In this series we will help you organize your trip to the land of ice and fire, Iceland! We will share some tips to save money and we will take you with us for 18 days wandering around the island with our van!
Do you want to go to Iceland but have no idea where to start?
In this article I’ll explain you the fontamentals!
Velkommin!
Beep! Beep!
Do you know when in cartoons the main character pulls a giant hammer from under the covers and smashes the alarm clock?
Here, too bad I don’t have a hammer and I’d hate too much to destroy Matteo’s phone.
It’s 3:15 (in case it wasn’t clear, in the morning… Yesterday evening we prepared the luggage which consists of:
– 50L backpack as hold luggage;
– 2 backpacks of 30L as hand luggage;
– a 10L backpack as a small bag.
Why only backpacks?
Because the space to cram them into the van is too low for a suitcase.
The backpacks are deformable and therefore perfect for the practice of “I punch you until you take the shape of the hole in which I want to put you at all costs”.
After a breakfast that seems more like the snack of the after New Year’s Eve we walk to go and take the bus to Dublin airport, at 4:45 am.
At the airport
At 8 we arrive at the airport, we find the station to cocoon the hold backpack (not so much because it contains fragile stuff as because it is full of straps and laces and I’m afraid it will tear) and we are ready for the security check and waiting.
A little girl stares at me with interest, having blue hair it often happens that children get curious.
The thing that surprised me this time was the mother who told her that I was a fairy!
That’s cool!
I admit I’m a cool fairy with my blue hair and my hiking clothing.
Getting on the plane a big wow is a must!
We always fly with Ryanair and finding myself on a low cost in a better shape as Icelandair made me return to the trip with American Airlines, a paradise!!!
There’s a screen!
Seating is more comfortable!
The hostesses pass by to offer you a free juice!
Okay there are no toys and mini-burgers but what the heck, it’s all very very nice for only two hours of travel!
However, apart from the juice I did not take advantage of anything but the seat to take a colossal nap.
Iceland here we are!
Thank goodness I woke up in time for landing, I look out the window and… I’m in Iceland!
And… Lots of clouds!!!
Fortunately, for a month now, Iceland has lifted all restrictions related to Covid 19, including the obligation to take a test on arrival.
Passing through passport control I see the officer stamp a gentleman’s passport in front of me. Could I not ask him to stamp me too?
He said, “I shouldn’t, but if you care so much… “
Yeah!
I’m a compulsive collector of a lot of things, obviously having so many stamps on my passport sends me over the moon.
The luggage recovery was a bit long, but fortunately our backpack arrived safely.
We decide to keep the coating for the return trip and we did well.
Useful info: at Keflavík airport they do not have a wrapping station to store luggage.
At 3pm we are outside the airport.
The sky is overcast and the air is fresh but not freezing.
A light breeze blows and it does not rain, excellent I would say!
A royal welcome!
The first impression of the Icelandic landscape I think is something unique for each of us.
The ground is extremely flat for miles and ends with mountains on the horizon.
Today the clouds are so low that they give the impression that the sky wants to crush us.
If I were not euphoric about the adventure that awaits us, I would see it as an awe-inspiring landscape.
It’s strange, I’ve never had this feeling.
The bizarre thing is that the eye can see very far, but at the same time it sees little in height because of the clouds, curious.
The withdrawal of the Van
Leaving the airport we contacted CampEasy and after a quarter of an hour Iris arrived with the shuttle.
Iris is a sunny woman with thick curly blonde hair, she speaks english with an icelandic accent and an infectious smile.
She confirmed that the day is great, we are lucky.
With us there is a couple from Seattle, quite tried by travel and jet lag.
Their reservation for van pickup is before ours (which would have been for 6pm, but Iris assured us that we would have the keys in hand in advance).
At CampEasy they have a cute waiting room with sofa and coffee machine, we took advantage of it by taking a hot drink with… sugar cubes!
Melting the cube took me back to childhood, my grandmother never ran out and I always stole a few of one.
On the coffee table there is a huge little book with pages in antique watercolor paper.
We found it full of thanks and stories from other travelers.
As predicted, at 5 pm we had our van, our temporary home.
It’s beautiful!
Except for a drawer a bit ‘run down that we had fixed on site.
But before turn the key something very important: in the waiting room they have a pantry and a fridge where those who are leaving leave the food they have not eaten.
That is…are we joking?
