Iceland
By Jaimy de Vries
Never would I ever thought, last December, that I’ll be back in Iceland a month later. Because I couldn’t go to Canada, I went back to Iceland. I decided not to go home, because I just started my world trip and saying goodbye ones was already so difficult. So I stayed at a friend’s house in Reykjavik. I stayed there for 2,5 weeks. I got a real taste of Iceland in wintertime and how unpredictable the weather can be. I did some fun things while I was there and I finally got to see the northern lights!
So, a bit faster than anticipated I came back to Iceland a little bit more than a month later, because at the start of my world trip, Canada refused my entrance so I needed to fly back to Amsterdam with a stopover in Reykjavik. I asked if, instead of going home to Amsterdam, I could stay in Reykjavik and this was possible. So here I’m back again! This time on an extended time range. I knew a friend and it was possible to stay at her place for free, so sweet!! Thanks Bo!
What about my world trip?
The first week I didn’t do a lot. I was mostly in the apartment doing research how to continue my world trip, because I needed to make a new plan. I planned to stay for 6 months in Canada and I couldn’t go back to Canada at least for 1-2 months. After a couple I came up wit a new plan: visit Antarctica and travel in South-America, then return to Canada in May, and meet with my boyfriend in Vancouver in July. The first week I took some short walks in the neighborhood, did some groceries and booked my tickets for South-America. I also did some research what I wanted to do in Iceland. Together with Bo and her girlfriend we made some great plans. I also booked some tours myself. My goal in Iceland was to finally see the northern lights and to take some fun trips like snowmobiling.
A plunge between tectonic plates
The second week I was excited, It felt like I need to do something. So I went to Þingvellir to take a plunge between two tectonic plates. Þingvellir National Park is the only UNESCO World Heritage site on the Icelandic mainland. And it is the first stop of the Golden Circle tour,. At Þingvellir you can witness a riff between two tectonic plates; The North America plate and the Eurosian plate. The tectonic plates move apart at approximately 2.5 centimeters a year and have done for millenniums. The effects of this movement are very clear within the park. Lava fields fill the valley, from magma that welled up as the continents spread, and the whole area is littered with ravines, ripped open by centuries of earthquakes. Iceland is the only place in the world where this rift is above sea-level, and nowhere can you see the edges of both plates
Hello!
as clearly as in Þingvellir. And what makes this place even more awesome – yes I know it’s possible to get even more awesome – You can just take a stroll on this rift, or….you can snorkel or dive between those two plates! The ravines opened by the tectonic movement are filled with the meltwater from Langjökull glacier, which has travelled underground for decades through porous lava rock, undergoing a very thorough filtration process. When it enters the ravines, therefore, it is pristinely clean and crystal clear. The most famous one of these ravines and the only one it is permitted to snorkel or dive in is Silfra. The visibility of the water within it exceeds a hundred meter.
The water in Silfra is two degrees Celsius throughout the year. Almost everybody who takes a plunge in Silfra wears a dry suit. But I wanted to dive a little bit deeper, and with a drysuit it’s not possible because you have too much buoncy. With a dry suit you only float on the surface. So I booked a wetsuit/freedive snorkel tour. I heard that this would be really challenging. When I was in the bus, dressed with all kinds of layers, still it was quite cold. I called myself crazy and the guide too. ‘Hmm, if the guide advice you not too, should I proceed?’ Was I thinking. When we arrived I heard that there was no weight belt, and that is something that’s necessary to go deeper, because with a wetsuit you have buoncy too. The weight helps you to go down. So I decided to go with a dry suit, this was way more comfortable anyway. This was a good decision, because I was quite stressed about the cold temperature. Still the trip it was freezing cold. The most difficult part was when you get out the water and need to change while you’re wet.
The dive in Silfra was amazing! The water is so clear and the deep blue, azure green and yellow colors were beautiful. It’s a unique and strange feeling that you’re swimming between two tectonic plates, like you’re entering the center of earth. But of course that wasn’t like that, at least that would be a bit warmer than 2 degrees.
An amazing view over two tectonic plates
It’s quite deep
So many blue and green colors!
The Northern Lights
When I was in Iceland in December I unfortunately didn’t got the change to see the Northern Lights due to unfavorable weather conditions. But in January and February of 2022 I finally got to see them, the magical lights in the sky. I was hunting for the aurora with the help of the aurora forecast, the aurora app and I’ve been on a Northern Lights tour. I didn’t want to miss it this time! The first time I saw the Northern Lights was on the balcony of the apartment of my friend Bo, the second time was on the Northern Lights tour. And after that I’ve seen it a couple of times.
Want to read more about my Northern Light experience? Click on the link below.
Snowmobiling
We went on a snowmobiling tour on the biggest glacier of Europe: Langjökull glacier. Also the same glacier that fills up the water level in Silfra. It was already an adventure to reach the glacier. The only way to reach the glacier was by a big 4×4 bus. On the drive up to the glacier we only saw snow..nothing more. On our way back several big 4×4 cars got stuck in the snow. When we arrived at the location we got a nice warm overall. Thank god, otherwise it would be soo cold! The visibility was bad that day, but that made it quite adventurous. We couldn’t see a big view what you normally can see in the spring/summer time or on a clear day. But still it was a fun experience. We saw lots of other snowmobilers fall over, almost every two minutes. You need to ride carefully, especially when your driving slow.
