Ísland - Part 1

So I've been back from Iceland for two months now, I get it, I'm awful at this. But yeah, better late than never. It's just that I don't know where to start! Okay, I guess I start at the beginning. First of all, I highly recommend you be cliche about this post, go and turn on some Sigur Ros, and then come back and proceed.

So Dave and I arrived to Iceland by ferry. We left from Denmark on a Tuesday, and got off the boat in Iceland on a Thursday. Needless to say, we had two nights of fun on the ferry. But mostly it was just an amazing boat ride, because I love being in the middle of the sea, surrounded by nothing, it's a very humbling feeling. And secondly, we got to sail through the Faroe Islands, because the ferry made a stop on Wednesday in Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, and holy shit (pardon my French) they were stunning to sail through! I wanted to jump ship and go explore every inch of those islands! These big majestic islands that constitute the Faroe Islands, look like massive mountains jutting out of the sea, it's incredible really. I can't wait to go back some day and adventure there. So enjoy the bombardment of Faroe Islands photos, which are oddly many seeing as how I never even got off the boat here, that's how obsessed I was by their beauty!

This is what the Faroe Islands look like, and this is what I look like when the wind is blowing in my face.

Faroe Islands, hello!

Taking in the views of Tórshavn 

The lighting was incredible, it was as if the sun was setting a stage.

And again..

A little 'town' in the Faroe Islands, I want my future to be in a place like this.

Good god I can't wait to go back.

So on Thursday morning the ferry started to sail into Seyðisfjörður, Iceland, and the low lying fog made sailing into these fjords a really mystical way to be greeted by the country of mythical folklore. When we got off the ship, Dave and I managed to get a lift from a guy, whom we took the ferry with, who is from Barcelona, all the way to Skógar, the first destination that we had chosen for ourselves. It was really fun to get to speak Spanish for 8 hours as we made our way west. Anyways, we decided upon Skógar because Dave has lived in Iceland twice in the past, and promised me that the hike from Skógar to Þórsmörk is stunning and well worth braving the cold. This is where I now direct you to a map of Iceland so that you can follow along http://goo.gl/maps/3EIR3

The fog greeting us to Iceland.

It was so eerie and beautiful.

Already wet as we sailed in, but all smiles because we are in ICELAND!!!

So with 5 days before Melissa and Matt arrived in Iceland, Dave and I originally set out to hike from Skógar to Landmannalaugar, which would have made for 3 days of 23km - 25 km hikes; it would have been intense, but we were both up for seeing as much as we could, plus we're young and resilient still, so we figured why not!  So we set off on Friday morning, and did the 23 km hike to Þórsmörk in one day, and damn was it epic. This journey, if you check out the map, goes between two glaciers, so in other words it gains quite a bit of altitude. The hike starts at a waterfall in Skógar, climbs up to the Fimmvorduhalsf pass at 1100m and then meanders its way down to Þórsmörk valley. The weather started to get pretty nasty as we started getting close to the pass, and we decided to attempt to wait out the crazy storm at the emergency hut at the top. After warming up in our sleeping bags for close to an hour, two other groups of hikers also ventured into the hut, all leery of braving the storm to make their way down. The snow/ice/hail storm was pelting at the walls of the hut, and it made for quite a creepy and desolate feeling. But hell bent on not being stuck at the top of that god forsaken mountain pass, we decided to join forces, and all 6 of us would manage down together. I am unbelievably grateful for having met these 4 other people, because had it been Dave and I on our own, I know we wouldn't have braved going down; it was honestly the comfort in numbers that got us all down to the bottom. We all hugged each other at the end of the hike and thanked one another for their moments of strength as we braved the nastiness, most strenuous hike of my life. The reason it was such a daunting hike is because the snow that was plummeting down had managed to bury some of the guidance sticks, and the snow was so thick and dense that you couldn't see in front of you to the next stick regardless of whether it was buried or not, so you were left staring into the white abyss trying to guess which way to go next. We managed whenever we would catch moments of relief in the snowfall/fog and would hurry along to the next guide marker. In the end, it was an extremely rewarding, and satisfying experience, but not for the faint of heart. But with all of our clothes and worldly possessions soaked, we decided to call it quits in Þórsmörk, and hike around there for the remaining days.

Views shortly after leaving Skógar.

Stunning waterfalls everywhere you turned.

Wes, one of our new friends, managed to snap this photo when we all stopped to read this sign, note how dense the fog is. This was the last photo taken and the only photo taken once the storm started. I love these people and hope to see them again some day. 

So after arriving in Þórsmörk, Dave and I put up our tent, and collapsed for about 12 hours of z's, but not before Dave's generous soul made me a lovely dinner of lentils to recuperate from my exhaustion, he's pretty cool like that. Anyways, when we woke up in the morning, and our clothes were still soaked (neither of us had adequately sufficient waterproof gear for how wet it was during the storm - investing in some GoreTex stuff is worthwhile if you ever go to Iceland) we decided to just stay in Þórsmörk and take in its relaxing views. We figured we would just do some shorter day hikes around the Þórsmörk valley, rather then two more days of 25 km hikes to Landmannalaugar in soaking wet clothes. We didn't regret not making it to Landmannalaugar, because we had a lovely couple of days/nights in the Þórsmörk valley, hiking around there, but next time I go to Iceland I will definitely have to finish the hike, because I hear the rest of the hike is stunningly beautiful. We spent our days in Þórsmörk well, and even did a hike to a hot pot, and another hike to the glacial tongue, which was 25 km to the tongue and back to our tent, so in the end we didn't really skip out on lengthy hikes haha, but it was so good to be out hiking that much. 

This is where we called home for a few nights, it was beautiful.

The view from our tent, note the car in the distance, it really gives you some perspective.

On our hike to the glacial tongue, trying to act like I'm not wet!

Check out that tongue in the background, and the valley below, we started from the valley and up to the ridge this photo was shot at, over to the tongue, and ended back down in the valley again.

Some crazy moss circles we saw on our hike. 

We made it to the tongue, and found this ice cave, pretty cool!

Finally we had one day of sunshine, and it was beautiful looking out from the tent.

Good morning Þórsmörk

After our time here was finished, we ventured to Reykjavik to meet up with Matt and Mel, and damn was I excited to see their faces!!! To be continued in another post alllll about our time with our amigos! :)