This morning, when we got up, it was 27°F, and there was ice on the car. Other than that, it was bright and sunny — just cold. I discovered that the car had heated seats, which was nice. Today was spent mostly driving back to Reykjavík to turn in the car, so not much happened.
Instead, I will comment on my impressions of Iceland. It is a very beautiful country, and the people are, for the most part, very nice. They also all speak English, which is great since Jay and I speak no Icelandic.
Over two-thirds of the population of Iceland lives in the Reykjavík area. That was great because, once we left Reykjavík and started driving around the Ring Road, we could drive for miles without seeing another car. You could stop in the middle of the road and take pictures, and no one cared. You felt like you had the whole country to yourself.
It is also a good idea to start each day with a full tank of gas so you do not have to worry about finding a gas station. Also, whenever you see a bathroom, it is best to use it because you do not know when you will find another one.
For the most part, the Ring Road is very good. The road sits up on a mound, and there are no shoulders. The edges of the road are marked with yellow poles, but there are very few places with actual railings to keep you from running off the road. In some areas, livestock is allowed to roam free. There were several times when we had to wait for sheep to get off the road.
They say to check the weather report every morning before setting out, but we never did. For the most part, we had good weather: sunny days, cloudy days, rainy days, and today we even had fog. The temperatures were cooler in the mornings but would warm up in the afternoons. Where we were this morning, it was 27°F, but this afternoon in Reykjavík, it had warmed up to 41°F.
I proved to myself that this Florida girl can travel to a cold climate, survive, and even have a good time.
One other thing I want to comment on is that no matter where you travel, you will still encounter panhandlers asking for money. This happens all over the world, and yes, it even happened in Reykjavík tonight. Jay and I were approached while walking down the street. He spoke to us in Icelandic, and when we said we did not understand, he switched to English and asked for money. We shook our heads no and kept walking. I then watched as he approached other tourists. I really did not expect that in Iceland.
Iceland is a very clean country. I did not see any trash along the roadways, and I also did not see any billboards blocking the beautiful views.
Will I come back to Iceland again? Probably, if I get the chance to return. There are some things I missed doing on this trip that I would still like to do, such as visiting one of the geothermal pools and going horseback riding.
