Place: London - Iceland - London
Mode: Backpacking
Date(s) of Travel: July till August 2013 and March 2015
My Experience:
In summer of august 2011, I was in an overnight bus from London to Amsterdam to visit my friend Dinesh. Next to me was a passenger from Netherlands returning to his home country after a long backpacking trip. We had a casual chat and he mentioned about his backpacking trip to Iceland for last 2 months. He showed me some of the pictures from his camera and they all looked astounding. He told me, if anyone likes mountains, nature and camping, then Iceland is a must visit. I became very curious and decided to visit Iceland one day in my life. Years passed by and whenever someone shares pictures of Iceland in social media or news, the urge for me to visit Iceland grew naturally.
In June 2013, I quit my job and decided to travel for few months to explore nature, other cultures and to introspect myself. The first destination I decided to travel was Iceland and went on an open return ticket to Reykjavik which is the capital city of Iceland. I had booked a hostel in Reykjavik for initial days and the idea was to keep exploring places and camp as much as possible to save money, since I heard Iceland is more expensive than London. It was July and supposed to be summer out there, but still it was less than 10 degree celsius. Once I reached the hostel, I took a stroll around Reykjavik. The old shopping street called the Laugavegur is very famous and always filled with people, shops, bars and restaurants. One thing that surprised me was that all Icelandic people were well dressed and has an incredible fashion sense.
I took a city walking tour and the tour guide who was a historian explained few things about Iceland's first settlement, viking culture, country's political situation, elf stories, abundance geo-thermal energy, volcanic lands, fishing industry, whales, people's attitude and love for their nature. I gathered information from fellow travellers in the hostel about what are the things to do in Iceland and how they were travelling the island and where they were camping. The first thing they suggested to me was Golden circle tour. It was a day tour from Reykjavik where they will take you to Thingvellir National Park, Geysir hot spring and Gullfoss (Golden waterfalls) for sightseeing. I went on the tour and it was the first exposure of Icelandic nature to me and I was blown away by the beauty of it.
The next trip people suggested me was south coast tour. By my surprise, an old lady in the hostel breakfast area asked if anyone wants to share a carpool as she is going for south coast and there is a spot available in her rented car. I expressed my interest and she told me how the cost will be split and explained that she is from Germany and very good in driving with experience of over 40 years. I was like yeah that's ok. We went to Seljalandsfoss waterfalls, Skogafoss waterfalls, Vatnajökull glacier and Svartifoss waterfalls. The lady was so friendly and even shared her food with us. I asked her, why she was travelling alone at that age. She said, she is retired from work long back and now she runs a play school with her husband. Also she said, she saved some money for her own funeral and in the excess money she get to travel places which she longed for when she was younger. When she talked about her own funeral and money, I was bit taken back and shocked. I said to myself how the money invented by human beings are dictating lives and even death. On our way back to Reykjavik, she overstepped on gas in joy and police caught us for over speeding. We ended up paying a 140 euro fine and I had a laugh about the morning incident what she said about her driving skills.
Thought of Day: Example isn't another way to teach, it is the only way to teach. - Albert Einstein
Mode: Backpacking
Date(s) of Travel: July till August 2013 and March 2015
My Experience:
In summer of august 2011, I was in an overnight bus from London to Amsterdam to visit my friend Dinesh. Next to me was a passenger from Netherlands returning to his home country after a long backpacking trip. We had a casual chat and he mentioned about his backpacking trip to Iceland for last 2 months. He showed me some of the pictures from his camera and they all looked astounding. He told me, if anyone likes mountains, nature and camping, then Iceland is a must visit. I became very curious and decided to visit Iceland one day in my life. Years passed by and whenever someone shares pictures of Iceland in social media or news, the urge for me to visit Iceland grew naturally.
In June 2013, I quit my job and decided to travel for few months to explore nature, other cultures and to introspect myself. The first destination I decided to travel was Iceland and went on an open return ticket to Reykjavik which is the capital city of Iceland. I had booked a hostel in Reykjavik for initial days and the idea was to keep exploring places and camp as much as possible to save money, since I heard Iceland is more expensive than London. It was July and supposed to be summer out there, but still it was less than 10 degree celsius. Once I reached the hostel, I took a stroll around Reykjavik. The old shopping street called the Laugavegur is very famous and always filled with people, shops, bars and restaurants. One thing that surprised me was that all Icelandic people were well dressed and has an incredible fashion sense.
I took a city walking tour and the tour guide who was a historian explained few things about Iceland's first settlement, viking culture, country's political situation, elf stories, abundance geo-thermal energy, volcanic lands, fishing industry, whales, people's attitude and love for their nature. I gathered information from fellow travellers in the hostel about what are the things to do in Iceland and how they were travelling the island and where they were camping. The first thing they suggested to me was Golden circle tour. It was a day tour from Reykjavik where they will take you to Thingvellir National Park, Geysir hot spring and Gullfoss (Golden waterfalls) for sightseeing. I went on the tour and it was the first exposure of Icelandic nature to me and I was blown away by the beauty of it.
