I am finally ready to write about Iceland. It was such a personal journey for me, that I couldn't share it....not yet.
I knew Iceland was going to be special, because it called to me. I was looking online at Yahoo Travel, and they had posted an article of little known places you had to see. And when I saw the picture of Iceland, my heart pulled a little.
Two days later, I was watching Prometheus, and it opens with a helicopter shot of this incredible landscape. I was watching it thinking, "This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen!" I even looked it up online to find out where it was filmed....Iceland.
I started finding out more about Iceland. I read how a woman can travel alone and be safe. I read about how the economy had taken a downturn and it was not as expensive to visit, but now the economy was returning to normal (they jailed the corrupt bankers and forgave mortgages) it was going to get more expensive.
I had been saving money to move back to California. But I had a strong sense of NOW IS THE TIME!!
So within a week after first seeing that picture, I had my flight and hotel booked. I did everything myself...I booked my flight directly from Iceland Air (I picked the dates based on their calendar showing prices) and I booked my hotel from Hotels.com. I would have had a little more time to spend looking up the hotels (after all, I had just ordered the guidebooks) but when I put in my dates in to get a feel for what the hotels were like....I found most of them were booked up all ready. So, I jumped at the chance for a good hotel that some travel websites recommended. I chose the Radisson Blu Saga Hotel in Reykjavik (ray-kaw-veek).
I spent a long time choosing my tours. I had found through Facebook, a website (Guide to Iceland) that puts you in touch with local Icelanders who would talk to you and recommend tours that suited what you were looking for. My contact was Aldis Hamilton. I found her very helpful and even asked her what people wore in Reykjavik. Her response must have been very accurate because one time I was mistaken for a local by another local!
The only thing I chose not to do, which now I think I just should have gone ahead and did it, was I did not go up to North Iceland. I wanted to see Godafoss, which is the giant waterfall in Prometheus. It would have taken a day to gone up there and then a day to get back. At the time, I felt that I didn't want to spend 2 days on a bus. Now, I think that was a mistake. Because that waterfall is truly a wonder. Ah, well!
Months and months passed. I left Akiak, drove down to California from Anchorage, found a job, and all the while I was so excited for my Iceland trip. I was learning to speak a little Icelandic (which everyone there speaks multiple languages including English, so I never needed it ~ however, they did seem delighted when I would thank people in Icelandic.)
Finally, it was time to go. I was staying at my brother's house and they were watching Dakota for me. My sister-in-law drove me to the airport (I flew out of Sacramento to Seattle.) I made my way to the International Terminal. I had a blast just people watching. People were flying all around the world and there were so many languages and fashions. I saw planes flying to wonderous locations.
I have never been so filled with wonder and excitement as I did getting ready to step onto that plane. I had no idea what was in store for me, but I knew whatever was going to happen would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. And after months and months of waiting...I was ready.
The first thing you have to know about Iceland is that it is the cleanest country in the world. The water is purified naturally through the lava rock. Their power is harnessed from the earth (geothermic from the volcanos, from the water, and the wind) so there is no pollution. The meat and dairy are all organic. Cows and sheep graze on the clean grass. After a week, my skin looked amazing and I felt better.
The only negative drawback is when you first turn on the hot water, the sulfur smells like eggs. It goes away, but it is kinda icky at first.
So I landed in Keflavik, and had to drive almost an hour to Reykjavik on a bus. I was exhausted (it was a 7 hour time difference) but I just had to see Iceland! It was so magical.
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| Driving to Reykjavik |
My hotel was great. The staff was so nice and accommodating. There is one thing I will add. Americans must be dumb, because we have signs everywhere for everything. Iceland doesn't. I noticed that in the airport. And in my hotel, I wasn't sure how to turn on my lights. There was no sign telling me how. It was like a puzzle to solve. I figured out that I needed to put my hotel key in the slot next to the door, then I could work the power in my room. I was about to call downstairs to ask, but I'm glad I figured it out. I felt very smart despite the jet lag.
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| Raddison Blu Saga Hotel in Reykjavik |
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| My room, instead of one big blanket, those are two twin comforters. |
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| View #1 from my hotel room |
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| View #2 from my hotel room |
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| View #3 from my hotel room |
As much as I wanted to crash, there was no way I could nap while I was in a new part of the world! So I walked down to the bus station and took a Reykjavik city tour! But I was still too tired to actually get off the bus at any point, but that's okay. I just rode it around Reykjavik.
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| They call it The Pearl (it's a water tower) |
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| Water & Mountains |
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| View of Hallgrimskirkja Church and the water |
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| Landakot Curch |
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| Walking to the hotel |
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| Stop signs are stop signs... |
I realize now that I didn't take any pictures of the actual city on the city bus tour. But in my defense, I was really tired. I ended up walking to a little grocery store and getting some supplies, then going to bed or trying to. The sun never set that night. It dipped down to a twilight and then rose again. It was too awesome to get upset about being that tired. And eventually, I fell asleep.
I am going to stop here for now...but I will leave you with a preview of things to come!
*I made friends with a bartender and got drunk in Iceland!
*I experienced pure bliss at the Blue Lagoon
*I made a friend at the airport in Iceland and became facebook friends with
*I tried new foods
*I had the best pizza from Pizza Hut in Reykjavik
*I hiked a glacier
*I had a spiritual journey that is still with me
*I saw such natural beauty!!
Preview pics:
