) nor could I speak or understand the gobbledy-gook. As great majority of visitors do not bring their vehicles to Iceland, a car having an Icelandic number plate, does not guarantee to carry an Icelander. After impressing him with my fairly extensive Icelanding vocabulary (which took about 30 seconds), he decided to match it with just "my car" and point a finger into infinity. Not impressive, but at least I knew, high jacking and rape wasn’t on his agenda. I have missed taking a truly spectacular shot and I hate myself for ever picking him up. Lesson learned. He should make better arrangements in the future and not rely on hitch hiking, as a regular transport.

Or in these? (Holmavik)

After I learned from this, I have not stopped for the next hitchhiker. Well hitchhikers. It was two of them with massive backpacks, the Icelandic heavens living up to their reputation and fully opened up, and them looking like cats that have just escaped the mass drowning. It was very easy not to stop as A) they would have never got into the car with their "light travel" bags, B) they were totally soaking wet, and I didn’t want my nice hire car all wet and get fined and C) it was two of them. And me lonely female, damsel in distress; and they always say you should stay safe. The funny bit on this experience was that as soon as I passed them, I felt a pang of guilt and I look in a rear view mirror. One of them quite aggressively threw his hand in the air with his middle finger proudly erected. Yes, there really only was one winner in this situation and it was ME! Thanks for pointing it out, mate. I was in a nice dry, warm (27C to be precise), comfortable car, with radio blaring Chris Rea’s’ Road to hell; those two cold, wet with heavy backpacks that were getting heavier and heavier with the rainfall. If it wasn’t for his aggressive approach to the negative outcome to his sorry situation, I would have felt really guilty and stopped the car, given them couple of carrier bags to cover their heads, some light unpalatable Icelandic snacks I have purchased couple of days ago and wasn’t planning on finishing them, and offered rough time frame when they can expect the next car to drive by, to raise their spirits. But as he got excremental with me, I just carried on driving, with my pang of guilt disappearing and very, very warm feeling inside. Sign it was time to turn down the heating :-)

If you go for hitch hiking wear, hi-vis jacket. And get bulletproof waterproofs.

Iceland Part 9 - Driving

Ring road. Roads in Iceland are mostly raised.

Iceland is amazing country and the best way to see it (in my modest opinion) is by car. Car not only gets you around (and your luggage and you entourage) in comfort, but offers much needed shelter when the weather turns.

Here I would like to tell you about the infrastructure of Iceland. No amount of research will prepare you for what to expect. Even after reading my shocking report, I expect you still will be surprised what you will find. Iceland has five types of roads: Ring road, primary roads, secondary roads, off roads and terrain. You are not advised to drive in terrain, as this is heavily penalised and you can end up with a prison sentence. I’m not sure what the exact penalty charge is, but at first it may sound like a lot, but their inflation means that 1000 monopoly money (or whatever the currency is) equals to £6 in real money.

Ring road in North-east. Beautiful surface. Pleasure to drive.

Ring road is the big boy of the roads, and goes round the whole island. All the main attractions are on this route. 95% is nice tarmac like you see on the picture. A small part in the east is gravel road with massive potholes covering the whole width of the road. This was last year though, so it could be that today the whole of Rind road is nice surface.

Primary road. Some parts are surfaced, some unsurfaced. This is unsurfaced.

Primary roads - these are some parts tarmac, some parts gravel. Tarmac I do not have to explain, but will spend some time on what gravel road is. Yes it has gravel on it, but this is least of your problems. It’s quite easy to skid on it, but this is fun. The less fun bit are massive potholes that sometimes go on forever and cover the whole width of the road. To dodge them, is great fun, but only until you have an accident (like I did) and you end up reading the small print on your rental agreement and seeing what you are insured for. Or what you are NOT insured for. Once you realise, that the vehicle you are renting in NOT a dodgem, the fun is over. Your car is not likely to be covered for water damage (this means crossing rivers, not rain), wind damage (if the door gets ripped from its hinges by gale force) or gravel damage (don’t ask). If you get a puncture you have to fix it yourself, then drive to nearest service and get it changed at your expense (good luck in finding service). So basically, you are not covered for anything that is constant threat and danger to you. However you are covered for theft of the car. Island in the middle of nowhere. Like any car is going to end up in Russia by chance.

Secondary road. The better kind. When you are on the drastic kind, you are glad when you get into the rhytm and you carry on driving. Hence no picture.

