You know how most people escape the winter by going someplace warm? Well, three of our employees reversed that trend and decided this past summer would be the perfect getaway for an Ice Adventure. Charlie, Kory, and Jess all headed to Iceland for a trip of a lifetime. They had a blast and the rest of the office lived (jealously and vicariously) through their pictures and stories. So, let’s find out more about their awesome trip…
First things first, why did you pick Iceland?
Iceland has been on Kory’s bucket list but the new direct flight from Detroit to Reykjavik made it very appealing to all of us! It is only a 6-hour flight and you feel like you’re on another planet.
What was your favorite meal?
We were basically on the move all day except to sleep at night! The Soup Company in Vik was our favorite sit-down down meal – you can’t go wrong with warm soup, bread and red wine after a long day of hiking. But bread and butter sandwiches, and tap water were our go-to. The water is so clean in Iceland that we were even encouraged to drink water from the streams!
Tell us all the places you went to on your trip!
Since we only had 5 days, we stuck to the Southern part of the island, starting with a 3-hour whale tour in Reykjavik where our guides said this was one of the most successful and active tours they’ve given! We saw multiple minke whales, humpbacks whales, dolphins and puffins. After, we hopped into our rental car and began our trek around the Golden Circle. In Thingvellir National park we encountered our first waterfall, Oaxarfoss and continued on to see “Iceland’s bluest waterfall”, Bruarfoss. The next day we saw the massively impressive, double-tiered Gullfoss Falls; and the Strokkur Geyser, which erupted every 5-10 minutes and was exciting every time! That day we saw 3 more waterfalls (Seljalandsfoss, Nauthusagil and Skogafoss) before calling it a night in Vik. The next morning, we got into the saddle and did a tour of the black sand beach upon Icelandic Horseback! We continued west to see glaciers up close at the glacier lagoon, Jokulsarlon, and Diamond Beach. We got even closer to a glacier when we took a 3-hour glacier hike, complete with crampons, helmets and ice axes! The last day of our trip was spent soaking in the Blue Lagoon. We enjoyed the benefits of the blue mineral water as well as the silica mud masks before beginning our flight back home.
What were your favorite parts of the trip?
All of us loved the secret waterfall, Nauthusagil. It was so far out of all of our comfort zones physically – think chains along the side of the valley to help you hike the wet slippery wall – but we all worked together and encouraged one another, and the end result was something that will live with all of us forever. We also loved the glacier hike in Skafatall. It was surreal walking on top of a volcano on top of a glacier (that’s a sentence you don’t hear every day!). It really was awe-inspiring and so meaningful to experience the majesty of a real glacier – especially since it’s predicted to be gone in less than 200 years! We highly recommend that you visit if you have the chance 😊
Journey with Jess