Road Trip: Iceland

After researching the best ways to explore all of Iceland my family decided to rent a car and drive around the Ring Road. We landed in Reykavik, the capital, and continued on from there around the coast. The country was filled with inviting people, crazy rock formations, glaciers, and endless sunshine. If you want to get away from the perpetual hustle of everyday life, Iceland is the place to go. Instead of skyscrapers there are snow-capped mountains. Puffins instead of pigeons.

In a place so pristine and untouched, you consider what’s really important. It’s hard to watch the sunset from a cliff surrounded by wildflowers in the middle of nowhere and not be grateful for what you have.

Taking in the view after hiking to the top of the Skogafoss waterfall.

Wildflowers blooming outside our cabin in a fjord on the Eastern coast of the country.

Rocks at the famous Black Sand Beach near Reykavik.

A lighthouse I loved the color of on a tiny island called Grimsey.

A picture of my dad shot on a GoPro as we kayaked in a fjord.

Scuba diving in the freezing water between the two tectonic plates that converge in Iceland.

A sweet dog we found in the hills near our cabin that never left our side for the few days we stayed there.

Okay, so maybe you can’t jet off to Iceland tomorrow, but take a minute each day and appreciate something simple. Something a human didn’t create. Maybe it’s how the sun flashes through the trees on your way home from school or not caring that you’re getting wet in the rain. Whatever it is: love it.

-Ellie