Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

Tag: road trips

A Road Trip Around Ireland

That’s right, we’re back from Ireland! And I’m so excited because this post officially kicks off my coverage of our two weeks in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.

I recently watched a video in which Bill Murray crashed a bachelor party (here is the abridged version) and offered some sage advice for new couples. In his speech to the groomsmen, he instructs them to buy a plane ticket and travel around the world with their significant other, and advises that if you come back and you’re still in love with that person, get married immediately. I agree wholeheartedly with his advice, and I’d go so far as to say you don’t even have to travel the world to test the waters with a partner. Just go on a road trip together somewhere unfamiliar with drastically different traffic patterns and road conditions than what you’re used to driving.

Chris and I have done many a road trip together and we’ve traveled to several places where we drove on the left (the “other side of the road” to us), encountered random farm animals standing in the road, or dealt with steep hills and crazy, narrow, switchbacks, but Ireland was our first long road trip with all of those challenges combined along with the distraction of some of the most beautiful scenery and cutest towns we have ever seen. And with that said, this post officially kicks off coverage of our time in Ireland!

As for the free relationship test, we passed with flying colors (and with only a wee bit of bickering) and I’m happy to say that our marriage is still very much intact. Chris did the majority of the driving and I navigated via GPS, iPhone, paper maps, signage, and deeply embedded directional instincts. Okay, so that last one wasn’t always as reliable, but I did manage to get us from Dublin to Kilkenny, Kerry, Galway, Donegal, and around Northern Ireland. And Chris managed to keep us completely alive and unscathed for over 1200 kilometers of highways, roundabouts, and extremely narrow farm roads.

But before I get to all of the road trip details and photos of each of the towns/counties we visited, we spent a couple of nights car-free in the city of Dublin. Those posts are up next so stay tuned!

September 14, 2015
Iceland Snapshot

Not too long ago, I started a new tradition of creating a “snapshot” post from our travels with a list of superlatives to sum up our bigger trips. It’s a fun way to me to reflect back on specific moments, so to continue that tradition here is my Iceland snapshot!

Best Moment

Ah, right off the bat this is the toughest choice to make, but I think I was the most elated when we received the phone call from the hotel front desk at 1:30am to see the Northern Lights in Borgarnes. It’s just not something I expected to get to see and it was a wonderful surprise.

Worst Moment

The trip started off on the wrong foot when our original flight was canceled and we lost an entire day of our itinerary. We sat at the gate for hours past our departure time before Icelandair announced that they needed to cancel due to mechanical issues. This might also be a candidate for the “Best Moment” category though because not getting on a broken plane is a very very good thing indeed. I’m grateful.

Funniest Moment

This might get filed under “you had to be there,” but one of the funniest moments of the week was a cocktail sauce incident on our third night. We stopped into a random restaurant on the way to Höfn where we decided to order a couple of burgers. The server/owner didn’t speak much English, and we had a bit of a funny miscommunication. I asked if the burger came with mayonnaise on it and his answer was no, to which I replied, “great! That is perfect since I don’t want any mayonnaise.” (Mayo is the One Thing that I just can’t eat, not even if you paid me. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.) After he dropped off our food and left us to enjoy the meal, we discovered that the burgers were completely covered on both sides with a copious amount of pink sauce oozing from the edges. Upon his return to the table, I asked what was on the burger and he explained that it was a house cocktail sauce made from…ketchup mixed with mayonnaise. He left, and Chris and I just dissolved into quiet hysterics. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings so I didn’t return the burger, but I couldn’t stop giggling for the rest of the meal (that I didn’t eat).

Best Meal

Chris and I both agree that our best meal was, oddly, a pizza that we split at Hotel Höfn. We popped into the hotel restaurant right after we checked in. We had just finished a long, active day and it was 9:30pm so it may just be that we were starving, but man it was delicious and so satisfying. And interestingly enough, it didn’t make me feel terrible like pizza does here at home. I wonder if they use different (better?) ingredients in Iceland. I didn’t get to take a picture of the pie on account of how fast we inhaled it, but I do have pictures of my second and third runner-up favorite meals. Oh, and on the left? That’s fish and chips…served with “cocktail sauce!” When I didn’t touch it, our server asked if I didn’t like cocktail sauce. I politely explained that the rest of the meal was so wonderful but that cocktail sauce isn’t my favorite, and then spent the rest of the afternoon giggling some more.

