The land of fire and ice

How to describe Iceland? In once word, indescribable. However, this description from the back of an Icelandic cushion cover box fairly sums it up "Iceland is a majestic place of rugged mountains, mighty glaciers, and translucent waters that together create the most extraordinary landscapes."

The country was phenomenal, and our experience within it was also phenomenal from day one. There is so much we took from Iceland. There was the weather, the jaw-dropping scenery, the people, the random conversations, meeting interesting fellow travellers, but I feel personally our biggest takeaway from the trip was the pure joy of being back in nature. 

The 'joy' of one minute being truly battered by elements through bitingly cold winds, driving rain, sleet, and snow, to then being rewarded with a beautiful crisp sunny day of five to six hours of (good) daylight. Then there are the natural features—via ice caps and glaciers, volcanic craters and geothermal hot springs/lagoons, black volcanic sand beaches, snow-covered hills and imposing mountains, lava fields and eruptions frozen in time, plunging valleys of all shapes and sizes, beautiful fjords housing cosy homesteads. Not to mention, the many thunderous waterfalls and frozen lakes that dot Iceland's rugged landscape.

I don't know if we'll ever be able to truly take in what we've experienced there. How could you? Iceland offers so much to a traveller that'll they'll probably never experience again. We enjoyed a couple of bucket list moments on this trip including, glacier walking and catching a glimpse of the elusive and exceptional spectacle that is the Northern Lights. We really are so lucky to see all these amazing places and experience all we have. 

Iceland will rank up there with one of our best trips, if not our best trip. It was a pleasure to experience and interact with a truly liberal and progressive, proud nation and to learn about their customs and history. For a windswept volcanic rock in the middle of the Atlantic at the mercy of sometimes extreme weather conditions, it confidentially straddles two colliding and separating tectonic plates and masters the elements to provide stunning beauty. 
 

Stunning sunrise

During our trip, I asked our Icelandic guide if Icelanders felt European?, or did they feel separate from Europe? And he said, "We can relate to Europe and the other Nordic countries, but were like our own big family up here. Anytime I go aboard I can and find a fellow Icelander, and we will instantly strike up a conversation. During our conversation, we will talk about things only we know." And that for me is Iceland in a nutshell, small but proud, independent but connected, painting their own picture but acutely aware that they're part of a bigger one. Iceland is an island and a place like no other.

Northern Lights

Check out Extreme Iceland and find out what all the fuss is about.