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But First We Foss

South & West Iceland

By Nos Étapes

July 23^rd, 2018

7.24.18.

Today was so packed that I couldn’t believe it was our first day; agreeing to what Jared had mentioned, it felt like we had been here for three days already!

The flight was so much smoother than both of us expected. Me STILL being so afraid of flying, plus the fact that we prepared ourselves for the flight based on so many reviews...WOW Airlines was perfectly fine! People had complained on how bad the commodities were and how cramped their seats were, being a budget flight. There were also complaints on check-in luggage being late or missing, and carry-on being so restricting. Fortunately, we never check-in, and both of our packs were under the weight limit (even with all our camping gear). I also just sleep throughout as many flights as possible to avoid my anxiety, and Jared brought many snacks and movies (since free food wasn’t included) for the flight. There was, luckily, so much empty seats that most passengers took up entire rows to use for sleeping- it was hilarious! Overall, the flight experience was very entertaining (for as long as I was awake).

We got in around 10ish AM and dealt with errands: getting a sim card and our rental car. This is where we experienced our first, yet entertaining, hiccup: we forgot that our car was at the city and not the airport (which were an hour away from each other). They were very accommodating and lent us a very nice BMW to get to city for free. OMIGOSH, once we got on the road, we were so amazed at how different and beautiful the landscape was! The time it took to get there flew by with how amused and taken we were. Once we were there, they even gave us an upgrade cause our original car had not been available. Instead of a five-seater 4x4, we got a seven-seater 4x4 at no additional cost! We could go car camping in the event that our campsites get extremely windy. Some places we were planning to go to get winds up to 60-70 mph, and I was worried our tent wouldn’t hold up! We continued with errands such as groceries for seven days of camping, and additional camping essentials. We learned that they absolutely do not sell any preservative meats. So good for them, but we kinda needed those...lol. The only had canned veggies, beans, and instant noodles; all of which we stocked up on.

We were set! During our errand run, we caught lunch and got to try their famous Icelandic Hot Dogs at and Bæjarins Beztu! Omigosh, they were unique and delicious that we had to get two each! They included a mayo, special Icelandic mustard, rémoulade, fried onions, and ketchup. Having mentioned little existence of preservatives, I would assume that was the reason for their meat and bun being so juicy and tasting so fresh!

Starting our journey, we drove an hour and a half to catch our first POI; however, we ended up seeing another interesting site along the way! Seljalandsfoss was a 65m waterfall where you could go all the way around! It was beautiful and exciting going all the way around it! It was kinda slippery, and it was a little hike getting back. All well-worth it! After that, we went to our actual planned point-of-interest (POI), Skógafoss. It was amazing! You could, if you wanted to, touch it; however, we’d risk the power of it crushing all our bones! lol. But it was that close!

Our next POI was the Sólheimasandur plane crash. The overall distance to see it was a 4 mile hike. It was around 8PM when we started. The landscape astonishly changed, and it felt like we were walking through a desert for hours-no worries, we only spent an hour getting there. lol. We chilled for a bit, and met a beautiful and adventurous family (Vanessa, Stefan, Jade) from Switzerland. I thought they were taking engagement photos, but they were actually professional photographers, finishing up their trip of clients and played with their prompts. They’re 6YO daughter was having a blast taking a picture of them. They were teaching her, so she was the photographer and they were the models. Her pictures were surprisingly great-better than many I know that are more than twice her age! After getting our shots out of the way, we spent a whole hour getting to know each other. They had so much crazy travel stories-Jared and I were even more inspired to get on their level of travel!

Losing track of time, we left the site at around 10PM. Thankfully, the MIDNIGHT SUN was present! One of the things on our list was to experience this! We had light the hike back to the car, and the sunrise began at around 2240ish. It was nicely lit, and entertaining walk back. We continued our talks with the family the entire way. I think we got back to our car by 23, and went straight to our first and last hotel of the trip. Thankfully, they were only about 20 minutes away and the front-desk was open. We were in luck, and were upgraded to a cottage with a complimentary breakfast! Yay, time to get plenty of rest before the camping road trip begins!

7.25.18.