The next trip people suggested me was south coast tour. By my surprise, an old lady in the hostel breakfast area asked if anyone wants to share a carpool as she is going for south coast and there is a spot available in her rented car. I expressed my interest and she told me how the cost will be split and explained that she is from Germany and very good in driving with experience of over 40 years. I was like yeah that's ok. We went to Seljalandsfoss waterfalls, Skogafoss waterfalls, Vatnajökull glacier and Svartifoss waterfalls. The lady was so friendly and even shared her food with us. I asked her, why she was travelling alone at that age. She said, she is retired from work long back and now she runs a play school with her husband. Also she said, she saved some money for her own funeral and in the excess money she get to travel places which she longed for when she was younger. When she talked about her own funeral and money, I was bit taken back and shocked. I said to myself how the money invented by human beings are dictating lives and even death. On our way back to Reykjavik, she overstepped on gas in joy and police caught us for over speeding. We ended up paying a 140 euro fine and I had a laugh about the morning incident what she said about her driving skills.
After staying for few days in Reykjavik I was able to make some plans about my forthcoming travel in Iceland. First, I went for a small hike to Hveragerði hot springs with the help of a local village guide. When I booked the hike they mentioned I am the only person booked it and yet they agreed to guide me. One thing I realised during the hike was Icelandic people are so friendly and the way they lead their life co-existing with nature inspired me a lot. The guides Wolfy and Lilja explained me a lot about their summer and winter lifestyle, livestock, their village life and earthquakes. When we walked through the mountains the whole area was emitting geo-thermal heat from the ground with huge sulphur smells. They even taught me how to cook eggs in that heat. Finally we reached the hot spring and it was like heaven to take bath inside natural hot water. It was an eventful day with lot of fun and also I felt, I met really two nice people.
After searching in Google, I found out one of the beautiful hike to do in Iceland is called Laugavegur hiking trail from Landmannalaugar to thorsmork. I found a local hiking club called utivist and asked them if they got a spot available. Luckily I was offered a spot with remaining all hikers from Iceland locals. The hike was for about 4 to 5 days and the hiking members arranged everything from guide, food and stay. I felt very lucky to experience Icelandic nature and also for a chance to know more about Icelandic culture from the local people itself. The whole hiking group was like a family and even though I was an outsider, all of them treated me like their son. Everyday crossing different mountains, volcanic lands and water streams were unforgettable. Always some one was sharing their food or hot drinks and tried to explain me about different mountains and previous volcanic eruptions. Sharing dinner with Icelandic people is fun. They speak a lot, but at the same time they eat very fast and they attribute that quality to viking heritage. Since I don't know how to cook and not being helpful in assisting cooking, I was part of dish washing group in the hike and really enjoyed my duties. Some of the members in the group were very interested to know about south Indian foods and its culture. The camp fire at the last night in Thorsmork was very funny as groups of people sing Icelandic songs with passion and pull others legs. I even had a chance to see the aftermath of 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruptions. After the hike, we all returned back to Reykjavik and had group dinner at one of the member's home. During the hike, Palli and Heimir was very helpful to me for getting adjusted to Icelandic traditions. Also, I got to know more about the northern lights that appear in Iceland during winter. I promised them one day I will return back to Iceland to chase northern lights and meet them again.
After few weeks in south, I decided to go to the north of Iceland where I heard the sceneries are even more beautiful and also less touristy. I took a public bus and went to a city called Akureyri, capital of Northern Iceland. It is one of the important Icelandic port and fishing centre. In Akureyri, I stayed again in a hostel and decided to do a glacier river water rafting which I saw in an advertisement. The rafting base camp is situated in Hafgrímsstaðir which is few kms away from Akuryeri. The rafting expedition was conducted by few experts which had some nepalese people. The moment the nepalese people saw me, they got very happy knowing that I am from India and offered me rice and roti. During the rafting trip, they offered me front row and navigation duties. I was very elated with their gestures for just being their country neighbours. The river water was flowing from a glacier and it was ice cold. During the trip, one guy fell into the rapid and it was my duty to pull him into the boat. He weighed like a sack of potatoes and I struggled a lot to help him. At the end of the trip, I jumped into the river and floated for about 500 metres and exercised recovery positions with the kayak guards. It was one of the memorable experience in my life as it was very adventurous. When I got back to Akuryeri, I managed to find a carpool where the plan is to visit different national parks and small villages before go back down south to Reykjavik. The car was rented by a girl named Anita from Slovakia and an Icelandic guy named Thor who promised us that he will guide us through some parts of northern Iceland. We managed to visit lot of places like Myvatn lake, Askja caldera, Dettifoss waterfalls, Selfoss waterfalls, Godafoos waterfalls, Husavik village and Asbyrgi canyon. It was one of the unforgettable trips in my life in terms of learning how rude a woman can behave to others. The Icelandic guy Thor couldn't stand that girl's attitude and left halfway. But I managed to stay put with her due to the amount I shared already. Finally, I back to south of Iceland again but with lot of regrets for being with a rude person.
