ANGELA B. PAN

Shout out to my friend, Sam who told me about Höfn beach while we were planning our trip to Iceland. This little town was definietly a highlight of the whole trip. It’s about 5 hours east from Reykjavik but worth every minute of the drive. I say that because the drive was actually pretty scary. We ended up staying in Vik all afternoon and by the time we were ready to leave to go to Höfn, it was already dark, raining and snowing. The roads are paved and there are little reflectors on the side but its still kind of difficult to see. Especially since there are so many one way bridges. It was hard to gage whether or not the person on the other side of the bridge was coming towards you or stopping to let you go. So if you do go to Höfn, it’s probably best to go while theres still some sun out. Especially since there were so many fantastic views that we missed out on. We had no idea we passed the glacier lagoon until the next day we were driving in the daylight.

So we spent the night in Höfn not really being able to see what was around us but the next day was amazing! We spent the morning at the beach and it was absolutely perfect and beautiful. It was also the only day that it didn’t rain while we were in Iceland. The best part was that the sunrise lasted for sooo long. I’d say we were able to enjoy the sunrise for about an hour, if not more. Of course the colors and the sky changed during the hour, but it really allowed me to go to different parts of the beach and try different angles. I wish all sunrises and sunsets were like this all around the world.

This is also the little town that we saw the horses from my blog post the other day. I would love to spend more time here on my next trip to Iceland.

Our flight into Keflavik landed at 5am. Luckily I had the whole aisle to myself and was able to lay down and sleep the whole 5 hours to Iceland. Don’t you just love it when that happens? Anyways, so when we got to the hotel I was ready to drop off our stuff and start exploring. My friend, Mel and I discovered these geothermal baths and steam saunas at Laugarvatn Fontana. It was the first stop we were going to make along the Golden Circle drive in southern Iceland so we were pumped to relax for a bit after all that travel.

The baths were so nice. I’m a big fan of soaking in a hot tub so this was perfect. Even though it was raining off and on while we were there, it didn’t stop us from enjoying our little excursion. So behind the baths was this big lake. It was beautiful but definietly cold. I could see a layer of ice on top of the water. But the craziest part was that people were actually jumping into that lake! I don’t know. I don’t get it. So the whole time Mel and I were watching in amazement from a window in the baths as these people timed themselves to see how long they could stay in there. Then it was hilarious watching them run back to the baths and jump in. This little girl who must of been about 8 years old did it at least 3 times. More power to her.

After about 2 hours of soaking, we finally got up and explored the rest of the golden circle. On our way back to the hotel we had to make a stop back to Laugarvatn Fontana because it was the only place we knew of that had wifi. It was worth it though because the sun was setting and we got this amazing reflection of the mountains in the lake.

When visiting a new country, I always try to learn as much as I can about the food, people and language. It’s the best way to totally immerse yourself into your new surroundings. In Iceland, it was a little difficult to learn the language. First off, everyone speaks english. Really good english too! So being able to listen to the Icelandic language was really limited to just locals in a restaurant or people talking quietly amongst themselves. But I did manage to learn a few words. “Foss” means waterfall. So if you notice all the waterfalls in Iceland end with the term “Foss”. This image was taken at Skógafoss which is in a small town called Skógar. You add foss to the end of it, you have the Skógafoss! Pretty cool huh? Another important word to know is “Kaka” which means cake! Who doesn’t love cake right? So if you wanted to say chocolate cake, you would say “súkkulaðikaka”.

Now that we’re talking about food, the food was great. Expensive but the overall delicious. I don’t think we had one bad meal. I ate a lot of smoked salmon, at least once a day. There aren’t very many vegetable dishes. It’s all very meat/seafood oriented and to our surprise, a lot of pizza. I’m not sure if that was just a tourist thing but almost every restaurant we went to had a lot of pizza options. We noted one day that the pepperoni pizza was cheaper than the vegetarian pizza.

The people are very nice as well. Super helpful when you have a million and one questions about travel. Even when they knew you were a tourist, they didn’t look at you funny or treat you differently which was much appreciated. However, I did notice that a lot of them weren’t originally from Iceland. Many were from different parts of Europe that just fell in love with the country. I can totally see why minus all the cold temperatures.

One travel tip to Iceland. Bring lots of socks! Like way more than you need. I’m so glad I did.

In general, you should wear waterproof clothing from head to toe in Iceland. It was raining everyday but one day while we were there. The waterproof clothing really helped to keep me warm. But even if you’re lucky to have great weather on your trip, you’ll still get wet. The huge waterfalls have lots of cold water spray that will soak you, depending on how long you stand there. And if you’re like me, you’ll want to get close to the water on the black sand beaches to photograph the waves. The waves are so much bigger than you think they are. It kind of reminded me of Hawaii, but definietly not surf-able. Not fun when they come crashing down and into your shoes. So it didn’t even matter if I was wearing waterproof shoes, my socks still managed to get wet.

We spent a fair amount of time in Vik. One whole afternoon to visit two different sides of Reyjnisfjara with a little break in between for lunch. The first stop was a calmer side of the beach. We were the only ones there and the waves weren’t huge. I was also surprised by how soft the sand was. Just like regular sand but black. Thats where I was able to capture this long exposure with my Ice neutral density filter. But then after lunch when we went to the more commonly visited side. This was where the big waves are. I was running back and forth between the tides to try to capture the water. Eventually, the water won and my feet got soaked. They were so uncomfortably cold and wet. I had to dry off immediately in the car. So glad I brought extra socks 🙂

Home from Iceland and had a blast. It was so much fun. The country is just so beautiful and I couldn’t of asked for a better trip. It was a 5 day adventure (including flying) but I could of stayed so much longer. I feel like there’s so much left to explore. My friends and I were basically road tripping it the whole time. Each day we were in a new town and it just got better and better each day we were there. If you’re ever thinking of going, definietly do it!

One of my favorite parts of the trip were these Icelandic horses. They’re pretty much anywhere you go, but most of the time they’re behind these little wire fences so they don’t run into the street. We were lucky enough to see some that were not. They belonged to this man named, Omar who had a barn in this little town called Hofn. He was nice enough to tell us about his horses and let us visit them. So you know me, anything cute and fuzzy I just have to try to pet. Omar had a big group of them. About 20 or so and they were all super cute. Compared to the horses in America, they were a lot shorter and a lot hairier but very gentle. I probably pet 10 out of the 20 that were there. HAHA. The others were either eating or sleeping so I didn’t want to disturb them.

This particular image was shot right after sunrise. The sun was still rising and created this gorgeous glow on the animals. It’s like he knew I was taking his picture and was posing for me in the perfect lighting. Thank you horsey! The ultimate dream would of been to ride one of them during sunset on the black sand beach. I know it’s possible, we just didn’t have the time on this trip. Next time, Iceland. Next time.

If you guessed Iceland yesterday than you are correct! This was shot last time I was there. I was with a group of people who weren’t photographers. This time I hope to spend more time photographing this beautiful country. I can’t wait to explore!