Day 3  – 15th June

The sky was light, as always, the temperature a whopping high of 11 degrees expected today with intermittent showers.

Before I write about the daily activities, I thought I would let you know the cost of a few things in Iceland.

• Glass of wine $18.00
• Pint of beer $15.00
• A steak $73
• Subway, sub of the day 6 inch, $8.50
• Hotel room $450 per night, on average

I know that Singapore was expensive, but only for alcohol. Everything else was so damned reasonable.

If you are travelling to Iceland, take your credit card.

Our plans were set last night, Jason had mapped out the route, we knew what we were going to see. It was going to be a 10 hour outing and lots, and lots of kilometres. I get up early so I can get myself sorted – plus even now I still cannot sleep in. I think that might be related to FOMO (fear of missing out).

Jason wakes up and decides he does not want to spend the whole day in the car. We had done that two days in a row and he was over it. Fair enough too. It’s not comfortable and the roads are long and boring.

That plan was put on hold and we decided we would do stuff closer to Reykjavik instead.

Back to sleep for Jason and I write postcards and update our blog.

The Hike from Hell

Jason had heard about a mountain range called Esja, only 10kms from where we were staying. Esja is not a single mountain, but a volcanic mountain range, made from basalt and stuff.

The trail that Jason had researched was not long, a couple of hours, and was listed as easy. We thought we would “knock the bastard off” and then have lunch before heading to another hike towards the south.

Off we went.

We parked up and looked at the sign, it all looked very straightforward and relatively easy. I left the navigating to the man, it had become apparent I am hopeless at map reading.

There were two options, go left which was steeper, or go right which was slightly longer but less steep. We went with the less steep option. THANK GOD, because it certainly felt steep!

At first the path was very pretty, lots of purple lupin, a babbling brook, little bridge, and pine trees. Ahhh. Queue alpine relaxing music now.

Then we started to climb, and climb, and climb. I was doing my best to keep up with Jason, but I am just unfit, plus my legs are shorter (that’s my excuse and I am sticking to it).

About 30 minutes into our 2 hour hike we started to get cold, time to apply the layers. The views were exceptional I should add, you could see right across to Reykjavik and the mountains beyond.

We could also see the rain settling into the city. Hopefully it was not coming for us.

The hike up was hard in places, the incline was occasionally steep and the basalt stones could be slippery buggers! I kept thinking, oh well, its only two hours, we must be halfway through. But I was wrong. After over an hour we had reached a small summit, but it was not the top.

Jason found snow and that made him a happy man, he had to play in it of course J

During our hike we could see a lot of people on different paths but no one on the route we were taking. Makes you wonder…

After nearly 2 hours we made it to the Steinn, which means stone, and Jason gets that “top of the hills” look on his face again. Bright eyes, bushy tail, massive smile, and a precarious cliff to climb.

Grumpy, tired, and hungry Jo was not happy. But he wanted to do it and I told him he should. However, that came with a hitch. Jason did not want me to stay at the stone, or start my way back, I had to follow him up!

He galloped off at great speed and I slowly plodded my way up. The Crime Scene Investigation quotes flooding my mind as I slipped and tried to find a path that didn’t look too lethal – it is important to note others had come down from this cliff including a kid who looked about 10, however I don’t think any of these people had my track record for clumsiness.

I was on my own, scrambling along, and I was not a happy hiker.

As I continued my ascent I was struggling to find a positive spin to put on this particular outing. Was he really trying to kill me? Had I been that bad to travel with? Maybe he really was happier being single?

Oh, and to top it off, the rain had come! Wet, cold, scared, hungry, tired, female.

I made it about three quarters of the way up the cliff side before Jason came back into view. Time to turn around and head down. As much as I hate steep ascents, steep declines terrify the crap out of me. Seriously! One slip and you’re off!

He had scaled the steepest part of the cliff and reached the true summit and come back in less than 30 minutes, very impressive. And he was ecstatic having completed his climb and seen the wonderful views. However, he was greeted with grumpy silence.

