ICELAND IN 22 DAYS, PART 1!
Traveling to Iceland was my dream for 4 years. I wanted to feel as one in those incredible landscapes, to see the northern lights shining in the sky, to be amazed by the power of nature because I knew that the climate there was totally unpredictable.
This was the whole journey we made in 22 days.
The night we took the flight, I cried with emotion, I didn’t know what to expect. Despite my horror of flying, I used all my methods to calm myself down (you can read some of my tips to control the fear of flying) and I managed to fall asleep until we landed.
A delicious cold ran through my skin, and the confusion about what to do to get to Reykjavik disappeared when we picked up the bags and saw that all travelers were buying bus tickets. In fact, there are many alternatives and you can find them HERE.
A delicious cold ran through my skin, and the confusion about what to do to get to Reykjavik disappeared when we picked up the bags and saw that all travelers were buying bus tickets. In fact, there are many alternatives and you can find them HERE.
DAYS 1, 2 AND 3: REYKJAVIK, THE CAPITAL OF ICELAND!
Reykjavik is a relatively small city. The weather in mid-March was very cold, with cloudy and sunny days. The inhabitants are friendly, they speak English quite well, so it was quite simple to communicate. The houses, shops and restaurants are kind of quirky. The church in the city center was imposing, looked like a ship. There were scandalous tourists who seemed to bother the locals inside of it. The church of Halallgrímur was built within 38 years and is named after the Icelandic poet Hallgrímur Pétursson, who is best known for his hymns. It’s also the tallest building in the country and doesn’t have much decoration inside, only an incredible beautiful organ. It’s one of the most characteristic places in the city.
If you walk towards the coast, at the end of Frakkastigur street, you will see a structure similar to a Viking ship, work of the famous Icelandic sculptor Jón Gunnar Árnason. Icelandic history is marked by the Viking’s age and fishing skills and this activity represents the engine of its national economy. If you want to know more about maritime traditions in Iceland, go to the Maritime Museum after June 8, 2018 as it is closed for renovations right now.
We were walking around and my assistant Luis and I, decided to get a Viking souvenir in our skins and we visited a tattoo shop: Reykjavik Ink. I have to warn you: Iceland is not a cheap country and this craziness was a luxury that I wanted to give myself for my birthday. I chose my shoulder as a canvas for a symbol that the Vikings used as a protection spell so that even in storms and darkness, they could always find their way back home (very appropriate in the current circumstances). Then I learned that Bjork had the same tattoo and I thought it was awesome.
The tattooist was blond, tall, corpulent, with blue eyes, very very attractive (gave me chills haha) with his hands full of drawings. Michael Beecher, from Wisconsin, rotating around Iceland to work for a couple of months, sometimes a cowboy, with boots and a hat kept somewhere in his room, or so he told me. Follow his work HERE I thanked him when he finished and with a smiling look, I took his card to share it with tattooists from my country who might want to take him to Costa Rica as a guest.
In Reykjavik you have to get lost in the streets, explore around, we saw cats looking for their prey among the rocks, curious statues that are hidden all over the city in unsuspected corners, interesting graffiti around shops and walls on the road. There are many souvenir shops in case you are interested in taking a souvenir but I advise you to be selective, it’s not cheap although we discovered that if you buy in a TAX FREE shop and your purchases cost more than 6 000 kroner, you can go to the office at the airport before leaving and request a 14% refund to your bank account or cash.
We were walking around and my assistant Luis and I, decided to get a Viking souvenir in our skins and we visited a tattoo shop: Reykjavik Ink. I have to warn you: Iceland is not a cheap country and this craziness was a luxury that I wanted to give myself for my birthday. I chose my shoulder as a canvas for a symbol that the Vikings used as a protection spell so that even in storms and darkness, they could always find their way back home (very appropriate in the current circumstances). Then I learned that Bjork had the same tattoo and I thought it was awesome.
The tattooist was blond, tall, corpulent, with blue eyes, very very attractive (gave me chills haha) with his hands full of drawings. Michael Beecher, from Wisconsin, rotating around Iceland to work for a couple of months, sometimes a cowboy, with boots and a hat kept somewhere in his room, or so he told me. Follow his work HERE I thanked him when he finished and with a smiling look, I took his card to share it with tattooists from my country who might want to take him to Costa Rica as a guest.
In Reykjavik you have to get lost in the streets, explore around, we saw cats looking for their prey among the rocks, curious statues that are hidden all over the city in unsuspected corners, interesting graffiti around shops and walls on the road. There are many souvenir shops in case you are interested in taking a souvenir but I advise you to be selective, it’s not cheap although we discovered that if you buy in a TAX FREE shop and your purchases cost more than 6 000 kroner, you can go to the office at the airport before leaving and request a 14% refund to your bank account or cash.
Walking around, we found a very cute Cafe that rescues kittens from the street and gives them up for adoption. You can share with them and that evening, we had a cup of tea there. I wanted to take the two they had and squeeze them hard (yes, I’m a crazy cat lady). The owners were very kind and agreed to give me a little interview that I share with you HERE. The decoration of the place was made by the mother of one of them who is a designer in Paris. The cafe is cozy, spectacular and I really enjoyed the food. If you go to Reykjavik and love animals like me, please visit it, you have no idea how nice it is to share an afternoon with cats, and also the food is DELICIOUS!
Cat Cafe
He loved me!
Drinking some tea!
So, we saw everything we wanted to see in 1 day but took another two to walk, photograph and enjoy a country we had longed so much to visit.
PS: You can also read Useful tips to visit Iceland!
DÍA 4: AFFORDABLE CAMPERS Y ¡BLUE LAGOON!
DAY 4: AFFORDABLE CAMPERS AND BLUE LAGOON!
We walked more than 4 kilometers to pick up the camper. We were attended by the nicest boy in Iceland, I swear. If you are going to rent a camper, I recommend Affordable Campers, they gave me the best price I could quote and came fully equipped: refrigerator, gas disk, kitchen utensils and everything necessary to sleep. After a brief paperwork, tips and explanations to drive, we drove cautiously to the Blue Lagoon using the GPS. You can read more in Tips to make the ring road in camper in Iceland.
Oh yeeeees! Finally there, in Blue Lagoon, remembering years of seeing photos trying to imagine what it would feel like to be there. Well, they are delicious thermal waters contrasted with a spectacular cold atmosphere. The trick was to place the towel on the hangers outside and run immediately into the turquoise waters to protect yourself. The strange combination of temperatures with mud and minerals made the experience amazing, out of this world. If you want to know more about this place, you can read my Guide for Blue Lagoon.
After swimming, we showered and hiked around the lagoon, surrounded by dry lava and green moss: nature in perfect harmony, drizzle and cold, my hands froze when suddenly, I saw the most wonderful rays of light through the clouds, above the stone hills. An incredible symphony of yellows illuminating and saturating the green tonalities that we had in front. Spectacular, fragile and beautiful nature. Delicate. I felt it, I breathed it, I tasted it, I felt it on my skin and for an instant we were one, she spoke to me and I whispered to her with breaths of astonishment.
Iceland's unpredictable weather was beginning to make its own and forced me to understand that there is nothing written and that as the clouds clear and the rain falls in seconds, our life can change and I with it.
We stayed at the Reykjavik campsite.
We stayed at the Reykjavik campsite.
FOLLOW ME and continue to part 2!
Criss
Photographer, aspiring film maker, dreamer, in love with the world!! Everything you want is on the other side of fear!!