Secondary roads- very similar to primary, roads except they do not have tarmac. They also have massive stones and rocks protruding from them. To be honest, I do not think I would take off road car on them, let alone 2WD I had, but the map given to me by the rental guys said it was ok to drive them. I forgot to ask the rental guys if the cars are especially adapted for Iceland roads, but we were too busy examining the damage on my car and me shaking and panicking profusely at the possible cost.

Road to Detifoss. The one for the 2WD. I sensed the road for 4WD was better, but wasn't allowed on it.

Off roads: you can only drive here in 4WD vehicles. Now I’m not trying you put you up to no good here, but few times I have seen off roads being in much better and drivable conditions than secondary roads. Unfortunately, if you are caught driving 2WD on these roads same rules as driving in terrain applies.

Terrain: everything around the roads I have just explained. This is not only to prevent erosion, but also that Icelandic flora grows at much slower rate than it does anywhere else. 1 year growth in the UK equals to 10 year growth in Iceland. So please bare this in mind and be respectful to their nature.

Now if you will be driving and want to only see the things around Ring road, 2WD is fine. If you will be venturing beyond its boundaries and can afford it, get the 4WD. You will be glad you did. I have seen better farm tracks in England than I have driven primary and secondary roads in Iceland.

Speed limits: Tarmac 90kmh/56mph, Gravel road 80kmh/50mph (though this is somewhat tricky to go as fast as that. It is ok to go much slower. You are not a chicken. I did it too, so that makes it cool), Towns 50kmh/31mph, Build up area 30kmh/19mph. I would like to stress here, that these speed limits are real, and not as guidance only, like it is in UK.

West Fjords - mostly secondary roads, but beware of the views. And make sure you put the hand breake on properly.

They have a lot of self-service pumps to refuel. Some are in Icelandic only. If you seek a bit of adrenalin, use these. Later wonder if you are getting charged even if you got no fuel out. Then  phone your bank on your UK mobile number, and pay to listen to those annoying songs while you wait for available representative. And then worry about your phone bill that you are definatelly getting charged for. If life is too easy and going well, there are so many way to spice it up, I tell you.

 Also you have to say to the pump how much money you want to spend before it lets you use the pump. My first refueling was quite a conundrum. I thought I was being a big spender putting 2800kr worth of petrol and wondering what will I do if that is like "too much money". Only when starting the car and seeing the gauge barely moved I had to have another go. However they also have pumps where an attendant will come out and fill the car for you. This cost extra (about 5kr a litre). These pumps are usually at the front, which is quite bad. In busy times if people do not want the attendant, they leave the front pump free, while other people are queuing and waiting to refuel at the back. If you are not too posh, or want to save money, watch out for the “self-service” signs.

Parking outside of Reykjavik at various places is free (hard to imagine if you live in the UK). Parking places along the Ring road (or elsewhere for that matter) are scares. Their roads are mostly raised, so “pulling over” means stopping in the middle of the road. Outside of the Golden circle, the traffic is not busy, so this is not so much of a problem.

They also have fair few bridges that are only big enough for one car to pass at a time. Here the rule is: the car that arrives first has a right of way. Do not race. You will find that the other car slows down.

Watch out for their sheep. I must say the Icelandic sheep has a better road sense than some of the people I know. The dark ones are tricky though, as they usually blend with the dark surroundings. Or tarmac even. In my whole stay, I have only come across one sheep that wouldn’t budge. She stood right in the middle of the road staring at me, and no amount of flashing and beeping the horn would make her move. After couple of minutes the scenario started to look comical, and I have decided to go and get my camera (that was in the booth of the car – mistake). As soon as I got out of a car and the sheep looked at me, it run away and so did the rest of the herd. So they might be the wisest, but are not the hardest :-)

Iceland Part 6 - West Fjords

The dinky sunlit village is Bíldudalur in West Fjords, Iceland

West fjords are hugely underrated (understand, a lot less travelled) part of Iceland, and to be perfectly honest (you wouldn’t expect anything less from me by now) I can fully understand why.  Before setting my 2WD onto the roads, the map I was given by car Rental Company had basically all roads marked in black. This meant high accident rate. At first in my mind, I was ridiculing the tourists (especially the English ones, not knowing which side to drive on). Then I moved onto the locals, driving under the influence of Brennivin. When finally the curiosity took over and I have decided to have a go. Looking at the map, this was becoming (in my mind at least) the deadliest web of roads in Europe. Seeking an adrenalin fuelled adventure, I have stocked up on water and food (mainly dried fish which was meant to carry me through the winter in case of being in an accident and the rescue services not finding me in time for the snowfall) and I set off.

