Tag: Iceland

Fire Water & Ice- The Arctic journey in Iceland

The end of summer was just about the perfect time to get into Iceland. With the pandemic having parked us all within the confines of home and WFH, travel was at first a luxury but for a globe trotter it became a necessity.

Picking Iceland was easy. I had been there before for a brief bit and always dreamt of taking a comprehensive tour so it was what we embarked on. From doing a comprehensive research of things to do before and during the trip to actually embarking on this Arctic adventure it was all quite an adventure. It wasn’t backpacking, it wasn’t taking tours and it wasn’t about going there to click photographs of the magnificent landscape, but it was about driving around the ring road of Iceland anti-clockwise moving always, stopping for hikes while taking in those spectacular images of fire, water and ice. I’d call this a “Carpacking” adventure.

The route shown above plus the Snaefellsnes peninsula on the west

So check out all those travel pre-reqs-

Get your COVID testing done 72 hours before you arrive- PCR or Antigen, either will do. Remember to pre register on the Iceland government website to get a bar code before you get on the plane (travel.covid.is). Also make sure to carry your vaccination certs. And lastly book your COVID test appointment on the same website and schedule it such a way that you can have that done 72 hours prior to your scheduled arrival. Costs 50 Euros for a PCR and 30 euros for the Antogen test. One more thing, carry your own booze and water bottles. Iceland is wonderful but you don’t want to be found short of these commodities while on your trip.

We found the best way to follow our ambitious route was rent a car from the Keflavik airport. The off we go. We had to cover so much ground. And also while the distances are miniscule compared to North American standard, speed limits are low and fines are very punitive. You could be driving at 90 kmph before you suddenly realize the speed limit is down to 70 before getting down to 30.

Day 1– Straight from the airport heading east along the south coast- The Golden circle that had the Thingvellir National park, The Geysir (The Strokkur was especially a miniature version of Old faithful but erupted almost every 4-5 minutes accompanied by the ooohs and aahs). Next was the awesomely spectacular Gullfoss. Then the trip on Route 35 to the Kerid Crater. Spent the night in Selfoss- An uplifting town of 8000 right by the river.

Thingvellir- Home of the continental tectonic plates

Day 2– Long day. Headed along the south cost on Route 1 making our way south east. So much to do, so much to hike so much to cover. Seljalandsfoss (Where you could actually hike up and behind the falls). There are two other falls in the vicinity and one of the falls is hidden inside a cave. Feels like a dream. Next stop was Skogafoss where the climb upto the top was a great cardio workout followed by another hike two other falls. And just when we thought we had our workout for trhe day, driving along the south coast we took a left to check out the Sólheimajökull glacier . Well the walk turned out be an amazing hike, where the volcanic rocks dust the icebergs giving it an eerie look. A must do. What we did next , well we shouldn’t have. A flat monotonous walk from the car park to see the DC plane wreck (2 miles one way) by the ocean. Avoid this if you have other things to do. But before we went down to Hofn (stop over for trhe night), we had to go see that treacherous sinister looking Reynisfjara. Having been there before and experienced the sneaky waves, do not turn your back to the water for too long. Its enthralling! Wanted to do the glacier lagoon and the Diamond beach but just ran out of time and it was almost 10.00 when we settled in for the night in Hofn. Hofn is a small fishing village facing the Ocean on the south east.

Day 3– Headed back east on Route 1 to get to The Glacier lagoon and Diamond Beach. While it added 100 miles to the trip, it was worth every mile. The Vatnajökull glacier occupies 10% of Iceland and as ice chunks breakaway flowing it to the Ocean. The lagoon had these mini icebergs floating accompanied by some prancing seals. Just across is the Diamond Beach where the ocean carves these icebergs into magnificent ice sculptures and when the sun shines upon these, these truly look like diamonds. Then the journey took us along the eastern fjords, with a small town at the mouth of every fjord. Its all on route 1 and our drive took us to the North. Diamond Circle as its known that has the Dettifoss (very silty, angry waterfall) and the Godofoss (Awe inspiring Waterfall of the Gods where statues of Viking Gods were thrown in when Christianity pervaded the country in the 12th century. Interspersed between these falls was the geothermal fields that has everything you could dream of- Bubbling mud pools, steaming mini volcanoes, mini geysers and the place smells strongly of a high school chemistry lab with all that suphurous gases. The night was spent in the second largest city , Akureyri, a town of 18000, right on the Eyjafjörður fjord. Loved the city and even the clouds cleared enabling us to go on a night adventure to chase the Aurora Borealis. It was perfect timing, away from the city lights and watching the spectacle of the green show in the sky. This was just truly fortuitous.

Day 4– In case it wasn’t mentioned before, the gas stations with their kiosks – N1 and Olis are life savers. Great Cappucinos, good eats and well, gas is expensive (almost $7 per gallon). So this day was about driving west from Akureyi to the Snaefelles peninsula. Stop overs at Hvaamstangi to catch the seals but lucked out and saw a whale too in the bay. This country keeps getting better. And entering the peninsula on Route 54, it was just another ooh-aah drive. The town of Grundarfjörður was the gateway to one of the most symmetrical and gorgeous mountain with a waterfall in the forefront- Kirkjufell. A must do. Then driving along the peninsula visiting the old black church in the hamlet of Búðir before taking it “easy” at the Langaholt. So much had been accomplished.

