I know I said I would post about this when I got back from my trip but I have been so busy with catching up at work and I went to Escapade Music Festival last weekend so there hasn’t been much time to write. But I have finally found some time to sit down and write a post about how amazing my trip was.
First off, we flew with WOW air to Iceland. The flight didn’t cost that much which was good but the plane had a weird smell to it (reminded me of pee) and the seats were very cramped (although they always are for me since I am 6’6). On the return flight home, the guy beside me was chugging beers when the flight attendants weren’t looking and then trying to hide the empty cans all over the place. I’m sure WOW air can be a good experience, we just didn’t have the best one with them. Nonetheless, we didn’t let this get in the way of our trip!
We arrived in Iceland at around 5am and went to pick up our car rental. We rented with Green Motion and got a little Mazda to drive around the country. The rules were very amusing for their rentals. We had insurance that covered for sandstorms because apparently, that is a big thing over there. The #1 rule was to not hit a sheep or goat. They are the equivalent to our deer here in Canada. I just want to say that I did not hit any animals although I did have to stop because there was a herd of sheep crossing the street. We had a staredown and I feel like the sheep blinked first so HA.
Then at 7 am, we went to the Blue Lagoon to enjoy the geothermal spa. It was so warm and we got a drink + mud mask with our admission. We spent a solid 2 hours just chilling in the giant geothermal pools and saunas. It was my first experience at a spa and I think it was great.
After that, we decided to explore the city of Rekyavik. It is beautiful and they have some really cool murals and churches.
There was a little gem of a museum that we visited too. Now, this museum was pretty special because it was a “penis museum“. It featured all different types of animal penises including whales, giraffes, zebras, elk, mice, etc.
We stayed in Airbnb’s for our entire trip because we could pay in CAD instead of Icelandic Krona. Some of them were good and some were just ok. Our favorite one was the first one we stayed in our first night. The host was so nice and got us to drink the pure Icelandic water. She also fed us some little baklava cakes which I kept accidentally calling balaclavas.
On our second day, we went snorkeling in the Sulfra fissure! This was my highlight of the trip. The water was super clear and you could see all the way down to the bottom. It was pretty cold and my hands went numb but it was so worth it. Our dive guide even let me free dive in the lagoon at the end of our snorkeling tour.
I drove a lot during this trip. I can actually officially say I have driven around an entire country. All of the landscapes were incredible and there were waterfalls everywhere you went.
We went all the way to the other side of the island to go whale watching in Husavik. I was very happy with this because we saw so many humpback whales. I had previously done whale watching in Nova Scotia and we never saw anything so this was a step up. The night before this, we stayed in a hostel because it was the only accommodations that we could afford and it was an interesting experience, to say the least. Our room was basically a little 9×9 box with and an open roof. Surprisingly, we slept pretty well. The Husavik harbor was a real sight.
I took a lot of scenery pictures along the way. We saw some glaciers, icebergs, and their famous black sand beaches while driving along the coastline.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat. The only thing I would say is that Iceland is very expensive because they have to import all their food in so be careful when eating out. Also, gas can be a pain in the ass to figure out. We bought prepaid cards to use the gas machines because they were giving us a lot of trouble.
But I strongly recommend visiting this beautiful country. You will not regret it.