The dramatic landscape and ever changing light in West Fjords

Having driven all the roads, I can see why that part of Iceland is so heavily underrated. Quite early on, if I could have, I would have turned around and gone back. But I guessed the lorry behind me had worries of his own without me adding to it. The small primary roads, which are basically off roads with massive pot holes, with 20+% incline, covered in gravel, makes you skid at just a thought of it. Add massive drops on your right/left and ....breath-taking scenery. This scenario has an accident waiting to happen written all over it. And it is the scenery that is deadly. But the scenery in West fjords (should you be fortunate to have a good weather) is something else. The weather has its ups and downs in Iceland (mostly downs, extra report on that later), but the changing light you get with changing weather is a definite up.  Unfortunately, they do not have (m)any  parking spots where you can pull over and admire. But that is least of your problems, when you are going up, driving in the middle of the road (as you are trying to avoid the massive drop) and out of nowhere, there is a car heading towards you, with a trailer, and you only have a split second to remember which side of the road you are meant to be on. Get it right and you're safe. Get it wrong... and you are making the roads even darker shade of black. I was holding on to the steering wheel so hard, I had blisters on the inside of my thumbs. But as I said, this part is a lot less travelled, so you will not be coming across head on awkward vehicle often.

Due to the adverse weather conditions in Iceland, lots of shrubs just grow few inches tall. In autumn they create this fabulous colourful tapestry

If you like unspoiled nature, wilderness, watching birds and dramatic light, the west fjords are for you. Also if you are going in the autumn, be ready for the autumn colour. It’s not only incredible in any light; it becomes symphony of autumn pallet in sunshine that just glows.  I have never ever seen anything like it.

Autumn view of West fjords. The foliage glows in sunshine and camera can not capture it. And Photoshop wasn't with me.

A must see place in West Fjords is Dynjandi (Fjalfoss) waterfall. If you are approaching  the waterfall from the south, you will come across a board by the road that reads something like “Dynjandi 500.” Ignore this and carry on driving. I spend an hour trying to track down the waterfall. I couldn’t get my head round, how something can be 500 (metres, yards, steps…) away, yet I couldn’t see it. Carry on driving and you will get to it. If you are driving to it from the north, you will see it no problems.

Dynjandi and landscape around it.

It’s very beautiful and it is biggie. The spray coupled with the wind will ensure you get wet. Take extra care when walking around it, as the rocks are extra slippery. Other than that, just enjoy the view. The walk to it has steps, and it is not too strenuous (if you don’t hike on regular basis). There are many other “waterfalls” along the walk, and they all have name, but it is the biggie you are interested in.

Dynjandi is huge. There is a couple standing in front of it for the scale. But please take care, as the area is very splippery

The only thing that I didn’t like in west fjords, was the road to Breidavik beach. It was on my “must see” places. The road to that place (612) is like driving in a quarry. Whole 40 kilometres of it. I wanted to cry. But as the day was coming to a close, I decided it was not a time to waste time and pressed on. When I finally arrived (what seemed like hours later) there was a car parked at the top of the road to it, blocking the entrance, saying the beach was closed. If there was a time to scream and cry wholeheartedly, this was it. The light was diminishing fast, and I knew I couldn’t stay in the car park, as it was too exposed to nature’s elements. I headed back to the beginning of the road. There is a big information board, and nowhere did it inform me, that the Breidavik beach was closed. Not only would it save my time, stress, nerves but also the planet. I arrived way past sunset, which I didn’t even see, as I was too busy dodging the massive pot holes in the road, and the sharp protruding rocks. But the heavens have made it up to me, as here I have witnessed my first Aurora Borealis sighting. So not all bad J

My first Aurora Borealis sighting in West Fjords

Punctures are also common, as the roads are far from surfaced as we, on a continent, know it. One guy was changing his tyre, and to be honest he couldn’t have chosen a worse spot. Punctures are a real threat on Icelandic secondary road, so might be good to brush up on how to change tyre.

