- RANT - I am here to tell you all that the aisle seat is SERIOUSLY OVERRATED. You DON'T have more leg room, unless you like getting your foot stepped on all the time. You DON'T have more elbow room, or a free armrest, as your arm keeps getting bumped into by passing people. You DON'T have more peace and quiet, because the seat is constantly knocked by passersby. And to top it all off, MY aisle seat was the second-to-last row of the plane, next to the washroom and the galley, so between the toilet flushing and the flight staff constantly slamming doors, I got no peace and quiet. Five hours of flight time, and very little uninterrupted sleep. - RANT OVER -
We panicked - just a little - when we got off the plane and finally made our way to the luggage carousel. A screen warned that all bags were now unloaded, but our packs were nowhere to be seen. We mosied up to the lost luggage counter to calmly inquire about our missing bags, only to be informed that our backpacks - odd-size bags - were available on a belt coming from a large hole in the wall. Sure enough, as we approached, we discovered ALL the backpacks were spewing from this large hole! Onwards!
The rental car pick-up was quick and painless, and soon we were cruising down the highway on our way to...
WAIT!
OMG, Iceland is spectacular! It took us no more than 5 minutes of driving before we were stopped again, discovering a walking trail next to the highway where we could get out and enjoy the alien landscape. "Where ARE we?!" Repeated Mario, blown away by the unrecognizable beauty. Reluctantly, we got in the car and pulled away, headed for the next awe-inspiring destination. Onwards!
The Blue Lagoon: I've never read about a more polarizing tourist destination. People either love how relaxing it is and can't say enough about it, or hate how touristy and expensive it is, and can't stand the crowds. I was very much on the fence about this one, up until about 2 days before we left. I felt like if we DID go, we would be sell-outs, giving in to the tourist hype of the place. Gladly, this was not so, as we both thoroughly enjoyed the hours of rest and relaxation in the thermal baths right after the stressfulness of the flight.
The facilities are top-notch, with ample room for lockers, showers, and changing rooms. With a base package ticket option, we still had all-day access to the facilities, with towels, toiletries, silica mud mask and a free drink included! And soooo relaxing - I just melted right into that deliciously warm water. With the cool air and amazing sights surrounding us, it was absolutely heavenly. On a side note, of all the thermal baths in all the island countries in all the world, of course I had to run into people I know here, in Iceland, soaking in the Blue Lagoon. The world is a surprisingly small place.
The facilities are top-notch, with ample room for lockers, showers, and changing rooms. With a base package ticket option, we still had all-day access to the facilities, with towels, toiletries, silica mud mask and a free drink included! And soooo relaxing - I just melted right into that deliciously warm water. With the cool air and amazing sights surrounding us, it was absolutely heavenly. On a side note, of all the thermal baths in all the island countries in all the world, of course I had to run into people I know here, in Iceland, soaking in the Blue Lagoon. The world is a surprisingly small place. With bodies and minds soothed and refreshed, we got back in the car and continued on to Reykjavik. Onwards!
Before heading to the campsite in town, we made a pitstop for some cheap supplies at...IKEA! Yup, with cheap, lightweight furniture and bargain-basement pricing, I figured what better place to stock up on things to make our general camp life more comfortable? Especially since there no way you can fit everything in a suitcase! Plus, the restaurant on site is reasonably priced, good quality AND the top eatery in Reykjavik, as evidenced by the hoards of locals sitting down to lunch! We also took a moment to stock up on some basic food items for the days ahead at the grocery store. Onwards!
Insert here a brief intermission where we set up camp, check out the campsite, and take a well-deserved nap. After all, we had been going on little to no sleep since 8 am yesterday! ONWARDS!
While perusing the in-flight magazine(the only free thing on the flight over besides using the washroom), I discovered that WOW Air had recently partnered with the city of Reykjavik to begin a "city bike" pilot project, with 8 stations of 15 bikes each. You can rent the bikes by 30-minute blocks, by day or by week. Since the city is not incredibly large but still a little far from the campground, we decided to bike into the city and walk our way back back. Of course, we experience some of that famously indecisive Icelandic weather while biking, having to switch from hood up, camera away mode, to hood down camera out mode several times. We biked along the waterfront until the old town, near the Harpa Concert hall and the port, where big fishing boats were being repainted in the dry docks. The air smelled deliciously like fish and chips, and it made me hungry. Onwards!
Our walk took us past the cute little downtown area, the pedestrian streets of the tourist quarter, and the colourful laneways of painted wooden houses. We popped into a few trinket shops, comparing prices of hand-knitted woolen hats and mitts, hoping to bring some home. We paused for a moment at an outdoors outfitter, so I could replace my spork(which stayed conveniently hung above my desk at home), and got free coffees out of the deal! Throughout the entire walk back, the old adage regarding Icelandic weather being unpredictable repeated in my head: "If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes". Sure enough, we'd walk 5 minutes, and the drizzle would start. Another 5 minutes, I could take my camera back out, and remove my jacket. Like clockwork. Onwards!
Sometime after 10:30 pm, we waltzed back into the campground and proceeded to cook up a mean dinner of one-pot lasagna, in a very crowded community kitchen, with the sky still light enough to make our way back to the tent afterwards. We are experiencing almost 24 hours of sunlight during these late summer days - it's so bizarre!
Insert here a brief intermission where we set up camp, check out the campsite, and take a well-deserved nap. After all, we had been going on little to no sleep since 8 am yesterday! ONWARDS!
While perusing the in-flight magazine(the only free thing on the flight over besides using the washroom), I discovered that WOW Air had recently partnered with the city of Reykjavik to begin a "city bike" pilot project, with 8 stations of 15 bikes each. You can rent the bikes by 30-minute blocks, by day or by week. Since the city is not incredibly large but still a little far from the campground, we decided to bike into the city and walk our way back back. Of course, we experience some of that famously indecisive Icelandic weather while biking, having to switch from hood up, camera away mode, to hood down camera out mode several times. We biked along the waterfront until the old town, near the Harpa Concert hall and the port, where big fishing boats were being repainted in the dry docks. The air smelled deliciously like fish and chips, and it made me hungry. Onwards!
Our walk took us past the cute little downtown area, the pedestrian streets of the tourist quarter, and the colourful laneways of painted wooden houses. We popped into a few trinket shops, comparing prices of hand-knitted woolen hats and mitts, hoping to bring some home. We paused for a moment at an outdoors outfitter, so I could replace my spork(which stayed conveniently hung above my desk at home), and got free coffees out of the deal! Throughout the entire walk back, the old adage regarding Icelandic weather being unpredictable repeated in my head: "If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes". Sure enough, we'd walk 5 minutes, and the drizzle would start. Another 5 minutes, I could take my camera back out, and remove my jacket. Like clockwork. Onwards!
Sometime after 10:30 pm, we waltzed back into the campground and proceeded to cook up a mean dinner of one-pot lasagna, in a very crowded community kitchen, with the sky still light enough to make our way back to the tent afterwards. We are experiencing almost 24 hours of sunlight during these late summer days - it's so bizarre!
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