introduction

My Iceland story is relatively common, in a way, to those who have had the privilege of visiting. Unlike many previous trips, I think about my time there somewhat regularly. The more I venture through the various parts of this wonderfully beautiful place we call home, the more I realize that some areas need to be more untamed. I commonly get asked, “What is your favorite place you’ve been to?” to which I also typically answer, “Iceland.” Being from such an innately beautiful corner of Earth, I’ve found I can get a bit jaded when it comes to the wilderness, and Iceland humbled me. It was the precipice of profound growth in my life for various other factors also. All I know is that I stumbled into Iceland in an almost happy accident. I knew it would be beautiful, and I knew that I would enjoy it, but I could never have anticipated the perspective it left me with. Unlike my other trips, I didn’t keep a journal from my visit to Iceland, partly because I wasn’t as committed to documentation and deep introspection at that phase of my life - it was the first time I found myself serious about photography.

I had flown into Iceland for a brief stopover on my way home from Europe in the summer of 2016. As I touched down at Keflavík International Airport, I found myself grateful to occupy the window seat. There is truly nowhere like Iceland elsewhere in the world.“If New Zealand and Alaska had a child together, Iceland would be the result,” was how it had been described to me - which I think does it justice. As we approached land, I could see the flat, verdant plains kissing the azure waters of the North Atlantic, blanketed by small rain-filled clouds looming just a couple hundred feet off the ground. The whole place had a sort of mystical feeling. I wasn’t as well-versed in Icelandic mythology and culture as I am now, but if there were ever to be a place where trolls could be found roaming around, this was it. Since my first time laying my eyes on Iceland, I knew I would be back to explore more deeply, and it was only beginning.

I started seeing a girl I worked with shortly after I got back from Europe, and almost immediately, we started planning a trip to Iceland for the summer of 2017. It was high on our bucket lists and fresh in my mind after my flight home. Having also fallen madly in love with Finland during my Euro tour, I convinced her to join me in visiting my Finnish friends in Lahti before arriving in Iceland and spending a week driving the iconic ‘Ring Road.’ Ten months after first visiting Finland, we arrived in Helsinki for our week stop-over. It felt fantastic to return to places I had so recently discovered for the first time and see them with somewhat seasoned eyes. Our time involved playing cards with friends, sauna-ing, and drinking lots of lime-flavored ‘long drinks’ (as the Finns call gin and juice). We also explored some abandoned structures and enjoyed an airshow in Helsinki. One evening, we stayed at my friend Patrik’s house until 04:00 before stumbling through the short patch of woods home to Oskari’s, slightly drunk and having endured far too much Enimem rapped by Patrik and Taavi. It’s hard to get used to seeing daylight in the middle of the night, but it makes time feel entirely irrelevant during a joyous, intoxicated bender. The following Sunday, we said goodbye to our beloved friends and boarded our plane to quickly jump across the Atlantic.

12 June

Before arriving in Iceland, we had dedicated a couple of nights to eagerly creating a Google MyMaps for our journey, broken up into eight days of sightseeing and adventure. Though we sometimes deviated from our schedule, the map proved extremely helpful as a general layout. It can be found here if you want to follow along and use this map for your adventures. Given that we only had eight days to circumnavigate the country, we didn’t have time to venture off the beaten path too much regarding sights. In the future, I will be returning to engage with many of the fantastic hikes and treks available in Iceland. To maximize our time on the road and despite landing in the evening on Sunday, we decided to begin our road trip the evening we arrived. The first stop was Þingvellir National Park, where a rift valley marking the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American tectonic plate and the Eurasian can be seen separating. Taking a stroll through two tectonic plates ripping apart from each other isn’t something you get to do every day. We spent our first night in a tent under the midnight sun here, which marked the beginning of severe circadian rhythm dysfunction.

“Throughout Viking history, at the sites known as Gálgaklettur (Gallows Rock) and Drekkingarhylur (The Drowning Pool) in Þingvellir National Park, 72 people are known with certainty to have been executed for crimes.”

13 June

We continued to jump ahead of schedule as often as possible, and getting up super early helped us get a leg up on the day’s activities. We planned on only driving about 200km to the town of Hvolsvöllur, where we would sleep for the night (quite the misnomer in the Icelandic summer). Still, we ended up being so inspired by the adventures and surprise landscapes along our route that we pushed into the next day’s adventures. On the second day, we made our rounds of the southern section of the Ring Road, hitting landmarks such as Geyser Strokkur, Gullfoss Falls, Seljalandsfoss, and my favorite, Skógafoss - where we camped for the night. The drive was filled with herds of Nordic horses, giant waterfalls, and colorful water rivaling the Bahamas. Homemade spaghetti and tea became semi-nightly endeavors due to their ease and affordability. That night we camped at the base of Skógafoss at Skógar Campground alongside our trusty VW Jetta rental car. A fond memory of mine includes spending a couple of hours each night together in the cab, anxiously waiting for the RAW photos to process and marveling at all we had gotten to experience.

“Keep an eye out for an obscure trail to the right of the parking lot Seljalandsfoss that will take you up above the waterfall, giving you a bird’s eye view of all the magic. Also, don’t forget a rain poncho.”

14 June

Falling asleep to a creek pales compared to the mighty Skógafoss waterfall, I must say. That morning, we made some tea and ventured up the wet metal staircase to the top of the waterfall as the seagulls soared below. We planned on starting our day by hiking to the downed DC-3 plane just outside of Skeiðflötur, but we decided against it for reasons I can’t remember now. Instead, we spent the day exploring Iceland’s southern coast. We walked up to the lighthouse at Dyrhólaey in gale-force winds and admired the sea for a while before climbing the organ-like basalt columns lining the black sand beach of Reynisfjara. Overshadowing the beach were the Reynisdranga formations just off the coast, boasting some fascinating and fun mythology described below.