But the good news is that Icelandic road surfacing agency is very busy, working hard at resurfacing the roads of west fjords, and I’m guessing in 10 years my stories of dodgy surface would be only that. Dodgy stories.

Iceland Part 5 - Hverir, Námafjall, Mývatn

Bubbling hot mud bath in the foreground

This area, which is part of Myvatn, deserves a special mention. If you're driving the Ring Road, you are passing this place, so you might as well stop by and take a walk. If knowing that Iceland is volcanic island and is one of the youngest on our planet Earth, isn't enough and you want some solid proof (withough having to climb volcano) come to this place.

Hot and cold

The place is full of smoke, sulphur fumes, bubbling hot baths (80-100C) and fiery red-orange surface, mixes with grey blue mud. I haven't seen a single bird or living critter (apart from couple of other tourists), the sky was overcast and everything looked bleak. If this doesn't look like hell, I don't know what does :-)

Smoking ground and smoking hills. You can hike up the hills and have a view of the area. Which I didn't. Regretful now.

Iceland Part 4 - Museums

                              Phallological Museum, Husavik - check the artwork around

Holiday is not a holiday without a trip to a museum. I know, some of you might think this is not the most exciting thing in the world (if you are not a culture vulture) but with a bit of research and planing it might just be one of the highlights. I have found that that Husavik, has got one of the weirdest museums in the world - Icelandic Phallological musem. English meaning of the word Phallus is Penis!! Yes, just when you thought Amsterdam couldn't shock you any more, you learn about this museum. This museum has the largest collection of penises in the world! 276 of them (at the time this blog went into press). I know you're thinking that many places have more dicks working in them than that, but lets stay on the biology route please. So this place contains penises from all kinds of animals ranging from earthworm, through human, to whale. Of course, I didn't go there to see it because it is phalluses. I wanted to see it because it is the biggest collection in the world. I would have gone there, if it was let's say, the biggest whale museum in the world.

                                                     Closed :-( All that travelling for nothing

The museum used to be in Reykjavik, but for some ungoogleable reasons, they have moved to one of the Gods' forgoten ends of Iceland - Húsavík. Which in my modest opinion was not the best bet.

                                                                    Husavik Port

Despite being the biggest, it is only a small house, with as you already observed, strange looking artwork. Unfortunatelly, these are all the phalluses I got to see and lay my hands on, as the place was CLOSED! It didn't elaborate why, but I presume it was either end of season that in Iceland lasts three months, or people just can't be bothered to travel to the other side of Iceland for the Biggest Penis collection. Let's be honest here; how many times have we've been lied about the size of something, eh?

Church in Husavik

I did try to find out when will it re open, so stopped a passer by. They didn't know, and after seeing my deflated expression they suggested alternative - Biggest whale museum just couple of hundred yards from there, and pointed a finger in the direction. Honestly, do they think I have just travelled 150 miles, on various quality roads (mostly bad), in all weather conditions (mostly bad) to see a WHALE!? I've seen many nature programs and seen “Free Willie” too. And let's face it, once you've seen couple of whales, you've seen them all. So my hope of getting engrosed in serious biology for an hour has vanished. I wonder what the souvenirs are like in here.

Husavik is not just famous for the Penis museum. Oh no. They are very sought after due to the best whale watching tours on Iceland (just as well, as you wouldn't really have a reason to come here).

As I have travelled so far, I have decided to make the most of being here. Walked around the town (which luckily isn't big), took a photo of a church, seen and photographed their port, stocked up on some rations and 20 minutes later I was on my way out of there.

Another great museum in Iceland is Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft in Hólmavík. Which also happened to be closed. Again, it did not elaborate why. Probably end of tourist season, which in Iceland lasts just 3 months (June, July and August)

Traditional Icelandic dwellings in National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavik

Last museum that I have visited (and first one that was not closed) was National Museum of Iceland in Reykjavik. The museum is on two floors and it features history of Iceland from settlement in 9. century, to present day. I must say I have enjoyed this museum and not just because I was trying to avoid treacherous conditions outside. My favourite part was using their Video display units that will guide you through the history, if you prefer to save your legs. However, they do need improving, because as soon as you get into each chapter and start to ask some questions, the chapter is over and next one is about something else.

I forgot what this is, but I'm sure it's not what I think it is now

A quirky part of this museum, was a small corner that covered cigarettes and smoking. It was great to see the difference from years ago when smoking was in fashion. People frowned upon you and you got labelled social outcast just because you didn’t smoke, and now we are going in the opposite direction. People roll their eyes if you need to/want to go for a ciggie.