I was so glad that the handles of the snow mobile had a heather, otherwise I would’ve lost my hand due to the cold. Still my fingertips were very cold, I couldn’t feel them and afterwards I was experiencing quite some pain.
I would recommend to take this trip in the spring/summer, then you’ll have a better experience of snowmobiling on a glacier and a much better view. I only saw snow and had no idea I was on a glacier.
The saga of Iceland
So I was just talking with my boyfriend and a travel friend that I don’t visit museums often. I didn’t even see the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh or Anne Frank house yet in my home country. So time for some change! I read on another blog that Saga museum is an interesting museum about the settlement of the Icelanders and really fun. You can also dress yourself up as a Viking.
I got to learn more about the history of the settlement of the Icelanders. The first men that stepped foot on Iceland was in the 8th century, when the Norwegian Vikings came to Iceland. First the Vikings were rooted in the Northern part of Europe. Vikings were exploring new trade routes. They were excellent sailors and were able to sail on the
Northern sea, unlike the romans. A couple of Vikings discovered Iceland by accident, while sailing to the Faroe island, but soon left the Iceland. The first Viking who settled in Iceland, was Ingólfur Arnarsson and his wife. He settled in the west of Iceland. He called this place Reykjavik, what means: smoke cove, because of the geothermal steam in that region. There is some evidence though, that the Norwegians weren’t the first settlers. Proof show that some Papar (Irish) monks were the first settlers. But they didn’t stay, presumably because it was bloody freezing. But for the Norwegians who were familiar with living on a freezing cold land, it was like paradise. But it was a very difficult life in Iceland. The winters were harsh and life stock went dying.
After the first settlement the land become more settled over a few decades, with outlaws, exiles, broke Vikings and all manner of marginalized people. There is also a lot of genetic evidence that a big part of the settlers were female slaves, mostly from Ireland or Scotland. The population increased steadily, and so did the need for laws and a specific place to meet, settle disputes and agree on certain rules that everyone had to respect. The first kind of democratic parlement was set: the Alþing. This is also the oldest democratic parlement in the world. The Christianity starts to get a hold in Iceland around year 1000, mostly on pressure of Norway to improve relations for trade. Although slowly being Christianized the Icelanders maintain a vast amount of Viking traditions. They survived many challenges, big nationally and internationally disputes, poverty under the Danish monarchy and the dangerous volcanic eruption of Laki. It was a hard living. Icelandic people are a hard bunch. Enduring all manner of what mother nature have to throw at them: freezing winters, storming seas, active volcanoes and enough rain to make an English man jealous. They survived due to their strength of endurance and their Viking spirit. They finally become and independed republic after world war 2. Respect!
Icelandic horse riding
Riding an Icelandic horse is as near to an essential Icelandic experience as there is. There is something special about Iceland horses. First of all they are incredibly cute and they have a really sweet character. But they’re also very strong and adaptive to the cold weather in Iceland. That is something I’m still struggling with. I loved riding on an Icelandic horse, it surely is like dancing the tango as Ishestar described.
Want to read more about my experience riding on an Icelandic horse? Click on the link below.
Road trip south coast
You can plan everything out, but I found that Iceland can be very unpredictable. Especially in the winter! The weather can change in a day and tours get canceled a lot. In my 2,5 week visit we planned a road trip along the south-coast, up to the south-east side of Iceland. I arranged a 4×4 rental car, we did some groceries the day before, packed our stuff and went to bed. We woke up early but found out that the weather conditions were really bad and the main road 1 was closed because of a snow storm. This is something what can happen a lot in Iceland. You never know what the weather would be like and this can change day to day, hour to hour. This was quite a bummer, so we decided to wait at home and see if the storm will clear that day. But unfortunately it didn’t. So we returned our rental car and we luckily got a refund for 3 days. We were quite sad that we needed to cancel the whole tour.
To cheer ourselves up we did some fun things close by. We went to fly-over Iceland and took a small 1-day road trip to the North-West of Iceland. The fly-over is fun and it’s close to the harbor of Reykjavik. It is an 4D experience with the most amazing videos of the Icelandic landscape and you get to learn a little bit about trolls and Icelandic history. Seeing this got me more enthusiastic to come back to Iceland one day in the spring or summer time to drive on the main road and visit the places we’ve seen on this 4D experience. The other day we took a road trip to Borgarnes. We drove across some beautiful landscapes across Fjords in the azul blue sea, and some beautiful waterfalls. We had the opportunity to make some great drone shots.
View from the car
Iced waterfall
What a view!
Iceland is expensive
Did you know that living in Iceland is expensive? The costs in Iceland are double the price as they are in the Netherlands. An example: I paid 1100 Icelandic crones for 1 liter of yoghurt, that’s around 8 euro, 10 dollars!! Insane right!? I paid a little over 900 euro’s for a 2,5 week holiday, without paying for accommodation.
I got a real taste of Iceland in wintertime and how unpredictable the weather can be. There is an old Icelandic saying: ‘ Þetta Reddast’, what means ‘it’s all going to work out in the end’, ‘life goes on, don’t worry’. These are encouraging words to survive the cold winter in Iceland. In history lots of people died because of these harsh winters. Well, I think I’ve seen enough of wintery Iceland for now. I can’t hang it out much longer here with the cold weather and that everything is so expensive. I come back one day, but only in the summer when the weather is (I hope) much better. Than I’ll go on a road trip across Iceland on route 1.