Fireman78
Expedition Leader
Continued from Part 1..
So we were on a farm waiting for a replacement rental car. After about six hours my brother returns with this piece of junk Isuzu. It had no shocks, no breaks, and the motor kept dying on us. In fact, we pushed it across this bridge..
This car wasn't driven again after we arrived in Hofn. It was a death trap. The Hofn Hotel where we stayed was SWEET! About 120 USD, good bar, great drink and food. This is where I had my first shot of "Black Death".... One was enough. The owner of the Hfn Hotel came up to us in the bar and asked if we were interested in watching the Northern Lights! .. Well.. YA!!!!!! Only night we saw them, March 17th.
Our third car. A Skooga. Brand new!!!! We only had it for a few days, cause it was rented from another company for us from our original comapny. But it had studded snow tires, was a diesel, and was sweet !
Black Sand beach, where a glacial river flowed into.. very very cool...
Glaciers.. Lots and lots. HUGE!!!
So, when a volcano erupts underneath a glacier, lots of water is released, causing MASSIVE flooding. These girders were left as a reminder, (used to be a bridge and a town).
They use a lot of round abouts here. Helps keep the flow going well.
I didn't get any pictures of Vik, at the southern tip of Iceland, but they have AWESOME beaches. I want to go back.
These are the Hot Dog stands all over the country. If you don't like hot dogs and Coca Cola , you will by the time you leave!
Something I noticed.. these were the most dangerous stairs in the world. The spray from the waterfall encased it completely. Had this been in the US, there would be closed signs everywhere. Not in Iceland. Here is the way I see it.. if you walk on these and fall and bust your A$%$.. tough luck. I love this place.
Trying to "Walk" on the trail.
Waterfall from the beginning of the movie Prometheius.
Rafting here is a bit extreme. 
Little Geyser
There are NO McDonalds in Iceland. But there is this 35 foot tall mural dedicated to American greed.
There is a very cool place up near Myvatn Lake where lava forms into amazing "Only this place in the world" formations.
I love this, not a tree for hundreds of miles!
Standing IN the mid atlantic ridge. Cool stuff.
Cute little Icelandic Fox
The Saga Museum.
Hekla Volcano
Final Thoughts. Iceland in March can be very windy and very very cold. Bring windstopper stuff. Wool Underwear longjohns, and LAYERS. Face protection too. Like those ski masks. Good gloves. Wind pants, ect. Rent a car at the airport when you get there, OR go through an actual travel agent. Don't rent a car online. Icelanders love plastic, so you really can use credit cards for everything. One note.. I used a "Mastercard Check Card" the entire time, and after I got home was slapped by a bunch of forgien transaction fees by MY bank. My brother on the other hand, used an actual "Credit card", and had no such fees. If you are driving like I did all over, buy a cheap ice chest and go to a market for sandwhich stuff. You probably won't be a able to find a store that actually SELLS ICE. I was looked at crazy when asking. Just grab snow I guess for the ice chest. Meals can be expensive. As in, 80 USD for four people to eat a Thai dinner (small servings). In fact, almost everywhere is smaller servings. There are no buffets, (and, oddly enough, no overweight people either). Make sure you bring a electrical plug thingy if your devices all use US style plugs. Most all Icelanders under age 40 speak english, so that is very nice. These folks are the nicest, most helpful people I have ever met.
Buy a good map and use it. You will need it. I had these two.. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1553412869/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1566955343/ref=oh_details_o06_s01_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Also a guidebook.. I had this one. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1741044553/ref=oh_details_o06_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
If you rent a car, GET A GPS. When using the maps, guidebook and the local GPS in the car, it's pretty easy to figure where you are and where you are going. It's fun attempting to sound out the names though.
There isn't any tipping in Iceland. In fact, I LOVED the fact that the price you see on a price tag is the price you pay, (yes, there are high taxes, but it is all icluded in the price) Even for a hostel, hotel, ect. If it says 15,000 ISK, (about 120 USD), that is what you pay, period. No extra hidden charges anywhere. Nice. People earn living wages so in most cases tipping isn't needed, asked for or in practice.