Something We Learned

Our Iceland trip taught us a bevy of new facts! (But not the word bevy – I already knew that one.) I’m most proud of learning how to correctly pronounce Eyjafjallajökull, but we also learned a lot about Icelandic history and about geology including volcanoes, geysers, and fumaroles.

We’re Thankful We Packed

The first several days would have been miserable without our waterproof layers. I wore my waterproof jacket and shoes every single day actually. For more details, see my post on packing for Iceland in the summer.

We Didn’t Need To Bring

I didn’t end up needing a heavier coat – I was worried about whether or not a waterproof jacket was going to be enough even in August, but it was perfect. Any other time of year I think you’d do well to bring a warmer coat.

Trip Regrets

I’m writing this post over a month later and I honestly can’t remember anything I regret about our trip. We loved every minute of it. Of course, I would have liked to spend more time in Iceland – I think another week would have been perfect to take our time on the Ring Road and to include some sights along the western coast.

Reasons To Go Back

Puffins! We didn’t get to see a puffin and I’d love to see/photograph those cute little guys.

Favorite Photos

Chris’s favorite photo from the trip is one that I took (the waterfall photo below), and my favorite photo other than the Northern Lights is one of his (the chunk of ice from Jökulsárlón).

And with that, my Iceland trip series is complete! Until we go back someday, of course. 🙂 I hope the information has been interesting, entertaining, and/or helpful to anyone planning a future trip to the land of fire and ice! (Definitely let me know if you have any questions – I’m happy to help!)

October 27, 2014
How to Drive the Ring Road in Iceland

Now that Chris and I have had some time to reflect on our trip, we have a few things we can share with anyone who is planning a similar trip to drive the Ring Road around Iceland. I hope these tips help!

map and flag photos courtesy of tour.is

Trip Length

First of all, let’s talk about the length of time it takes to drive the Ring Road, a stretch of highway that goes 828 miles around the island. Is it possible to do the Ring Road in a week (or even less) to see Iceland? Yes. It’s possible and I know that because we did it in five days! But I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. If you’re dying to do this trip and you only have a week, it’s definitely feasible, but it also depends on what you want to see and do. There is so much to see in Iceland and there are several big attractions right along the Ring Road, but our most favorite experiences were off of the main road. Over five days (technically 4.5 days), we ended up driving the entire route in addition to several side trips, and we were constantly on the go. We got started by at least 9am every day, and most days we didn’t check into our hotel until 9pm so it did make for a long day. I sort of can’t believe how much we squeezed into our trip and we had a blast, but it wasn’t without a few aches and pains! We didn’t have much time to rest and relax on the road. We even had a full day in Reykjavik on both ends of the Ring Road trip, but that time was spent exploring the city and doing the Inside the Volcano tour. So if you don’t mind a bit of a hustle, yes it’s possible to do the Ring Road in a week. I would at least recommend spending a day in Reykjavik before you set out so you have some time to recover from any jet lag before trying to drive.

Also on the subject of scheduling, I would really recommend not over-scheduling activities/excursions unless they are must-do items for you OR if you have a longer trip with more flexibility. There were a few times where we felt like we couldn’t stop as much as we wanted to because we had to meet a tour group at a certain time (snowmobiling, horseback riding, and the volcano tour). Then again, we wanted to stop about every five minutes – there is so much to see! So the first day on the road we were actually a little relieved that our snowmobile trip was canceled due to bad weather because that allowed us to keep a more leisurely pace that afternoon.