Free food?
And can we take anything we want?
Tuck in! Obviously I do the first shopping of the holiday there: butter, oil, salt, biscuits with cream, herbal teas, ramen …
We take pictures of everything for safety (it is important when renting something to have a proof of the condition of the vehicle at the pick-up) and let’s go!
Hit the road baby!
Back to driving on the right side of the road! (i.e. right)
We are quite exhausted by the impossible alarm clock and the long journey.
The plan is to stop for shopping at Bónus and then go to the first campsite: Vogar Campsite.
You should know that among the things I love the kitchen occupies a special place.
Shopping in a foreign supermarket is like going to an amusement park for me!
Skyr, Svið and wurstel
Here we take bread and breakfast supplies.
After all the research done I take:
– a mega jar of Skyr (the typical Icelandic yogurt);
– cheap and inviting-looking lamb sausages ;
– a pack of Hangikjöt (which literally means “hanging meat”, from the tradition of hanging meat to smoke.
It is basically a lamb that is cut into slices and can be used as any salami to prepare Icelandic sandwiches.)
Among the most curious foods we cannot fail to mention the Svið!
I can’t buy it because it would be impossible for me to cook it in the van, but I would have loved to.
But what is it?
It is a pretty and “inviting” sheep’s head cut in half and boiled.
It is part of the Þorramatur food, a selection of dishes usually served during buffets.
I looked for a restaurant in Reykjavik where I could taste it but the only place that served it for tourists closed.
Through some compatriots who live here I discovered that it is not a dish commonly cooked in families.
They told me that it is more a kind of food for the elderly, perhaps more tied to tradition than the new generations.
Another curiosity about the supermarket is the arrangement of foods that we find in large refrigerators such as milk, cold cuts and meat.
The difficult choice regarding the Hardfiskur
Here get ready to wear the jacket because in order to take these things you will enter a room that is a huge cold room.
Think that Matteo got a slight headache because of the cold!
The last thing I couldn’t miss from my cart is the Hardfiskur!
It simply consists of a snack based on dried fish, rich in nutrients and proteins.
Since there were various brands and it is not really cheap, I stopped a gentleman asking him which was the best.
The response was: Vestfirska Harðfisksalan blue packaging!
After arranging, proudly I must add, the first shopping in the van, we go to the campsite to eat and sleep.
But first, a few nailed with the van never hurts!
Joking aside, in the early days Matteo sometimes forgot that he didn’t have a clutch and arrived at the stops he crushed what he “believed” to be the clutch, but which instead was the brake.
Vogar is a small town a quarter of an hour from the airport and the campsite is basic, but functional.
Unfortunately the showers were not working but I’m pretty sure they will have them repaired in view of the summer season.
There was a bathroom, with heating! (it seems little stuff but believe me, when you do not find it you will notice) and a kitchen with all the comforts.
Brachi’s Tip: If you intend to go to sleep at this campsite, call and ask if they have any leftover gas cylinders.
When we arrived we found two shelves full, we could not buy the extra ones provided by CampEasy and get them for free here.
Here too, as in almost all other campsites, there is a pantry with food leftovers and anyone who arrives can take advantage of it.
TRAVEL NOTEBOOK DAY 1:
– km by van: 18
– km on foot: probably no more than 2
– expense: 133€
Second day
For those who have already read my other articles it may seem repetitive.
Well indeed it is, but we obviously cannot do anything about it.
The idea was to get to the top spot on today’s list at 8 o’clock.
We don’t accept bets because the outcome is obvious, did we do it?
Of course not, we parked the van at 9am.
But I want to live this holiday in a different way, without pressure.
I have created a very rich itinerary but not to be followed to the letter, we’ll see what we’ll be able to do.
My little inner demon (the one who wants me to visit everything on the list) will have to come to terms with it.
We both slept very well in our small van, warm and comfortable blankets; the sofa that works as bed is hard (and that’s good) and the Webasto did his duty, nothing to complain about apart from the time of the alarm clock.
Kleifarvatn
This lake is located half an hour from Vogar and luckily we found it frozen.
Legend has it that in its depths lives a monster resembling a whale!
This lake is the largest on the Reykjanes Peninsula and also one of the deepest with its 97m.
The peninsula, and the lake itself, lie above the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
It is precisely their movement, which pushes them to separate more and more every year, to cause frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the area.