Day 5– This was the day of the west cost along Route 1. From the peninsula to Reyjavik for the COVID test. Good stops on the way with the Goudberg cliffs (free standing basalt rocks), Borganes (picturesque and good place to get gas) then heading down to Arkanes and catch the lighthouses before getting into the capital Reykjavik. Plenty to do, not least the Hallgrímskirkja church situated at the top of the hill overlooking the pretty downtown strewn with cafes, shops and bars. The COVID test was a breeze and I could only marvel at the efficiency of the lab. It was a conveyor belt and got my test results within 6 hours!

Day 6– This was the day when we got to hike up 1000 feet to be at the site of the active volcano, Fagradalsfjall. This volcano that hadn’t erupted in 800 years started to spew lava and the rivers of fire flowed in 2021. When we went up there , the lava wasn’t flowing but what we saw was awe inspiring. The blackened frozen lava from 6 days ago and the view of the crater from across the valley stood up on the peak. Dreams can become real. After this hike, the blue lagoon reckoned that was quite touristy and then the anti-climactic lunch at the Fridheimar greenhouse tomato farm. I’d say just okay but good for the novelty.

Day 7– Departure day. Good duty free at Keflavik . Iceland- I may be back- yet again!

Ég elska Ísland- An Icelandic essay

Iceland; evokes bone chilling cold as you even read the words. And Iceland in January? Well it must take someone with a lower level of intelligence to make a trip to this remote North Atlantic island. And Iceland conjures up thoughts of cold, freezing cold, bone chilling cold in an ambience of breathtaking scenic views, virgin lands, Vikings and incredibly long words. And that I presume would be the general perception right? If you were into a little bit of geography, you would know its not colder than some parts of the continental United States; New York, Boston and even Washington DC on most days. Having germinated the idea of travelling to that exotic place by my definition, I set out to travel.

Destination- Reykjavik, southern Iceland

A population of just over 300,000 in this vast area and the lack of any real crowds as you touch down hits you. It’s a tranquil place where you wouldn’t have to venture out too far to take in some spectacular views. The whitened surface and the ominous volcanic rocks jutting out just adds to the exotics and mystique. Waterfalls, volcanoes, Lava beds, geysers you name they have it all. So just picture this, the chaotic atmosphere all happens underground and its fairly active geothermal seismic zone. Then when you see what they’ve done to use this chaos to their advantage is nothing short of living off the land. You hear things of nukes, coal, oil and other fossil fuels but is the land not bountiful enough that provides heat from other sources? Heat sources that do not leave their dirty mark on the face of the earth or the upper zones. And I certainly do not claim to be a die hard tree hugger, but the sheer efforts in utilizing of renewable heat sources to generate over 99% of their power needs leave you nothing short of impressed.

The Power-

Geothermal and Wind power- Use of heat extracted from geysers and underground wells to produce steam to spin the turbines is the geothermal part while the high velocity winds are further utilized to generate power as well. No coal, no SO2, no NOx to deal with! And then they create a lagoon with the spring water loaded with minerals so you could get into your swimsuit and be submerged in 75 degree hot water while there are those amazing snow capped rocks watching over you. To borrow a famous phrase, “Its real and its spectacular!”

The history-

English was very prevalent and I did not have to learn the 30 letter words in Icelandic to find my way around. And every Icelandic name means something and it could be a tool, it could be a Viking warrior or a weapon made of stone. Iceland started off as a Pagan culture when Vikings came over to settle there in 870. The pagans worshipped Viking Gods such as Thor, Odinn and then around the 1100’s, Christianity happened followed by a reformation to Lutherans in the 15th century. However, they did manage to found the first parliament in the 10th century. Iceland has had a turbulent past including the dreaded Black death,; the Plague in Europe, take over by the Danes and continuing to be ruled by them until 1944. 1944 is when Iceland became independent.

 

And to add, during a significant volcanic eruption in the 17th century, the island was covered in fog for upto 6 months. Dread, misery and depression took over and it was indeed so bad that the islanders went through a complete generation without any kind of musical arts and dance. The fog caused by volcanic ash was reportedly so bad that people could not venture out even to sea to catch their daily fish. When I saw that beach, a beach of black sand caused by the lava, it looks sinister and the waves that crash against the black rocks give it a highly eerie feel. The beach could be from a sci-fi thriller and you feel like you are about to be just swallowed by the angry waves that will appear out of nowhere sounding like a crack of doom. It takes a special stepping back to actually admire the sheer breathtaking surroundings, the like of it not seen before by me.

The highlights was obviously being in the Arctic zone in the winter and the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to view the Aurora Borealis, a streak of white and blue buzzing through the night sky.

Practicalities-

Iceland is expense, very expensive. A light meal for two could cost upto $40 and a pair of woollen socks could set you back by $40 as well.

  1. Travel light and dress in layers if you want to be there in the winter. The sun doesn’t rise until around 10.30 am. Its not the cold that gets you, its that dreaded wind and makes it feel you want to fly to the South seas!
  2. Carry proper footwear with some good wooly socks and mittens. Do not ever attempt to get out in your Sperrys
  3. Several cheap flights from the east coast and Europe flying into Keflavik, a 45 min drive from Reykjavik. Not bad at all with the flight not lasting over 5 and half hours.
  4. Buy your own booze at the duty free. Do not attempt to buy yours at the bars in Reykjavik if you can help it.
  5. Reykjavik has a very active night life and what better to do in winter after 4.30 pm than to hang out at the city center downing a few!
  6. Food- You get it all although if you a tad faint hearted you may not want to eat bull’s testicles or a rotten shark.
  7. Try to get into group tours but do not book them online from your country. You will get lot better deals if you book it all when you arrive in Iceland.g