Our trip through Iceland began a couple of days ago.  Touching down at Keflavik Airport, approximately 48 kilometres outside the capital of Reykjavik, we picked up our rental car and started on our 3 1/2 hour journey to Nyp – our first destination point.

It took a few moments to adjust the brain to driving on the right side, or the wrong side, of the road. This was followed by a minor panic attack as the GPS froze over. Then there was the major decision about how hot we wanted the car and then … well, then it hit me. I am in the land that inspired Tolkien. It didn’t take long to see why.

The sun was shining as we wound our way through a landscape like nothing I have ever seen before. It is like the moon, the Scottish Highlands, Norway, New Zealand and Mad Max all decided to make this their common room! There are waterfalls cascading over grey rocks and disappearing into green meadows. Glaciers tower over copper coloured mountain peaks playing solitaire on black lava fields. What is this place?! And why has it taken me fifty years to get here?

I stop to buy a bottle of water. “May I suggest you don’t buy bottled water? It is a trick. Just use tap water,” says the lady behind the counter. I stare at her, stammer a “thank you”, and walk back out of the shop without a water bottle. Icelanders, as I had just found out, are fiercely protective of their beautiful environment!

Our kind hosts at Guesthouse Nyp make us feel very welcome. Thora, our hostess, serves a breakfast feast that should earn her a Michelin Star. She takes a moment to explain where everything we are eating was sourced from, most of it from her own garden. Then there is the dinner – freshly caught cod, homegrown salad and vegetables. I rave about her meal and indicate I will let people know on TripAdvisor. “Please don’t say a thing,” she says, “otherwise I will be cooking all the time.” I smile to myself. The people here are as honest and as much salt of the earth as the salt they harvest from their seashore.

It is summer here, but when those winds blow it is a no brainer about why this place is aptly named ‘Iceland’. So if you are planning a trip, pack warm, layered clothing. Make sure you have water resistant hiking shoes … and purchase some rain pants. O, and read ‘Burial Rites’ by Hannah Kent (more about that book in another post).

I will be back with another Iceland instalment in a few days.