R and I flew to Reykjavik on Friday 8 March, to celebrate my 33rd birthday. Because Iceland is so expensive, we only had 2 full days to explore as much as possible. So I decided to pack 20 hours of tours into those 2 days, putting us on a gruelling schedule that meant we were both exhausted by the end of it. But it was totally worth it! We got to see the Gullfoss, Thingvellir National Park, the amazing geysers, some very greedy Iceland ponies, the Blue Lagoon, and some interesting bits of Reykyavik (although I was gutted not to have been to KEX Hostel, home to KEXP radio). We also went on a whale watching tour – we didn’t see any whales, but did see lots of dolphins – and a Northern Lights tour which featured no Northern Lights and left us fearing for our lives after the driver forgot to put the handbrake on when parked on an icy slope. And we also got upgraded to one of our hotel’s finest suites after the cleaning staff left our original hotel room’s door standing open all day. Not happy about the lax security, but very pleased at being able to come back to a luxy room at the end of each long day!
Protip: coat your hair in conditioner before dipping it in the Blue Lagoon (or just don’t get it wet). I spent 5+ days trying to shampoo the silica out of mine and it was hell. Also – keep an eye on your swimmies in the changing rooms (someone walked off with mine) and, if you’re swimming at night, try to avoid the couples in the dark corners. Yes, it happens!
Foibles aside, best holiday ever. Can’t wait to go back.