Latest Lady Gaga outfit? Probably too revealing. But this can be also seen in National Museum :-)

So there you have it. Museums are not just boring places. And if you are lucky (or pre plan better) they will be opened.



Iceland Part 2 - Jökulsárlón, Glacier lagoon

Glacier Lagoon in the morning  



This was my favourite place on Iceland, even though it looked a bit different to what I imagined it would look like (no palms and monkeys *winkey smiley* ). I spend long time pouring over images of the place, so once I turned up there, it will feel like being “inside TV.” I found the place smaller, than what I expected, as all tourist guides tell you, how it is huge it is and growing by 200 meters every year. It's about a kilometre long, and I'm sure it existed 6 years ago. When I arrived for the first time here, the sunset was in full swing. There weren't that many ice bergs and they certainly didn't appear to be huge like on pictures. This was mid September and I suppose weather was warm for Iceland, so they were melting faster. But I loved the place instantly. It's like no other on Earth (says the Wiltshire's very own Globetrotter) and it really is magical and stunning. Because there is constant movement in the lagoon, the place looks different every time. Many fly tourists that come to Iceland, only cover Golden circle and they miss out on this place. Jökulsárlón is about 4 hours drive from Reykjavik, but please bare in mind other attractions along the way. 4 hours can easily turn into 8 or more. Depends if you are a fly drive tourist or want to spend some time at each place. And depending on the weather of course.

If you are a bit into photography, you will have to work fast as the light here changes from moment to moment. I got so carried away, running around like a headless chicken, I have slipped on one of the stones and landed my left knee cup bang on the top of the sharp stones. If I wanted to stage it, I would not be able to. But there was not time for pain as time was ticking by, and the light was changing fast.

Sunset at Jokulsarlon



Breiðamerkurjökull glacier (where the icebergs are breaking off from) is just a "tongue" extension from the huuuge Vatnajökull glacier. Of course I knew this is the biggest ice cap in Europe (which I didn't think was too hard to get the top spot when countries like Spain, Portugal and Greece that contributed glaciers in their household freezers that need defrosting, are in the running) But I only realised its enormity, when I have been driving around for couple of days and was surprised to see so many glaciers. I looked into the map as I was sure Iceland didn't have that many glaciers in the area. So I pulled out my Rough guide map, that by now I was using for reference only, and seen that I have been circling Vatnajökull and what I have seen were it's many tongues. This ice cap is enormous, and you can appreciate its size only when here

At sunset

While here, you have to cross the road and go to the beach. The beach is volcanic jet black, with ice thrown onto it. Looks amazing. I admit I wasn't even aware of this part of Jökulsárlón. I was a bit surprised (rather a lot actually) why so many people were walking and standing on the beach, when such a beautiful sunset was happening at the lagoon. Next day, at sunrise, once finished photographing the lagoon, I had to go and see what was everyone so fascinated with. And see it I did. If I describe the lagoon as amazing, this place has other worldly quality to it. It's hypnotising. There are many places that take your breath away, and there are some that knock the wind out of you. This beach is the latter.

Volcanic beach with black sand across the road from Glacier lagoon

Once here, be aware of the sea washing the ice onto the beach when tide is coming in. I was so hypnotised, (too busy taking pictures and wanting to close in on the action) that I didn't see fast and strong tide moving one of the pieces towards my foot. Once the ice hit my left ankle (that bone that sticks out, ouch! Though I did use profanity) I knew about it. The pain was so sharp and sudden, I fell onto my back side, taking my camera with me. I was in (what I thought was) a safe distance from the sea, as the waves were predictable. Then out of nowhere this beast of a wave came at me. My left side was getting battered, and this was only day 3 of my holiday. Camera (luckily) was OK.

