My First REAL Adventure

Skogafoss waterfall, September 2018.

Traveling Has Always Been a Part of My Life.

I grew up being a missionary kid in Mexico. My parents would drive to very remote places in small towns all over the country to share the Good News of Jesus. Growing up in this environment I was no stranger to all that our beautiful planet has to offer. Our hometown was in the foothills of the tallest mountains in Mexico, and the beaches of the Pacific Coast were only 4 hours away. We got to see snow-capped volcanoes in the winter, and we got to swim in streams, springs, and beaches in the summer.

When we moved to the United States the pattern continued. As a family we all would hop in our minivan and drive to wherever my dad was needed. Most of my teenage years were spent in that minivan road tripping and getting to experience the great American landscape. Without knowing, I acquired a collection of very dear memories all centered around nature and traveling.

A Cold Realization.

As it happens, my sisters and I all grew up and we moved away for college. Like every good college student, I was broke when I graduated. I was blessed to find a job at an outdoors store called Lewis & Clark Outfitters that quickly turned into a career. It was so fun to be there learning about new gear, showing people places to go, and listening to people share stories of their adventures. After a couple of years working there I found myself reading an article in a local Arkansas magazine about local explorers who went on a 60 mile backpacking trip in Iceland. One of those explorers happened to be the owner of the store! I went from never really noticing the country of Iceland to being thoroughly intrigued.

By this time it had been 8 years since my last big trip with my family. It was then that I got hit with a cold realization: I had never been on an adventure all of my own. Everywhere I went as a kid and as a teenager had always been with my parents! This was unacceptable. Reading about this island in the Arctic Circle with unpredictable weather, 70 mile-an-hour wind gusts, and 24 hour sunlight was the inception of the coolest trip I would take to date.

By this time it had been 8 years since my last big trip with my family. It was then that I got hit with a cold realization: I had never been on an adventure all of my own. This was unacceptable.

Our rental van. Best way to protect against the 70mph winds.

The sometimes unassuming and bare Icelandic countryside.

The Leap of Faith.

The travel bug bit me and I had an itch to go, but I was not prepared to carry out any trip. This trip was unlike anything I had ever done. After all, I had never planned a trip all on my own. Much less one involving going to a foreign country with a language I had never spoken or even heard. I felt embarrassed to admit it, but the trip was daunting and I was intimidated by it. 

About two months went by where I just lingered and made excuses. I had told everyone that I was going, but in reality I hadn’t made any plans. A friend of mine who runs a Facebook page on travel told me that I should not wait to buy the tickets after I have it all figured out. “Buy the tickets and then figure it out” was his advice. About a week later I bumped into his wife at the store. After the courtesy exchanges she asked me point blank “Have you bought the tickets yet?” I said “No. Not yet. I’m just not sure about this.” She smiled in a very gentle way and said “Just Go”. She was right. I had to make a decision.

So that night, at 1:30 in the morning, I bought a single round-trip ticket to Iceland.

The Adventure Begins.

I stared at my laptop screen simultaneously full of excitement and wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into. I had a trip, but no plan at all. Thankfully I was able to do plenty of research, and interview plenty of people who had already visited the country. Everyone who had gone gave me so much confidence. Everyone had fantastic stories to tell about exotic landscapes and the wonderful experiences they had. To build momentum, two of my friends decided to join me. When the time came, we were amped and we were ready.

We got on the plane and traveled through the night across the North American sky. When the morning clouds parted and made way for us to look down at the Icelandic landscape I got a feeling that I had never experienced before. Suddenly I was farther East and farther North than I had ever been before. Suddenly I could see that the whole world was bigger than I had ever known, yet all of it was within reach. We got off the plane, and within minutes of leaving the Keflavik International Airport I found myself at the wheel of our rented camper van with nothing but adventure and discovery ahead. Nothing could prepare me for the joy that this trip would bring me.

Natural hot bath in the Snaefellsnes peninsula.

The Magic of Iceland.

Iceland is fantastic. The landscape is so foreign from everything I’ve ever seen in Mexico or the USA. It’s the tundra, and it’s a barren land formed by lava and carved by glaciers. There are almost no trees. At first it seems so bare that it’s puzzling. It makes you wonder What’s the appeal? What is so special about this place? But then, without a warning, the country shows its treasures at the turn of a corner. And there are many corners. Lots of turns revealing lots of hidden places in the midst of huge plains, or fenced by mountains and cliffs. 

There you go driving along the side of an impressive hill, and all of a sudden the majestic Skodafoss waterfall opens up complete with a rainbow and seagulls flying about for added drama. The waterfalls are raw and jagged and their roar is dominant over all the other sounds. The scale is one of tales, like the giant Seljalandsfoss, which can be seen for miles before one arrives at it. It rains often, but when the sun comes out it is bright, and rainbows form with the leftover mist literally bathing everything in color. 

The architecture is adorable. Very cool and modern in some cases, very simple and unexciting in others, but adorable nonetheless. All of it feels either from a fairytale or from a cartoon. I mean, have you seen how many movies have been filmed in Iceland? The towns are dotted with brightly painted houses. There are beautiful doors, short fences, front and back yards with flower gardens, ponds, wall art and murals, clean streets with bright paint on the roads.

There is too much to see in just one visit.

The people are the most beautiful. Not only are they all youthful, but they are selfless. They care about you. Most of the people speak very good English. The people there were helpful, they gave us directions when we needed it. One time we got lost and the locals gave us free coffee! One of them even yielded to me on the road and, with a smile and a hand gesture, he signaled “Please, go right ahead”. They all seemed to know each other, yet they asked us where we were from. They wanted to know us.

I met a girl who lived there for three months and didn’t get to see all of it. Unless one is a maniac who doesn’t appreciate beauty, one cannot blast through every attraction or landmark. It’s a slow process of exploring and discovering. If you go, you will want to stay at every place longer, you will want to see more of that one thing. Whatever you might be looking at, whether it be a waterfall, or a cave, or the cliffs, or the sea, you almost want it to speak to you some truth that it holds for humanity. It can’t be rushed.

I have been to Iceland several times since, and I’ve gone on other large scale trips to other places. But this was my first real adventure. Being there was beautiful and exciting. Yet mysterious and peaceful at the same time. All I could do was be thankful for every bit of it. I came back a changed man. I could tell you every detail of my trip, but it’s too much to explain. The pictures don’t do it justice. Just go.