There is no bad weather.
There is only bad clothing.
That is what they say in Iceland. Fortunately our cold weather wear was up to the challenge. Sandwiched in between our first day and last day which were sunny, we saw everything including snow, sleet, hail and rain. Sometimes all within the same hour. It simply added to the adventure in a truly amazing country.
We arrived a day early and spent it exploring Reykjavik. While Reykjavik is a bit on the touristy side, it still holds Nordic charm and lots fun things to see and do. We walked and walked, exploring and taking in the Lava Show and the Maritime Museum.
The next morning we boarded our tour van with 14 others (a great group of people) and our Icelandic guide, Aaron (friendly, knowledgeable and a great driver!) and headed out into a snow storm. Once out of the city, Iceland becomes very rural very fast. The landscape is harsh and beautiful all at the same time. We learned about history, geography, geology. We visited lava fields, black sand beaches, a geothermal greenhouse, museums, waterfalls, glaciers, ice caves and more. I added six species of birds to my life list. And, we got to see the Northern lights on three occasions! I cannot say enough good things about the tour/tour company, our guide or our fellow travelers.
Because of the weather, taking photos was often difficult. Several of the following were taken with my cell phone, not my good camera. While we saw the northern lights on three occasions, photographing them was also tricky. The following images are my favorites and will give you a taste of what we saw and did. Sorry there are so many. You can click on an image to view it full screen and see the full description.
