Iceland 2.0
August 8th, 2018
(Arrival in Iceland, 11am)
After a very uncomfortable and sleepless flight (despite our extra leg room), Camille and I make it to Iceland. Significantly tired we still have a full day ahead of us which includes hours of driving and sightseeing. After some tiresome waiting to get out of the airport area we are finally on the road. We drive through the Golden Circle, headed in the direction of this farm where I know there is good food. Starving, grumpy, and tired we can barely enjoy the scenery around us, and anyways, I have seen it all before — yes this is my second time in Iceland. All i can think about is food and I am anxiously awaiting that overpriced but delicious steak sandwich, I got the first time I went to this farm. After what seems like forever we get there, we have our food, we eat the ice cream that is made from the diary cows downstairs, and life is all of a sudden 100 times better.

We set off again, drive through the geyser area on the Golden Circle (eh), TBH it is not the most exciting thing and there are tourist everywhere.

Next is Gulfoss waterfall, which I enjoyed very much even though it was my second time there. We decided to take a hike around that area and it was really nice to get away from the tourists and appreciate the nature. It was the way I preferred to travel. Slow, intentional, and just enjoying being in the moment.







After the waterfall we made our way to our first guesthouse. The skies and the weather were incredible. There is something about the Iceland sky. It makes me feel so much. So alive and close to the heavens. On our way to the guesthouse we saw some “majestic” horses and stopped to take pictures. Sidebar- the entire theme of this trip was “majestic” and anytime we saw a horse (which was every 2 mins) majestic was termed. We even have a hashtag: #majesticonly. I strongly encourage everyone to adopt this phrase if you ever go to Iceland. So anyways we stop at the majestic horses and they are so friendly and enthusiastic to meet us! We pet them and kiss them and take a million pictures, meanwhile the sky is just doing the most incredible things in the background and life is so good.











When we get to the guesthouse, which is so cute and in such a beautiful area, we are thankful to rest and recoup a bit.


We have plans to go to Gamla Lagoon later but before we know it, it is 9:00 and we are sure the Lagoon closes soon. This mistake is easy to happen upon you if you go to Iceland in the summer. Time has no meaning there. The sun rises at 4am and sets at 11pm and all day in between it feels like the light doesn’t change. One thing is for sure though, if you are lucky with good weather, you will have the most amazing sunsets you’ve ever seen. This day we were blessed with the best sky.


Anyways, we are quite hungry and there is a pizza place next to our room so we head over there. We ask the nice young girl helping us if she knows when the lagoon closes and to our surprise she says it does not close! I said.. Wait are you talking about Gamla Lagoon? And she said “ah no, I thought you were talking about the other one.” Now I will not write the name of it here, even if I could remember it or spell it because this lagoon is a complete secret. It is very small, free, and only known by word of mouth. Excited for something new we head there with our pizza in the back seat. I had no idea what to expect or what kind of people we would find there. I was a bit nervous, like we would not “belong”, and I was thankful for Camille who had the innate ability to break any ice.
When we arrived we were met with the tiniest little hole in the earth and about 8–10 people crowded in there. Oh god, let the anxiety set in, I was not even drunk yet! Camille took the lead, we undressed and made our way into this private party. There were two Icelandic girls there and a bunch of guys. We started up with the girls and although I was quiet, I was starting to feel a little more comfortable as they were really nice. There were a few Germans who were loud and drunk and at first did not talk to us much, and there was a Russian. The Russian. He seemed funny, and up for a good time and offered us his pipe and asked us questions. My initial read on him was that he was good people and I felt more comfortable having a conversation with him as he made me feel less intimidated and more natural. When he found out we were from Texas, the Chuck Norris jokes started rolling in and we couldn’t stop laughing at him and his cute accent. He said he lived and worked in Amsterdam, which got me on the subject of my travel plans… or lack thereof. I was explaining how I was having trouble finding the cheapest flights to Europe, when one of the Germans chimed in, and said I should look at flying into Breman or Dresden with Germania. I had never heard of that airline or either of those places and made a note on my phone. The Russian without hesitation said he could host me if I came to Amsterdam. I made sure to remember to get his contact info…
As the night wore on we were joined by two guys from L.A., who were nice but a little too “LA” for me. One was particularly friendly with me but I wasn’t into it. I need an accent in my life, hello, why else would I bother? Well as the sun was finally setting the girls and the Russian took off (not before I made sure to get his full name), and we were left with the L.A. bros and zee Germans and we all continued to get drunker and funnier as the night wore on. Before we know it, it is almost 2am. I am feeling tipsy, hot, and due to the complete lack of sleep I am fading fast. I signal Camille and we decide to leave the party and make our way home. As we drive back we are so completely excited by how cool we are and what a great first day we had in Iceland. Fuck yeah.






