Chasing Waterfalls, Glaciers, and Midnight Sun: Collecting Memories in Iceland
Our adventure map of Iceland, we explored the West & South, we must go back for the East & North 😁
Our daughter was leaving home soon, and we wanted to create some special memories with her. We asked where she would like to go together. With no hesitation she picked our destination. After seven and a half hours, we landed on an island full of wonder. The airport was small, the kind where they bring out stairs for you to climb down and then you must hop onto a bus to get to the gate. Although, it really would have been faster to walk to it.
New smells, a language we didn’t understand that sounded like an old song, and water that tasted like heaven were our first experiences. At the rental car place, we learned that weather works differently there: “keep the doors closed!” Open them only as long as you need to and never leave them wide open. The wind gets quite strong and could rip them off, I was scared after I heard that.
It was morning there, but night for our bodies. People that can sleep on airplanes are lucky. Tired but mesmerized we enjoyed the thermal pools; resting our eyelids wherever we got a chance, in the warm water, the sauna, or the dressing room.
As the copilot, I really tried hard to stay awake, but my eyelids were as heavy as lead.
We stopped at the museum with a rotating roof restaurant, for our first meal there (full blown jet lag.) I wanted to experience the culture, so I ordered something I hadn’t seen anywhere before it had egg and toast as a base, what could go wrong? Yeah, the plate was beautiful. Let’s just not talk about the pickled raw herring and mountain of onions. I was hungry, the fish was actually tender and oddly sweet. But it’s ok if you don’t invite me out for sushi…
We wondered through the museum and ended at a video exhibit, a lava documentary. No one in our party remembers a thing, except being ushered out when it was all done. It did look interesting, I wish I could watch it.
Jet lag feels heavy, like all parts in my body are slowly getting acquainted with each other but functioning independently. I stayed up as long as I could, even went out walking semi-conscious. The sights were so interesting, they gave me a second wind. We sure slept soundly that night.
Our drive west the next day was delightful, one beautiful sight after another. There were white houses, some with their own churches, sprinkled across the hills. We would have stopped so many times, but being it was a freeway we had to take lots of pictures and hope they turn out, fast motion record keeping.
We went through an underwater tunnel. Little different knowing there was water above us. Twenty-plus waterfalls, canyons and meadows later we arrived at the peninsula. We were at the edge of the island, where picturesque cliffs and meadows frame the vast ocean.
B & E had fun climbing and getting way too close to the edge. I stayed in the back and enjoyed the sturdy ground, making friends with some ducks. I don’t need much to feel adventurous.
the sun setting at midnight
We were far north, close to the Arctic Circle, where the sun doesn’t like to sleep in the summer, which meant we were out exploring at midnight most days. The drives we took were beautiful in every direction with ice, water, lava and snow to welcome us in every turn. Luckily, cold lava. The volcanoes are so active there that one of our guides said she reads the seismic reports every morning before work to know whether to show up or run.
To get to the nature carved ice caves, we rode in what looked like a monster truck bus. The tires inflate and deflate as needed depending on the terrain. In most places there was only one road in and out, but we made it, to explore the melting caves in the glacier.
glacier adventures
With crampons and helmets on, we walked along a narrow-carved path, clipping ourselves to the main line. Yeah, no worries. Just a raging freezing river roaring beside you and underneath at times as we crossed a precariously balanced plank of wood. What if we fall? Well… rescue would be tricky they said. So, I focused on the ice walls, felt safer closer to them. Seeing the passing years frozen in layers of ice on those walls surely gives you perspective. I tell you, my sense of adventure is tame, my stomach was in knots, but I made it to the end. Being in the glacier was amazing.
But, the day the road made a turn that had us facing another glacier from a distance was a moment to always remember; the awe of that majestic giant white ice flowing in between the mountains left me speechless.
Pause time, let’s soak this in.
That was incredible.
Nature is mind-blowing and very much in charge. I felt so minute facing that giant and so responsible to take care of it. The blues delighted my eyes. The many shades of teal touched my heart. The curious and ominous crevasses seemed capable of telling the story of time.
Basalt columns, water of every color and every temperature. Meadows unlike any other, splattered with purple lupine, were quite the sight. Strong winds and all (we did keep all car doors), made it an unforgettable place to be.
Iceland map with labels, process summary
Iceland map with name labels
Iceland was magical, I highly recommend it.