Our last stop before arriving at camp was Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon - a massive bucket list item for me. That evening we stayed at a magnificent campground (to this day, one of my favorite evenings spent in nature) at the base of the enormous Skaftafell Glacier. The vibe of this part of the earth was profound and powerful, and I recommend it to everyone interested in visiting Iceland.

“Folk legend says there once were two trolls pulling a three-mast ship to the shore unsuccessfully. They were caught by the sunlight at dawn and were turned into stone. So, the trolls stand just outside the beach forevermore [now petrified].”

— icelandtravel.is

15 June

By the fourth day, we started to find a groove with driving. We were adhering to our schedule more or less, and we could drive for hours without getting tired since our bodies were consistently tricked into thinking it was early in the day. The first stop on the schedule for day four was Jökulsárlón (and the adjacent Diamond Beach). Seeing these spectacular natural features in person proved to be remarkable. Following our eventful morning, we traveled an incredibly scenic 600km along the country's eastern coast and fjords. I could feel the lack of deep sleep beginning to catch up with my body as we detoured through quiet towns such as Höfn to grab dinner supplies (yes, still pasta) and top up on diesel. Many daily stops made the drive manageable, and we found hidden gems, such as Lækjavik - a gorgeous beach nestled on the windy ocean roads that you could easily envision a pair of Ferraris racing along. We made a longer-than-anticipated detour down a heinous dirt road to Dettifoss waterfall (the largest in Europe by volume), which proved to be worth it, before settling down at a campsite at Mývatn for the night.

“To all my fellow map nerds: touring the Vatnajokull ice cap via Google Earth is extremely rewarding. Zooming into the glacier above Jökulsárlón, you’ll see broken chunks of ice spewing into the pristine bay only to flow to the sea and be returned to the beach, hence Diamond Beach.”

16 June

Day five was spent almost exclusively traveling between Mývatn and Grundarfjörður - home to the famous Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall. The transit across Iceland’s northern province was unbelievably stunning and led us through Akureyri, one of Iceland’s largest towns and just 100km from the Arctic Circle. I distinctly remember the roads throughout the country, largely desolate and otherworldly. Each mountain-cradled lake and boundless moss-covered landscape solidified the feeling that we had stumbled into a forgotten Viking era. One treacherously rough dirt mountain pass we encountered amidst a relentless rainstorm had me convinced that we might not survive. What shocked me the most was the lack of other humans outside of the populous attractions; Iceland has a way of permitting total immersion into some of the world’s remaining untouched wilderness - if you’re willing. That evening we discovered one of the most epic and simultaneously inconspicuous campsites I’ve ever experienced, perched atop a hill of a local family’s property just before the town of Setberg. Hilariously, I only realized while writing this (almost six years after the fact) that this campsite was so spectacular because it featured an up-close-and-personal view of Kirkjufell itself - no wonder it was so stunning to us both.

“Before traveling to Iceland, we knew numerous rough dirt roads could be expected, but I fear we underestimated the quantity (even adhering to a mostly ‘standard’ route). As Iceland continues to see more tourism, its infrastructure will surely improve, but in the spirit of Iceland remaining wild and rugged - opt for a car that can handle the roads well is a huge plus. A little backcountry adventure is always a pleasant time in a 4x4. ”

17 June

As we packed up camp and headed back for Reykjavik, there were undoubtedly a lot of emotions. We’d emerged in a country with unfathomable amounts of natural beauty and were already nearing the conclusion of our time there. It wasn’t over yet, though, and we began our day by rounding the bay from our campsite to bask in the beauty of Kirkjufellsfoss. Our road trip south was accompanied by more stunning wild horses and waterfalls, including Hraunfossar, Barnafossar, and Deildartunguhver - bringing our time on the road to a spectacular conclusion. Being the broke kids we were, we could only afford an Airbnb for our last night (the night before our flight), and we still had another night before our reservation began. We opted, mistakenly in hindsight, to stay in a campground located in the city center of the capital. The constant midnight sun was a slight inconvenience, but when also including the Midsummer Music Festival, which we weren’t privy to, a restless night was inevitable.

“Although the campsite near Kirkjufell was one of my favorites, the exact location still needs to be determined. I’ve since misplaced the map of camps we used while circumnavigating the country, but there are plenty of sites out there to provide a plethora of available campgrounds almost anywhere in the country.”

18 - 19 June

Fortunately, we enjoyed the city immensely during our last couple of days and toured several sites, including the iconic Hallgrímskirkja church and touristy Blue Lagoon. Iceland remains high on my list for future projects, especially those including the Westfjords Region and some winter adventures accompanied by the Aurora Borealis. I’m fortunate to have visited this part of the world, and it’s safe to say it left a lasting imprint on my curious and explorative mind. I hope this story helps someone else in their adventures, whether through travel tips, campsite recommendations, or pure inspiration. Travel, especially to places like Iceland, can change our perspectives, help us grow, and reveal powerful truths about our world - all in a positive light. That’s not to say that travel is without hardship (we experienced many profound difficulties on this trip), but I will always reflect fondly on my first visit to Iceland. Such perspectives can help us achieve great things in the world, and our story can be a light to others if we’re willing to share.

With that being said, thank you for reading, and much love.

Iceland