Iceland: the beginning of a love for the north.

I have to start by telling you how this trip was even planned, because it says it all.
This was an escape from burnout, from a life that didn’t suit me.

I planned and booked everything just two weeks before the flight.
I was alone, lost, and searching for peace.

When I was landing, I was stunned just by looking out of the airplane window: old lava fields merging with the ocean and ancient volcanoes rising in the distance.
It was like being in a real-world saga!

Once I set foot on the ground, I just took my backpack and went to the rental office to pick up my car.
I drove for two to three hours before reaching my bed for the night, and the scenery was stunning, even though it was raining and extremely windy.

The first night, I stayed at Fosshotel Núpar, a stunning single-story hotel (probably due to the wind) in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by glaciers and mountains.

Photo taken from the web

The next day, I was just driving and wandering along the road to my second destination: Fosshotel Vatnajökull, literally at the foot of the eponymous glacier (the biggest in Europe).
From the road, on that cloudy day, I was only able to see glimpses of the greatness of the mountains and the glacial tongues of Vatnajökull.
The clouds were playing with me, hiding all that beauty in a mysterious, magical, and moody atmosphere.

hen it was time for the glacier lagoon, one of the most iconic (and unfortunately, most touristy) places in southern Iceland.
While writing this and looking back at the photos I took, I’m realizing that I only took a few, not as many as usual during my trips.
I was probably so in awe that I forgot to press the shutter button…
Actually, that day, I didn’t take a single shot of the glacier lagoon due to the foggy weather I encountered, but luckily, in the following days, the weather was much better, and I took the chance to make up for it!

The next day (the third and last full day of exploration), as the weather kept improving, while driving back west, I started thinking about hiking in Skaftafell.
While driving and thinking, I spotted a parking area (I mean… in Iceland, a parking lot could just be a gravel patch slightly inclined so that cars can stop safely off the road!) and immediately pulled over.
From there, Vatnajökull was starting to reveal itself in all its glory.

After an hour of playing with my camera, I decided to go back to the glacier lagoon to see it bathed in those moody lights so typical of this place.
I find it magical rather than “sad,” to be honest.
In fact, an old saying here in Iceland (and in Scandinavia too) goes: “There's no bad weather, just bad clothing.”

I parked in Skaftafell, put on my knee brace (I had ACL surgery scheduled for November, but I still wanted to do at least some easy hikes… Don’t try this at home!), grabbed my backpack and camera, and started walking.
From sea level, at the beginning of the hike, you don’t fully grasp the vastness of the landscape.
But once you start gaining altitude… Oh my Lord! The scenery was one of the most breathtaking I had ever seen in my life.
And believe me, I’m used to big mountains, as I practice alpinism in the Alps, but this was on another level of greatness.

Looking south, you could see the vast plains stretching toward the ocean.
Looking west, you could see a 16-kilometer-wide glacial tongue leading to the first volcanoes before the Reykjanes Peninsula and Hekla.
And looking north and east, you could see Iceland’s highest peak: Hvannadalshnjúkur (I’m not even sure I can pronounce that correctly!).

I had never been so in awe of a natural landscape.
Actually, I had never been so stunned in my entire life!
But let the pictures speak for themselves.

Still on this third day, after the hike, I picked up the car and started driving back to Fosshotel Núpar, where I was going to stay for the last night of this first trip to Iceland.
The first of three at the time I’m writing these words, and the first of many to come!

Iceland, during this first experience, taught me a lot.
I learned so much about myself, about what isn’t healthy for me back home, and about how much I love to explore and discover new natural places.
And what about the other two trips here?
You will discover more in future articles, and believe me, this was just the beginning of my journey in this beautiful and magical land!