Land of Fire and Ice


Have you ever thought I have to do that, but you end up putting it off for various reasons? Then time passes, but it is still in your mind, and you still have not done that. And finally, the brain itch is too much, and one fine day, you decide to do it. Writing about Iceland is one of the things that I have been putting off for a year. Why write about it? Because it will be unjust to me not to express how I felt about that place and how it has significantly increased the most memorable time in my life till to date.


We had planned to go to Iceland in the summer of 2020 after one of my cousins suggested we go there because, as per her, it was the most fantastic place she had ever seen. However, we all know what happened in 2020. COVID hit, and we had to cancel our trips. But at least we got some amount of refund. So in the summer of 2022, we (me and my husband) embark on the journey to Iceland. It was almost 8 hours of flight from Denver to Iceland. After we passed the immigration, we went to a car rental place to get our campervan. So after watching a decent amount of videos on Iceland, we had two options to explore the area: rent a campervan, drive around, and camp at camping sites. Another way was to book hotels or Airbnb at various locations. We decided to go with a campervan because it would give us more flexibility and be an adventure. The Iceland trip was the first time we had a campervan trip. Automated transmission vehicles are three times more expensive than manual ones. Hence, we got the manual campervan. It was a steep learning curve, and things got tricky, especially when we went uphill. 



The first spot that we went to was Blue Lagoon. This place is spectacular and nothing like any place I have ever seen. I could not believe how blue that water was. As soon as we got into the pool, I felt relaxed. The water had some healing properties. The tiredness of the 8-hour flight was gone.





And then, the next day, our journey began to explore this wonderful place. In this one country, we drove through traversing the winding mountains, ocean, luscious green meadows, numerous waterfalls (beyond your imagination), icebergs, volcanoes, craters, rivers, and beaches (how about the black sand beach?). We even went to this plane crash site from World War II, which takes you to a different place and has become a tourist attraction. I would not be able to do justice to describe all these places in words, and people need to go and experience this once in a lifetime. 





Iceland is a top-rated tourist destination but is less commercialized and touristy than many places we have been to. Be prepared to enjoy nature with few interruptions when visiting this place. And also be ready to witness some breathtaking views now and then. There are campsites all over the country with all amenities like kitchen and bathrooms. Some of them have laundry facilities too. We met many people worldwide on these sites and shared meals in the common kitchen.


Two disclaimers about Iceland in Summer are wind and the Sun. We had watched several videos about the high wind in Iceland, but we could not fathom the word " windy" watching those videos. The wind is next level in Iceland. That Sun never sets during summer in this place. So your circadian rhythm will get messed up.


The best thing about this place is the water and safety. You can drink tap water, and the government strongly encourages you to do so and boasts of having the purest water in the world. It must be true as we did not buy water, which tastes good. Iceland is one of the safest places in the world, with almost nonexistent crime and no wildlife. 


The only regret with this trip was that we needed more time to explore the local cuisine as we did a lot of nature exploring and cooked our meals in the campsite and our campervan. Still the best trip ever, but we did not get a chance to explore the whole country, and we would go back to explore more of Iceland in a heartbeat. 



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