I went on a 9-day long solo trip to Iceland last month. Well, I started as a solo traveler, but after nine days, I came back with bag full of memories and wonderful friends!
This was my first trip with www.alifetimetrip.com, a Delhi-based travel company which I got to know from a friend. Immediately I got myself registered for it and what actually followed was 'a life time trip'!! 9 days, 7 other solo travelers, 1 SUV, 2600 kms drive, smooth buttery roads, wonderful weather and 1 awesomely beautiful destination ..what more could anyone ever ask for!!
I watched a lot of videos about the country before the trip, read a lot of blogs talking about its beauty and uniqueness, followed instagram handles and I was totally in awe with its natural beauty.
But when I actually visited there, I was literally spellbound seeing the vividness of the landscapes the country had to offer. It was truly 'nature-at-its-best, in-its-purest'.., unadulterated by any kind of human intervention!
It was like a cauldron of all the possible geography phenomena that we studied in school. Rightly called the land of fire and ice, it has everything glaciers, lagoons, black sand beach, volcanoes, craters, moon-like surface, golden color farms, lush green forests, waterfalls, natural hot water springs, ice caves and what not...I even had to google to recall some of the phenomena :P.
Not only that, here, one can view both the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates in Silfra fissure which is one of the only places where you can dive between two continents!! Another interesting thing about the country is presence of natural geysers and hot springs. Since the country has high rate of volcanic activities, it has numerous geysers and hot springs and it was such a satisfying feeling seeing puddle of boiling water suddenly erupting.. again boiling for some time and repeating the process. We also went for mineral rich geothermal pool and steam bath in Myvatn which was an extremely rejuvenating and refreshing experience after the day's long drive.
And the best part of the trip - the northern lights!! It was truly a sight to behold. It seemed like a fairy tale, a dreamy land. The dance of northern lights was indeed a mesmerizing sight! We used to drive miles every night on dark deserted roads, hunting for it, but only once we got lucky to actually witness it! Really, nature has its own way to surprise you everytime!!
Do you know, many of the scenes of the popular series, Game of Thrones were shot in Iceland. I felt as if, I was actually living on the sets of GOT!! Dragon glass ice cave, giant glaciers, vast stretch of meadows, Icelandic horses with long hair, rock caves, fluffy doggos, everything reminded me of some or the other scenes from the series!!
And what to say about its weather...there is a local saying - if you don't like the weather, just wait for five minutes!! And the best part is....,it was true!!
It's been more than a month since I am back from the trip, but still I cant get over it. Guess, I can go on and on but I really got to go now. Always keep the traveler in you ALIVE!!
#BucketList2019