We started the day early, and aimed to pack early enough to catch breakfast before our scheduled ice cave tour. It was a pretty crazy experience: both the actual tour and the ride getting there. Our host drove for 40ish minutes. First along the highway for about 20 minutes, eventually an old unnamed, unpaved road, and then an off-roading trail. It was cool cause the old road was a one-way, and the dirt road was hugged by beautiful blue flower bushes. Unfortunately, we were only a week late to witness the whole field in bloom with purple and blue flowers. After getting off that road, the guide went off-roading...so fun! We were bouncin’ and flyin’! Our destination was actually a glacier that was shaped by a volcano, named Katla! Once we got close, we geared up with cool ice spikes for our shoes and helmets. We then hiked the rest of the way. The views were breathtaking! The glacier was not visible from the main highway, so going around the mountain from the off-roading trail gave us an unexpected landscape. On our hike towards the glacier, we were surrounded only by mountains on one side and glaciers on the other side. I could go on about the interesting facts on how the glacier hasn’t melted yet, but quick fact to why it still existed: the ash from the volcano helped. If the ash was thicker than 2cm ( if the units are correct), then the ice didn’t melt; however, any thinner than that allowed the absorption of the sun and melted the ice. The last eruption was 100 years ago, so the volcano is still pretty much alive. Every time ash settled, a sheet of ice would form the settling of the snow. The glacier itself was 800 years old! It was a very unique experience, and I would recommend everyone to try. We went into two ice caves, and they were both very beautiful! It was very tempting to try the dripping glacier, ashy water…(charcoal is in many drinks nowadays… that’s very similar to volcano ash, right…?) I caught a drip...lol. That one drop made my throat itchy for a few minutes! But I don’t regret it, I’d regret not doing it! LOL. That was from the last cave out of two, and we all headed out.

We got lunch once we got back to the city of Vik. It included a burger and traditional lamb soup. The burger was aight, but the soup was GOOD! For those who know what Nilaga is (excuse my filipinoness. lol.) It’s basically a fatty, meat stew. Instead of beef, it had lamb; like Nilaga, it had carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and onions.

After lunch, we went to visit Black Sand Beach. There were three things we wanted to see: the black sand (obviously, lol.), Dyrholaey (the iconic stone arch with a hole), Halsanefshelliir (basalt columnar formations), Reynisdrangar (famous basalt sea stacks), and...PUFFINS! We thankfully got to see all of them along the beach. There was a moment when it started raining for a few minutes. We had the whole beach to ourselves for that little time it rained. The crowds all ran away, but somehow I found a place on the basalt columns that didn’t get wet. I told Jared to join me and we sat and listened to the rain as we were looking at the ocean waves. The basalt columns were surrounded by black and gray pebbles instead of sand, and the raindrops sounded pretty, as well as the ocean waves. Once the rain lifted, all the crowds, unfortunately, came back. It was amazing and peaceful while it lasted. Once we saw what there was to see, we strolled along as much shore as the beach could take us and finished up with another satisfying Icelandic Hot Dog.

Our next destination was Landmannalauger, and was one of the main hikes I was looking forward to! The whole trail would take 4 days; however, we planned a hike that was, at least, a day hike that would walk through the colorful valleys formed by volcano eruptions! We planned to camp there the night before, and start the hike early the next day. After previous research and planning, the problem getting there were going through the Highlands. The Highlands of Iceland consisted of strong winds, rough roads, many rivers and streams, and lots of sheep. Our car was allowed through, but when chatting to a local before the trip, he cautioned that some roads may be blocked. We went ahead knowing the risks. It was so beautiful! The drive from Vik to our campsite would have been 2.5ish hrs, but the roads extended it AND we stopped almost everywhere to enjoy the views and animals! Thankfully, there were no gusts of winds; however, the roads were definitely harsh, we experienced a handful of sheep crossing (included cute lambs!), groups of galloping horses, and rivers. We enjoyed every bit of it, until...WE COULDN’T GET ACROSS A RIVER! Yea, there was the risk we hoped wouldn’t occur. We couldn’t cross the river with our 4x4 because it was too deep, and there was no insurance covering any water damage. We were only warned of a later river, this one must’ve just formed. We were told that it rained so much that rivers changed course frequently. WAHHHH! It sucked, but it was pretty funny. We still got to drive through the Highlands, and at least we only drove-in an hour into the route, rather than the whole 2.5 hrs, and not being able to cross then. By the time we turned back, it was around 20ish (8PM). We decided to head to the campsite we planned to go to the for the following day; however, it was a 3ish hour drive. We figured...WHY NOT? If we got there sooner, we could complete our trip itinerary sooner and fit more stuff in!

