Reykjanes

Iceland 1. Reykjanes by Anna Garcia

As some of you may know, my two biggest passions in this world are photography and travelling. And what better if I can do both at the same time, right? Since I started showing my work here, I thought a lot about opening a new section on my website, one that offers me the possibility to narrate my journey, showcase my images as well as my point of view  in a more personal way. So, welcome to this new section! I hope that you enjoy knowing me a little bit more!

I don’t really remember the exact moment in time when I started being interested in Iceland, but one thing that I’m sure of is that for a long time, it has been my idyllic country to visit. Since last December, @tropicalbert and I started talking about the possibility of making it happen. Things were more complicated than we expected, but finally, the 18th of February we embarked on a dream of a lifetime.

We arrived at Keflavik airport very early in the morning. We were immersed in a heavy fog and we could barely see our surroundings. But, with our new car and with much desire to discover this island…we hit the road! We started driving through the roads of the Reykjanes peninsula and from this moment on, we saw the beginning of great days to come!

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It was our first day in Iceland and I’ll never forget it. We didn’t plan this part of the journey. We focused the rest of the trip on the southern roads and the golden circle, yet here is when we realized beauty was all over this country. We sort of...explored, and it worked. Every single road we took and every single mountain we saw left us speechless.

We started our morning driving south, discovering some of the peninsula’s geothermal areas and the bridge between two continents. It was the first spot we visited in Iceland, and I was impressed. Not by the bridge or by the geographical separation between these two continents. I was impressed by a different aspect. I was shocked when I was observing the landscape and realized that wherever I looked, it was impossible to see anything created by humans (except for the bridge, of course). There was nothing but nature and I loved it.

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Then we visited the Gunnuhver geothermal area. Iceland in February can be a bit harsh, especially if you come from a Mediterranean climate like ours. But visiting these geothermal areas was a great idea to stay warm while enjoying the landscape.

Later on we hit the road again and headed to the Krýsuvík-Seltún area. Of course, we stopped many times along the road to take pictures. One thing that I’ve learned in Iceland is that it’s almost impossible to arrive to your destination on time. You’ll need more time than you expected, because the beauty of the landscape will force you to stop along the road. Just driving through the roads of this island is worth it.  

It was getting dark, and we were supposed to spend the night in Reykjavik. So, we decided to drive back to the capital by exploring a different and new road by the Kleifarvatn lake, and we didn’t regret about this decision.

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At night, we visited the beautiful city of Reykjavik. We spent a little time wandering its streets and looking at its colorful houses, but after a while, we decided to go to sleep as we had a big day planned for tomorrow. But don’t worry, I’m sure that Reykjavik is going to reappear during this trip!