As the story goes, this island was named Iceland to discourage people from settling there and send them to Greenland, which was given an incorrect name in hopes of enticing people to settle there. Iceland is one of the most sparsely populated nations in Europe and the last country to be inhabited. Most of the land is barren, rural and uninhabitable. The culture, language and people are mostly influenced by Scandinavian countries with a mix of Celtic appearances. I was prepared for a relatively small town feel during our stay in Reykjavik and mainly for agritourism and hiking, but was very surprised to find out just how isolated, arid, unique, exotic, and extremely beautiful this place is.

From black sand beaches to white ice caps, glaciers and volcanoes, hot spring baths and exploding sulfur geysers, from cliffs to double collapsible waterfalls, from dog sledding to whale watching, white water rafting and hiking mountain, the possibilities are not only endless, but also incredible!!! Nowhere in the world can I imagine seeing the ocean from one side while standing on an ice-covered glacier, with volcanic activity causing ridges and gullies on the mountainside!

For miles and miles we drove (in the little rental car I like to refer to as ‘Herbie’), constantly cursing Avis for not giving us 4-wheel drive. There are only one or two main roads in Iceland that run for several hundred kilometers in one direction. Depending on how adventurous you want your trip to be and where you’re headed, your deviation from the main road will take you onto a dirt road in the middle of a national park or a glacial mountain. These roads can get rough for a small rental car, and instead of risking a flat tire or getting stuck on a mountainside with not a soul in sight, no cell phone service, no one to come to your rescue and a because stuck in a pothole, I strongly suggest renting an SUV. Also, there are no lights on the roads, so for safety reasons, plan your time accordingly so you can be back in a major city before sunset.

As we drove out of Reykjavik, I found myself deeper and deeper into what seemed like a dream visit to the moon. We came to a crater on the side of a road, which beautifully contained a calm mini-lake reflecting green and blue colors amongst the mist that settled in the hollow in the ground. Getting closer, the effort to get down was worth it! As we drove down the highway in search of our first stop on the Golden Circle tour, we suddenly came across a small parking lot opening up on the side of the road and what looked like a small hill in a very flat, barren landscape.

Suggesting a quick stop, we peer over the hill to find the remains of a volcanic crater. Lying on the bottom of the ‘little hill’ which turned out to be a LARGE crater, we noticed a very sloping cone-shaped bottom with a reflection of clear blue-green water. We decided to walk down to the water from one of the slopes that had a built in hiking trail. It was definitely a hike to earn lunch but calm clear water with blue sky was worth it! We then follow the path to the Golden Circle tour, which includes Strokkur Geyser, Gullfoss Waterfall and the Viking village of Thingviller.

The drive itself takes a good part of a full day, and the horizon reflects the dark, barren ground kissing the blue sky, with a light coating of ice cap glaciers at times – the most impressive sight! Driving down route 1 which seemed to continue on dry and barren land, with an occasional grazing horse or sheep crossing the road, I was convinced we were lost until we came to a ridge with a ravine and out of nowhere, the road was on us! leads to the most fabulous canyon with a double collapsible waterfall! The double collapsible waterfall was basically a waterfall with not one, but two steep layers of collapsible water, rushing down a cliff with such force that the two layers of water falling from different angles met in the middle causing a very steep flow of water. Quick. a gathering mist before falling back down a steep cliff into a small ravine several meters below.

Traveling to Iceland is much cheaper and much closer than most people imagine. Icelandair (the only airline that offers flights from Reykjavik to most major cities in the US and Europe) offers one flight a day from New York, San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, London and all major cities in Europe western. Flight time from New York and London is about 4-5 hours, Reykjavik has become a popular destination for young people for a long weekend and to experience the “Reykjavik style party scene”. Several years ago, Icelandair launched a series of provocative promotional campaigns, which initially began to raise awareness and travel to this distant land among young people looking to have a good time. Icelandic marketing boasted such statements as “Iceland Overnight Stand” inviting Americans and Europeans to spend a night on transatlantic flights.

Last year, the US TV show The Sopranos featured prostitutes dressed scantily in “Icelandic Airline” uniforms partying in a New York hotel room. The show was called “Money for Nothing and Free Icelandic Girls”. These campaigns landed Icelandair in a series of court cases and lawsuits, and enraged staff supported by the Icelandic Feminist Association, but it worked to draw immediate attention to one of the most popular summer destinations for stag parties, adventures in glaciers, diving and hiking.

The busiest tourist months are from May to October and, although to the surprise of most people, the winter temperatures are not as dramatic as those in North America (due to the warm Gulf Stream), the 4 hours of daylight are not conducive to sightseeing, walking or driving. on those very rough dirt roads. The month of June offers the midnight sun and the attraction of early October is the northern lights, so these are the two most expensive times to travel to Iceland. Very reasonable fares can often be found on icelandair.com and summer specials closer to the August/September time periods.

So you ask yourself, once in Iceland, what is there to do? How are the people? What do they eat? How they live? Well, it took me 5 days to find out what they do for a living, how they spend their time on dark winter days, and what they actually eat. The opportunities for tourism, exploration and adventure are many! I highly recommend renting a car (a four wheel drive is a MUST!) and explore at your leisure and on your schedule. A word of caution, the maps are not to scale and not all that comprehensive, so be sure to do your navigation before you leave the hotel or you might find yourself in a volcanic crater rather than a waterfall. There are many tour buses from Reykjavík, but they are very expensive per person and take most of the day.

If you’re a vegetarian, you may have to frequent the pizza stalls a lot, but the few quaint little traditional restaurants in Reykjavik offer an amazing variety of seafood and lamb, beautifully prepared with eclectic flavors and served at extraordinary prices. If you’re feeling adventurous, their menu options range from reindeer carpaccio to whale blubber, pony meat or penguin meat. If you are not looking for haute cuisine, the local grocery store will serve you to prepare the car with a picnic lunch based on sandwiches, fruit, salad, juice, chips, etc.

An average meal at a relatively famous/traditional restaurant ranges from $50 to $80. That sounds like a lot for a glass of wine and a piece of fish, which will explain why the young local Icelanders only come out to enjoy their cocktails afterwards. dinner around 11 PM. Nightlife in Reykjavik is mostly limited to the bars/clubs and restaurants on the city’s main street, Laugavegur. For a country that had a 40-year ban on alcohol, they are surely making up for lost time! The ‘scene’ reaches its peak around 2am, when all the bars/clubs come alive for the night and the street feels like a parade – a very different take on the day of the week and the morning, when finding a local restaurant or pharmacy seems like a struggle. . Some wool shops, with fine clothing and accessories made of pure wool, is the extent of the shopping you can enjoy in the city center. I personally preferred to watch the sheep grazing in the highlands where wool was created!

From the Golden Circle tour, to the Blue Lagoon and Langjokull Glacier, the places to see are many. Leaving the city and driving through the countryside, you can enjoy the great outdoors, go horseback riding, whale watching, bird watching, or spend an afternoon soaking in minerals in the warm natural waters of the Blue Lagoon. If you are intrigued by geography, the Reykjanes area (near Keflavik by the airport) has many places that you can visit. There is a bridge that is said to be slowly separating the North American and European continental plates as a result of tectonic activity, a bird watcher’s paradise where migratory birds from Greenland find refuge and a hiking trail to the hot spring region. So strike it rich and I guarantee the ride will be worth it!