Iceland: The Land of Fire and Ice
and, apparently, mozzarella sticks (Iceland Part 1)
I’m writing from an altitude of 33,000 feet, torpedoing across the sky above a little corner of Greenland at 515 miles per hour. According to the map on the seat back in front of me, it’s -89 degrees Fahrenheit outside, but I’m sitting here in a t-shirt. We took off around 5 pm and will be traveling through dusk for almost the entirety of this 8-hour journey. In the exit row, we’ve put orange post-its on the window because the sun is glaring through the top half, hitting me directly in the eye – as if the middle seat weren’t already annoying enough – and the window closes from bottom to top. Closing it completely will obscure our views of the planet below, which is the only convincing evidence that we’re still existing in reality with all of you.
None of this feels real, which is a fitting end to a truly unbelievable trip. We are beyond exhausted, but entirely hydrated (I miss the water already) and nourished (more by experience than Icelandic food–we’ll get there, stay tuned). I can’t even say we’re checking Iceland off the bucket list, because we’re already plotting ways in which we can return (why wouldn’t we plan layovers here on future worldly adventures?!).
I remember telling my in-laws (hi Jerry and Sheila!) that we were planning a trip to Iceland in February, and they were incredulous. Isn’t it freezing there that time of year? To be fair, they weren’t wrong – these Coloradans might have gotten a little cocky with our packing, removing our snow pants and a few layers at the last minute before heading to the airport, afraid of being judged by our friends for over-packing. We’ll likely do some things differently next time.
Side note: This adventure wasn’t just a vacation for us, rather it was a celebration for my friend (and former student) Emily’s college graduation. She and her parents invited us along for the trip, the primary purpose to chase the Northern Lights, and after all the turmoil of last year, we couldn’t resist the adventure and excellent company. We’re happy to report that we’ve officially made the shortlist of potential travel companions for future adventures, and are ready to plot out an excursion to see the next major total solar eclipse in 2027.
But first, we could really use some sleep.
Day 1 (Monday):
Dave and I took off on Sunday afternoon and landed at 6 am Monday. Our flight was delayed before take-off, and then further delayed by a mechanical issue experienced as we barreled down the runway. Once back at the gate, everyone had to unbuckle in order to refuel (a fun law that enables us to more easily bolt if something goes awry?!), but buckle back up for the second de-icing of the plane. It’s a good thing we don’t believe in inauspicious signs!
Fueled by adrenaline derived from our excitement, neither of us slept on the plane and I only started to nod off toward the end of the last bus ride to the hotel around 7 pm. Between landing and that ride, though, we managed to squeeze in enough adventure to lull us to sleep relatively early and enable us to avoid too much jet lag.
But I’m getting ahead of myself here, so let’s roll it back to the beginning of the day: At this time of year in Iceland, the sun didn’t rise until around 9:40 am on the day we arrived1, so it was pitch black when we landed and throughout the 45+ minute bus ride to Reykjavik. Because of our slight delay, and because our room wasn’t ready for us to check in when we arrived at our hotel, Dave and I brushed our teeth, put in our contacts, changed clothes, and packed a quick day bag in the lobby bathroom. We were ready just in time to hop back on a bus to the terminal, where we quickly jumped into a shuttle to take us on our first series of Icelandic adventures. The rest of the tour group was already situated, so we made our way to the back of the shuttle to sit behind a kind looking young man (Artem) who turned out to be friendly, funny, and adventurous.
Volcano Hike!
The tour began with a scenic drive through the Reykjanes Geopark, a UNESCO-recognized landmark with some incredible geological marvels. Along a winding road that passed by mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and lava fields, we made our first stop to take a picture. The wind was fierce and biting, a perfectly invigorating combination.
We continued on to the Seltún Geothermal Area to explore boiling mud pools and steaming vents, and to learn about the geothermal activity that provides the entire island with heating and hot water. It’s ill-advised to try to warm up in these hot springs as it would result in certain (and likely close to immediate) death, but we did entertain the idea of boiling a few eggs in there.
Next came the primary reason we elected to do this particular tour: hiking around Fagradalsfjall, one of Iceland’s most recently erupted volcanoes (2021). The lava fields here were expansive in ways I couldn’t have imagined without seeing them with my own eyes, some of which is supposedly still warm from recent eruptions.
Most of the others in our tour group decided to spend their time close to the base area by the lava fields, but Dave and I convinced our new pal Artem to join us on a quest to reach a higher viewpoint. We thought the winds were wild at the first photo stop, but they paled in comparison to what we experienced along the trail up this volcano. There were moments where my leg would be swept out from under me as I took a step forward, and others where it felt like the only way to keep from falling off the ridge line was to lean into the wind and wait for the gust to slow down. Ironically, the view from our highest point was worse than below, because we wound up above the clouds. On our way back down, in the distance, we could see the Atlantic Ocean.
*A message from Artem to America, and an audio sample of the wind.
By the time we made it back to the shuttle, Dave and I had just crossed the 24-hour mark for being awake and we were pretty famished – there’s only so many protein and granola bars one can eat in a single day. Luckily, our next stop included lunch, on a portion of the excursion that we have deemed Disaster Tourism.
Disaster Tourism
The town of GrindavÃk is essentially a ghost town since all residents were evacuated after a volcanic eruption caused earthquakes so strong the town was rendered uninhabitable. Residents are only allowed back for a few hours during the day, and the government has been slowly buying the property of any townsperson interested in selling because they’ll never be allowed to return.
And yet, there’s a single restaurant by the ocean that is still open for service (Papas).
Our first Icelandic meal consisted of mozzarella sticks (which we had to explain to one of the other tourists who had never heard of them or tasted one – don’t worry, we fixed that) and a delectable baked cod dish, but the restaurant also served fish and chips and (some very…interesting) pizza.
It seemed everyone was feeling exhausted by the time we got back on the shuttle, so the next few stops were pretty short. The first was to the plate boundary where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates crashed together and slowly drifted apart.
The next was to a viewing area over the ocean, where we could see how lava from a lifetime of volcanic eruptions continually extends the island, and the strength of the Atlantic ocean attempting to fight back.
*That’s our tour guide/shuttle driver getting soaked back there. Video c/o Artem, who happened to be standing right. there.
Blue Lagoon
And lastly, we were dropped off at Blue Lagoon to put on a mud mask in the warm waters of the iconic geothermal spa you’ve likely seen featured on Instagram and TikTok. The mineral-rich waters, heated by the local geothermal power plant, are surrounded by rugged lava fields, which is quite the sight to see. I’m surprised we didn’t fall asleep from the cozy heat further exacerbating our exhaustion! Truthfully, though, Blue Lagoon felt like a tourist trap, designed to take beautiful selfies to prove to social media followers that you’ve been to Iceland (read: consider skipping it and instead visiting a real spa like Sky Lagoon, like the Chasins).
We made it back to our hotel to check into our room at around 7 pm, and after a quick shower, we were too tired to bother finding a restaurant in Reykjavik. Instead, we opted to have dinner at our hotel (a creamy and delicious beetroot soup to start, followed by sharing a steak and root veggie dish and lamb and root veggie dish…there’s a theme here) before collapsing into restful oblivion.
But when we left on the following Sunday, sunrise was at 9:20 am.