We all know Iceland is a picture perfect destination. For me this was a journey of soul searching. When life throws us curve balls we don’t expect it’s hard to know the next step. For me, the next step was exploring somewhere new.
Landing in Iceland: ✈️
Great direct flight on Iceland Air. Seats were comfortable and was able to have a full row on an overnight flight and get some sleep.
Many of the car rental companies are off site. There is an easy shuttle and it’s laid out well. Mistake 1 - I thought I had booked a car at Reykjavík airport and had actually booked it in town. Alamo was great and helpful and found me an automatic car. I opted for the plug in car WiFi knowing I would be doing a lot of exploring out of range (DO THIS don’t even question it). I also chose, after doing a bit of research, to add the insurance for sand and windshield coverage. (Didn’t end up needing it but I’ve read a lot of stories and trust me when they say the rocks blow and it is windy...that is an understatement)
The drive from the airport is roughly 45 minutes to Reykjavik. Be prepared to twist and turn and navigate roundabouts. The drive was pretty simple to downtown. I enjoyed listening to 90’s rock in Icelandic.
I chose to book a low rate hostel room in the downtown Reykjavik area in order to explore and get my bearings for my first full day hiking picture taking.. After stopping at the Centric Guesthouse to check on parking and check in, I went to grab a bite to eat. Prikid was the first recommendation. Prikid being the oldest coffee house in Reykjavik. Meal one - Ol Dirty Bastard Frankstar for breakfast! I learned the place gets hoppin after 1 am. However, I have discovered a joy for mornings that doesn’t mix with that time frame.
Next stop, time for an afternoon beverage. The Drunk Rabbit looked like a perfect Irish dive bar for this girl. She was correct. Here is where plans and routes were developed. Locals planned my route and marked my map for the best ideas. I could not wait to visit Diamond Beach. Something drew me to this wonder and I know it’s where my favorite life photo will evolve!
After Reykjavic exploration (Sculpture Gardens, Churches, Rainbow Road) it was time to head South!
VIP (Very Important Point Alert) Do not miss these. These are essential! Bring 2 credit cards and know their PIN numbers, call your card company and make sure they know you are traveling. Typically debit cards won’t work. Gas stations are few and far between and rarely attended even during the day. You will need a CC and the pin!
Here are some main attractions. I personally do not like to spend time hopping out of the car then back in for days on end. I like to take time to enjoy and wander to places most people don't go. My next trip I will be taking an Iceland Camper Van and doing the West and North sides.
Day 2 - I’m starting to love my little car. It was the most expensive part of my trip but essential. Weather was cloudy and rainy. I’m a shoulder season traveler, the prices are lower and there are way less tourists. The awesome part of it being a rainy day....rainbows. My drive was surrounded by rainbows and waterfalls. After much discussion with the locals and a couple tourists returning from their route, I decided to only explore the south side. I didn’t want to spend all my time in the car and decided to return to enjoy the north side via camper van (make sure to check these out, I will definitely be doing that next time).
There is a lot of driving involved to get to the desired locations. I chose to get to the end of the South side and work my way back. Mistake alert, or as I refer to them, aw crap moments..... If you are not a fan of one room hostels and want to stay in hotels expect to pay a bundle. Since I’m a roamer, I don’t book ahead and man did I pay... first hotel night cost me basically my whole rooming budget (newbie and lesson learned). From there on out I booked hostels on Expedia and personally had amazing luck finding places and great rates. I was told I got pretty lucky so if you’re not like me and willing to camp in the back of the car, you may want to book ahead.
Food - This was not a foodie trip for me. Restaurants are pretty spendy and I tend to be frugal in order to travel more. I will list a couple places but mostly I ate cheap gas station food which was really good. I also tried a small sample of the food of the land “fermented shark” I think I could still taste it in my mouth two months later and still horrible.
Day 3 ish, 4 ... Here’s where my days start to just run together because I become so engrossed in the scenery. I won’t bother to list too many names of roads, hostels etc just the ones that stood out to me. Spelling in Icelandic is not my strong suit.
Due to some recent life events I was struggling and dealing with being extremely sad. This trip returned a smile to my face, a skip in my step and a realization that I was going to be ok. I loved this journey, the people, the warmth and smiles, the scenery and especially the knowledge I was beginning to find the rainbow in the rainstorm of life. I made it to one of my favorite places on earth Black Diamond Beach. It is breathtaking and like nothing I’ve ever seen. Here I decided no matter what life had in store my Superpowers were stronger. Here a kind man from Europe took this photo and I knew he thought “what the actual hell is she doing”. He asked to cape up himself for pics and we had a great time with this. Hopefully I run across his Superman Black Diamond pic online one day!
Whatever day it is now.... The locals circled an Island and labeled it “Awesome Island”. There is no chance I’m not getting to Awesome Island!
Trip to Awesome Island
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestmannaeyjar
Oh boy did I set myself up for a long voyage. Get to ferry, wait for weather to clear, and wait and wait and wait. I find it is now approaching dark and I’m far from a place to stay. They say the weather tomorrow is looking great so I book for the am and drive a long way to find a cute hostel in the mountains on a sheep farm but I go with the flow. Wake up, grab some coffee, baaaa at the sheep and head to the Ferry, here we go. So I think.
Weather is windy again, but not to bad they say so stay close. Close?? There’s nothing for hours. So my dilemma is to spend a day of my trip sitting at the Ferry station or move on. Anyone who knows me knows I cannot move on from Awesome Island... so I wait, and wait. Last ferry time and I’m thinking I have spent my whole day sitting here, I booked a hostel on the island during my wait so I also will have no place to stay. During this time I finish the book “Everything Happens for a Reason” and I take a deep breath and realize no matter what happens next it’s what was meant to be.
Heckkkkkkk yes! Someone says drive your car around and hands me a ticket. I’m getting on a boat, toward dusk to head to a place I don’t know, already this is Awesome (Sorry mom).
Worth the wait, worth the day and worth every second. The hostel was so clean and cute and she was amazing, the backpackers filled me in on where to go and best place to get some breakfast etc. I will drop a few pics of Awesome Island (Westman Islands). I will never forget this place. I finished reading Everything Happens for a Reason by Mira Kirshenbaum wrote a note in the cover and left it on the coffee table, may another lost soul find their way back to joy and know they aren’t alone!
Whatever day it is I know I must return. I was advised to book the Blue Lagoon before heading to the airport - take this advice! A great way to relax and soak in the trip before flying. I read many a mixed review, someone even said don’t bother going in just look at it, that is so weird to me. Here’s my take, it’s a little pricey, it’s very touristy and for the love of god put your phones down. I went immediately when they opened got my wristband and headed to that steaming water (yes it smells like sulfur but it’s still amazing). Once again I lucked out - and early snowstorm! It was windy and ice pellets flew the wind and snow blew out most of the tourists and myself and a few others loved this, almost no one stayed. I got the massage, tried the face masks, and overstayed my time by only about 3 hours! With my skin pruned and my hair a solid dried out haystack I head joyfully to the airport.
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