Iceland, 2010

September 1 - 6, 2010After a couple of days in sweltering heat of New York, I welcomed the idea of gateway to a country with the word "ice" in it. We were not disappointed. As we disembarked we were treated with chilly wind and a light drizzle. Nice.

Iceland is a rather remote place, so when we decided to take advantage of our friend's 4x4 and explore the most remote area of Iceland we assumed that it will be pretty quiet. Westfjords is rugged and breathtakingly beautiful. And it is certainly quiet. There were hours when we wouldn't see another car. The biggest town we passed by was 1500 people and was considered a bustling metropolitan area. You can imagine what a small town looks like. In fact, Westfjords redefines the geographical conventions -- a town could be just 2 houses... and they make it on the map.

Although we only spent 5 days here, there was enough adventures to fill a small book. We began with a 7 hour drive into the heart of the region. Now you must for a minute dismiss the notion of a long drive on US highways. We are talking about one lane that winds through spectacular green pastures and countless waterfalls cascading down spectacular mountain peaks. Once you leave the proper of Reykovik, yours is the only car on the road. And pretty soon the road turns from paved to gravel.

On day one, as the sun began to finally descend around 9pm, we spot a gorgeous waterfall and spontaneously decide to get off the road and do a little off-roading to get to the waterfall. We begin crossing streams, then little rivers. We also slowly begin to realize that if we were to break down, it would take a couple of days for someone to find us. Amazingly, the tracks lead to a settlement of several houses. The setting is stunning -- we are in a valley surrounded by mountains with a series of waterfalls on the horizon. There are several thermal pools with steam slowly snaking around the valley. We are somewhat happy that we see an indication of human life. It is now starting to get dark and we need a place to stay. We also realize that if someone went to such distances to get away from the world, whoever is in those houses will not be extremely excited to get visitors. Our intuition proves us right. The somewhat bewildered Icelander politely explains that we've come to a private residence. We decide not to test our luck with this Viking and politely excuse ourselves. We drive 5 minutes away and decide that we have no other choice but to spend the night right there, by the stream in the midst of this valley.

Although the Iceland soil and weather is not conducive to trees, it is covered with moss, which as we found out makes for an incredibly comfortable bed. And so we huddled in our sleeping bags by the fire built from the remains of an old foot pass, mesmerized by the view.

The next couple of days we continued to push forward, circumnavigating the entire region -- climbing and descending from serious mountains, doing some serious off-road driving, but stopping frequently to marvel at the landscapes around us. We spent the 2nd night in the comforts of a small guesthouse in Isonfjord, a town squeezed between two mountains right on the coast of North Atlantic ocean, a mere stone throw away from the Arctic Circle. We feast on some of the most tastiest fish dishes I've ever had.

After more spectacular drives we decide to go rugged again and settle for the night at the foot of the regions largest waterfall, with mountains and the coast behind us. At this point, deep in the belly of the giant, we are the only souls around. Our only companions are sheep and horses that freely roam these areas.

After lots of driving we are back in Reykovik on day 5 and the occasional traffic feels intimidating. I feel bad for Adam who's on his way back to Manhattan.

We sample whale meat (tastes like liver, but a lot saltier). Reykovik is a sleepy town on Sundays, since everyone is recovering from supposedly wild parties of Fridays and Saturdays.

Back on the plane. A quick, 3-day stop in London and then it's off to Turkey.

Tips/suggestions and contacts for Turkey are welcomed.