Just think that in 2000 an earthquake dried up 20% of the surface of the lake!
Kleifarvatn has no tributaries, all its water comes from the porosity of the lava, but despite this there are fish (and the whale monster of course).
Seltún and/or Krýsuvík
Seltún is a geothermal area just few minutes from Kleifarvatn and it’s a great place for a first encounter with this fantastic resource that meets 50% of Iceland’s energy needs.
As much as 30% of electricity is produced through underground vapors.
A wooden walkway winds through the bubbling pools, the steam surrounds us giving an illusory sense of warmth; in fact, as soon as his caress leaves us … Sbam!
The cold wind arrives and wakes us up in the blink of an eye.
But it doesn’t matter, we are in Iceland!
And the colors are wonderful, the solfataras are bluish gray and mumble loudly.
Fumaroles are hot springs and often color the soil around them red, brown, silver, blue, yellow and white!
Remember not to spend hours and hours inhaling the sulfur because in the long run it can give you a headache.
We are alone and I must admit that it is very relaxing to walk among the colors and sounds of nature.
But this area wasn’t always like this…
Back in the past
On October 25, 1999, a huge mouth opened in the ground and the explosion was so strong that it blew up the cafeteria, fortunately no one was hurt.
But rest assured, it won’t happen again.
It is thought that the explosion was caused by the filling of a hole that was dug in 1948 to verify the possibility of energy exploitation of the area.
There is another area that could explode and for this reason it has been forbidden access.
Remember that if you see inaccessible areas the reason could be that you risk your life going there!
In addition, the cute pools that make bubbles are at about 80-100 °C!
I would not go walking on it, I warn you because if you do it in a few seconds the heat will take away your skin.
Now why the two names?
I have no idea, I searched and searched but nothing.
Strandakirkja
As we head towards Strandakirkja here is some info about Iceland.
On a geological level it’s a young island with its 20 million years (compared to the 200 million of Italy, Iceland is a child!)
A girl who will soon give birth to twins since the two tectonic plates separate by 2 cm per year!
To get an idea of the uniqueness of this island, think that in the whole planet only Iceland and three other islands are the emerged part of a ridge. Through the fracture, magma continuously escapes, which is responsible for the expansion of the ocean floor and the drift of the continents.
But now let’s talk about our first Icelandic church.
NOTE: The majority of Iceland’s population is Lutheran (introduced in 1530 with Protestantism).
This explains why churches are very different from ours.
History tips: when the first Vikings arrived in Iceland permanently (874 AD.C) obviously they worshipped the Norse gods
but soon they were converted to Christianity by the Norwegian king Olaf I (1000 AD.C).
After history, the myth
Strandakirkja may seem like one of Iceland’s many churches, but locals often refer to it as the “church of miracles” revealing something more about it.
The original church was built in the twelfth century.
The story tells of some sailors looking for a berth to save themselves from a storm.
You should know that the south coast of Iceland is famous for having a rugged profile and hidden coral reefs that make a makeshift docking dangerous.
The sailors began to pray to God for a safe docking and vowed to build a church wherever they could disembark.
As soon as the prayer was finished, an angel appeared in heaven, bowing before the sailors and leading them right here.
And here they built Strandakirkja.
If you take a walk around the church you will see small wooden houses, the home of the Huldufólk! (The Elves)
Before sneering, know that these small dwellings are very important as they allow peaceful coexistence between our two peoples.
Many Icelanders believe that these small beings live in rock crevices and lava fields.
If a cow disappears or a car breaks down, there’s probably their hand behind it.
For this reason they leave coins, food offerings and small gifts outside the door, to continue a peaceful coexistence.
A BBC correspondent in 2007 did a poll and found that only 9% of the population actually claimed to believe in elves.
So few, but… 62% refused to deny its existence!
Selvogsviti
Selvogsviti is the first of many lighthouses that we will find along the coasts and like many of them it is orange!
Why orange?
But because if they had made them white, considering that it snows all the time, it would not have been a smart move.
I couldn’t find anything about why they chose orange and not green for example.
It is probably the color that stands out the most on both the white and black backgrounds of the lava.
Our lighthouse here was built in 1919 and renovated in 1931.
To reach the lighthouse we took a small walk of about a kilometer.
The road to get there right near is unpaved and quite run down, with a car you can probably get there but we didn’t want to push the van too much on its first day.
