Iceland.
Glorious Iceland. Since, let's say...2011, I was becoming more and more interested in visiting that tiny island to find myself a Viking of a man to bring home as a souvenir. A good friend had gone and told me how amazing it was, which initially peaked my interests. Then, it seemed that posts on Iceland started popping up more frequently, with gorgeous photos of irresistible landscapes that I couldn't take my eyes off of. Bands like Of Monsters And Men, Kaleo, and Asgeir entered my life - and if you know me and my obsession with music, it's a pretty damn good selling point to get me to go somewhere. Finally, when I was laid up from ankle surgery, I spent time watching film after film. One of those films (now a definite favorite) was The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I was sold. I had this overwhelming need to visit Iceland: a dream I realized this past September.
Iceland is everything and more of what I could ever ask for in a country. Not too touristy (yet), great food, kind and cheerful locals, and most of all breathtaking landscapes - a photographer's dream destination. The land of fire and ice. On my second day, I was already planning my next trip back.
I suppose my five days in Iceland, I considered my "taster", dip my toes into that country and get a feel for what it is, so I can adventure the hell out of it next time around. So, I kept my base in Reykjavik, and joined various bus tours to visit the places I ultimately needed to see.
Bus tours. Ugh...I was reminded why I stopped doing them. They're great for meeting people, and as a solo chick, that's cool (if you're not as introverted as me), and they're also great for learning about the regions from your local guide. But damn, they suck for photographers and adventurers! There were SO many places I wanted to stop, get out an explore but instead I was limited to taking pictures from the inside of a bus and relishing in a 10 second drive by. Iceland is like waterfall after waterfall after gloriously beautiful waterfall...you don't need to go chasing waterfalls in Iceland, they chase you! And when the bus does finally stop, the guide gives you a mere 20 minutes to cram as many pictures and selfies you can on your camera. I'm the kind of person that likes to take everything in...really experience a place: the sounds, smells, the taste of the air, views...then snap some pictures to refresh my memory of how that place made me feel deep down in my soul. You can't do that in 20 minutes.
That brings me to this month's photo: Skogafoss. Surprisingly, I was never that impressed with photos I had seen of Skogafoss...it just looked like a waterfall. And it was merely a stop on the way to the Jokusarlon Glacier Lagoon. Holy. Shit. Skogafoss was just fantastic, and damn those 20 minutes for making me fall in love with a place, then tearing me from it, not even offering to buy me dinner, or a drink, first.
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| Skogafoss. |
When time allows, you can hike up to the top of the falls...which is absolutely on the itinerary for next time. Skogafoss is massive, so much bigger in person than I could've imagined. And the spray, well considering the water comes from a glacier it was ice cold and incredibly refreshing after sitting for hours on a stuffy bus. The rainbows bursting from the base, the cry of the seagulls, shivering and trying to quickly wipe the spray from the camera lens, running back to the bus dripping wet and freezing cold - I can't wait to go back to Skogafoss and truly enjoy its splendor!
Next time, bus tours are off the table. It'll be me, a car, and the Ring Road...camping, stopping where I want to stop, exploring where I want to explore. My dream vacay.
Happy Trails!
So many theme songs to choose for this blog...but I'm going with Of Monsters And Men because they're Icelandic I adore them :)
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