ICELAND

Iceland has been on my list of countries to visit. I gifted my son and his wife a honeymoon in Iceland, but somehow, I never got to it until a few months ago. During these dog days of summer in Boston, where we put up with several heat waves, the cooler temperature of Iceland may seem like a relief.

Iceland is advertised as a land of fire and ice, but what I did not know was that it is also a country full of stories of elves, trolls, the Yule lads, and, most importantly, it boasts of being the first country in the world to elect a woman president.

I did not read about Iceland before my trip. On the way over, I watched a few short documentaries about the elves, Icelandic horses, and the day Iceland stood still because the women went on strike on October 24, 1975. The last impressed me with the courage of the Icelandic women to make their voices heard. The massive strike was known as Women’s Day Off (Kvennafri), when 90% of Icelandic women refused to work, cook, or care for the children, highlighting the importance of women in society. It brought gender inequality to the forefront and led to the passage of the first Gender Equality Act in 1976. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir became the world’s first female elected president in 1980.

What I also found was how difficult and impossible to spell and pronounce Icelandic words.

I arrived a day before my trip and immersed myself in a relaxed geothermal bath at the Blue Lagoon. Back in Reykjavik, I wandered in the forest, walking to Perlan, and ran into a hare. On the evening of Good Friday, I went with a group in search of the Aurora Borealis. I was thrilled to experience the magical lights after my experience in Fairbanks, Alaska.

The next day, our tour guide, Andres, met us. There were only three of us: Leigh from South Africa, Mike from Germany, and me, an intimate group. We traveled along the Hvalfjörður Whale Bay in West Iceland to Borgarnes, hiked the Grábrók volcano crater, and visited Glaumbær, which is supposed to be one of Iceland’s most beautiful turf house farms and folk museums. We arrived at Akureyri after traveling through many mountain passes. That night, the highlight was the display of the Aurora Borealis.

In the morning, I visited a public outdoor swimming pool with pools of varying temperatures, and went down the water slides, feeling like a kid. Amid my travels, I forgot that it was Easter Sunday and failed to go to church until Andres took us to visit a local church, which we could only see from the outside; it was closed, and the service was over.

We visited a small garden run by a group of women. The warm temperature has not arrived, so the plants remain dormant. Akureyri, the capital of North Iceland, is quaint with some old houses by the harbor. We drove along the Eyjafjörður fjord, enjoying the spectacular views, and saw Goðafoss, the waterfalls of the Gods, tumble over rugged rocky surfaces. A beautiful white ptarmigan blended into the snowy rocks. We ended the day relaxing in the geothermal Mývatn Nature Baths.

The next morning, we hiked in the lava labyrinth, the dark castles at Dimmuborgir, where trolls were said to live. Andres told us about the Yule lads, they are like 13 Santa Clauses of Iceland and start to bring gifts to the children 13 days before Christmas on the window sills. If the children were bad, they received the dreaded potatoes. From afar, we saw the tephra cone Hverfjall. We hiked along a lake to see the strange lava formations at Kálfaströnd and then onto the pseudo craters at Skútustaðir, numerous craters scattered over a vast area.

In the afternoon, as we approached the hot spring area of Námaskarð with its bubbling mud pools and steaming solfataras, the strong smell of sulphur was unmistakable. It was otherworldly. After that, we stopped briefly to view the Rjúkandafoss and then headed through the uninhabited highlands and moonlike surroundings to East Iceland. Parts of it were covered with snow.

On Day five, we explored the twisty roads along the dramatic East Fjords, dotted with tiny fishing villages, ending at a museum of stone and mineral collections. By the harbor of Djúpivogur at Gleðivík or Merry Bay, 34 huge granite eggs representing the eggs of each of the nesting birds, including the migratory ones flying from faraway places to lay their eggs in Iceland. Sigurður Guðmundsson, the artist, called his work Eggin í Gleðivík - the Eggs at Merry Bay. 

In the afternoon, we could glimpse Vatnajökull – Europe’s biggest glacier visible all over Southeast Iceland, and spotted reindeer, horses, migratory birds, and many swans.

We stopped at Jökulsárlón, a glacial lagoon filled with floating icebergs, and walked on the Diamond Beach where more large icebergs were stranded.

On Day 6, we traveled along the southern part of the glacier Vatnajökull in Europe’s largest national park, with Iceland’s highest mountains, an alpine environment, and Europe’s largest glacier. The towering mountain cliffs, glaciers, and waterfalls tiered over the vast Eldhraun lava field and the sandy desert of the south coast.

At Vik, after a hot soup, we went to an Icelandic Lava Show, saw, and felt the heat of the molten lava. Up the hill, the red-roofed church was difficult to miss. We strolled along the black Reynisfjara beach by the basalt cliffs known for their dramatic black sand, hexagonal basalt columns, and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks, formed from cooled lava awed me with their geological formations. Andres watched us like a hawk, fearing the turbulent waves would take us to sea. 

In the small village of Skógar is the 60-meter-high Skógafoss waterfall, where I spotted a double rainbow. We continued onto the last waterfall of the day, the high but narrow Seljalandsfoss, which plunged over the mountain. A trail led you behind the fall.

On day 7, the last day of our guided tour, we took the Golden Circle route. At Friðheimar, we visited a geothermal greenhouse and a stable for Icelandic horses. They are the cutest horses, just the right size for me.

At the Geysir geothermal fields, hot springs and bubbling pools popped up. The Strokkur of “the Churn” erupted every 5-7 minutes. Gullfoss, “the golden falls“, is a double waterfall that tumbles 34 meters into the Hvítá river.

Traveling inland to Þingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, we visited the Icelandic Rift of Silfra, a fissure or crack created by earthquakes caused by the movement of the North American and Eurasian plates.

In the afternoon, we arrived at Reykjavik, visiting the outside of the Hallgrimskirkja, the "Viking Ark" in Reykjavik, also known as the Sun Voyager (Sólfarið), and strolling in the center of town.

The next day, before heading home, I went up to the top of the church​ to have a view of Reykjavik.

On the way back to the hotel, I sat on the Elf’s Stone, covered with coins and other paraphernalia, to contemplate. Remembering what Andres said about how sometimes the elves kidnapped humans into their realm, I quickly clambered down. I didn’t want to be snatched off the earth. My wallet was emptied of coins, so I left my card with pictures of my three published books on the elf’s stone. Perhaps the elves heard me, a few days ago, I signed a contract for another book, with a tentative title, The Americanization of an International Student.

Our guide, Andres Andresson, gave us an intimate tour of his country. I will return to Iceland during the next solar eclipse in August 2026.

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