Iceland, Day One - Tuesday, August 9, 2016

After taking care of logistics at the country’s sole international airport in Keflavik, including a quick tour through customs and baggage claim (again, WOWAir delivered, as all of our bags successfully arrived!), we were picked up by the rental car company we had chosen and driven to their nearby offices. My first impressions of the landscape on this short drive was other-planetary, and somewhat desolate. This desolation, however, was juxtaposed with touches of artistry placed seemingly randomly in the middle of a volcanic desert: a variety of sculptures along the roadside caused us to literally shake our heads to make sure what we were seeing was, indeed, really there. Pulling into the car rental lot, we were met with a line up of vehicles, a number of which featured front ends that were entirely smashed out. I wasn’t sure what to make of these, but was happily relieved to see the fully intact silver Peugeot Wagon which was to be our family’s vehicle for the duration of our stay. Piling ourselves and our luggage inside, the time to get this party started now truly fell into our own hands.

Some breakfast was the first order of the day, and we found a small, local bakery on the outskirts of Reykjavik which fit the bill. The breakfast of Icelandic pastries and breads was made memorable by the rich, dark coffee which Mat and I immediately succumbed to, and by the wonderfully authentic feeling of being in a local spot unfrequented by tourists, other than the four of us. We were surrounded by local men reading their daily newspaper while, like us, having coffee and a morning pastry before (unlike us!) heading off to work. Awash in the harsh yet paradoxically lilting tones of the Icelandic language being spoken all around us, I was nearly vibrating with excitement, wishing so badly that I could understand their words. 

From here, we began the day’s trek in earnest, heading south-east along the Ring Road as per our plans. It didn’t take a long or far drive along this single-lane route before I understood how so many of the rental cars we’d seen had come to be in their unfortunate state. With no barriers along the road’s side, the drop off beside us, though perhaps not more than a metre or two high, often plunged into boulder-like lava rocks or some other form of ditch sure to inflict major harm upon most vehicles. I’ll admit to being very grateful that M was doing the driving, and that he’s extremely comfortable doing so! The landscape that stretched out around us was breathtaking in its beauty and sharp in its contrasts. As we were nearing the eastern-most stretch of our drive, our 360 degree vantage boasted a craggy mountain range running along our one side, lava fields covered in mossy plant growth, what looked to be fertile farm land up above on a verdant hillside, and snow-capped glacial tops in the distance.

We made countless roadside stops throughout the day, taking photos and marvelling at this country’s splendour. The girls loved the Icelandic ponies we stopped to visit at a roadside meadow. Finding wildflowers to feed to them became the order of business, and we all fell for these beautiful creatures, recognizable for their smaller stature and hardiness.

We saw countless waterfalls coursing down mountainsides. Truly, I wondered if I'd become immune to my amazement at seeing these gorgeous cascades every few minutes! (Spoiler alert: nope, I never tired of them!)

We were still giddy with the knowledge that we're actually in Iceland!

And how could we not check out this curious space? In case you're wondering as we were, it's a shelter for sheep, which are as common as the waterfalls around here.

Felt rather like elfin creatures in this magical space. 

Another amazing roadside stop was at Eyjafjallajökull, an ice cap-covered volcano which erupted as recently as the spring of 2010.

A surprise cow crossing provided yet another impromptu stop.

Further along the Ring Road we built stone monuments of good fortune in the lava fields at Laufkalavarda.

Considering all of the breathtaking views that we just had to stop to see, including this cascading river, it's a wonder we covered the distances we did on this day. 

A t-shirt that we saw and chuckled at in a number of souvenir shops during our trip proclaims, “If you don’t like the weather in Iceland, wait five minutes.” The adage couldn’t be more true, and we experienced first-hand the fickleness of Mother Nature while in Iceland. During our stay, we encountered so many different weather systems that it become second nature for us to dress in layers daily and remove or add them accordingly.  

We attempted valiantly to pet these wild Icelandic sheep, but it was not to be . . . yet! We were not giving up on achieving this goal during our time in Iceland!

The further east we drove, the closer the snow-capped glaciers appeared.

Our trusty Peugeot Wagon looks like it's starring in a commercial here.

By late afternoon we reached Jökulsárlón, the absolutely gorgeous glacier bay at the easternmost stretch of our travels. We witnessed the calving of two iceberg chunks in the ice lagoon and watched the resulting ripples as they travelled across the icy water's surface and finally lapped up along the shores we were walking. A most memorable experience, indeed.

Ripples emanating outwards following the calving of an ice chunk.

A photo shoot was in progress and we marvelled at their incredible choice of backdrop.

Facing the long drive back to the Guesthouse we had booked for the night at Bergþórshvoll, a working sheep farm, we stopped for a much-too fancy meal at the Foss Hotel not far from Jökulsárlón. After our flight from Canada through the night and a full day of explorations, we might not have exactly looked ready for fine dining, however, we knew that stops for sustenance were few and far between along this stretch of road, and we most certainly enjoyed the incredible view and the delicious food. We watched a herd of Icelandic horses frolicking in the distance as we ate.

Lights in the Foss Hotel that look like globules of lava and icy crystals, completely appropriate in this land of fire and ice.

The Foss Hotel

Yes, the drive “back” . . . this day was not planned as efficiently as it should have been. Or rather, the initially efficient plan was changed in a somewhat last-minute decision to see Jökulsárlón, turning our day into a truly epic quest and yes, an experience of somewhat Griswoldian proportions. I have been known, at least some say, to take my fellow travellers on what have affectionately been termed “death marches”. It seems I get so caught up in the excitement of exploring a new place that I often neglect the fact that my fellow humans require food, water, breath . . . I was entirely set upon avoiding this social faux pas during this trip. Alas, rather than marching my family to the point of exhaustion, I did inadvertently create an itinerary of driving and sightseeing on this first day that may, just MAY, have been a bit more than we could comfortably handle. In my defence, the initial plan to travel as far east as the town of Vik, near the centre point of the southern coast and near our guesthouse, had been sound. But then I’d read in more detail about what lay beyond Vik, about the glaciers and icebergs . . . t’would have been a crime not to forge on in order to see that scene of crystalline ice and snow against the brilliant blue sky, glacial diamonds afloat in the mirror-like waters of frost, causing us yet again to gasp aloud in utter wonder as we walked this incredible shore. Jökulsárlón offered up, without a doubt, a scene that I will surely tell my children’s children about one day, and I feel fortunate in knowing that my children will be able to tell the tales as well. I’m confident that, on our dying days, not a single one of us would ever wish that we hadn’t packed so much into this day. . . but I will admit, I dared not write those words until we were safely back at our Guesthouse, for fear fatigue behind the wheel indeed brought that day on prematurely!

As our first day in Iceland neared its end, we were all in agreement that this day ranks as one of the fullest days any of us has ever had.

My wonder: Have you ever planned an outing or adventure inefficiently, or perhaps simply not prepared well enough for a trip? If so, what was the fall-out? Was your planning foible redeemed?