Iceland

When we first planned this trip, Iceland was not on our radar at all. It wasn't until we started looking up flights between Europe and Canada that the idea came to mind. To boost tourism, Icelandair has started offering free layovers of up to 7 days in Iceland. That means if you fly with them on a transatlantic flight, they will let you extend your stay without having to pay for two separate flights. We decided to take the bait!

We knew it would be cold in Iceland but we didn't expect that it would be so windy. Since most of our clothes were packed for warm countries, we only really have one warm outfit each... which we had to wear 7 days straight. 

Iceland is an expensive country. We met a couple who brought 15 pounds of food with them from Bulgaria just so they wouldn't have to do groceries in Iceland. We researched all of our options for travelling around the country on the cheapest budget possible and we found that renting a small van was the best choice. Cars were technically cheaper but then you have to pay ridiculous amounts of money to stay in hotels each night. With our van we were able to camp almost anywhere we wanted without having to book in advance. This gave us a lot of flexibility. We also bought a small gas bottle so we were able to cook our own meals and avoid the pricey restaurants. 

We rented our van from Kuku Campers because they had new vans at a cheap price. They converted their vans into mini campers by placing a foam mattress in the back and building a small storage unit for food and kitchenware. We were also able to rent sleeping bags from them which we were very grateful for during the cold nights. 

We had the brilliant idea to buy a small coffee maker while we were in Italy. Whenever we needed a break from driving or just wanted to get warm we could stop on the side of the road and make a coffee. 

We considered renting a GPS but when we saw a map of the country we realized that that was unnecessary. There is one major  highway that is 1400 kilometres long called the Ring Road that circles the entire island  All the main attractions are either directly on the highway or can be reached on smaller side roads. 

Our first stop was Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. It's a small city with a population of less than 120,000 people. We loved the small town atmosphere and the great coffee shops. This church is the main attraction in the city and can be seen from almost anywhere in the city centre. 

Everything is beautiful in Iceland. During the first two days we were stopping at almost every lookout spot to take pictures. Everywhere you look there are waterfalls, lakes, glaciers, volcanoes, bright green fields and cute farm houses. The only problem is that you can't always stop on the side of the road. The best thing is that all of these sites are free. Since we were there in summer we were also blessed with endless hours of daylight. The sun was up until 11 pm and was back up at around 3 am. You can visit as many places as you want and all you have to do is pay for gas (although it does cost you $2.19/litre). 

 Once we reached the North of the island the wind made it almost unbearable to walk around. We had to quickly jump out just to get a few pictures. It also would have helped if we had appropriate clothing.  It's hard to believe that this is their summer!

A river running through a crack between the European and North American continental plates. Aaran went on a two dives in this area in zero degree water. I stayed warm and dry on land. The plus side of diving in cold water is that the visibility is great. You can see perfectly up to 100 meters underwater. 

The dive tour setting up in a parking lot near the river. This was the first and probably last time that Aaran got to dive while looking at snow on mountains. 

The Great Geysir erupting in Iceland. The boiling water can reach up to 70 meters in the air. The best part is waiting as the water slowly starts to form a giant bubble which eventually bursts into the air. 

A beautiful waterfall on the side of the road. Some people were dressed in full rain gear and were able to walk right up to the waterfalls. For us it wasn't worth getting our only warm clothes wet. 

Another amazing view from the top of a waterfall.

A black volcanic sand beach.

Tiny puffins resting in the rocky cliffs on the coast of Iceland. 

Because of Iceland's high volcanic activity the country has very unique rock formations. 

We came across this amazing sight by complete surprise. We were looking at the glaciers on the distant mountains when these small icebergs came out of nowhere. There were seals swimming among the ice and puffins flying around. There are two small puffins in the picture if you look closely. 

Icebergs breaking off from the large glacier. 

One of the small fishing villages that we drove through on the ring road. 

Just another beautiful waterfall on the side of the road.  

One of the most amazing places in Iceland. You can see this waterfall from both sides but you have to drive a long way around. 

Sulfuric mud pools. The ground was smoking all around us.

We could barely stand to walk around this area because the smell was so bad. We've smelt sulfur before but this was ridiculously bad. We had to try and stay on a certain side to avoid the wind blowing the smell directly into our noses. 

Iceland was easily one of our favourite countries. It's probably tied for top spot with Turkey and Italy. There is so much diversity that you could easily spend a month driving around without getting bored. It's one of those places where we would happily move to... maybe for just a couple of years. If it was this cold in summer I would hate to live through their harsh winters.