A Whale of a Time in Iceland

It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to visit Iceland! Finally after a few pennies spent & the tap of my heels three times, I was on my way to Reykjavik for a full week. Picking up our little Chevvy Spark at the airport, barely fitting our bags in the back. Revving our way around the open roads, trying to remember to stay on the right side of the road. We drove from Keflavik international airport to our small Airbnb abode in the centre of Reykjavik. Roads were clear, but the sidewalks were caped in snow. Arriving at our small but cosy place we set up camp & decided to get some shut eye before starting our adventure in a new city.

DAY 1.

We decided the next day to take a road trip, get to grips of the car & view a bit more of Iceland’s countryside. Snow caped mountains surrounded us, long fields of hay buried in two feet of snow rolled on by, ponies gawping in attention from tourists, and waterfalls fell from the hills. While our little Chevvy just about hit the 50mph mark, large monster trucks with huge wheels roared on by leaving us in their dust. We found a waterfall, so tall the people standing at the bottom looked ant-like. We huffed & puffed to the top of the hill overlooking Skogfoss waterfall, and the view across the land. Cold & wet we decided to hop back in the car and carry on to the next destination. Finding a small car park on the side of the road, we got out & carried on down the black sanded path to a rather parculier object. It was an American Navy plane wreck, thought to have crash landed on purpose & abandoned on the black sand beach. It took us roughly an hour to walk to the plane, but when we arrived there was a rainbow right across the bow — A photographers dream come true!

After a long day we headed back to our cabin, and walked in to town where we found a few side streets opposite the Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral. The expense was painful, but the food was glorious!

DAY 2.

This was the day we’d visit the centre of Reykjavik by foot. We woke up fresh as a daisy, and ready to view some of Reykjaviks sites. First stop was the Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral, dropped bang central in the city. Seen for miles, and impossible to lose. Apart from the shameless selfie takers & flashes of cameras, the cathedral is beautiful. We decided to spend the 200isk to go to the top of the steeple, as high as the cathedral bell. Viewing Reykjavik from so high, and seeing the ever so famous colourful roofs, the snowy mountains & the bright blue sea (Definitely worth a visit). Seeing the sea from the cathedral, we decided we’d try & find our way to it, to see the mountains more clear by foot. We came across a rather strange architecture, blue on the outside, not square; nor triangle — The Harpa Concert Hall. The Harpa is built up of thousands of triangle shaped windows, and sits facing the old harbour. We walked around the inside for a while, taking countless photos & finding new stair cases leading to more triangles. Unfortunately missing the concert, but seeing lots of people with violins slung over their shoulders & stern musician faces. I think by this point we would have been walking for days, but there was so much to be seen. We found a small lake in the centre of the city, frozen over with ice. Brave & stupid, I decided to slide onto the surface. Using the lake as an ice rink, we skidded across the full width of the lake. Starting a trend, there were people kicking a football, women in heels, snowball fights, all of which taken place on this unpredictable frozen lake. We proceeded to plod on, towards Perlen in which we sat overlooking the whole of Reykjavik with a slice of heavenly cake to boost our sugar levels higher then the building. After a long day of walking the streets of Reykjavik we decided to head home for the night, taking back with us a shopping bag of goodies.

DAY 3.

Day 3 and it’s time to take to the sea, on a big red boat rugged & ready for whale watching. Overalls on, three sizes too big, over our outfits. Toasty as can be, and ready for the open sea. Hoping we will be lucky enough to spot the Whales. We managed to grab a central spot, standing facing the bow of the boat. The overalls gave enough padding for space between each body on the boat, eyes were streaming from the wind but we were all excited to get going on our trip to meet the whales. Moral of the story, you may be cosy & that doughnut before you left may have tasted good but take a sea sickness pill and don’t go straight after breakfast! My experience of the Whale watching tour consisted of my eyes shut, tucked up all cosy in my overalls & two litres of water. After 3 hours of rocking back & fourth, no whales to be seen we spotted some dolphin fins in the last few minutes. The whale watching tour is about £70+, only thing I would suggest from my experience is dress warm, take a sea sickness tablet an hour ahead (free onboard) & take lots of water. Lets just say I didn’t have such a whale of a time!

Once the whale watching had ended and the boat had been tied off to the side, we said our thanks & proceeding to walk back into the centre of town. As the tour started at 1pm & ended 4ish, food was definitely one for the itinerary. We found an Italian restaurant, perfect to settle our sea sick tummies. Average price of a two person meal for us was around £70+ — Keeping in mind our appetites are the size of a full grown buffalo.

DAY 4.

Halfway through the week, and we decided it was time to take a famous Icelandic bus tour. We chose where we wanted to go, and headed out on the Golden Circle Tour. 8 hours on/off the bus, £70/each for the full day. Seeing the amazing sites of Iceland, that couldn’t be reached with our Trusty Chevvy. We managed to see the erupting Geyser shoot up every 5-7 minutes, although my hands were freezing & every time the geyser erupted I jumped out of my skin. We drove onwards through the lava fields, with a tour guide speaking every so often about the agriculture & culture. The iPad was our main tour guide, but being a big fan of music & not a good listener I proceeding to bob my head to some Spotify tunes. We visited waterfalls on the way, and one that particularly struck my eye & blew me off my feet (quite literally) was the Gullfoss Waterfall. Being one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland, while being flung across the paths from the extreme wind, we had to dodge all the selfie sticks & slow walkers to reach an area that you could view the waterfall. My face & fingers were frozen, and the only way of transporting yourself from place to place was to go with the wind — and they say people can’t fly! There was lots more stops along the way, and we even got to stroke some ponies along the road side. A long day, but I would strongly recommend doing one of the bus tours.

We are fast approaching the day we get on the plane & head back to the UK, and we decided that what better then to take our Chevvy and drive across Iceland for the last remaining two days. Snacks packed, playlists created, sunnies on & we are ready to drive. Heading off into the snowy mountains, where the nearest gas station was but a mere 200k away. We found long stretches of road where one car would pass every hour, huge open lakes under the shadows of mountains, small towns with colourful rooftops, diddy steal churches in the middle of no where, pony trekkers cantering through the snow and monster trucks ploughing through.

Last but not least, the Blue Lagoon. This geothermal spa is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland, located in a lava field in Grindavik. We booked this two days prior, meaning our time was from 8pm - 10pm. If you’re clever, you can book for as early as 9am & can stay till closing times. Advice; Book well in advance & get there earlier then time booked. We got there when the lights had been turned on, you could hardly see faces it was so mysterious & dark. The water was murky blue water, and waist deep, with the perfect temperature. Full moon was shining bright above us along with the constellations & the milky way. Mud masks on, Procecco in hand & we were in for a good night. Sky was so clear there was a chance of seeing the Northern Lights, bridges were all lit & people bobbed on by quietly. By far one of the more relaxing places I’ve ever been!

Time to say good bye to Iceland, return our Chevvy Spark & get on the plane back to the UK. I couldn’t have asked for a better time in Iceland, all tasks on the check list ticked off & accomplished. Would go back countlessly if I could be in Blue Lagoon, see countless waterfalls & ponies and see the picturesque views of Iceland again.

So all in all you could say we had a whale of a time!