Self-Drive Tours

Because this was our first long road trip in another country with remote areas, I decided to book a self-drive tour with a company called Touris. Basically they booked all of our hotels, rental car, and a few excursions, and provided us with information about what to see along the route. Although I had already studied the Ring Road up and down and knew pretty much everything we wanted to see, I liked the idea of having 24-hour emergency support if something went wrong. I also thought it was reassuring that someone would know we were out there and expected us to arrive at our scheduled hotels each night. We didn’t run into any issues at all, but when we went through spots where my cell phone didn’t work (an AT&T international plan with good Iceland coverage) we had that extra comfort level that we weren’t going to break down and be stranded and no one would know where we were. In hindsight, we were often the only ones on the road as far as the eye could see, but we would eventually pass a car every now and then. It’s not like we went hours without seeing another human, so if we did have car trouble on the main road we would have had several chances to flag someone down. (On the more remote roads though, not so much.)

However, a huge extra major bonus of booking with Touris was that when our original departing flight was canceled late at night, Touris was hard at work re-booking all of our reservations for us while we got some sleep. When we woke up the next morning, everything had been rearranged and shifted by one day. If I was left to do all of that shuffling myself, it would have been a very very late night so that morning I was singing my praises for the team at Touris.

Driving Tips

One of the things I failed to study before our road trip in Iceland was (duh) how to drive in Iceland. I just figured you drive on the right-hand side like we do at home in the States, so it should be easy peasy! It is, but here are a few handy things to know before you head out.

The route is fairly remote in many stretches. When you have a chance to fill up on gas, grab drinks & snacks, and use the restroom facilities, you should go ahead and do that. (I at least knew this before we left.) Oh, and a note on filling up at the gas stations – you can use a debit card or credit card at the pump, but for either card you need to know your PIN.

What I didn’t know was how many loose animals would be in the road. Our first near-miss with a sheep in the road was on the second night when it was getting a little dark. Keep an eye out – they are everywhere! There are signs for sheep and reindeer crossings, but they can be anywhere. That’s something we aren’t quite used to at home.

Be prepared for single-lane bridges where the car closest to the bridge has the right of way. Some of the longer bridges have spaces on the side to pull over, but the shorter ones do not. Slow down, and pay attention to who is approaching on the other side.

Keep your eyes peeled for signs indicating unpaved roads. In a few spots along the highway the road surface suddenly changes from asphalt to gravel, and if you don’t slow down you’ll risk popping a tire or dinging up your rental car’s paint job. (We took out the additional gravel insurance on the car just in case.) Our rental also had some reminders and tips for us as seen in these giant can’t-miss-them stickers on the dashboard! We didn’t have the opportunity to ford any rivers in the car and we didn’t encounter any sandstorms, but we did drive on gravel roads pretty frequently.

Navigation

Chris and I received a Garmin GPS from the car rental company as part of our package, and it was loaded with Iceland maps and an Icelandic keyboard. We used it to navigate off the main road a few times, but it wasn’t always 100% reliable. Sometimes coordinates worked best, other times we needed to use the attraction/town name instead. I also had to Google step-by-step directions on my iPhone for a few places. And many times we just relied on a good old-fashioned paper road map for reference. I would recommend having a couple of options for navigation because often times there won’t be anyone to ask if you needed to stop for directions. I went old-school and used the paper map quite a bit!

Things are also more spread out than they appear on a map, and sometimes it takes longer to get to a spot than you think. I had everything plotted out on Google Maps with estimated times to get there, but where Google said it would take 25 minutes to drive from Rt. 1 to Dettifoss, for example, it actually took twice that long because the road was unpaved and incredibly potholed. We were in an SUV, but smaller cars had to take it even slower, so you have to take that into account.

Overnight Stops

We stayed in Reykjavik the first night, and then our subsequent overnight stays were in Hella, Höfn, Húsavík, Borgarnes, and another night in Reykjavik. All of the stops were fairly convenient, but the distance between Höfn and Húsavík meant that we had about five hours of driving to get to the north, and there was a lot to see in the Mývatn area so we felt a bit rushed that evening. In contrast, the distance from Borgarnes to Reykjavik was very short, so it almost felt like we didn’t need to stop there although I’m glad we did since that’s where we saw the Northern Lights. If I could do it all over, I’d add an additional day in the south and an additional day in the north. Of course if time was no object, I’d also take a couple of days on the Snæfellsnes peninsula in the west before returning to Reykjavik. I’ll write a little about our hotels in a separate post, but just wanted to mention the logistics of where we stopped each night.