By the time we got to our first campsite, it was too late to pay for space and it was drizzling. We were both really tired and didn’t want to setup and pack a wet tent, so we car camped. It really helped how our rental was upgraded for a bigger car, because we fit perfectly. I setup the car while Jared cooked up a quick dinner. We knocked out as soon as we finished.

7.26.18.

We both slept soundly, and felt well-rested when we got up. Baked canned beans for breakfast, with bread and ramulade...one of my favorite camping foods (with the additional new-found discovery of ramulade). Thankfully, there was a camp teller walking around, and we were able to pay before leaving. So we chose to crash there because it was just a five minutes away from the Secret Lagoon! We had an additional, fun side mission: collect a bunch of flowers that whole day. We stopped everywhere, if the roads were empty and we saw pretty ones, they’d be picked. I mention this cause that was the very first thing we did when we got on the road, on our way to the Secret Lagoon, which is a natural spring.

We got there right when it was opened, so we got dibs! Lol. Omigosh, it was so nice! We both didn’t really know what to expect. We were able to enjoy it to ourselves for about an hour until the crowds started trickling in. The time there was just perfect, we were both getting pretty toasty. It was so hot, that the steam was making it hard to breath...lol. Overall, it was really nice and refreshing. You could only enjoy something too pleasant for so long.

Our next stop was another waterfall! If you could not tell by now... WE LOVE WATERFALLS! The open roads were never tiring. On our way to our next destination, there were so many horses, just galloping in packs… they were majestic! I didn’t think I’d portray seeing them like that in person-I thought the movies just exaggerated them. Thankfully, we were the only car on the road cause we slowed down to keep at their pace. We were then interrupted by an incoming car...it was bound to happen, eventually. Lol.

We reached the astounding, Gullfoss! It was way bigger than we saw in pictures. It was raining at the time, but I felt like that made it even more fun. The wind was chilly, I was getting wind burns, and the rain was also soaking my face, but that’s what made it exciting. We had to yell to hear each other, and it was entertaining watching everyone else struggle with it too. We stayed for about an hour, then we hit the road again.

Next stop was our campsite, but we planned to try to do a day hike along the way. On our way, we picked up lunch at a super cute cafe at Galleri Laugarvatni. There was actually another natural spring in that town that we planned to see, but we felt one was more than enough for a day. This was our first actual food place (due to camp food), and it was delicious! We tried the native Rúgbrauð (aka thunder/lava bread)! It’s basically rye bread, but they cook it in the ground from geothermal steam! It had a very distinct, and interesting taste. It paired really well with the toppings on it. We also ordered homemade tomato soup from local tomatoes and warm bread. Seconds, please!

Rúgbrauð with brie and Rhubarb Jam and Tomato Soup

We found a few short trails along the road to the camp site, including one leading to a canyon of lava formations and another with a short baby fissure. The rest of the drive lead through Þingvellir National Park, which was followed by very windy country sides (it was scary cause it felt it was gonna knock the car over).

We saw a neat waterfall and troll structures 30 minutes away from the campsite, and had to check it out! It ended up being cute cottage-styled lodging. They had trails that taught some folktales, along with structures for each. It was neat doing a short hike while learning a bit of culture. We ate at their restaurant before heading out, and it was gorgeous! It was a neat sunroom overlooking the waterfall. The theme was rock n’ roll, and had old vinyl records with some coating for the floor. We had delicious mushroom soup, lamb stew, and some kind of bread that I wish they sold! Man, I’d go back for the bread and soup. The stew was good, but I feel like they sold that everywhere in iceland. This was also where we discovered a local beer by Stedji, which we fell in love with!

We finally got to Husafell campsite, which we found was more than that! It was eerie at first because it wasn’t the usual landscapes (somewhere in the countryside surrounded by no forms of life) and felt like the aura of scenes in ‘Human Centipede’... It was if we were the only people there, until Húsafell. It was actually a campsite and resort in the middle of nowhere! SOCIETY existed, rather than just a crazy psychopath...lol. We got there pretty late, so it took us about an hour to find a spot that wasn’t taken. And it turned out to be perfect! It had a nice picnic table, a view, and barely anyone was around us (...until later, included with a crying baby…). It’s aight though, I had some earphones that worked well!

