Iceland, we figure, is what the earth must have looked like back in its original, raw, rugged, wild, untouched and untamed days long before man or dinosaur or most any living creature came along. And it is right up there on the list of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been, for sure. What a place!
Of course, we’re not the only ones who feel that way obviously. Because these days Iceland is indeed practically overrun with throngs of tourists. Though not in all parts of the country, to be sure. The westfjords in particular were a joy to explore for so many reasons, one of them being the fact that it’s so remote and rugged that it’s still relatively free from people. And if y’all know us, you know we’ll do just about everything possible to avoid crowds. Which is one of the reasons we didn’t bother visiting the really crowded and popular places in Iceland (the famous Blue Lagoon comes to mind) and instead opted for a more non-traditional route around the island. No regrets either.
Our trip actually began when we boarded the Variety Cruises ship PanOrama up in the northern part of Iceland in a little town called Akureyri, and we spent the next week hopscotching our way around the north and western coasts, all the way down to Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavik. And it was absolutely epic! There were some ups and downs, some absolutely beautiful days and some rough and rowdy seas, and day after day of some of the most beautiful sights on planet earth. We took a bazillion photos of course, in addition to filming everything for the episode. And we thought we’d share some of the pics with you guys! And through them we hope you’ll get at least some sense of just what an amazing place Iceland truly is. Amazing!
So. Cheers gang! And a huge Texas-sized thanks again to our friends at Adventure Life and Variety Cruises for the opportunity! Hope y’all enjoy the pics, and have a great night!
Our ride around the island! The Variety Cruises ship PanOrama at our starting port in the town of Akureyri. Ain’t she a beaut?
First day and Iceland’s already blowing us away! 🙂
Akureyri, on the northern coast of Iceland.
At the Godafoss Waterfall.
Godafoss Waterfall. Wow!
Godafoss Waterfall.
The storied lava fields of Dimmuborgir in northern Iceland. Crazy! Scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed here evidently. They actually film/filmed lots of GoT in Icleand we hear!
Flew our drone and got some incredible shots of the otherworldly Hverir geothermal area. Looks like a painting!
Pools of boiling mud at the Hverir geothermal area.
Ship docked in the village of Husavik on the north coast, where we stayed for a night.
Husavik
The northern coast of Iceland near Husavik
Made a stop for a night in the little fishing village of Siglufjordur. Beautiful little spot!
The herring museum in Siglufjordur.
At $26 a six pack, we’re sure glad this beer was tasty!
Fingers of clouds creep between the snow fences atop a mountain overlooking Siglufjordur.
The lush green walls of the fjord, just across from Siglufjordur.
Our next stop? The lovely little city of Isafjordur in far northwestern Iceland. Beautiful day too!
The colorful homes of Isafjordur.
Isafjordur
On the streets of Isafjordur, looking for something awesome to film…
…and we found it! Welcome to the Hversdagssafn – museum of everyday life, which is without a doubt one of the coolest little museums we’ve ever visited!
Part of an exhibit on display at Hversdagssafn – museum of everyday life called “Take a walk in our shoes,” featuring stories on audio (in both English and Icelandic) from local people. Really fascinating stuff. Just love this place.
Selfie with Vaida, one of the creators and curators at Hversdagssafn – museum of everyday life, and who we just randomly dropped in on to see if we could film our TV show there. 🙂 Thanks Vaida for showing us around and talking with us! We love what you guys are doing!
Yep! Might’ve had one or two of these along the way. Pretty good beer!
At the end of Iceland! Atop the tall green cliffs of Latrabjarg! Where we saw…
…puffins! Lots and lots of puffins! And they were super close by!
First time to see puffins in the wild! And they are the absolute coolest litte birds.
Ain’t he cute? Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww
This, believe it or not, is the westernmost toilet in Iceland, which therefore makes it the westernmost toilet in Europe! We get to pee in the most interesting places.
Stopped for lunch near a beautiful, wide, colorful beach called Raudisandur. Another beautiful day!
Icelandic sheep! You’ll see herds of sheep roaming freely across much of Iceland, just as they have for generations.
Our view at lunch. No filter, by the way.
Raudisandur Beach. Like a beautiful painting. Amazing.
A local farmer took us on a ride across the beach in his tractor! How sweet is that?
Flew the drone FROM the tractor – which was a first – and got this and some other stunning shots. Wow.
Sailing through the northwestern fjords at night. Took this shot about 12:30am.
The massive, spectacular Langjökull Glacier.
Yep. These bad boys used to carry nuclear missiles. Today they carry tourists. Awesome!
On the glacier! About to head into the tunnel.
Into the glacier!
The Blue Room inside the glacier. Note that the lighting is not natural. They installed LED lights in the tunnels for visibility. But still super cool!
An ice bar! 150 feet below the glacier’s surface! You can rent it out for special events. We’re thinking a season three premiere party! Who’s coming? 🙂
And there’s even a chapel! They’ve actually had several weddings down here.
Amazing. Beautiful!
Amazing. Beautiful!
Lots and lots and lots of beautiful waterfalls in Iceland! Here are the maginifcent falls called Barnafoss.
Barnafoss
And then…. this. Flew the drone above the roaring, magnificent Gulfoss waterfall. Spectacular!
And then…. this. Flew the drone above the roaring, magnificent Gulfoss waterfall. Spectacular!
Drone + geyser + good timing = magic.
Stopped to take a pic by a volcanic hot spring! Just wound up getting steamed. LOLOL funny funny
And wound the trip up in Icleand’s capital city (and biggest city): Reykjavik! Here’s the iconic Hallgrímskirkja Lutheran Church on a beautiful day!
And wound the trip up in Icleand’s capital city (and biggest city): Reykjavik! Here’s the iconic Hallgrímskirkja Lutheran Church on a beautiful day!
Sunset. West Coast of Iceland. G’nite y’all. <3
I loved Iceland. One night a few years back my husband decided he wanted to see the Northern Lights. So off we went to Iceland in the middle of winter to mark it off his bucket list. And it was a marvelous place to visit. The people were amazingly friendly and the landscape was stunning. And yes, we saw the Northern Lights! Can’t wait to go back and visit in the summer.
So so so wish we could have seen the lights! But there’s always next time. 🙂 But it is such a beautiful place! Cheers Terri!
Toured ICELAND 21 yrs. ago. Would love to go back, but so much other places to go. I had a great trip.
We understand PJ! We’d love to go back as well… but as you said, lots to see before then! Cheers!