So those are my tips! Let me know if you’ve been to Iceland and if you have any additional tips to add. Or if you’re planning a trip and have any questions, feel free to ask away. I’d be happy to try to assist, and I’ll also be really excited for you!

September 17, 2014
Only in Iceland: Inside the Volcano Tour and the Blue Lagoon

Our fifth and final day on the road! And on that last road trip day we experienced perhaps the biggest highlight of our Iceland trip – the Inside the Volcano tour where we hiked out to Thrihnukagigur volcano and descended 120 meters down inside. Fun facts: Þríhnúkagígur, meaning “three peaks crater,” has been dormant for 4000 years, and it is the only volcano in the world where you can go inside the magma chamber. The opportunity to see the inside of a volcano is fairly new; this is only their third summer running the tours. More people have climbed Mt. Everest than have been inside a volcano, so it’s a very special experience! And for anyone who wants to try saying it, the pronunciation is sort of close to, “three-nuke-a-GHEE-gur” (ghee like the butter, not gee like ohemgee).

The moderate-level hike out to the volcano is about 2 miles/3 km (so 4 miles/6 km round-trip) over lava fields, but there is a path of loose rocks most of the time to mark the way. Sometimes the terrain was uneven and tricky for those of us who are more clumsy, but it’s not particularly strenuous. It might be slightly tiring though if, for example, you’re already sore from horseback riding the day before, and lacking energy from staying up waaay too late photographing the Northern Lights. There is a helicopter ride option as well if you’re not up for the hike and/or if you want what I imagine are spectacular views. I liked being on the ground for this though – Chris and I had fun exploring the cavernous lava tubes along the way that really showed us the extent of the volcano system. Not to mention we easily burned off the calories of the previous night’s meal and the chocolate bar that followed it.

That’s Thrihnukagigur in the background. (I’m squinty because of the bright white sky.)

Built by German engineers, an intricate lift system lowers visitors down into the chamber and more importantly, brings them back up. The tour operators hooked us into the walkway and lift system via carabiner and harness for extra safety which I appreciated since we essentially walked a plank across a hole that plummets over 400 feet below. When Árni B. Stefánsson originally discovered the volcano, he simply rappelled into the crater hole without knowing that it was a volcano or what was below!

Once inside, our guide gave us some additional history and info about the volcano and we were set free to explore. Note that while lights have been added for easier touring and an orange rope marks off the no-access areas, no other amenities have been added to the interior. The paths remain completely natural with loose rocks and there are no stairs. Walking around was tricky, but it felt like a true adventure that way. To add to the adventurous spirit, when I signed up for the tour I didn’t realize that the dormant Thrihnukagigur still has the potential (though very unlikely) to erupt. What an interesting scenario to imagine while we were in the magma chamber! Upon hearing of our upcoming tour, a local in Akureryi told us the day before that if we “start to get hot, go up.” That was good advice and it made us chuckle, but it was a cool 6°C (43°F) inside and also a bit wet and drippy. The colors of the chamber walls, quite simply put, were stunning. And the walls were expansive! It was hard to capture the enormity of the space on camera, but to give you a comparison, the Statue of Liberty would fit comfortably inside the magma chamber with plenty of room to spare.

After the 4-mile hike on top of already-sore muscles from horseback riding, we were ready for some chillin’ out, maxin’ and relaxing in the Blue Lagoon so we headed out to the Grindavík area to get our geothermal spa on. Side note: the Blue Lagoon is about a 40-minute drive from Reykjavik. Grindavík is actually closer to Keflavik airport than it is to Reykjavik, so most people seem to work the spa trip into their itinerary on arrival or departure day. Bus transfers to and from the airport make it easy to do just that. If you’re navigating on your own, the Icelandic spelling and the listing in Garmin GPS is Bláa Lónið and they provide GPS coordinates on their website. The signage on the way there is good though.

