where in the world is sip

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Iceland Recap: Day 1

Sunday, 26 April 2009

Arrived @ Keflavik around 3pm. Had Reykjavik Rent A Car deliver the 4WD SUV to the airport. To give you an idea of cost, it was 73k ISK ($581 USD) for 7 days. Not bad considering a standard economy car with someone like Hertz would have been just slightly cheaper...ended up feeling more secure with the 4WD as some of the roads were a bit questionable in some places (and you certainly don't want to get stuck as there's not a whole lot of traffic...). Also, not bad considering that's with an exchange rate of $1=125 ISK. This time last year, the exchange rate was $1=73 ISK, which equals $1,000 to rent the same car for the same time period.

***Did I mention that we're not even talking about peak season rates???***

How much was gas, you ask? @152 ISK per liter; 3.78 liters = 1 gallon; about $4.42 a gallon. 95 octane was the standard, so the grade is a bit higher than in the US. Still....Iceland is on sale, remember? I can't complain.

After a stop at the grocery store, it was time to head out into the country and save Reykjavik for the end. Off to the Reykjanes peninsula, where I had my first "wait, this is a road?" experience.

The first thing that caught my eye on the side of the road:

I wish I could have captured the smell with my lens.

Me and the car, on the "road" (with hoof prints):

The lake beach, with black sand, of Kleifarvatn. The lake is 1km deep and sits within a volcanic fissure. Legend says that a worm-like monster the size of a whale lives somewhere in its depths...though I didn't know that until I read it just now...otherwise I may have stayed in the car...

Happened upon the first cluster of hot springs at Seltún. Colorful steaming vents, mud pots, and a wonderful rotten egg smell. It went well with the drying fish from earlier.

Day 1 ends with the spectacular lava rocked coastline, looking back towards where we came from.

First night's accommodation was in Hella (pronounced like Hekla) at Guesthouse Brenna, which worked out to be $26 per person. Oh and my first dinner was a quesadilla! Go figure.