7.27.18.

Bread and beans in the morning again! TBH, I didn’t mind; Jared got sick and tired of it though. Lol. We quickly warped up and went to our first waterfalls for the day, which was thankfully five minutes away. We got a package deal of the two in one on-site! The first one was Hraunfossar and the second one was Barnafoss. Hraunfossar looked enchanting because it was as if there was a wall that was about as long as two football stadiums; however, the entire wall had waterfalls down the entire length! I don’t know why, but I kept thinking I’d find something like this in the Amazon (which I’ve never gone to...EVENTUALLY!).

We planned on heading towards our next campsite in Snæfellsnes peninsula, near the town of Grundarfjörður. This held the iconic landmark on our list, which I will mention in a bit. I wanted to see Icelandic horses, and heard of a horse farm that allowed you pet them called the Sturlureykir-Visiting Horse Farm. The special thing about Icelandic Horses are that they are just as sturdy as the ones we usually see, but have two coat layers and are smaller. I wanted to see that in person. When we went, they had normal looking coats. I learned that they grow winter coats, and that was what I had imagined I’d see. They were definitely shorter, my height (and I’m short!), but they were super nice and friendly (at least the ones that I met). They are able to withstand all of Iceland’s weather changes, especially the harsh winters. The stable owner mentioned she just lets them roam around. There are no other horse breeds allowed into Iceland. If they were to leave the country, Icelandic horses are not allowed back in. After we were done meeting the horses, the owner offered us her batch of Rúgbrauð! Omigosh, we really tried not to help ourselves too much. It was much better than the one we had the day before, and she had just taken it out of the ground. She cooked her bread 1 meter below the ground using the geothermal spring in her property. It was more fresh, and she only served it with butter! I wish we could get some here. She was very friendly, and humble. Her horses were actually known nationwide, and won many competitions. Not only did she allow guests to meet her horses, but she also gave horseback-riding lessons and tours.

Shortly after going on the road (maybe within 10-15 minutes), we drove past the Stedji brewery! We turned around and came just in time for their tastings! We ordered a flight, and it included the beer we had the day before. Jared met one of the customers that came to pick-up some bottles, and the customer happened to also live in SF! He was there for six-months on a business trip, and that was his last month. One of the beers he got had whale! So Jared asked the brewmaster more about it. Apparently, it was specifically brewed for a Thor Festival during an ancient Icelandic month, existing between mid-January and mid-February. I forgot where it was celebrated, but it was an Icelandic port village. They ate all the ancient Icelandic foods, including: Svið (Sheep's head), Hákarl (Fermented Shark), and all parts of a whale, and much more. ‘All parts of a whale’, meaning WHALE TESTICLES! Which was really interesting. The beer he brewed had whale testicles, and we’ve never tasted anything like it! It basically tasted like sausage in a beer, so it wasn’t bad. Lol. There were two kinds of beers he made from them: one was smoked, while the other included Kombucha. The one with Kombucha mimicked a sour beer, which Jared and I love! The smoked one resembled a classical Porter. Jared ended up customizing a six-pack, including a pair of both the whale beers, and two from the earlier flight.

We continued our drive and stopped to fill the tank and grabbed sandwiches for lunch. Jared sobered up after lunch, and continued driving towards our campsite. I knocked out, and woke up in our planned campsite. IT WAS SO SKETCH! It looked like an abandoned house, and there was a creepy dark church next to it...NO, THANK YOU! We definitely did not stay, and Jared actually saw lots of landscapes while I was asleep, and he wanted to show me. We drove back, and they were worth it. One was a clear lake, reflecting the sky, with snow-capped mountains and hills in the background. The other was a hidden waterfall that we had to walk to from a gravel road.

We drove along the Snæfellsnes peninsula, towards the town of Grundarfjörður to check-out other nearby campsites. We found one in Grundarfjörður, and didn’t realize how close it was to Kirkjufell! So this mountain is so notable to me because I first learned about it from one of my favorite movies “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”. I geeked out, and wanted to see it for myself so it had to be on our must-see lists! It was prettier in person than I had imagined. From pictures that I’ve seen online, I had the impression that it was within lush meadows. It actually looked like it was floating, and it was in the ocean! I also wanted to see the nearby Kirkjufellfoss in person! I was “fan-girling”, while Jared had a blast taking pictures. Once we settled-down, it was romantic just taking a breather and looking at both Kirkjufell (in the distance) and Kirkjufellfoss. Man, I’m so grateful that the sun set so late in Iceland during the summer. The sun was still high in the sky at around 7PM.

