Warming to Iceland
Trip Start
Apr 02, 2008
1
28
Trip End
Ongoing
Where I stayed
Reykjavík, Iceland
Thursday, February 4, 2010
So we landed one Thursday evening to spend a long weekend in Reykjavik. Our hotel, despite backing onto the domestic airport, was well-equipped and first thing Friday morning we booked a raft of activities for the weekend, before taking a stroll around the town.
Reykjavik centre was an eerie place. Iceland's population is a measly 300,000, despite belonging to a land the size of England. We found everybody who we did encounter, largely in the shops, very friendly and helpful – and most importantly, English-speaking! The city centre itself had a few people dotting the streets, but Ed and I wandered down to the deserted port, where empty cargo ships bobbed in the cold wind.
On our way home, we walked from the town towards our hotel, passing the imposing and minimalist designed Hallgrímskirkja cathedral, finished only in 1986. My most overwhelming feeling looking at this odd, tall monument was of being in the heart of redneck America where everything is new and evangelist… :$
The following day, Ed and I went scuba-diving. In Iceland. Ed wouldn’t give up an opportunity to dive wherever in the world he can, and although Iceland’s volcanic lakes had little life in its rich blue waters, the piercing blue and the outlandish rock formations below the surface, surrounded by scraggy, rugged and desolate landscape made for an unforgettable (and very cold) experience!! (Did I say it was 2 degrees?!) AS we finished our dive, we were instructed to jump of a 10ft drop into the lake below (followed swiftly by the dive school’s dog!), which finished off my dry-suit’s water resistance L
On Saturday, Ed and I were lucky enough to have booked an off-roading tour onto some of Iceland’s largest glaciers and deepest valleys. The company was excellent, providing the only real '4x4’ experience offered on the Iceland, taking us high into the ice-capped volcanoes from which we had breath-taking views for 40 miles. As we summited the country’s second largest glacier, the path underneath us became slippy and our jeep struggled to maintain control over the sheer ice and heavy boulders. We paused at the peak of the glacier, where the word around us became white and blizzard-like, and our hardy guide ate sandwiches and told us about Icelandic sustainability efforts whilst we shivered uncontrollably…
We descended through the wide lava fields, stopping to attire hard hats and descend into lava caves that ran deep underground, our crazy driver feigning trolls coming from the dark to eat us up. A stop was made by a thermal water power station, which smelt rather sulphuric before the long and awesome drive back to Reykjavik through Iceland’s green and sparse yet extreme topography.
