Category Iceland
Sunset!
The natural beauty of Iceland never ceases to amaze. The sun was setting as we left our last waterfall and began the long drive back to Reykjavík. At first it was simply pretty—a rosy glow in the sky. But then the colours deepened as the sun lowered behind the distant Westman Islands, and it became […]
Sea ice!
Not far from the base camp we used for getting to the ice cave was a glacial lagoon. The glacier extended down to the water’s edge, occasionally sending off large chunks of ice on journeys to the sea. Some of these became lodged in the narrow mouth of the lagoon until they melted enough to […]
Ice caves!
When we booked this trip the offer of visiting an “ice cave” stood out as unusual among the tours we were considering. we didn’t know if it would be all that cool but decided to give it a try. So glad we did! It turns out to be one of the cooler things we saw. […]
Black sand beaches!
At long last! The wind died down just enough for us to scrape our way along the southern coast to Vik, a tiny town on a stretch of black sand beach. If you do a web search for pictures of Vik, you’ll see serenely pastoral views of a picturesque village nestled among green fields beside […]
Waterfalls!
Iceland is a land of wind and volcanoes and glaciers—and also waterfalls! They pour over the volcanic cliffs onto the flat coastland below. Highly dramatic and incredibly photogenic, they are sure crowd pleasers. The first one we visited was Seljalandsfoss, which was also the largest and busiest. Next, just a few hundred yards up the […]
Lava!
Getting rescued with a new (and functional!) van did not solve our problems. Cyclone Dennis was still pummelling us with 100+ mph winds, topping 150mph in the passes—which meant it wasn’t safe for us to continue our journey. So our guide announced an impromptu visit to the Lava Centre, which offered a small and highly […]
Stranded!
We left before dawn (aka a little after 9am) on a two-day adventure tour to the southern coast of Iceland. In no time at all we were traversing frozen lava fields and climbing our way over the Blue Mountains. About an hour outside of Reykjavík, just as we were passing through a town named after […]
Exploring Reykjavík
Oh man, what a day. We criss-crossed this charming town no fewer than five times from end to end under the biting winds of a north-Atlantic cyclone. The meals were delicious, the architecture fantastic, and those shapes, colours, and textures of the houses? I’m obsessed. Off to bed now—photos in order, without explanation; out into […]
Reykjavik!
We made it! The last flight out of Paris got us to Reykjavík just after midnight and literally minutes before Dennis the storm hit. By the time we had collected our luggage and climbed onto the shuttle, the wind and snow had begun. We crawled our way through blizzard conditions into town, more than an […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 