Summary

A group embarks on a daring 10-day road trip around Iceland during the winter, facing challenging weather conditions and adjusting their plans accordingly.

Abstract

In "An Amazing Road Trip: Best of Iceland (Part 1)," the author recounts the beginning of an adventurous journey through Iceland in the heart of winter. Despite initial doubts and warnings from others who had their trips thwarted by severe weather, the group decides to brave the elements. They plan to circumnavigate the country via Route 1, known as the Ring Road, in just ten days. The narrative starts in Reykjavik, with the travelers celebrating small victories like making it to their hotel amidst a blizzard. The weather eventually clears, rewarding them with a day of stunning skies and the opportunity to visit iconic sites like the Geyser and Gulfoss. The article includes personal photographs and promises further details in subsequent parts of the series.

Opinions

The author and their friends are characterized as adventurous and somewhat unconventional for choosing to visit Iceland in winter.
There is an underlying sense of humor and camaraderie in the face of adversity, particularly when comparing their experience to that of another group who barely left their hotel.
The group's decision to drive around the entire country is seen as a bold and exciting challenge.
The author expresses a mix of apprehension and excitement about the trip, acknowledging the potential for both regret and unforgettable experiences.
The weather is personified as capricious, with the travelers at the mercy of the "weather gods," and their successful navigation is celebrated as a triumph over these forces.
The author's pride in their photography is evident, as they emphasize that all pictures were taken by them, without the use of stock images.

An Amazing Road Trip: Best of Iceland (Part 1)

Our story of a road trip around the entire country in 10 days — in the middle of Icelandic Winter!

Dreams come in many forms, some of them look like a road trip in Iceland!

Part 1 — Hello Reykjavik!

Why would anyone go to Iceland? In the middle of winter? Those were my thoughts when a couple of friends suggested going to Iceland in February!

We are a bunch of crazy people, so of course, we convinced ourselves that we should do this. It could end up as a huge regret or a crazy adventure — only one way to find out!

A week before we were due to fly, a couple of other colleagues went to Iceland. The weather was so bad (even by Icelandic standards), the only thing they could manage to do was drive from the Airport to their hotel and safely come back three days later (that was a 45km x 2 drive).

They had a beautiful view from the hotel window overlooking the parking lot! Poor them, that is all of Iceland they saw in 3 days.

On the day we flew, we met them at the Airport. I don’t remember exactly where, but they were flying somewhere in Spain to recover from their horrible trip to Iceland a few days ago.

They wished us good luck and burst into laughter when we told them we were going away for ten days. Looking at the parking lot for ten days isn’t pretty in any country! They had a good reason; the weather prediction was terrible!

We had to agree on the best way to explore Iceland, and since our crazy levels were going through the roof, we, of course, decided that we would drive around the entire country in 10 days! There is one major highway/motorway that covers the whole island, and it is conveniently numbered as 1. So, just drive along road 1, and then you’ve seen most of the country.

It was beautiful weather when we arrived, a bit of a blizzard and some rain to help improve the morale. The expectations were set — if we made it from the Airport to the Hotel, we should count it as a success! With the 5–7 m visibility, we somehow arrived and even made some instant noodles to celebrate the first victory! This much was clear; we would need a lot more luck with the weather!

Hey, but our bravery needed to be rewarded, right! It is unfair if all we got was crappy weather for the entire trip. The weather gods were fair to us the next day, and they gave us a beautiful day! It was as if the skies have never seen the clouds!

We started driving towards some of the most photographed places in the world — Geyser & Gulfoss!! More on that in the next part!

Leaving you with a couple of pictures including our map!

Picture 1: Map of our trip, this is how we planned the trip, we needed to make some adjustments forced by my stupidity & weather gods!

Picture 2: The morning, when we started to drive. Sky was clear!

Picture 3: Geyser, the place your water heaters took their name from!

All pictures were shot by me — no Pexels in this one!

This is a multi part series. The links all the posts are here: Part 1, Part2 ,Part 3 and Part 4.

Thanks to Russell Salsbury for picking this title from my post asking for help — https://readmedium.com/what-do-you-want-to-read-about-19493c1353a0

Thank you for reading. Please do follow me/subscribe to emails here. If you are not yet a member, you can join in and get access to the work of thousands of writers, use the link here!