Land of fire and Ice: Iceland

I really loved the bags the other passengers were carrying. Most of them were carrying rucksacks or sports gear. Nobody I saw was carrying a trolley bag. It seemed to me everyone was on an expedition or an adventure. I boarded the flight and soon I was on my way to my dream destination. Iceland.

It was a long flight. It would take nearly four hours to reach Reykjavik. After three hours of sitting, I thought of going to the washroom. When I was returning back to my plane seat, I saw most of the people on the plane were trying to look out from the window. There was something. Was it the Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis? I ran back to my seat. Luckily mine was a window seat. There were two ladies beside me. One from Portugal and another from Belgium. I just jumped back to my seat.

There was some activity in the skies. These were like flares, which were dancing. Quickly I took out my DSLR camera and clicked one photo. Lo and below, the sky was green in the photo that I clicked. It was magic. Again I clicked. I changed the settings of the camera and again clicked. Each time it was different. I tried to make a video of the phenomena but nothing showed when I played back. With my mobile phone, I was not able to capture any photo of Northern Lights. The Portuguese girl next to me seemed very excited.

-      Yes this is the Northern Lights. You have successfully captured it. Will I hold your mobile phone? She asked me.

-          No you don’t need to now.

-          Congratulations. The lady from Belgium cried out.

I was so happy. I have seen the Northern Lights and captured them on my camera. Yes my trip is successful, even before I have landed in Iceland. We alighted from the plane. The Belgian lady gave me a big hug and again congratulated me.

-          So how are you going to your hotel? She asked me.

-          I have booked my journey to hotel on Flybus, a tour operator that will take me to my hotel.

Flybus is an organization which has large number of buses at their disposal. They arrange for a pick up and drop off from the airport to hotel. They also arrange various tours in Iceland. Taxi service is very expensive in Iceland. It would take nearly an hour to reach my hotel or hostel, Hostel Village from Keflavik International Airport.

I came out of the airport at 9 PM and saw a number of Flybus buses waiting outside. It was very cold outside. The temperature read one degree Celsius.

-          Which bus would go to Reykjavik?

-          All of them, but this one would go first.

I showed my internet tickets to the driver and boarded the bus.  There was a mobile charger in the bus. When the bus reached BSI terminal, downtown main bus stand of Reykjavik, the driver announced the various color codes of the different hotels. We have to board that colored van corresponding to our hotel. Mine was Hostel Village and my color code was green.

I reached my hostel within 5 minutes from BSI Terminal. It was very dark outside but I recognized my hostel immediately. I had seen photos of the hostel in the internet.  

The next morning when I woke up I saw it was raining. Today I have booked two tours. One was the golden circle tour and the other, a late night tour, the Northern Lights tour. This I had booked through a tour operator called Reykjavik Sightseeing. There were charging me 11000 ISK for these two tours.

It was time to have some breakfast. There was a canteen in our hostel. I went there to explore what options I had over there. There was milk and cornflakes. There was also tea, butter, jam and hot water. I have to make my own breakfast over here. There were no options outside the hostel.  I had some cornflakes and some milk.  

My Golden Circle tour was booked at 10 AM. Pick up would start from 9:30 AM from bus stop number 11. This bus stop was a five minute walk from my hostel. It was now 8:45 AM. So I thought to visit the Reykjavik cathedral, Hallkingrimska. This was near to my hostel and could be seen from my hostel itself. I went outside after completing my distasteful breakfast. At a very brisk pace I started walking towards the cathedral. It was an uphill climb.

The architecture of the cathedral was very beautiful. There was a statue of an explorer in front of the cathedral. It is said that he visited the Americas much before Christoper Columbus did. I clicked some photos over here. I have heard that the view of the cathedral is really very beautiful. I did not had any time left to go inside the cathedral. It was nearing 9:15 AM. I had to run back to hostel.

At 9:28 AM I reached bus stop number 11. The bus came exactly at 9:30 AM. 

-          I have a tour booked today with you guys. I told the driver.

-          You are Gairik Mukherjee. The driver asked.

