Glorious South Iceland

My wanderlust self never felt so happy to be in 1 place as it did by the time we arrived at our house in Vik in the heart of southern Iceland. We had been on the road a lot and packing and repacking each day for a few days. While that is necessary to see a lot of places, it is also emotionally and mentally taxing. We were all excited to be able to settle in to our house for 3 nights. We went grocery shopping and unpacked all of our crap, I mean luggage, from our car and pulled out the map to see where we would be exploring the next few days.

                                           

Southern Iceland is the mecca of outdoor adventure in Iceland! Our first stop was Jokulsarion Glacier Lagoon! We got up close and personal with beautiful ice blue glaciers laying on a black sand beach. It was such a cool experience to listen to the waves crash over the glaciers just like the waves crash on the shore of my beach at home. Boats take travelers out in the lagoon for a fee, but I personally preferred my free walk along the shore.

       

       

      

      

As we drove back toward Vik, we had to stop to take pictures of the field of purple lupine. We had seen this flower everywhere from the time we left Reykjavik, but between the glacier lagoon and Vik was a huge field of lupines with a breathtaking view of the snowcapped mountains.

      

Vik was a much smaller town that I thought it would be, but it had a little bit of everything. We stopped at the Iceland Wool factory and shopped for locally made wool items and peaked in the factory then we drove up to the beautiful red roof church sitting on the hill overlooking Vik. The purple lupines decorated the front lawn of the church and the church cemetery on a higher hill provided beautiful views of Vik and the beaches in the distance.

      

Once we saw the black sand beaches in the distance we new we had to go out there! The rock formations that are out in the water are called Reynisdrangar. This was honestly one of my favorite places and experiences throughout our journey. I was born and raised a beach girl so nothing revives my soul like sitting on a beach and watching the waves come and go. I laid down on the black sandy pebbles and let the realization sink in that I was half way across the world laying on a pure black colored beach. God created this beach in Iceland just like He created my beach in North Carolina. What a moment!

      

                     

Day 2 in Southern Iceland brought clear blue skies and sunshine! Hallelujah! We were determined to find the abandoned airplane we had read about and we knew it wasn't far from our house. We followed the directions and found a small sign that confirmed we were going the right way even though we questioned it as we entered the gates to a black sandy field. We followed the tire tracks until we finally saw our destination. In 1973, a U.S. Navy plane crashed on the beach when it ran out of fuel. Everyone survived the crash and the plane remains where it landed during the crash. There were a couple of other cars out there exploring the plane with us, but we were able to climb in and on the plane and take some great pictures.

      

      

      

Summer had been anticipating our next stop since we began planning our trip...mighty Skogafoss! This waterfall was incredible and we were lucky enough to see a double rainbow at the base of the falls. 

                                 

Since our house was so close, Summer stayed at Skogafoss to climb to the top and take more photos and the rest of us went on back to the house to organize all of our mess and rest. On our way back to pick up Summer we stopped at a little coffee shop that turned out to be a really cute quaint local restaurant. We had coffee and a coconut curry soup that was to die for! Morgan, Shelby, and Summer went off to explore 2 more waterfalls and I definitely regret not going, but I couldn't take more car time. Their waterfall was in a cave and even though they got soaking wet, their pictures were incredible!

       

                                     

          

    

Day 3 brought my most anticipated activity...snorkeling! Now I know you're scratching your head wondering why and where would we go snorkeling in Iceland...between the tectonic plates of the continental divide, of course! We had to adorn lovely dry suits that were not the least bit flattering, but they kept us semi warm and dry as we plunged into 30 degree water. It was such as amazing experience to be able to see clearly down at least 70 feet in the water! We saw a lot of coral and rock formations and seaweed floating around. 

                                                       

   

After snorkeling, we basked in the sunshine in Pingvellir National Park and enjoyed laying in the grass napping and talking before we loaded up for our last car ride and our last night in Reykjavik. 

    

Our last night in Iceland had to be done right so we showered and cleaned up nicely and prepped for our last night on the town! We wandered the city until we found a nice restaurant that looked appealing. We feasted on fantastic seafood and recapped our trip. It was a clear night so we were anticipating an Iceland "sunset" so we stopped for coffee and dessert at The Laundrymat to keep us energized to stay up late enough to watch the sky change colors. We had all read different blog comments about The Laundrymat and it was definitely worth going! It was a fun environment with fabulous coffee milkshakes! 

                      

  Summer had been talking about the Sun Voyager and I had no clue what she was talking about until we arrived at the beautiful sculpture by the water. The sculpture was situated perfectly to capture the sun set between the forks. We sat on the rocks by the water and watched the sun move diagonally in the sky toward the horizon. It was crazy to be watching a sunset at 12:30am, but we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful end to our last night in Iceland! 

       

       

Our journey through Iceland was nothing short of a glorious adventure. We pushed ourselves outside of our comfort zones, survived hostels, driving crazy roads, living with minimal wifi, and sharing 1 bathroom for 10 days. We survived and new friendships were made as we explored God's creation in the Land of Fire and Ice. 

        

  
Photo Credits: Shelby Goione, Morgan Leatherwood, Summer Saunders, Christina Hawkins

Holland America Cruisetour - Cruise Day 4

August 18, 2012

     Docking in Skagway meant the end of our cruise portion of our vacation. Each cruisetour group met in the Frans Hal Theatre to meet our tour concierge, Marc Oxborrow. By the way, I learned the difference between a tour director and a tour concierge…a tour concierge takes care of your luggage so it magically appears in your hotel room each day while a tour director does not. Pay attention to what your travel agent is saying or what you are reading in a brochure. Marc has worked for Holland America for 7 years. We disembarked the Holland America Volendam by 8am and stowed our luggage at our hotel, the Westmark Inn. Roy and I spent the morning wandering the 3 streets of Skagway…the towns keep getting smaller the further into Alaska we get! There were lots of souvenir shops, jewelry stores, restaurants, and saloons. The town of Skagway has approximately 2600 people living there during the summer months, May through September. After the last cruise ship leaves, Skagway becomes a ghost town and dwindles to 800 year round residents. I thought getting off the ship would be so great because I would have Wi-Fi but then I learned that Skagway doesn’t have Wi-Fi. Nowhere. In the whole town. I’m serious.

 

 

     To get over this let down of no Wi-Fi or cell service, I went rock climbing. Little Miss Nature Lover (I hope you sense the sarcasm) climbed in a van with a bunch of adrenaline junkies and put on a harness and climbed a rock face. I can’t believe I did it either. The other excursions looked really boring to me and I figure if I’m ever going to try rock climbing it sure wouldn’t be in Wilmington so I might as well try it in Alaska. I survived and I actually made it to the top of the rock wall not once but twice! It was fun until about ¾ of the way up you realize you are scared of heights! I can’t say that I will jump at the chance to go rock climbing again but I can say that I have done it and survived. Roy chose a less intense excursion in Skagway and he went on a drive North to a suspension bridge and short hike that ended with a salmon bake…what was I thinking deciding on rock climbing, right?! He saw black bears and beautiful mountains and lakes and ate his fill of salmon. While Roy feasted on salmon, I ventured to the Red Onion Saloon and ate one of their famous personal pizzas.

Feeling Adventurous?

     May 2011 I was in the midst of paradise, Hawaii. It was the most amazing vacation! I was lucky enough to get the last spot on a AAA Exclusive Adventure group trip to Kauai and Oahu. We spent 5 days exploring Kauai and 3 days hitting the highlights of Oahu.

The word, adventure, seems to scare people. They seem to think that when travel agents talk about adventure travel trips that we are trying to send you on a trek up Mount Everest. We're not! I promise! Now, we can certainly arrange that for you if you are interested, but adventure travel applies to more than you think.
     Adventure travel does not have to mean hiking, kayaking, or cycling. Sometimes adventure is simply a state of mind; being open to new cultures, foods, experiences. Traveling outside of the box. G Adventures offers amazing itineraries that highlight culinary experiences in Tuscany, local living programs in Guatemala, and overland safaris in Africa. These tours provide incredible cultural adventures without high intensity activity.
     I will be the first to admit that I am not a high intensity adventure girl. I thoroughly enjoy being active and trying new things, but I am not prepared to repel from cliffs or bungee jump from bridges. My travel buddies quickly figured out that I don't make 10 mile hikes or mountain biking a part of my normal weekend activity. However, I jumped right in and was ready to act the part of a true outdoorsy girl and keep up with the pack!
     In Kauai, we went hiking 6 miles in to the Waimea Canyon on our first day as a warm up. It was a little muddy, but I put on my ugly hiking shoes, slipped and slid down the hills and felt very proud of myself as I led the group back to the van - even though my group teased that I was just ready to go back to the hotel.

 

Day 2 of hiking was hot! We hiked 9 miles out of the Waimea Canyon on the Nualolo Overlook to the Lolo Vista which overlooked the Na'Palii Coast. The hike was up and down a trench-like path and finally ended at the most breathtaking lunch spot above aquamarine water and beside the infamous palis.

 

As we prepared for our kayak adventure on the Na'Palii Coast, we took our Dramamine, packed our waterproof bags, and lathered on the sunscreen. I was partnered with a 6'5" guy who's' arm stroke was 1 for every 2-3 of my arm strokes. Needless to say, Austin and I struggled to get in sync but we made the best of it and even yelling "huli" as our kayak tipped over after being hit by a wave was fun! I was definitely a little nervous about kayaking 17 miles along the Na'Palii Coast, but the experience of paddling alongside the towering palis and exploring sea caves and watching a sea turtle swim under my kayak was a feeling I will never forget!
 

 

Hawaii was a dream destination for me - a girl who has the ocean running through her soul - crystal clear waters, sunshine every day, minimal humidity (no frizzy hair for 10 days!), and no bugs! Yes, I said no creepy crawlies! I can't wait to return to "island life" and explore the other 4 Hawaiian islands!