Our Hike In Iceland

I have been in Denmark for over a week now and Copenhagen is already starting to feel like home. I will start uploading my pictures and stories from Copenhagen in a week or so once I have enough to make a post. First, I want to show you all my last updates from the Iceland trip, specifically our hike in Reykjadalur.

Sydney and I scheduled our hike through a local company called icelandactivities.com, a well-reviewed, family-owned company operating in the greater Reykjavik area. What was really amazing about the whole hike was that it was just me and Sydney and our guide...and his Pomeranian. The hike was personal and contoured around our pace and sight-seeing desires. Our guide was immensely informative and friendly; he is the one behind the camera in the pictures I am going to show you in this post.

Here Sydney and I are at the beginning of the hike, excited and eager to climb the mountain and see the hot springs. 

Within the first thirty minutes of the hike, we realized just how hard hiking in Iceland in the winter can be and we understood why they told us it was important to be in proper physical shape before signing up for the hike.

Here I am trudging through knee-deep snow. Even though the temperature outside was below freezing, the amount of physical exertion this hike required still had me sweating.

After about an hour or so of hiking ( I really don't know because no one was keeping track), we finally reached the hot springs.

While many of the other springs we saw smelled of rotten eggs from the sulfur, this hot spring, luckily, had no foul odor and was one of the cleanest in the valley. 

Sydney and I, as quickly as possible, changed into our bathing suits and sprinted to the hot spring.

 

Although initially uncomfortable, we became quite cozy in this naturally heated bath. In case the steam in this picture isn't a good indication, the contrast between the temperature of the air and the water was quite drastic, yet we still kept warm. 

Because I like to make decisions in my life based on the memories I want to have when I'm older, I decided to take on a particular challenge our tour guide gave me. Though I did have to ponder the request a bit at first, ultimately I gave in to my desire to have interesting stories when I go home and decided to make a snow angel.

In nothing but my bathing suit, I got out of the hot spring and dropped into the snow, waving around my limbs to create a snow angel. You can see Sydney in the background questioning my sanity.

I think this picture accurately portrays just how much the bitter snow stung my skin. I had some emotional support from the dog though. 

Here you can see my beautiful snow angel. I am proud to have done this because now I have the pictures to prove it and the fond memories of my recklessness. 

This is the last picture I have to offer from the hike. While there are many others that I will have to show you all when I come back home, only so many of them can be used to tell a story and I think this creates a perfect end to this story. 

Here I am, tired but triumphant, at the top of the mountain. The sun setting in the background and the burn in my muscles combined to provide me with a proud sense of accomplishment.