We actually drove through the campsite, straight to Kirkjufell, and didn’t actually settle yet. We went back to pay for a spot and set camp. To our surprise, the town was having a festival! It started out with a teen band group performing in their backyard (which opened into a public park). We quickly joined the crowds after our camp dinner. The moving crowds eventually lead to the middle of town. The main act used a semi-truck as a stage! I thought that was clever and neat. By the time we got back to our tent, it was around 11ish. We actually got to see a midnight sunset. <3

7.28.18.

We decided to explore more of West Iceland today, but first started the day with coffee and Icelandic Hjónabandssaela (aka “Happy Marriage Cake”). It was basically an oatmeal cake with berries, especially with local rhubarb. I wish we had it back home!

Our first stop was the village of Arnastapi, which had a notable sea arch that Jared wanted to sea, called Gatklettur. It’s especially famous for its presence in the photography world, as well as its counterpart rifts Hundagjá, Miðgjá and Músagjá. I honestly can’t identify which was what, but each was basically a huge hole through rocks into the ocean. We went through a dirt road leading into residential houses for our first attempt to find parking. These dirt roads with the usual uneven holes nested Kría (aka Arctic Tern). These birds are cute and beautiful, but they are so dangerous and loud! We knew they were loud from the previous night because they were cawing the whole night, but we just learned how dangerous they were on that road. Seeing how pretty and photogenic they were, Jared wanted to get out of the car to take pictures while we were on the dirt road (aka their nesting grounds). As Jared tried to take pictures of them, they dove and darted at him! Deng, they were crazy! I warned Jared, but he didn’t listen to me...lol. I amusingly watched as he dodged them trying to get back to the car. We turned around and found the actual parking lot for the park.

We spent around 2-3 hours strolling along the sight-seeing trails, along the coast, and took in the seascapes, black sea cliffs, sea arches and rifts. We ended the trail with the Bárður Snæfellsás statue. Afterwards, we checked out Lóndrangar, which are natural rock formations. Apparently, they should have resembled a troll man, but it looked more like a viking ship to me (this seemed more fitting too). We couldn’t stay too long because both of us really needed to use the bathroom, so we went back to the Arnastapi. Lol.

columnar basalt cliffs and cave, cliff formations, and a black sand beach

We had lunch there, and finished off with hot chocolate and Pönnukökur, which were Icelandic crepes served with rhubarb jam, and fresh whipped cream. If we hadn’t stopped there, we would not have our favorite natural springs in the trip, which we went ahead and reserved for on the spot.

We wrapped up at Arnastapi and headed to our last sight on our list in West Iceland, the Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge. It was just a five minute drive to the parking lot, but the hike to the gorge took about 15- 20 minutes due to the super strong winds! Not realizing how strong it was, we ran against it and I’ve never breathed so heavily and in so much pain. Lol. I don’t really like the winds, I’ve had bad experiences (including getting blown away, and having someone catch me during undergrad). That was happening on the way there, and I had to hang on tight to Jared. We thought of initially running to the gorge because we set the natural spring reservation in two hours, which was about the same time as the drive (just a few minutes shorter). We got to the ravine, and had to get through a stream to get into the temple-like cavern. It was a task, but it was worth it and exciting going from rock-to-rock (hiking boots really came in handy for keeping my feet dry). It was as if we entered another world, and we were surrounded by rocks covered with moss. Jared followed the stream further into the gorge, and saw a rope to climb up; however, the water current was pretty inconsistent, leading to the assumption to the risk of a flash flood (since there were ice that was melting further into the gorge). With the potential danger in mind, we didn’t stay long; however, it was definitely exhilarating. The winds calmed down on our way back to the car, but I still had to hang on to Jared.