I nodded.

-          Hop in.

-          So how long you would have waited. I asked him.

-          Two more minutes and then left.

This was a van and after picking up some more people the bus stopped at one location. From here we were transferred to a big bus. After that we started on our Golden Circle Tour.

Our first stop was at Thingvellir National Park.

-          We will drop you at a location at Point A. From there you have to trek to a location called Point B. The bus would be waiting for you guys at Point B. If you do not want do this trek, you can stay in this bus. Our tour guide instructed us.

-           So can have our breakfast over here? A fellow passenger asked.

-          Yes. Refreshments and washrooms are that way and those of you want to do this trek follow me. If you get lost in the trek route always remember that you can see me from a long way off, a tall idiot with blue sunglasses and a bald head.

I had to go to the washroom, but after coming out I saw the bus had vanished. Our bald headed tour guide was also nowhere to be seen.

-          They must have started on the trek and they are just in front of me. I told myself.

There was a platform from where you can see the whole landscape. I could see so many lakes though it was cloudy that day. It was scenic and beautiful and after enjoying the view I started my trek. The path was between two solid rock walls. It had started raining. Everything now was feeling cold and wet. I have also lost my team members.

-          They are just a few meters ahead of me. Again I told myself.

I was now walking at a brisk pace. At some point I even started running. My guide was nowhere to be seen. I was following the path and now my hope was reaching Point B and a hope that my bus would be waiting for me.

-          In case if I get lost, then I can go back to Point A and get a taxi to take me to Reykjavik. I assured myself.

I saw some people ahead of me. With my pace of walking, I soon managed to catch up with them.

-          Hey, are you guys from the tour group “Reykjavik Sightseeing”? I asked them.

-          No we are not.

I have now reached a point where I could see some buses. The trek route didn’t stop there. I could see a waterfall further ahead.

My bus was not there. There were buses from other tour operators. Do I have to go to the waterfall to reach Point B or the place where the buses are standing is Point B? I didn’t know that. I have to make a decision.

I would wait at this point itself. Going further ahead would mean, taking a bigger risk because I could see buses are waiting here and not in front of the waterfall. Moreover I could take a lift in one of these buses and reach Reykjavik. Again, trekking from here to Point A is easier. Going to the waterfall would mean going further away from Point A. So. I started waiting.

Finally after 10 minutes, my bus arrived. I heaved a sigh of relief. I have reach Point B much before everyone did. After 10 more minutes my tour group arrived. After that our bus again started on its way. Next stop would be Strokkur, an erupting geyser just like Old Faithful in USA. Though this one is much bigger.

We reached Strokkur after an hour. This time I would not leave my tour guide. Wherever he would go, I would follow. The bus stopped at a place and we had to walk some meters to reach Strokkur. There were so many people waiting for the geyser to erupt.

Then suddenly it erupted. Whooossh !! A massive jet of spray and white foam reaching up to a height of around. My target would be to video shoot this eruption on my camera. I had to wait for 2 to 3 minutes to capture this spectacle and I had all this on my camera. We had an hour over here and I had lunch in one of the restaurants. It was very costly.

Again we started on our way. Next stop would be Gulfoss. An enormous waterfall and some say it is bigger than the Niagara Falls. At one point of time there was a plan to generate hydro-electricity from this waterfall, but the idea never materialized.

I started walking towards the waterfall. I had to trek for some time to reach near the waterfall. There was a downward climb and then an upward climb. The path was wide but very crowded. The waterfall was beautiful and enormous. This was supposed to be our last stop before heading back to Reykjavik.

We reached Reykjavik at around 4 PM. There was still plenty of light. I got a message in my mobile that Northern Lights tour was cancelled today because of rain. I had no regrets as I had already seen the Northern Lights. I decided to go to Hallkingrimska cathedral once again.

Suddenly I read the words “Sundoll” in one of the buildings on the way. I had read about Sundoll before coming to Iceland and now I see it is just near to my hostel. It is a geothermal pool and there are public baths inside. I went inside and bought my ticket.