Time to head back down, we were getting cold and wet, and definitely hungry. This time we went back down the way everyone else had come up. It was steep and slippery, but at least it was fast.

We made it back to the carpark 4 hours after we started. Hungry, cold, and wet.

As grumpy as I was it was a good hike and great to do some exercise. But there is now an agreement that I do not have to follow when the excursions are crazy scary.

By the time we had eaten an overpriced, soggy, disappointing pizza from the café at the bottom of the mountain we headed back to the apartment to warm up. The idea of a second hike was removed from the agenda – no surprise there!

On the way back from the hike we stopped off at a speciality fish shop. Make sure you visit this place if you are in Reykjavik this is the best place to find out about the local catch and get some amazing fish to eat.

They also have a fish and chip counter so if you are not staying in an apartment you can still indulge in beautiful, fresh, tasty haddock, halibut, cod, etc.

Today we opted for halibut and smoked salmon.

Another lovely home cooked dinner courtesy of chef Jason, a late night walk around the city, and then into bed.

The plans for the next day were reasonably relaxed. It is our last day in Iceland and there were a few must dos that needed to be ticked off.

The only down side to staying in the centre of town is the noise. Most of the time its fine, but as we were there heading into summer solstice and Iceland’s national day, there were parties, and music, and drunks. Hilarious, thank god for ear plugs.

Another Day in Iceland – 16^th June

Another stunning day with 11 degrees and a brisk wind to ensure you stayed awake.

We didn’t have any reason to get up early so Jason got a much needed sleep in.

There were several touristic things that we had read about and wanted to do before we left. A walk around the sea, blue lagoon, and the free guided city walking tour (donation at the end).

We had breakfast and set out through town to the walk around the coast. It is described as a romantic walkway. We didn’t realise it was quite so far from town, by the time we made it from our apartment to the beginning of the walkway we had to turn around and walk back so we were not late for our guided city walking tour.

Oh well at least we knew where it was now and we could come back and do it later in the day.

Right now, we had a city walk to do.

We arrived a little early so grabbed the closest park bench. We must have stuck out in our shorts and puff jackets because the tour guide, as he ran past, pointed at us and said he would be right back. Go figure, not many people were wearing shots.

The crowd for the city tour was quite big, it is very popular and it pays to book in advance on their website.

They divided us into two and off we went. Our tour guide was Martid, again the d looks like an o with a little squiggle on the top. He told us all not to attempt the Icelandic pronunciation as we may get injured. So, Martin it is J

And what a funny guy Martin is. Sarcastic as any Kiwi bloke, amusing, and very knowledgeable. All guides have to be history graduates. So you know you are getting the real deal.

The tour takes around 2 hours and you walk to the interesting areas and hear of the history and unusual events.

A lot of the architecture is similar to home, corrugated iron. Yes really, if you walk to the “old town” it is nothing like we saw in Zermatt. It is corrugated iron homes. Mainly they are wooden underneath but this is covered by the corrugated iron to protect it from rotting. Around the old town they are painted different colours and quite pretty, just not what we expected.

Martin encouraged us to take photos, “but not through the window, that is creepy”. Noted! No voyeurism on the tour.

We were taken to see an Elf Stone (actually a boulder, quite large) – the story behind the stone is that it needed to be moved so that other houses could be constructed. The construction company bought in many pieces of machinery to move the stone but they kept breaking and the stone stayed.

They then realised it was an Elf Stone. It has feelings and powers. So they had to bring in a whisperer. Someone to convince the elves that live in the stone, that they want to move, that they are going to be moved to a nice quiet location where no one will disturb them.

So, they get another machine to move the stone and this time it goes peacefully to its current resting place. A very pleasant park with trees and stuff.

I walked up to the stone to get a good look “don’t go close” says Martin. Spooky things happen. I take a step back, until he stops looking then I put Lulu on the stone and take a photo. Lulu is still alive and well so I think he may have been teasing.

Once we had finished the tour it was lunch time. And we wanted to finish our romantic walk. We scoffed down some food and headed back down to the water. This time we drove to the start of the path and then walked.

