John and Doreen Berg
The Icelandic Tourist Association presents Iceland as the land of fire and ice and the ideal country to view the Aurora Borealis with its breath-taking swirling colours. For us Iceland was exploring the various landscapes, viewing the rolling moss covered lava fields, photographing the numerous cascading waterfalls and submerging ourselves in numerous geothermal pools.
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| Doreen visiting a museum in Reykjavik |
Icelandic tourism has worked tirelessly to currently place Iceland on individual "bucket list" as their next country to visit or individuals exclaiming "We've just returned and we loved our holiday!"
Our thoughts of visiting Iceland first surfaced in 2015. However, the choice became a visit to Japan or to Iceland. Japan won our travel lottery. It wasn't until the 2018 Mexican winter holiday season that Iceland again appeared at the top of our travel plans. Doreen had been expressing a keen desire to explore the magic of Iceland. Her persistence resulted in Doreen receiving as a Christmas present a pair of Icelandic Air tickets. Needless to say the gift was received with a broad smile and exuberant enthusiasm. And fortunately I was invited to join her! Since the gift was to be a surprise I had difficulty in our small Mexican bungalow booking the air flights without Doreen noticing what I was up to on our computer nor could I begin to research the country's attractions. I was successful in surprising her but upon later research I discovered that the April dates booked were when the days were long and the chance of viewing the northern lights was slim to nil. A new booking was necessary, and as you are aware changing airline bookings are costly. Our changes were no exception. Too late to stop now so we pressed forward and began to plan our September itinerary.
Realizing that Iceland was an expensive country to visit with prices approximately 30 percent higher than services in Canada we decided on a 16 day itinerary allocating two days for travel, two full days in the capital of Reykjavik, followed by a 12 day self-drive tour of the Ring Road which also would include the popular Circle Tour. We circled the entire island with stops at historic sites, northern fishing villages, hiking and exploring the Lake Myvaln region, spending
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| John horsing around |
Our beginning plan was to continue with our own travel model of booking our own travel trips employing travel books or using the internet. This has been our "mode of operation" for our many previous trips. This time there was a major shift in practice as we sent an inquiry to "Iceland Like a Local" tour company. Their return email outlined a model that appealed to us and booking with them would result in little planning, little stress on our part, and a local resource if we encountered any travel difficulties. Or maybe we are just getting older and are willing to let others do the hard slogging. We booked with them and were most happy with the service provided.
"Iceland Like a Local" provided us with ample information including a driving booklet outlining each day's route complete with attractions in route, a large invaluable road map plus a rental car. The company representative booked our hotels and any desired attractions plus providing numerous suggestions to our many questions. We were most pleased with their presented program but we would still suggest doing some individual research to determine where you might wish to spend more time in one area or region and to determine which of the many attractions or adventures you wished to include in your Ring Road tour. In twelve days it was impossible to visit all attractions outlined in our self-drive tour booklet. One needed to be selective and our own research helped us to make knowledgeable choices.
With Iceland now such a popular destination, our pre-booked hotels removed any personal stress in finding accommodations and the company's hotel selections were excellent! Even though we were in the shoulder season, hotels were heavily booked. Many of the hotels we were booked in, were sold out for numerous nights in a row. In the busy summer season reserving your accommodation far in advance is a must.
The company booked our car with Euro-car and the car company provided excellent service. The agent picked us up at our hotel door and drove us to the rental car office. We were
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| Washing the KIA at a free car wash |
Getting a bit ahead of ourselves as first we need to cover our time in the capital city, Reykjavik. We organized and booked our two days in the capital which
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| The Hallgrimskirkja Church with its grand tower. |
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| Dinner at the Three Frakka restaurant. |
When visiting Iceland, one cannot avoid noticing the many geothermal plants. Geothermal energy heats and powers homes, baths, pools, and businesses. Imagine your North American home without a furnace or a hot water tank!
Geothermal energy heats the Blue Lagoon, the largest Icelandic hot tub. For us a dip in the Blue Lagoon's waters was a must as it is with most tourists. While the parking lot was crowded, the huge pool is so vast we never felt crowded as we enjoyed the warm 98-102 degrees crystal blue waters. We even enjoyed a healthy silicone facial pack and the drink that was included in our entrance ticket. There is a claim that the silicone rich waters contain aging, healing powers and the facial reduces wrinkles. I think we're both waiting for this to occur.
After soaking in the Blue Lagoon for most of the morning, we said our goodbyes and headed
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| Our visit to the Blue Lagoon |
The drive to the airport for our return flight was straight forward once we noticed an airplane symbol on the directional signs located at each roundabout entrance, of which there are many. We quickly found the Eurocar lot, filled the car's gas tank, and placed the vehicle in the return lane. An employee quickly assessed the vehicle and the paper work was finished and we were soon collecting our Icelandic Air boarding passes. Our homeward, seven and a half hours flight was uneventful. The best type of flight!
After our overnight stay in a Vancouver hotel and an early morning twenty-minute flight, we were soon at home in Powell River early enough to purchase groceries and return our home to its daily functions.
Before we left for our winter stay in Los Ayala, Mexico, we enjoyed viewing our many photographs and reflecting on our wonderful Icelandic adventures. A final Thanksgiving/Christmas family dinner was enjoyed and we were off to Los Ayala, Mexico for the winter season.
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| Walking on a glacier. |
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| Strokkur Geyser |
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| The Phallogical Museum was a popular tourist attraction with 280 penises on display! |
