This weekend I got to go on a job sponsored trip to Iceland. I had first been disapointed with the time picked for the trip as we were too late to catch the Icelandic summer, and too early to see the country covered in snow. The reality however was that it was the perfect time to go as there were few other tourist(compared to the rest of the year) and we also caught four days straight of sunny weather in the beautiful fall.
We had picked Loft Hostel as our base for the trip. Situated right on the main street it had the perfect location for our many trips to the nearby restaurants and bars. Even though the nightlife was very vibrant and the seafood excellent it was the activities that made our weekend.
Silfra is a place unique for its diving conditions. It is situated in Thingvellir National Park, in between the continental plates separating Europe and America. The debth of the cracks range from two to fifteen meters and the water running in between has been filtered for 20-30 years through sulfuric ground before it reaches Silfra. This gives an extremely good visibility (100 meters easy), some pretty colorful algae and a feeling if floating in mid air when you dive. I became quite dizzy after two 45 minute dives, but it was an experience worth all the money and the freezing in the cold water.
Horseback riding is another activity that comes highly recommended and is almost a “must do” when in Iceland. This is both because of the beautiful mountains surrounding Reykjavik and also because of the Icelandic horses being quite easy to manage for someone who has not ridden before.
The Golden Circle Tour is a tourist track that pretty much every visitor ends up on. It is not without reason as Thingvellir, Gullfoss(“The Golden Waterfall”) and the Geysers are quite impressive for the non-locals.
All in all Iceland was quite an adventure and I could easily recommend it for anyone looking for a weekend trip different from Paris or Barcelona, or anyone considering a stopover on the way to or from the States.
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