Once I reached south coast again, I camped in a city called Hofn. I was very happy that I am alone again after spending time with some rough strangers. I remember the camping site manager asking me which country I am from and when I mentioned India, he replied "you are the first Indian to camp here". Well, it got me a smile but I felt lot of people are not exploring this part of the world. Next, I took a bus from Hofn to Vatnajokull camping site to explore the glacier. On the way when the bus stopped for few minutes, I had a quick look at the Jokulsarlon which is a large glacial lake. I camped in Vatnajokull site for few days and explored the nearby hiking trials and also made sure to go for a basic glacier walk conducted by some guides. They taught me few techniques about how to walk using crampons and how to use ice axe for arresting yourself when you free fall from the ridges. They were also conducting 2/3 day hikes on the glaciers, but I wasn't well equipped physically and mentally to do it. Hope some other time I will get a chance to climb the glacier.
After few weeks of travelling around Iceland, I got back to Reykjavik. I promised the friends whom I met in Hveragerði hot springs hike, that I will take them to an Indian restaurant in the capital. They obliged to come and it was nice to share dinner with them. Also, I went to Palli's house for dinner and they explained me a lot about their life and Icelandic culture. One thing everyone whom I met in this trip suggested me was "There is nothing like northern lights (aurora) in this earth" and Iceland is the best place to chase them. I told all of them that I will come back one day to Iceland in winter to catch northern lights.
After few years, in March 2015 I decided to visit Iceland for a week with an idea to chase northern lights or aurora. The moment I reached the hostel in Reykjavik, they told me there is an aurora tour but the chances of seeing them through naked eye might be less. They said, today prediction level for seeing aurora is around 3 from a scale 0 to 9 and 9 being the most powerful. We reached a small beach which is about 1.5 hours ride from the capital. We stayed there for sometime and the guide was explaining about how aurora are formed in sky and what are the levels of colours and shapes it can take. Everyone was taking pictures with slow shutter speed and high ISO and they were able to capture the aurora as green lights, but it was visible only as white stripes to the naked eyes. After few hours of waiting, the guide informed us that we are getting back to the capital. I was bit disappointed as I couldn't see it through my naked eyes. After about 30 minute ride, the driver stopped the coach suddenly and he told everyone to get down quickly. He told as that, there could be high chances aurora might occur anytime now.
First it started as multiple stripes in the clear sky. Then slowly it started gaining different forms and started glowing in green for naked eyes. After few minutes it became so intense and started bursting and dancing all over sky with vibrant colours like purple, red and pink above the head. It almost felt like the heavens opened up and you were getting blessed by nature. I don't have any words to describe about how I felt when aurora happened. Nature was at its best and I was so blessed to get to see aurora at my first attempt of chasing. I didn't take any single picture as I was just experiencing the phenomenon unfolding before my eyes. After few attempts following up with the guide, I was able to get hold of few pictures.
After a fulfilling event, I got back to Reykjavik. I was so excited and was keen to share it with someone. It was 5 am in India, but still I called my mother to express how I felt about the aurora. The next day, I got to know there is gonna be a solar eclipse and Iceland is the best place to see it. Once again I got excited and couldn't sleep whole night. Next day early morning, I travelled few hours by coach and went to Thingvellir national park to catch solar eclipse. There were so many enthusiasts waiting to watch the eclipse from early morning. Lot of people walked up to me and explained me about eclipse and how to see it. They even shared their binoculars, cameras to have a closer look of the eclipse. When the full eclipse occurred, the whole place got very dark for few seconds and I couldn't forget the moment when it happened as everyone around me were shouting with joy and passion. After few days of strolling around Reykjavik, I decided to go for horse riding. I always wanted to do it in my life, but finally got a chance to do it in Iceland. The horse is a majestic animal and it was a fun ride. But when it ran little bit faster, my whole body started getting goosebumps and even I panicked a bit. Also, I went to do a day hike in Keilir, with the help of local hiking club utivist.
One another thing, I would like to mention is that Iceland got lot of swimming pools with hot baths. It seemed like everybody in the country love to swim. I too spent few days relaxing in the swimming pools and hot baths. And one another thing I noticed in Iceland was, whenever I go to a super market or a restaurant people talked to me in Icelandic. And I had to tell them sorry I am a tourist and speak only english. But I noticed it from far, whenever they notice tourists, they talked to them in english. I wasn't sure why would they speak in Icelandic to me. After travelling in Iceland and talking to people I found out the reason behind it. During the 1980's and early 90's lot of Icelandic people adopted kids from Tamil Nadu, India and Srilanka. So those kids are now grown up in Iceland and tend to speak Icelandic wherever they go. And that was the reason many people in the shops and bars assumed I am from Iceland and could speak Icelandic. Overall it was a memorable experience for me in Iceland and I would love to visit the country again.
Thought of Day: Example isn't another way to teach, it is the only way to teach. - Albert Einstein