During our walk it started to rain, a light “gnagnarella” (an italian word used to describe the incessant drizzle) that time five minutes soaked us completely.
The difference compared to Ireland is that unfortunately this “gnagnarella” is cold!
The missed stage of Arnarker Cave
We continue towards Arnarker Cave, but we find the road closed alas… We knew it could happen.
The only regret is to have brought helmets for nothing since they would have served us only here.
If you are luckier than us, remember that this cave is not managed by any institution.
Exploration is at your own risk.
If you enter, remember to have beautiful torches charged because inside you will not see anything without it.
Raufarhólshellir
We skip to the next stop, a tour of an hour in the Raufarhólshellir lava tunnel.
We had booked for 1pm but, thanks to the low season, they moved us to the 12pm, so we gained an hour.
What is this lava tunnel?
As the name says it is a tunnel generated by the eruption of the Leitahraun volcano about 5200 years ago.
This impressive tunnel is 1360m long and reaches a width of 30m!
By participating in the tour you can walk the 900m of the main tunnel equipped with helmet and crampons.
If you go in winter, when the snow has not melted yet, I assure you that the spectacle given by the ice formations is unforgettable.
This duct was formed thanks to a low viscosity lava flow that during its slide manages to develop a very hard and continuous crust.
Slowly the crust thickens forming a roof over the lava that continues to flow.
As has often happened in Iceland, uncontrolled tourism has caused damage, including our tunnel not unscathed.
In the fifties it was very rich in molten metal stalactites!
Unfortunately now there are very few left but the guide will show you them with the torch.
A question that often arises when you are in caves: “Is there any animal that can live here?”
Surprisingly the answer is yes, there are small bacteria!
A very interesting thing, apart from stopping enchanted to look at the thousand shapes of the lava, was the experience of absolute blindness that the guide recreated by turning off all the lights.
For a few minutes we stood in complete darkness listening to the voice of the tunnel.
Once we emerged from the bowels of the earth my stomach made a call and we went to Stokkseyri to eat langoustine soup from Fjöruborðið.
If you also want to explore this geological wonder, here is the link!
Just one click!
Fjöruborðið
I chose Fjöruborðið because there is an aura of mystery behind this soup: it tells how sailors risked their lives to get to taste even a spoonful, how the Icelandic expression “Matarást” which means “love of food” takes on a new meaning.
Personally I did not find it so magical, it was good but a bit too peppery for my taste.
The town of Eyrarbakki
To digest we took a walk to Eyrarbakki (secretly hoping to find the church open) which is a pleasant and small town.
This seemingly common coastal village actually finds its roots in the first Icelandic settlements of 900 B.C.
It was an important commercial port for the south of the country.
Here we found the Húsið (“ house” museum in Icelandic), a merchant’s home from 1765 that is also one of the oldest buildings in the country.
At that time Danish traders were allowed to spend the winter in Iceland and these walls have seen art, culture, fashion and literature pass; thanks to Húsið they were able to spread everywhere.
Another pivotal building of Eyrarbakki is the church; you should know that in Iceland there were not enough trees to obtain construction wood, so merchants often went to the Danish court to ask the sovereigns for timber.
When the architect of the church went to Copenhagen Queen Louise, wife of Christian IX, proposed to paint an altarpiece for this church and if you can enter it you can admire it.
Bye bye Eyrarbakki
So we say goodbye to the city, starting with the sculpture of the fisherman.
Fishing has kept the Icelandic nation alive over the centuries but caused many victims.
These monuments remind the population how harsh the living conditions of their ancestors were, we also stopped for a minute to admire the courage of these fishermen.
If you happen to see these strange poles, know that they have played a very important role for fishermen.
Here flags were hoisted to warn sailors about the condition of the strait.
The white flag meant that everything was okay; the red one that was dangerous and the black one that was impassable.
In Eyrarbakki these flags were used until 1960.
Selfoss
We make a short pit stop in Selfoss to see the church, fortunately we find it open, one of the few we will be able to see inside.
This church is modern, sober and with painted wooden interiors.
We stopped to exchange a few words with the pastor who was there with a group of boys in preparation for confirmation.
He explained to us that most of the population is Protestant.
I was convinced that they were Catholics.
Not far from the church, on the main street, there is a small local craft shop where we took a too nice souvenir!
Are you curious to know how our van-trip around Iceland continues?
The adventure continues here!