Through the cold mist and gray clouds, we were happy to see the milky blue lagoon and steam rising in the distance indicating the warmth of the water. Oh, how I wanted to truly feel warm after our chilly morning!

Upon arrival, the hectic vibe of the locker room left something to be desired, but I think that was due to our timing. We arrived at about 5pm on a Friday evening when there were so…many…people…and the locker room felt pretty packed. I did read that opening hour is the best time to avoid crowds and while that was our original plan, things got shifted when our first flight was canceled. Oh, and if you’re shy or modest, it’s probably best to visit during non-peak hours if possible – you are required to shower in your birthday suit in open shower stalls. After you have washed up with a focus on the parts they deem most important as indicated by signs (!), you can put your bathing suit on and head to the lagoon.

Once we figured out the locker/bracelet system (all purchases and your locker are connected to a bracelet that you wear in the water) and exited the building out to the lagoon, we were able to enjoy the setting. Despite the amount of people at the spa that day, the lagoon itself is so expansive that people aren’t sitting on top of each other. I was also worried that the water wouldn’t be warm enough, but it is, and there are different sections that are warmer than others. We had fun wading around finding good hot spots. Did you know the Blue Lagoon isn’t a natural hot spring? The surrounding land is natural, but the mineral rich water is a result of geothermal run-off from the nearby plant. People just started bathing in it, discovered that the water has healing properties, and a spa was born. I’m not so sure I would’ve been amongst the first people who said, “Hey look! Milky blue geothermal run-off water from the plant…I’m going to get in that,” but I did end up paying 40 Euro to get in now that plenty of other people have tested it out.

Chris took advantage of the in-lagoon bar and I thoroughly enjoyed access to containers of silica mud stationed around the pool. I followed the advice from other bloggers about keeping my hair healthy by combing lots of conditioner through my hair and leaving it in while we soaked in the lagoon (each shower stall provides dispensers of shampoo/body wash and conditioner). I put my hair up in a slick knot and didn’t have any of the issues that can be a result of minerals drying out your locks. I didn’t put my head underwater though, so that might also be part of the equation. As for the effect on my skin, I can report that the silica mask did seem to make my face feel very soft and smooth, though not ten years younger as I had hoped. Maybe we needed to stay longer.

One more thing of note based on our visit – I knew ahead of time that towels weren’t provided so we just planned on renting towels for convenience (though the fee was fairly steep at about $13 for two of us), but someone actually swiped our towels while we were in the water! Our towels were hanging in a designated spot outside as assigned by our locker number, but there really isn’t any method of preventing people from taking each other’s stuff. Thankfully the lagoon provided us a second set of towels at no charge and no one walked off with our flip-flops. For that reason I’m glad we didn’t bring towels from the hotel or our own travel towels – we would have never seen them again. Crowds and logistics aside, this is still a must-do in Iceland and I’m so glad we experienced it.

Whether it’s because I was exhausted from the past few days’ activities or because I was truly relaxed from the lagoon, I slept so great that night. The next day, Chris and I took a Flybus shuttle to the airport just after lunch, and we headed back home. I’m not quite done talking about Iceland though! I have a few more posts coming up including my new tradition of doing a “snapshot” post where I round up the superlative bits of the trip (best meal, funniest moment, favorite hotel, etc.), and I’ll also write some posts with tips to help anyone who is planning a similar trip. So if you haven’t gotten your fill of Iceland from me yet, stay tuned!

Oh! And I also put together this little video from the point-and-shoot clips we took throughout our whole trip. I’ve confessed to you before that I don’t consider videography to be in my wheelhouse at all, but Chris and I enjoy looking back on our trips in video form (even if they’re amateurish in production value) and I might as well share it here, right? Voilà:

Iceland 2014 from Susan Marks on Vimeo.

