I’m in Iceland celebrating my graduation with my father and brother. We’ve rented a car and will be driving around the entire country for another week, and so far this land of ice (sorry, I had to) has made quite the impression on me.
I’ve been to thirty something countries. Some have stunned me with their architecture and delicious food, others have left me in awe with their friendly locals and rich history.
But in terms of raw, true beauty- I have never seen anything quite like Iceland.
Iceland is fascinating to me because you could hypothetically evict the people, demolish the buildings, know nothing of its Viking history (which is riveting by the way), eliminate the wildlife, and not eat anything remotely good- and it would STILL be worth visiting.
Of course, I’m not suggesting any of those things- that would be cruel and unnecessary- but the point is that the land, the actual physical geography of the country is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream.
We’ve been driving for two days now, and haven’t gone more than two hours without stopping to see a waterfall or glacier, a crater or volcano.
This evening we drove up a hill and I stood at the top with my camera. To the south I had the ocean crashing into a black sand beach, to the north I had bright hills with glaciers and volcanoes beyond them. The sun was still high in the west and the moon was equally out to the east, allowing you to capture either one.
Do you see my predicament?
Where do you point your lense when, at every turn, the scenery just gets more and more beautiful?
Thankfully, between the battery life on my phone, DSLR and GoPro, that’s a purely rhetorical question. I need to go charge all the aforementioned devices, but in the meantime, I’m looking forward to what the rest of this majestic country has to offer.