Another thing to be aware of that the current here is very strong. If I can give you one advice here, do not wear wellies, or sturdy shoes and be aware of your surrounding. Wellies and sturdy shoes will give you false sense of security and without you being aware you will edge closer and closer towards the sea. And bring spare set of clothes :-)

Volcanic beach at Jokulsarlon

Iceland Part 1



Blue Lagoon waste

After landing in Keflavik airport and once I have finished pleasant, but somewhat lengthy tour of Njarðvík (understand once I found my way out of the town) I have headed towards Blue Lagoon. It's one of the must see places on the island and amongst the iconic places of the island. Once I got there I have discovered that I have managed to pack my lower part of swimming costume, but for some reason I didn't pack the top. It remains a mystery to this day, what my grand plan was taking only bottoms, as going topless certainly was not an option. Not for me and not for the people having relaxing bath. The only reason I can think of why I didn't pack the top, it's because I start packing for my holiday no sooner than 36 hours before the departure.

Even in my naive gay holiday state of mind, going around lagoon fully dressed taking pictures of semi naked people seemed a little off, so I had to find alternative spot to take picture of this iconic place (I'm not even sure if it is allowed, but they do have a webcam) And alternative place to dip my toes in. You can't see it, but it was a top spot for sunset. If it wasn't for the pesky clouds. I had a plan B to go back and re-shoot with better weather, but this was the best weather during my stay. As pretty as it looks, it has to be told, the place reeks. Maybe you already knew it, maybe it comes as a total shock to you, like it did to me. Just to get acclimatised I would recommend to let some eggs age naturally and then boil them for about half an hour crack open and inhale. Trust me, you will be glad you did. You will not be suffering sore nose, headaches, upset stomach and you will look much harder (and prettier) compared to other tourist who keep pulling faces as soon as they stop the car.

Ring road, East Iceland

View of Vík from the church. Very near by is Katla live volcano.

I also take this opportunity to give you another tourist tip: do not waste your money on renting SAT-NAV. Once you work out the road system (eeeeeaaaseee), getting around is doddle. I'm not blowing my trumpet here, but I have navigation skills of a goldfish (just as well the Ring road is circle) and all I had was Rough Guide road map and no major problem at all. I can not recommend the map though, as I have realised that the "Rough" bit is short for "roughly". Once on the island you can buy one of their maps that are really good (I was told at the end of holidays). And you have a very nice souvenir to keep. Personally I love looking at the maps as this reminds me of the places I visited.

The sign posting is really good in Iceland, though do not expect the English system and be told every couple of miles how many miles left to your destination. Usually, you have a sign at the beginning of a road (junction) and when you arrive. When in a new place it can be a little unnerving as every mile travelled feels like 5 miles. But providing you stayed on the same road and didn't turn off, you are on the right track. Sometimes though, you do not have a sign to let you know you arrived at a certain place and you will miss it. Like I did. I'd tell you what place it was, but it didn't have a sign:-) This only happens with places like very ickle, small "towns", that consist of 5 houses and no church. I always thought, that every town had a church. Plus Iceland boasts a ratio one church per 1000 inhabitants. What do people in these places do during the time of worship? Read my blog? ;-)



Iceland - the country of extremes

                                                Jökulsárlón, Glacier lagoon in the morning

It has been my dream to visit this country of diverse landscape and lots of natural phenomena. Mainly waterfalls, glacier lagoon, northern lights (Aurora Borealis), hot springs, volcanic landscape, and if I'm 100% honest, I was hoping for a volcano to go off. In September 2011, I have decided to make my dream come true. 16 days that spread from second half of September and beginning of October. The timing is crucial, as you'll see later, hence I'm so particular about it at this stage.

Every tourist guide describes this country as a land of fire and ice. While this is partially true, I have found out that mostly Iceland is a land of torrential rain and gale force winds. But you can still have fun with that. Before my departure, I chose to ignore peoples' experiences of bad weather, and put it down to them being unlucky. I learned that good weather = good luck, bad weather - normal Icelandic weather.

As my holiday has been and gone, instead of writing daily blogs, I will put my experiences into sections. I will do my best to stick to the topics, but I can not guarantee that.

Bit of an insight into what sort of a person I am, so you know whether you would be exposed to some/any of the experiences I have. Holiday is no such word in my book. If I'm going to a new country, I have to do stuff. Go off the beaten track (so to speak), and try and pack as much as I can into my stay. If I can smell an adventure, thrill, or some ground breaking findings, I'm already on my way. When I get back from my “holiday” (or as I refer to it, work experience) I need a week just to catch up on sleep and catch my breath. I also do photography, so my itinerary is heavily influenced by this. Bad weather can not spoil my holiday, despite in Iceland, it sure has tried hard.

I hope you enjoy my blog, because I sure have enjoyed living the experience :-)