September 15, 2014
City Mouse and Country Mouse: Akureryi and Varmahlíð

In a crazy whirlwind three days, Chris and I had covered the entire south coast of Iceland and the east, so on Day Four we headed up to Akureryi otherwise known as “The Capital of the North.” We didn’t have any plans for our half-day in Akureryi other than to wander the streets, take photos, and stay for lunch and that’s exactly what we ended up doing. Akureryi holds the title of the second largest city in Iceland, although just 17,000 residents call the city home! We found lots of cute shops and cafes in the city center, interesting museums (though we didn’t have time to visit any), and it seemed like it would be a good jumping off point for seeing the attractions in the north. Just walking around we spotted several tour operators that do excursion trips to the surrounding areas.

After lunch at the hot dog stand pictured above, we promptly hit the road again to make it to our next excursion on time (more on that below), but of course we enjoyed the scenery along the way and ended up stopping a few times for photos. Chris took the sheep trio photo below, and it makes me laugh every time I look at it. I wonder what’s on their minds? They look like a sheep gang. We suspect the one on the left is the leader while the one in the middle is the muscle.

Here’s a hint as to what we spent our afternoon doing…

Did you guess horseback riding? Ding, ding, ding – horseback riding! And this was my first time on a horse ever! It’s always something I had wanted to try, and Iceland seemed like an idyllic backdrop in which to peacefully trot alongside fields, streams, and mountains. Plus Icelandic horses are extra special with a fascinating history. There is only one breed of horse in Iceland due to the ban of importing horses from outside the country, and if a horse leaves (for a show, or for…I don’t know, leisure travel?) he/she is never permitted to return! I can’t imagine a horse wanting to leave Iceland though – they all looked so happy. And so incredibly cute! Icelandic horses have short legs such that their height actually makes them sized more like a pony, but they have strong builds and very full manes. Short legs, strong build, and long thick hair? I can relate! I had to see these magnificent creatures up close.

We booked a two-hour Country Life beginner level tour with Hestasport Riding Tours in Varmahlíð. Their main office is just off of Rt. 1, and the stable is a short 6 km drive from the office. Thinking back on our first two rainy days on the road, I’m glad everything worked out the way it did because this was the day to have perfect blue skies. After being introduced to our horses (Magnusson and Lala) and getting a basic overview from our guide, we followed a trail out across the picturesque farmland I had envisioned. I felt like we were starring in a beautiful ad for the Icelandic Tourist Board. For the first 5-10 minutes though, I admit I was a little nervous. I kept worrying that my horse would know I was scared and he’d toss me off to the side, but he was sweet and gentle. Oh, except the couple of times that I had too much slack in the reins while we were stopped and he swiftly dipped his head down to graze, causing me to suddenly forward-fold without notice. I eventually felt more comfortable and learned not to let Magnusson have control.

We forded a river (!), experienced the tölt – a gait unique to Icelandic horses – and we even galloped, all of which made me giggle both with nerves and joy! Our guide was so nice and accommodating to our level of riding (super duper beginner, in my case). She always asked if we’d like to try going a bit faster before just taking off, and by the second half of the tour I enthusiastically agreed every time. But oh my gosh I was sore afterward! I had no idea how much human physical effort goes into riding. I thought I would just sit there, but no, a lot of stabilization work goes into staying balanced. My thighs especially were screaming at me the next day. Ooouch! All-in-all it was a really neat experience though, and we couldn’t have asked for a better guide. I highly recommend Hestasport if you’re in the area and have a hankering for the most scenic ride ever.

And just to finish the day in a ridiculously amazing fashion, we were treated to a brief Northern Lights show at 1:30am during our overnight stay in Borgarnes on the west coast. I had no expectation whatsoever of seeing them on this trip and I wrote more about it in this post, but it happened for us and here are the two images that turned out best. I love the first one; the second one is a little weird to me because of the longer star trails making it look blurry (I was trying out some really long exposures), but it’s still awesome to see the colors of the Aurora Borealis and to unexpectedly cross it off my bucket list.

We were nearly to the end of the road trip at this point! Our last day on the road took us full circle to Reykjavik where we went on a very unique tour of the inside of a volcano, and then we ended our day by relaxing in the Blue Lagoon. That post is coming up next!

September 10, 2014