Iceland Photo Diary

My family took nine days this summer to travel the Ring Road, beginning in Reykjavik, Iceland. The Ring Road is the main national road that connects the most habitable small towns around the island. 828 miles of driving, sightseeing, and seafood—all squeezed into nine endless-summer days.

The essence of Iceland is unforgettable. Getting away from everything and experiencing a week and a half of occasional desolate conditions gives you a lot of time to think. In a way, not only was it a physical vacation, but a mental one. With minimal internet connection and a whole lot of amazing scenery and natural phenomenons, the entirety of it could have been some sort of dream.

So, let me walk you through it.

Day One: Thursday, July 5th

A walk around Reykjavik in an attempt to shake off the jetlag included stopping to listen to the organist within Hallgrimskirkja church and eating gelato for dinner. BONUS** they were playing one of my favorite Frank Ocean songs in the gelato shop, which really set the tone for an amazing trip.

Day Two: Friday, July 6th

On Friday, we took the Golden Circle about 40 km northeast of Reykjavík to see Þingvellir National Park. The park sits in a rift valley caused by the separation of two tectonic plates, which marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian continental plates. If you’re a Game of Thrones fan (which I AM), it’s also a filming location of a wildling camp and several other scenes from the show.

Next, we went to Geysir (also known as The Great Geysir), which is a geyser in southwestern Iceland that lies in the Haukadalur valley on the slopes of Laugarfjall hill. The eruptions at Geysir can shoot boiling hot water up to 70 meters in the air, and let me tell you, I jumped every. single. time.

Afterwards, we went to Gullfoss: a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland. Aka the first of MANY waterfalls we explored in Iceland.

We took a dip in a very secluded hot spring near Vík. We had the hot spring all to ourselves for a little while and watched the fog roll in. This was honestly the most relaxed I had ever been.

On the way we would stop at several other waterfalls, one of them known as Skógafoss, a waterfall situated on the Skógá River in the south of Iceland at the cliffs of the former coastline.

Later that evening, we would drive to Vík and spend the night in what would become one of my favorite little towns in Iceland. I couldn’t help but stop for a photo op in the road. The mountains continued for miles and didn’t even look real.

First night in Vík.

Day Three: Saturday, July 7th

Morning walk in Vík, coffee in hand. Happiness.

We began the day by exploring Mýrdalsjökull: an ice cap near the outskirts of Vík. This was one of my favorite couple hours in Iceland because we were the only people in the extremely large valley. The desolate conditions of the valley and quietness of it all made it pretty surreal, like something out of a movie.

Then, we proceeded to the overlook of Vík’s black sand beaches. This overlook included one of the most spectacular rock formations I’ve ever seen, Dyrhólaey.

The black sand beaches themselves were absolutely beautiful.

This is one of my favorite shots I got on the trip, taken right before a wave splashed up onto the rock, somehow completely missing John, but captured at just the right moment (also right before my SD card filled up). #pureluck

Then we drove to Vatnajökull and did the Skaftafell glacier hike.

We drove to Jökulsárlón, a glacial river lagoon on the edge of Vatnajökull National Park.

Day Four: Sunday, July 8th

We started the day with a walk around Höfn, an Icelandic fishing town that we stayed in the night before. Hands down has the BEST lobster soup in the world.

Then, we set off for Djúpivogur and made some friends along the way.

We then drove to the town of Seyðisfjörður and stayed in the cutest guesthouse.

The town was really artsy and peaceful.

and had the BEST sushi.

Day Five: Monday, July 9th

We had breakfast at the guesthouse and then drove to see a puffin colony about two hours away.

Then we ended the day with a trip to Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe. The falls are 100 metres (330 ft) wide and have a drop of 44 metres (144 ft) down to the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon. I didn’t get many good photos of the waterfall just because the wind was so intense, but the walk leading up to it was just as beautiful.

Day Six: Tuesday, July 10th

We started the day off whale watching in Húsavík which was VERY cold and VERY wet, but well worth it (especially if you love whales as much as I do). Sadly, I didn’t get many pictures of the whales because of the wet and windy conditions, just several GoPro videos.

Then, we stopped at a lava field & geothermal area. If I hadn’t been told otherwise, you could have genuinely convinced me that this was another planet.

After my mom and I went to get some lunch by ourselves to chat for a bit, we all drove to the Lake Mývatn area. This cave is famous for another Game of Thrones scene with Ygritte and Jon Snow in season 3.

Afterwards, we hiked Hverfjall, which is a tuff ring volcano in Northern Iceland that last erupted in 2500 BP. The crater is approximately 1 km in diameter.

The hike was quite tedious, but the view was worth it (and also the satisfaction of being able to say we hiked to the top of a volcano, because that’s pretty damn cool).

Another one of my favorite shots: a photo of a couple looking out into the volcano.

My sister made an effort to meet every horse we came relatively close to.

Then, we went to Dimmuborgir, a large area of odd shaped lava fields. The Dimmuborgir area is composed of various volcanic caves and rock formations, reminiscent of an ancient collapsed citadel.

We traveled to one last waterfall, Goðafoss, which is located in the Bárðardalur district of the Northeastern Region.

Later that night, we arrived at my absolute favorite guesthouse we had stayed in. The decorations were quaint but unique, and when the sun finally set at midnight, it became a perfect backdrop for the hammocks and greenhouse outside. The atmosphere of this place made me want to stay there for more than the one night we got.

Day Seven: Wednesday, July 11th

We started the morning off horseback riding around the guesthouse to take in the scenery.

Afterwards, I relaxed in the hot tub on property and prepared for a 3-hour drive that would take us to one of our final destinations before our drive back to Reykjavík.

Day Eight: Thursday, July 12th

We prepared for a trek in the man-made ice caves that Into the Glacier gave an epic tour of. The ice tunnel and the caves are located on Europe’s second largest glacier, Langjokull. We walked under about 90 feet of ice and toured the different ice rooms, one being a chapel that people actually get married in. One of my favorite parts had to have been when our guide sang us an Icelandic lullaby in the chapel area—the acoustics in the ice caves were haunting, but beautiful.

Day Nine: Friday, July 1

We concluded the trip with the infamous Blue Lagoon. Complete with mud masks and Prosecco, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end an unforgettable vacation.

So, to those of you asking if I recommend Iceland, how couldn’t I? The island is the closest thing you’ll ever come to being on the moon. Out of this world. Incredible. Unforgettable. Iceland, I’ll miss you.

xx

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