Iceland
What can I say about Iceland. It was one of the most glorious road trips I have ever had. The scenic beauty of the country is second to none. We experienced everything from sunny beaches to trekking on glaciers to hiking up mountains and looking down on waterfalls.
After hitting the hotspots around Reykjavik aka the golden triangle, we decided to ditch the main roads, turn off sat nav, grab a paper map (yes very old school) and go off piste. Our guiding principle was to stay as hug the coast line as much possible.
A slow road trip over 2.5 weeks with no itinerary other than to stop at every turn to take in the view…bliss. There were days we didn’t meet any other cars during our drive.
When I think back to our trip to Iceland, the memories that pop into my head are waterfalls, horses, breath taking views, the impromptu hikes up hills and mountains, drinking hot cups of tea we made with hot water from our trusty thermos sitting in the trunk of our SUV and taking in the views.
We visited Iceland when travel to the country was just picking up after the disruption from Eyjafjallajökull. Travel there was not uncommon but not quite as popular as it has become.
We didn’t have accommodation booked in advance and we booked b&b’s each day when we felt we were done with the exploring and were ready to call it day. This led us to find very interesting places, including one where we were the very first guests. We were treated in equal parts like royalty and like family. We got the best room in the hotel, the G&Ts were free flowing, dinner was enjoyed while sharing stories with the incredible staff.
As we drove into the hotel parking, the scene that we
One of my favourite memories is when we took a “wrong” turn and saw at a distance a small dust storm that was moving towards us. In a attempt to figure out what it was, we got out of the SUV started walking towards it (because why wouldn’t you?!). We had walked a few mins, when we realised the approaching dust storm was caused by a herd of wild horses that was approaching us rather quickly. I have never moved faster. Jumping into the passenger seat just in the knick of time to avoid tragedy, as the horses galloped around the SUV. The only casualty of the incident were my sunglasses which I dropped on the ground. The image of being inside the vehicle with galloping horses surrounding me is etched in my memory. The picture is not of this incident, but wild horses were everywhere in Iceland.
