Ice, Ice, Baby

When I think about my ‘bucket list’ it really doesn’t seem that extensive, however one thing that had been on there for a long time was to visit Iceland. I’d seen photos, read articles and blogs, and heard recounts of adventures from friends and family who had visited. So, when the opportunity finally arose to spend a long weekend in Reykjavik, the answer was always going to be a great big YES.

And I wasn’t disappointed.

It doesn’t get much more versatile than a country that has natural beauty, nice people, welcomes tourists, is visit-worthy at any time of the year, has great food and is its own island. When I was thinking of ways to describe Iceland it felt for a minute like I was talking about New Zealand. But it turns out that while there is a great country near the bottom of the southern hemisphere there is also a pretty fantastic one near the top of the northern hemisphere.

Given how far north of the equator Iceland is, it’s no surprise that when we landed after 5pm in the middle of January it was already dark. As we boarded our bus and drove toward Reykjavik I spent 99% of the time staring out the window trying to determine how clear the sky was and willing the clouds to disappear. You see we were booked on a Northern Lights cruise at 9pm and I had everything crossed we would catch a glimpse of Iceland’s famous greenery.

We had just enough time to check in to the hotel, drop our bags, layer up and head towards the old harbour where the cruise would depart from, finding a very popular fish and chip restaurant to grab a quick dinner from on the way. Almost two hours after our boat departed, having weathered rain, freezing winds, multiple snow storms and -7 degrees Celsius temperatures we were treated to a smattering of green lights dancing across the sky. We’d been in Iceland less than seven hours and it had already exceeded my expectations.

Still on a high from being lucky enough to see the Northern Lights, the next day we had a little time for exploring the city and then a date with the Blue Lagoon. As the country was being subjected to its first proper covering of snow for the season, we were thrilled to see bright white powder everywhere we looked, meaning that it made our first experience of Reykjavik in the daylight rather special. What made it a little less special was me accidentally finding a vegan café and winding up having to drink coffee made with oat milk. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there is no substitute for cow’s milk!

Soon enough though, the memory of those questionable coffees would be distant as we arrived at the spectacular Blue Lagoon. Being such a popular tourist attraction, it runs like clockwork, however I was worried it would feel like we were bathing in that milky blue water with the entire population of the island nation. I needn’t have worried though, the lagoon is huge and you’re too busy marvelling at the warm water, being surrounded by snow-capped mountains and the fact that there is a “swim up” bar to even consider the other tourists for anything besides people watching. Two hours, two drinks and a face mask later we exited the lagoon feeling even more in awe of this lovely country.

With no excursions booked for our third day we hired a car and drove south, heading towards the coast. There’s a saying in Iceland that if you don’t like the weather you just wait five minutes, and that was never more evident than when you spend a full day driving in the car. We had snow storms, bright blue skies, slushy roads, clear roads and everything in between. Doing our own road trip was the best decision we could have made, and I think it was my favourite day of the trip. Our first destination was Reynisfjara Beach and let me tell you we were treated to some truly wild weather – for the first time in my life I was on a beach and being snowed on. At this point on the coast, if you were to set sail in a straight line south the first bit of land you would hit is Antarctica, so that is a whole lot of untouched, unruly ocean, and as a result it has ‘sneaker waves’ that come out of nowhere and pull you in. Due to the weather, we may not have seen all we could there, but experiencing that level of wilderness was good enough for me. Back in the car we headed back towards Reykjavik with two planned stops at the Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls. Both were breath-taking, with the latter allowing us to walk around behind it, and the former lit up by a rainbow thanks to Iceland’s ever-changing weather. Between the three pit stops and the extraordinary countryside all around us, I was well and truly blown away.

On our final day we were left with enough time to roam the streets of Reykjavik, buy some souvenirs and have a bread bowl of Icelandic lamb soup before saying farewell to this beautiful, rugged, unique country.

Despite the trip only being three nights long, with so much to see and do I feel like I haven’t truly done Reykjavik and its surrounding areas justice in this blog – the scenery was stunning, the people were so welcoming and helpful, the food was tasty, and the city was so clean.

It really is a place you have to see to believe, so if you ever get the opportunity to visit Iceland – go. You won’t regret it.

"The only trip you will regret is the one you don't take." - Unknown

That's all for now,

​Jordyn x