-          You are not allowed to roam here with your clothes on. An elderly man told me.

Yes. I saw everyone was naked over here. I could even see a naked woman some paces away.

-          Go and leave your clothes over there and then come over here and take your shower before going to the pool. The elderly man advised me.

I left my clothes in the locker and had a shower. After that I wore my swim suit and came outside in the pool area. The water was soothing and bubbling hot. Then I lay in there in the pool for quite some time with the starry sky over me. The night sky was enchanting.

I had to start very early from my hostel the next day.  Again I went to bus stop number 11. My bus was to arrive at 7 AM and so it did. I hopped in the bus with my bag. I showed my tickets to the driver. Today I was to go to Jokursarlon, the iceberg lagoon.

We reached in front of a waterfall after 3 hours of bus travel..

-          This is Seljalandsfoss waterfall. You can go behind this waterfall. The bus would wait here for forty minutes. The conductor announced.

I got out from the bus. It was cold outside. The scenery outside was beautiful. I took some pictures of this waterfall.

I started my trek to go behind the waterfall. As I neared the waterfall, the path was getting slippery. Behind the waterfall was very beautiful.

The path on the right hand side of the waterfall was very slippery and dangerous. I had to climb a rock and it was wet. My shoes had good grip so I was sure of my footing. To be in Iceland, you need to have good quality shoes.

The bus again started on its way. It did not take long to go to our next stop. It was another waterfall, Skogafoss waterfall.

-          Oh! What is that? A rainbow. In fact a double rainbow. I shouted.

-          Take my photo. Take my photo with the rainbow. I pleaded a fellow passenger.

The bus again started on its way. Next stop would be the Diamond Beach. On the way we passed Vatnajokull Glacier. It is the biggest glacier in Europe. On the way to the Diamond Beach we stopped at a restaurant.

We reached Diamond Beach at around 2 PM. What a wonderful scenery all around! Is that an iceberg floating in the sea? Wonderful. The beach was covered in black sand.

And then all of a sudden it started. The wind was so fierce that it almost seemed it will blow me away to the ocean. There were ice crystals on the beach.

The wind was getting fiercer. The sand from the shore was creating an icy cold dust storm which was biting and painful to feel on the face. My hair was covered with this black sand.  It was getting dangerous. I took some hurried pictures on the beach. It almost seemed it will blow away my mobile and camera.

Inside the bus, it was more pleasant and comfortable. The wind outside was now howling. Nature was at its furious best. The bus again started on its way and it stopped again after 10 minutes. We have reached the final point of our journey. We have reached Jokursarlon, the iceberg lagoon.

My luck that I would not be able to take a boat ride amidst icebergs, and all because of this wind. I don’t think I would be able to take as many pictures over here. The wind will not allow it. Still I managed to take some good pictures.

There was a small mountain nearby. I climbed that mountain, in order to have a better view and to take better pictures. Again the wind did not allow that to happen. All the videos that I captured was very shaky.

At some distance away there was a bridge. I went towards that bridge. At one point it did seem that the wind will blow me away towards the glacier. I hid behind a bridge pillar. A man was trying to walk in front of me. It seemed to me that he was struggling with the wind. It was now time to go back to the bus. When the wind slowed down a bit, I ran towards the bus.

After all the fellow passengers came back, our bus again started on its way. Now we would return back to Reykjavik but we will have a short stop at an Icelandic village called Vik. Legend has it that three trolls turned to stone in this village and these would be found near to the sea shore.

After 2 hours we reached Vik. The bus would stop here for another 40 minutes before reaching Reykjavik. It was fun strolling on the beach. Here too there was black sand.  

Our bus dropped us at Reykjavik at around 8:30 PM. Next day I have to wake up very early to catch my 7 AM flight to Copenhagen. For that I have to board the bus from Reykjavik at 4 AM and wake up at 3:30 AM. I was feeling a bit nervous because in case the bus didn’t come I will miss the flight.

The bus did come at 4 AM sharp and I was on my way to my next destination, Copenhagen.