Icelandic people are smart. They know more about us then we do!
The only US companies I saw in Iceland were Subway, Pizza Hut and Dominos Pizza. Although I refused to eat at these. WOW.. and how can a culture survive with no Walmart?? Amazing.. It was so nice not seeing a Walmart for ten whole days.
Every night we stayed somewhere that had WIFI. This country is connected. As long as you are not interior.
This is the best place we stayed at the entire trip. http://www.centerhotels.com/our-hotels/hotel-arnarhvoll (Our last two nights). Very freindly folks, nice bar at the top floor, amazing views, best breakfast in Iceland and only roughly 120 bucks a night! Plus close to shopping, bars, food, Opera house, ect. Highly recommened.
Costs.. plane tix from Denver.. 500 bucks. Hotels.. roughly 100-120 USD. Small Cabin, about 75 bucks. Guesthouse. 80 US. Tiny no frills hotel.. 60 USD.. Car rental can range anywhere from 225 a day to 65 a day. I will be better next time in this area. Meals... 15-30 bucks per person. However, one can eat at a hot dog stand for 6 -8 bucks. A bus ticket for all over Reyjavik is about 4 bucks. Beers.. 6-10 bucks. If you get a chance to go to one of the local pools (a favorite local hangout) make SURE you shower first without a swimsuit. A real shower too. This is very important. The geothermal pools are so clean and awesome they don't want anyones filth messing them up. I can't recommend Iceland enough. Icelanders are very tolerant and liberal. They accept everyone as long as you go along and are cool. Don't bring macho crap here. Don't be a hater. It is NOT the USA, not even close. Pistols are NOT allowed. And from what I hear only the farmers have rifles, and that is just for the rare time a polar bear drifts over from Greenland. There is almost NO CRIME in Iceland. They may have a homicide once in a decade. There are maybe 60 people in prison total. And from the info I got , most of those are Polish immigrants At least that's what I was told.. People are actually respectful of others here. I am of Norweigian , Swedish and Danish decent, and I have never felt so alive and happy and accepted in my life. It was the best trip ever.
So we were on a farm waiting for a replacement rental car. After about six hours my brother returns with this piece of junk Isuzu. It had no shocks, no breaks, and the motor kept dying on us. In fact, we pushed it across this bridge..
This car wasn't driven again after we arrived in Hofn. It was a death trap. The Hofn Hotel where we stayed was SWEET! About 120 USD, good bar, great drink and food. This is where I had my first shot of "Black Death".... One was enough. The owner of the Hfn Hotel came up to us in the bar and asked if we were interested in watching the Northern Lights! .. Well.. YA!!!!!! Only night we saw them, March 17th.
Our third car. A Skooga. Brand new!!!! We only had it for a few days, cause it was rented from another company for us from our original comapny. But it had studded snow tires, was a diesel, and was sweet !
Black Sand beach, where a glacial river flowed into.. very very cool...
Glaciers.. Lots and lots. HUGE!!!
So, when a volcano erupts underneath a glacier, lots of water is released, causing MASSIVE flooding. These girders were left as a reminder, (used to be a bridge and a town).
They use a lot of round abouts here. Helps keep the flow going well.I didn't get any pictures of Vik, at the southern tip of Iceland, but they have AWESOME beaches. I want to go back.
These are the Hot Dog stands all over the country. If you don't like hot dogs and Coca Cola , you will by the time you leave!
Something I noticed.. these were the most dangerous stairs in the world. The spray from the waterfall encased it completely. Had this been in the US, there would be closed signs everywhere. Not in Iceland. Here is the way I see it.. if you walk on these and fall and bust your A$%$.. tough luck. I love this place.
Trying to "Walk" on the trail.
Waterfall from the beginning of the movie Prometheius.
Rafting here is a bit extreme.
Little Geyser
There are NO McDonalds in Iceland. But there is this 35 foot tall mural dedicated to American greed.
There is a very cool place up near Myvatn Lake where lava forms into amazing "Only this place in the world" formations.
I love this, not a tree for hundreds of miles!
Standing IN the mid atlantic ridge. Cool stuff.