We ended up being twenty minutes early for our reservation at the spring at Krauma; we were so excited we forgot our swimsuits in the car. Lol. At least we got there early enough to make up for lost time. We were the last guests to sign in, and had the spring to ourselves until closing. It was so rewarding to finish off the eventful day to a natural springs...to ourselves! Omigosh, it was so beautiful, sleek and modern. There were a total of six pools with varying temperatures- five heated by the nearby geothermal spring and one cold pool. All overlooked the mountain landscape and nearby, original, boiling geothermal source. We ended our reservation in their relaxation room, which included a fire-pit in the middle of the insulated room, surrounded by relaxation chairs, and serenaded by wind-chime music. When we finished, we had no idea where to stay...BUT we were informed by the friendly staff that there were a few campsites around the area. We found one two minutes away, and ended up car camping since it was late and raining too much to pitch the tent. That was probably the best camp-rest we had due to the help of the relaxing time at the spring.

7.29.18.

We woke up pretty early, and drove straight to Reykjavik so we could have breakfast there, since it was only about an hour away. Once we got there, we expected to catch brunch; however, lots of the restaurants were closed, especially for breakfast (though it said online). We got there 10ish on a Sunday, maybe it was just that day...odd. The only food businesses opened during that time were cafes and bakeries. We ended up finding Sandholt, and I was grateful other businesses were closed so we could dine there. They didn’t have breakfast food at their restaurant, but I haven’t had anything so savory and refreshing in awhile. We had deep-fried risotto balls paired nicely with a salad, mushroom snetzchel, and two craft sodas with local ingredients (apple/rhubarb and raspberry/lilac). We finished up with bakery items including cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, and a pretzel.

Ristað Súpurdugbrauð (Roasted Sourdough)

We relaxed, explored, ate a lot, and shopped the rest of the time in Reykjavik. We visited Hallgrímskirkja some time that day, which is a well-known landmark in the city.

Along with more hot dogs, I had crepe with Skyr, strawberries, cream, and honey. This was my first time trying Skyr, and I loved it. This was an Icelandic cultured product that was similar to yogurt, but was technically cheese. It had a distinct, yet satisfying, sour/tangy flavor.

We finished the day off with a well-known, worth-mentioning noodle shop in Reykjavik, called Noodle Station. We ordered the beef noodle soup, and it hit the spot since it started to rain and started getting chilly. We went straight to a nearby campsite, which was the biggest tent city I’ve ever seen...it was SO COOL! It was basically a base camp for all the backpackers/campers visiting Iceland.

7.30.18.

This was our last day, and we just planned for it to be a chill day--returning all our rentals, finishing off at a fancy restaurant, and soaking into the famous Blue Lagoon to end the day. It ended being really hectic, since we lost track of time (a booboo on my part); however, everything worked out just fine. Since we weren’t able to go into the Hallgrímskirkja tower the previous day due to business hours, we did that first thing of the day. The tower provided an entire bird’s eye view of the city! We did more exciting eating and exploring. All-in-all, we barely made it back for all our appointments ...BUT it was all worth running around!

Back-to-Front: Fried Portobello, Pulled Pork, Fried Cod

Our reservation was at a nice restaurant, called Fish Market. And we had our eyes on it because Jared really wanted to try the Icelandic delicacy of puffin! They also served whale, but we weren’t sure if he was allergic or not. Everything we ordered was delicious, and I’m happy we had the chance to finish our trip with delectable, eye-appealing foods. The puffin tasted similar to chicken liver, and the meat was tough. We also had three different types of nigiri: lamb, beef, and scallop. The lamb didn’t have the usual gaminess taste, and both the lamb and beef melted in your mouth! I’ve never had scallop nigiri, but it was recommended and ended up being so enticing...I wanted more! The texture was so soft and creamy, and the flavor had a subtle sweetness, which was perfect. All the nigiri we had were so flavorful that we didn’t even need soy sauce.

