What part of Eyjafjallajökull don't you understand?!

Our first stop, Iceland.
"I thought you were going to Africa?!" - despite my geography knowledge being fairly poor I am aware that Canada via Iceland isn't the most direct route to South Africa. However, when booking flights to Vancouver to see Ben's grandparents we noticed that IcelandAir offer up to a week of free stopover, so we thought why not break the long flight up with 5 days of exploring a country my Dad has raved about for ages.

Taken on route to the Glacier

A quick sum up our 5 days:
- Landed, picked up hire car drove to Selfoss (largest city in southern Iceland, population 6,000)
- Drove 400mi round trip from Selfoss to Jökulsárlón Glacier.
- Left Selfoss to drive the 'Golden Circle'. Stopped at Kerid Crater, Gullfoss Waterfall, Geysir and Thingvellir National Park. Finished in Reykjavik.
- Explored Reykjavik in the morning, visited the Blue Lagoon in the afternoon then went a little further to Grindavík for Lobster Soup (Icelandic classic) for dinner.
- Spent morning walking around Reykjavik which is a tiny city in comparison to what we are used to. Spent afternoon in our guesthouse packing up and planning our Canada trip.
- Visited the landmark church Hallgrimskirkja, checked out and headed to the airport!

Kerid Crater

What we were prepared for; beautiful landscape, stunning geographical 'stuff' (I did warn you!) and things to be a little pricey. What we got; AMAZING scenery, lots of natural stuff & empty wallets!

Thingvellir National Park

One thing that both of us were particularly taken with is how few people populate the island. On our second day on our mammoth drive we would be driving for about an hour without seeing another car. The towns are far and few between and we struggled to comprehend what day to day life must be like for the locals. And yet there is a real sense of community, and so much laughter! A good friend of mine visited Iceland earlier in the year and told me to expect a 'hipster', trendy scene and that's spot on, they are stylish without trying. Every man has a beard. Everyone wears woollen jumpers. No one was wearing shorts. Ben stood out.

Ben captivated in Reykjavik

So that's the people, but the true pulling factor to this remote land is ultimately the natural beauty. There is a saying in Iceland that 'if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes', and it applies to the landscape as well. One minute you're driving through flat grassland with rolling hills, then the moss covered lava appears (imagine the top of a rocky road cake, with less marshmallow and more green moss), then intrusive mountains with huge glaciers, then you're suddenly in a 50km wide black ash desert. I'm not exaggerating it's mind blowing!

Volcanic ground near the Blue Lagoon

Our best bits have to be:

The sun coming out at the Jökulsárlón Glacier. It needs no explanation as to why.

Despite being a tourist trap we both really enjoyed the natural power and path of the Gullfoss Waterfall as you're able to walk right up and feel the spray from the falls.

The Geysir's are really something to behold. Getting past the smell of rotten eggs the 30m sporadic jets of water really do demand some kind of professional camera, or if you're really keen a drone!

Yes it was busy, yes it's touristy and of course it's expensive (it's in Iceland), but as long as you can bare a bit of full frontal nudity in the showers the Blue Lagoon is so relaxing and worth a bit of English awkwardness.

Lobster soup, an Icelandic delicacy that was worth the trip. Cheap(ish) and we served ourselves, but sat watching the fisherman come in, we knew we weren't being fobbed off with touristy stuff and actually eating what the locals would.

And yet, despite the above memories being wonderful I would say there are a handful of utterly incredible moments that Ben and I will treasure and that's because they were completely unexpected.

We didn't plan on seeing the Northern Lights whilst in a hot tub in Selfoss.

We didn't plan on stopping at a lay-by to take a photo of the view and discovering we were stood in front of Helka, Iceland's most active volcano.

We didn't plan on having a hot chocolate at the Lagoon, leaving enough time for the mist to lift so  we could see the true beauty of the icebergs.

Oh and we didn't plan on spending £30 on two fairy average cooked breakfasts, but we did...

So I guess that's what I'm going to take away from Iceland, that we can't always plan for the best bits. We've learnt, perhaps the hard way, that life will remind us of the lessons we need to be aware of. Yet I endeavour to look forward to the unknown and the uncertain for there are moments that we will stumble upon completely unintentionally that will be for our benefit.

Reflecting on our short trip both of us would say that Iceland is completely and utterly worth the stop, but you either have to go all out and ignore the bank balance or be prepared to have pot-noodle for dinner!

Takk fyrir aò lesa!

Love Melissa xx

Prayer requests:

• that we will be kept safe in bear country - our campsite in particular has high grizzly activity & whilst walking around our site Ben & I saw a wolf. So yeah not to be munched would be fab!
• that the weather would remain good. We both love the snow but I'm not sure our camper van would!
• for our two days of driving next Thursday & Friday (24th/25th) as we head back from Banff to Vancouver
• for the activities Ben and I get up to in Banff, that harnesses work & ropes are secure (more about that in the next post)
• that we would continue to meet new people and be a blessing to all those we encounter