These Icelandic peeps have a funny idea of romantic. Cold, wet, uneven path, past a treatment facility with smell and seagulls. Oh the love! HAHA. But nice to get out in the air I guess, even if it does smell.

After the walk we drove straight to the fish man to get some more dinner for Jason to cook up. I am addicted.

Then onto the blue lagoon. Everyone talks about the lagoon and everyone told us we needed to go!

I had booked tickets on line and we were expected to be there at 500pm for our swim. What I was not thinking about when I booked the ticket was the actual price. 8000isk, I must have been distracted because I nearly died when I realised that was about 110NZD each for a swim!

WTAF! This had best be the most relaxing, invigorating, enjoyable, entertaining swim the world has ever encountered. Ever!

The place was heaving, so many people, tour buses, cars, vans, families, all nationalities, crammed in. But it was not too crowded. I have to say that they had it very well organised.

As you go into the facility they give you a bracelet, it is used for identification, locker access, paying at the bar, etc. Very awesome idea! No need to carry anything with you and you can buy a drink and just pay at the end.

We got changed and went into the water.

The blue lagoon is a natural

As it was a high of 11 degrees I decided to take the wussy option and enter the water from inside the complex. This means you go into the water and are already warm, with just your head sticking out, before you go outside.

And the water was warm, it was lovely. Because the sky was overcast the water was not blue but more a milky, opal type colour.

There are life guards, poor bastards, in their water proof jackets, and puffer jackets, and leggings, and hats, scarves, glasses (very glary – if you are going take your sunglasses, if its sunny, take a hat), gloves. I would hate to think what would happen if they had to jump in and rescue someone. Would be interesting to watch though.

There are a few extras other than just wading around in the water. There is a bar, so of course we had to have an extravagantly priced beer and wine whilst having our extravagantly priced swim J

Further around is a mud bar, they hand out sulphur mud so you can put a face mask on. It feels really, really, really good. But looks ridiculous. However, Jason’s pores were so cleansed afterwards ha, ha. ‘

There is also a waterfall area, where the water pours down at a fast and heavy rate. You can stand underneath it and it is like a massage. I had to pry Jason out with a stick. He had found his happy place.

We stayed in the water for as long as we could handle, your skin starts to prune and your head gets cold, and, of course, I get bored.

Was it worth the 110NZD? Well it was enjoyable, and a nice way to reheat after the ice cold day we had.

We headed back to the apartment to enjoy the last of the fresh fish. Pack our suitcases. Have the final walk around town, and then head out to stroll the town for the last time.

As usual, we have a very early start to our travelling day. Back to London.

Leaving Iceland

We have had a great time in Iceland and seen some amazing sites. Many parts felt like home, and that was great, it is a shame we could not get to see the rest of Iceland but we enjoyed the parts we did see. Apparently the rest is amazing.

We were up at 430 and on the road at 510.

As it was a Saturday morning the locals were all up partying the night before. It must be very easy to stay out all night when the sun does not set, ha, ha.

So as we leave to drag our suitcases to the car there is still a decent smattering of people standing, lying, sitting about. Scoffing Subway, drinks in hand. A couple, I bet they weren’t locals, had shirts off (8 degrees) and one was only in a pair of shorts.

They were all harmless enough and definitely having a good time.

As we headed up the road one young man decided to try out his English.

“Welcome to Iceland” he yells. I didn’t have the heart to tell him we were leaving. So politely replied thank you.

We drove out and dropped off the car, then a shuttle to the airport.

Despite the 1.3 million visitors each year we had not really witnessed any major floors in their ability to cope with the numbers – until now.

Iceland have been struggling to deal with the tourists but had been battling on relatively well.

Their airport is not coping. The queues were out the door. The chaos was insane. An airport the size of Nelson, or smaller, with hundreds of people trying to get different flights.

Iceland is also a stopover destination from the USA, so that makes it a transit airport too!

Hopefully they get all this sorted and figure out how to bring down prices to ensure the tourists keep coming.

Thanks Iceland, its been great.