Cute little Icelandic Fox
The Saga Museum.
Hekla VolcanoFinal Thoughts. Iceland in March can be very windy and very very cold. Bring windstopper stuff. Wool Underwear longjohns, and LAYERS. Face protection too. Like those ski masks. Good gloves. Wind pants, ect. Rent a car at the airport when you get there, OR go through an actual travel agent. Don't rent a car online. Icelanders love plastic, so you really can use credit cards for everything. One note.. I used a "Mastercard Check Card" the entire time, and after I got home was slapped by a bunch of forgien transaction fees by MY bank. My brother on the other hand, used an actual "Credit card", and had no such fees. If you are driving like I did all over, buy a cheap ice chest and go to a market for sandwhich stuff. You probably won't be a able to find a store that actually SELLS ICE. I was looked at crazy when asking. Just grab snow I guess for the ice chest. Meals can be expensive. As in, 80 USD for four people to eat a Thai dinner (small servings). In fact, almost everywhere is smaller servings. There are no buffets, (and, oddly enough, no overweight people either). Make sure you bring a electrical plug thingy if your devices all use US style plugs. Most all Icelanders under age 40 speak english, so that is very nice. These folks are the nicest, most helpful people I have ever met.
Buy a good map and use it. You will need it. I had these two.. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1553412869/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1566955343/ref=oh_details_o06_s01_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Also a guidebook.. I had this one. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1741044553/ref=oh_details_o06_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
If you rent a car, GET A GPS. When using the maps, guidebook and the local GPS in the car, it's pretty easy to figure where you are and where you are going. It's fun attempting to sound out the names though.
There isn't any tipping in Iceland. In fact, I LOVED the fact that the price you see on a price tag is the price you pay, (yes, there are high taxes, but it is all icluded in the price) Even for a hostel, hotel, ect. If it says 15,000 ISK, (about 120 USD), that is what you pay, period. No extra hidden charges anywhere. Nice. People earn living wages so in most cases tipping isn't needed, asked for or in practice.
Icelandic people are smart. They know more about us then we do!
The only US companies I saw in Iceland were Subway, Pizza Hut and Dominos Pizza. Although I refused to eat at these. WOW.. and how can a culture survive with no Walmart?? Amazing.. It was so nice not seeing a Walmart for ten whole days.
Every night we stayed somewhere that had WIFI. This country is connected. As long as you are not interior.
This is the best place we stayed at the entire trip. http://www.centerhotels.com/our-hotels/hotel-arnarhvoll (Our last two nights). Very freindly folks, nice bar at the top floor, amazing views, best breakfast in Iceland and only roughly 120 bucks a night! Plus close to shopping, bars, food, Opera house, ect. Highly recommened.
Costs.. plane tix from Denver.. 500 bucks. Hotels.. roughly 100-120 USD. Small Cabin, about 75 bucks. Guesthouse. 80 US. Tiny no frills hotel.. 60 USD.. Car rental can range anywhere from 225 a day to 65 a day. I will be better next time in this area. Meals... 15-30 bucks per person. However, one can eat at a hot dog stand for 6 -8 bucks. A bus ticket for all over Reyjavik is about 4 bucks. Beers.. 6-10 bucks. If you get a chance to go to one of the local pools (a favorite local hangout) make SURE you shower first without a swimsuit. A real shower too. This is very important. The geothermal pools are so clean and awesome they don't want anyones filth messing them up. I can't recommend Iceland enough. Icelanders are very tolerant and liberal. They accept everyone as long as you go along and are cool. Don't bring macho crap here. Don't be a hater. It is NOT the USA, not even close. Pistols are NOT allowed. And from what I hear only the farmers have rifles, and that is just for the rare time a polar bear drifts over from Greenland. There is almost NO CRIME in Iceland. They may have a homicide once in a decade. There are maybe 60 people in prison total. And from the info I got , most of those are Polish immigrants At least that's what I was told.. People are actually respectful of others here. I am of Norweigian , Swedish and Danish decent, and I have never felt so alive and happy and accepted in my life. It was the best trip ever.
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