Hendrick Lamar: Gin and Tonic with cucumber caviar

Smoked and grilled breast of Puffin: marinated with blueberries and Brennivín, served with baked onion and mushrooms

Left-to-Right: Angellica Lamb Nigiri and Marinated Beef Nigiri

Dry aged angelica fed organic lamb: served with creamy roasted mushrooms, confit lamb shanks, pickled beetroot and fried shiitake mushroom

Afterwards, we drove to our reservation at the Blue Lagoon. It was a relaxing way to end the trip. The spring water was enticing because it was naturally blue and creamy (I think from the silica in the water). It was cold outside, but the water was perfect. It didn’t get so hot where it was hard to breathe, like at the Secret Lagoon. Our reservation came with a complimentary mud mask. It was so cool! They used the mud from the lagoon, which was also white! We also got an additional mineral mask, which was recommended because we had wind burns and cuts from our trip. It really soothed our faces after our visit. We also had complimentary drinks; Jared ordered pressed juice, and I had Applesin. [I thought it was apple cider, but it was actually a orange soda similar to Orangina.] They also had a water fountain of Icelandic glacier water! I gave in, and drank it after resisting tap water of any form for the entire trip (due to fear my gut bacteria couldn’t handle foreign water bacteria from other global ventures). It was worth it because it had a distinct crispy flavor, and it was nice and cold. We had a bed waiting for us that night...YAY! We decided to just pack up the next morning and slept as soon as we got there.

Take-away & Insights

This trip was so fun and definitely a different experience from most of our international travels. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, except that I wish it was longer. A week was fine, but we met so much people staying there for months! We need to visit again, “Iceland Part 2: North and East”. We were only able to do South and West Iceland; however, we did originally plan to visit the North. We made a lot of itinerary changes due to the river blocking the road, on our way to Landmannalaugar (we had a whole other day planned if that planned destination was successful), and gauged how each day’s worth of driving turned out. From each campsite to another, the drive would have been 2-3 hours; however, we took our time and stopped at whatever looked interesting to check-out. Therefore, these few hour drives took up the whole day. We planned to hike Ásbyrgi in the North, but we would have left from Grundarfjörður (where Kirkjufell was). This would have been a seven hour drive, straight. We did not want to feel so rushed, plus we’d spend a whole day there, and drive for about the same time (leading to a no days to explore Reykjavik). We definitely had to be flexible with our itinerary. We’d rather have a great, relaxing time rather than rushing to each destination.

It was really helpful renting a car because we were able to see most of the things we wanted to see on our Iceland must-see list, and more! There were day tours, but that would have been more pricey, and we wouldn’t have the time to appreciate and admire everything. Also we took only two taxi rides. It cost about $40 for just a fifteen-minute drive. Last minute, we decided to rent another car for a day after getting back and returning the original rental. It was only $99 for two days, compared to taxis! BTW, there were no uber or lyfts.

If you decide to camp, make sure to have quality sleeping PADS (different than sleeping bags)! We’ve had ours for a few years now, and they were still robust and allowed us to have great rests each night we camped. We brought our own camp stove, but they didn’t have the fuel it needed in Iceland. Before the trip, a local suggested a rental camp shop; and that was also really handy. We brought all our gear: sleeping bags/pads, hiking poles, tent, day-bags, bars, and stove. We just needed to rent their stove, since ours wasn’t so useful in Iceland and a cooking set. Ours was heavy, so we just decided to rent. [Otherwise, if you didn’t have camp gear, this is the place to go: https://www.iceland-camping-equipment.com/ .] The campsites were so equipped and everywhere, I wish America was as pampered! Icelanders love camping, and their campsites are pretty knifty. Every campsite we went to had nice facilities, including showers and clean bathrooms. This helped budgeting because most (except one), were $15 per person, each night. We stayed at a hotel the first night, and Airbnb the last night. It is super important to the both of us to get a good night’s worth of rest beginning and ending the trip. We also did groceries to last us the entire trip on the very first day. We did splurge on unnecessary cuisines, but we love tasting new things.

We chose this trip to be super outdoorsy, and were on the road everyday; it was way better than expected. Overall, this trip was AMAZING, and we have planned another trip back to finish our way throughout all Iceland. Next time, we’ll plan to rent a car that could go through rivers, probably more layers (since we want to go back in the cooler seasons for the Aurora Borealis), and more hiking trails! This was a perfect trip to give us a nice appetizer for the entree trip back.

A word from the wise (the car rental guy): “Don’t leave your lights on auto; otherwise, they won’t go on until August”.

Budget Breakdown

Warning: Getting to Iceland is pretty cheap, but everything there was pretty pricey. We also could have saved a lot by getting everything just a month or two before we did. We also splurged on a FishMarket to experience the delicacies that they had to offer; it was twice as much as all the rest of the food we had... Everything was still worth the experience, and I highly recommend it. If we can do it, so can you :)