On our recent trip to Iceland, we rented a motorhome and drove the Ring Road and the Westfjords for 13 days. We got to see and experience much! We are grateful that we could go on this trip and it was a treasured memory we will always love. Here are some of the things that stood out the most.
This is no surprise as it’s what usually draws people to this island in the first place. It’s immediately obvious why. The waterfalls, glaciers, fjords, lava flows, craters, meadows, and streams are unique and thrilling! Waterfalls that would be a major attraction at home barely even get a road sign or pullout here. You only have to go around a corner or over a hill and the landscape completely changes, keeping you mesmerized at what you will see next.
Maybe not most people’s favorite, but we enjoyed soup in restaurants and in our camper. My favorite was a mushroom soup that was so flavorful and delicious I would have gladly eaten three more bowls. The broccoli soup, lobster soup, and Icelandic meat soup were excellent and the perfect way to warm up after a chilly day in the wind.
While the local hospitality made my “bad” list, at least you don’t have to tip anyone. It’s a mixed blessing. Since Iceland is so expensive, it’s nice to save where you can. The only time we tipped someone was the guide that took us on the glacier. He did a great job and never once propositioned us for tips (you all know the sob stories guides will give you). He was great and was so surprised that we wanted to tip him.
I’m used to a single campsite with a single hookup. Here, everyone camps in one large field, with no marked spots, and electricity boxes with 4-6 outlets. People use big long cords to park and setup wherever they want. This is kind of cool, until the field fills up and everyone ends up smack next to each other, so crowded you can hear them snoring.
Part of our eating routine consisted of going to the grocery store, and finding some milk and whatever cookies we hadn’t tried yet. Then we would take showers in the evening, and try out all the cookies. We found some real favorites! There weren’t really any that we didn’t like. The girls scoured all the grocery stores for some vanilla cream wafers they loved.
There are some hidden gems, but once people talk about them, they quickly become tourist bait. We went to several “hidden gems” that were crowded and relatively disappointing. We did find a few of our own gems, and I won’t give many details about them so they can remain that way. One was a geothermal pool that was nearly empty, and the other was a campsite in a birch forest (rare indeed).
Puffins: #1! We got to see them on our second day on the southern coast. We saw them again in the east fjords. We had a chance to see them in the west fjords but since we already saw them, we opted to do some other things instead.
Sheep: #2! They. Are. Everywhere. Luckily they are also cute little fluffballs that were always entertaining to make up what they were saying or thinking. You sure have to be ready for them to jump right in front of you on the roads.
Horses: #3! They are sure pretty. they aren’t big, but they have the best hair and chill out all over. Normally where you would expect to see cows in most places, you see horses here.
They say it’s an Island of Contrasts. Sometimes called The Land of Fire and Ice. Sure, the lava and ice are a big contrast, but so is the weather, the roads, the people, and the mountains and meadows. It makes for many surprises and unexpected joys!