Iceland: The Reykjanesskagi Peninsula

Today we arrived in Iceland.

I’m in Iceland on an art grant traveling to an island called Hrísey off the north coast to paint at residency. My family is joining me to share the adventure.

This is our journey…

It was one of those rare, beautiful sunny mornings.

Josh and I were running on 6 hours of sleep over 36 hours, so we went for it and hit the Reykjanesskagi peninsula right after the airport!

What did we see?

The countryside was so beautiful, for many kilometers we were the only individuals on the road.

Some parts reminded me of traversing through lava rock formations in Hawaii. Other times I felt as if I was traveling back to the Dibgle peninsula in Ireland with so many rolling hills and wild roaming sheep, so much beautiful landscape.

This I think will be my favorite part of Iceland, driving for hours through lava, lush hills, glaciers, steam holes, retirr (the annual roundup of black and white sheep by farmers on horses), and Viking music which we found on Saga radio, it is a world like none other I’ve known.

We were headed to Gullfoss, the beautiful two tiered waterfall.

We took our time in our tiny Hyundai driving back to Reykjavík, the capital. 

And stopped at Geysir.

Jonah exclaimed ‘Whoa!’ as the water shot high.

So we make it back to the capital and tour beautiful Hallgràmskirkja, an architectural feat to boot. 

We ate lamb soup and drank Viking beer, it was a perfect meal on a cold, rainy evening.

We encountered wonderful public art murals and sculptures on the way home.

So many quaint buildings and wonderful people.

We stay at a low cost hostel in Reykjavik and eat as much street food as we can to take part in adventure and keep our costs low. Traveling, we feel, can always be done on a budget. And the best parts of travel are the scenery your eyes take in that are free.

If you’ve always wanted to travel, know it’s possible and there are creative ways to do it.

This week we start our slow drive up the west coast to Hrísey where my residency will take place.

We can’t wait to share more adventures with you.