Day 20: First Day in Iceland
Thursday, May 4, 2017
So this stop is ACTUALLY our last stop before NY. We had an 11am flight to Reykjavik, and that plane ride was very interesting. We flew on WOW Air, and everything was violet! The uniforms, the floors, the seats, the outside of the plane, just everything was violet and I really liked it! It was so vibrant and happy. We also had out most thorough peer-review on the plane which was a good experience. After our peer-review people just talked for the rest of the plane ride about a whole bunch of stuff, which was really nice.
So we are in Iceland for a total of 28 hours, and it's a par 2, which means it's one of the easier legs. We ARE allowed to rent cars for this leg. Which would normally be super great, except my dad doesn't have his license because he lost his phone. So we teamed up with Greg and Catherine. Teaming up with them was a great idea, today was so much fun.
After we got a car and all of that stuff, we headed to our first stop which was the Blue Lagoon. I had never heard of this previously so when we got there I was TOTALLY SHOCKED. This water is so bright and such a light blue. It's freezing outside and the pool/area is totally warm. They have mud masks you put on your face to feel really soft. We did the mud mask and when we washed it off my face felt like a baby's butt with lotion on it. It was very smooth. We only spent an hour there and we wished we had been able to spend more time there because that place was just totally gorgeous, and the water was all natural!!
After we got a car and all of that stuff, we headed to our first stop which was the Blue Lagoon. I had never heard of this previously so when we got there I was TOTALLY SHOCKED. This water is so bright and such a light blue. It's freezing outside and the pool/area is totally warm. They have mud masks you put on your face to feel really soft. We did the mud mask and when we washed it off my face felt like a baby's butt with lotion on it. It was very smooth. We only spent an hour there and we wished we had been able to spend more time there because that place was just totally gorgeous, and the water was all natural!!
By that time it was around 5pm and this is like a mini road trip, so we went to go see some other amazing sites. There was a long period of driving in between all of these. Some of the sites included: Geysir, Gulfoss, first parliament building, and all of those things were beautiful. It was very cold and windy, but seeing all of these things was just so so so amazing. There isn't a ton of amazing greenery, very little people, and yet there is so much beauty in the country. I think that was the coolest part. The economy we live with versus what they live with is very different, and both places are happy.
Overall, I can already tell Iceland is a total highlight of the trip, I would definitely LOVE to come back here. Traveling with Greg and Catherine is a lot of fun (it's nice to have other company) and we get to do our own little carpool karaoke. The Blue Lagoon was totally amazing, and I am just loving Iceland so far. Tomorrow is more driving, and we are leaving for NY, so until next time!! ;)
Daddy's View:
This was an absolute perfect surprise ending to an incredible trip. I was totally ready to go back to NYC after dublin. However, it would have been a bit anti-climactic. Europe is pretty familiar, and while it may be "wow" in some respects, it's.... an expected "wow."
Iceland, on the other hand. Driving around that place had me off-balance - i had literally no analog against which to compare it. I couldn't say "oh it's like this place but with more XYZ." It is like no place I have ever been in my life, geologically, culturally, socially, topographically, historically, demographically, nothing.
So we land in Keflavik, the international airport an hour from Reykjavik, and we debrief and then we go. We're allowed unlimited team-ups and we can rent cars, and we're very explicitly encouraged to "get out of town." So that means the bonuses are going to be worth a lot, and the Reykjavik-based scavenges are going to be less important.
So we rented a car with Greg and Catherine Cervenka. I bought a $25 map in the airport (that was my introduction to "stuff is expensive on an island" economics), we talked with the concessions people, and we laid out a plan for the two days. We were essentially going to hit all the big bonuses far outside Reykjavik and then catch what we could in the city given whatever time we had at the end.
Here's my number one take-home message to my future self, Anita, and everyone reading this: go back to iceland. take some time off, make a concerted effort to want to unplug, go to reykjavik, rent a car, and then just... leave.
A few notable items:
- blue lagoon is that rare travel destination - a touristy attraction that was over-the-top awesome. one of the 25 wonders of the world, it seems impossible for it to feel crowded b/c it's all misty and huge. it's essentially the world's largest natural hot tub. the white is the silica mask that takes years off your face.
- iceland is really, really, really unpopulated. it's disorienting b/c it's a whole country that's sparse. it's not like you're driving in west texas and you'll eventually get to tucson. it's you're driving in west texas and you'll eventually get to... odessa, and that'll be it. it's just a weird feeling. if you get a big map of the country, there are a million little towns on the maps. those are not names of towns. those are people's homes. seriously. in order to get a name on the map, you just need to... live there.
- i had the best hot dog i've ever had in my life there. seriously. life changing. i can't have another brat, sausage, anything, and have it be this good. it was incredible. here it is. i think it's called a pyslur or something.
Daddy's View:
This was an absolute perfect surprise ending to an incredible trip. I was totally ready to go back to NYC after dublin. However, it would have been a bit anti-climactic. Europe is pretty familiar, and while it may be "wow" in some respects, it's.... an expected "wow."
Iceland, on the other hand. Driving around that place had me off-balance - i had literally no analog against which to compare it. I couldn't say "oh it's like this place but with more XYZ." It is like no place I have ever been in my life, geologically, culturally, socially, topographically, historically, demographically, nothing.
So we land in Keflavik, the international airport an hour from Reykjavik, and we debrief and then we go. We're allowed unlimited team-ups and we can rent cars, and we're very explicitly encouraged to "get out of town." So that means the bonuses are going to be worth a lot, and the Reykjavik-based scavenges are going to be less important.
So we rented a car with Greg and Catherine Cervenka. I bought a $25 map in the airport (that was my introduction to "stuff is expensive on an island" economics), we talked with the concessions people, and we laid out a plan for the two days. We were essentially going to hit all the big bonuses far outside Reykjavik and then catch what we could in the city given whatever time we had at the end.
Here's my number one take-home message to my future self, Anita, and everyone reading this: go back to iceland. take some time off, make a concerted effort to want to unplug, go to reykjavik, rent a car, and then just... leave.
A few notable items:
- blue lagoon is that rare travel destination - a touristy attraction that was over-the-top awesome. one of the 25 wonders of the world, it seems impossible for it to feel crowded b/c it's all misty and huge. it's essentially the world's largest natural hot tub. the white is the silica mask that takes years off your face.
- iceland is really, really, really unpopulated. it's disorienting b/c it's a whole country that's sparse. it's not like you're driving in west texas and you'll eventually get to tucson. it's you're driving in west texas and you'll eventually get to... odessa, and that'll be it. it's just a weird feeling. if you get a big map of the country, there are a million little towns on the maps. those are not names of towns. those are people's homes. seriously. in order to get a name on the map, you just need to... live there.
- i had the best hot dog i've ever had in my life there. seriously. life changing. i can't have another brat, sausage, anything, and have it be this good. it was incredible. here it is. i think it's called a pyslur or something.
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