Since a few have asked "why Iceland?"...my friend from high school, Fiona, and her husband are live there. We thought it would be a neat place to visit and to catch up with them. It is a great place to go since menus are in English and Icelanders also speak English. It was only a 5 hour flight from JFK and with the overnight flights, we didn't experience any jet lag. May is a great time to go since they only have about 2-3 hours of darkness (and its not really dark), so there is plenty of day light to see the sights. Its expensive there, 40-60% higher than other European countries (gas is about $7.76 a gallon, sales tax is 25%) but worth the trip.
Shortly after our arrival in Iceland, we head east along the southern coast for a 3 day road trip. Iceland has a population of about 313,000, 75% of which live within a 30 mile radius of Reykjavik. Once you leave Reykjavik, towns are few and far between and don't comprise of more than a few little houses. The terrain was beautiful and very different than in the US - tons of lava rocks covered in moss, stretches of farms with tiny horses and sheep, high mountain sides and lots of waterfalls.
Seljalandsfoss, a beautiful waterfall.
There is a footpath behind the cascade where we hiked behind the falls to the other side. We got a little wet but it was lots of fun.
Off we headed to the black sand beaches in Vik. In the background you can see the three rocks of Reynisdrangar (they kind of look like needles). They are said to depict three trolls that were caught at daylight and subsequently turned into rock.
Systrafoss, Sisters Falls, in Kirkjubaejarklaustur, where we dined for the two nights we were on the road. I tried the freshly caught artic charr which was delicious.
Then we checked in at our cabin which was really great. Tomorrow will be all the ice lagoons!
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