Cold plunge: An adventure in Iceland
Two months before volcanic activity started in Iceland, we booked a short vacation there. We wanted to go to the Blue Lagoon and see the northern lights, but spoiler alert, we wouldn’t experience either.
The beautiful thing about Iceland though is that they have a lot of extraordinary places to enjoy. It’s a tourist haven (and possibly a local’s nightmare!).
We went on the first week of December, which was mid-winter season. As someone who doesn’t like the cold, I stressed too much about what clothes to pack, and boy was I glad I took the time to research and ask around for the appropriate wear. Iceland winter is not just cold, it’s windy and rainy, as well. Cover everything you can, from head to toe. If I wouldn’t have looked stupid wearing ski glasses everywhere, I would have worn a pair. Make sure you pack windproof and waterproof jackets, pants and shoes. We also packed disposable hand warmers which we placed in our pockets to help keep us warm. It would be hard to enjoy Iceland if you’re cold.
We flew to Seattle from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, as our flight to Iceland would originate from there. We got to test our winter clothes in Seattle, as it was windy and raining when we arrived.
We spent the night in Seattle and flew the following morning with Icelandair for an eight-hour flight to Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Midway through our flight, we saw the northern lights from the plane! I joked that we could head back already as we had seen what we came for. (Blue Lagoon had temporarily closed in November because of the threat of volcanic activity, so it was already off the list.)
We arrived in Keflavík International Airport at around 6:30 a.m. and headed straight to our car rental service, just near the airport. The cars in the open garage were covered with ice.
Safest country
They handed us the keys and Apple, my travel companion, went to get the car from the garage while I stayed behind to keep an eye on our luggage. But she was taking forever and I was freezing (I was still in my Seattle-winter gear) so I left our luggage behind to check on her. I had no problem leaving our things unattended, because Iceland is supposed to be the safest country in the world. (Later, our guide would tell us that they only have around 135 people in prison and the average number of murders in a year is less than three!) Turns out Apple was taking long because she had to defrost the car first.
We checked into Reykjavik Lights Hotel and then headed to the Harpa Concert and Music Hall where we met our food walk tour group. We were a group of 14, including our guide, Andri. Our first stop was a cafe called Hressingarskallin (The Refreshment Bowl) and we got a sample of their breakfast menu—flat cake with smoked lamb and butter, Icelandic vanilla skyr (like yogurt) with blueberries and Icelandic pancake with white sugar. I like two out of three. The Icelandic pancake reminded me of Café Breton’s crepe with butter and sugar and Café Breton’s is so much better.
The second stop, and my favorite, was Hofnin (The Dock). We were served the traditional Icelandic plokkfiskur (fish stew) with buttered potatoes, onions and rye bread cubes. It was delicious and new to us. Everyone at our table had it for the first time.
Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (The Town’s Best Hotdogs) was next. It’s a small hotdog stand manned by one guy who could very quickly assemble Iceland’s famous hotdog with raw onions and deep-fried crispy onions. There were some in our group who asked for no onions and when I got my hotdog, I thought I received theirs as it looked just like a plain hotdog in a bun. But no, at Bajarins Beztu Pylsur, they place the onions under the hotdog—a wise move because it made the hotdog less messy to eat. This hotdog with everything on (or under) it was delectable, so we ate it again on our last day.
Fermented shark
The fourth stop was a bar named Islenski Barinn (The Icelandic Bar). We tried a small piece of a nasty-smelling fermented shark, called hakarl, and downed it with a shot of vodka. This is a national dish of Iceland and probably the only justification to try it.
The last stop and my second favorite, Café Loki (The Marvel Café), made up for the shark-tasting experience! Here we had rye bread ice cream with whipped cream and caramelized rhubarb syrup and a doughnut. I loved the ice cream—it was rich, creamy and different. The doughnut was just okay.
We were so full after the food walk that we decided to walk some more. We visited Hallgrímskirkja, the largest church in Iceland, and then went to various souvenir shops. At around 4 p.m, we decided to return to the hotel to rest, fooling ourselves into thinking we’d be reenergized enough to go out that night. The lies we tell our aging selves.
But to be fair, we needed a lot of rest as we had a full day of activities scheduled on our second day. It was still dark out when we were picked up from our hotel around 8 a.m. Sunrise was around 11 a.m. Our van was full of guests who had signed up for different activities. We were scheduled to see Skógafoss Waterfall and go on a glacier hike at Sólhemajökull Glacier. One group was going to a plane crash site instead of hiking, while one girl was going hiking at the Sólhemajökull Glacier the whole day.
Our whole group first headed to Skógafoss Waterfall. It’s a wide waterfall but not very high. There’s a view deck on top and there are steps on the side leading to it. It was challenging to get close to the waterfall as the ground was covered with thick ice that made it slippery to walk on. There’s a small café nearby which serves old-fashioned hot chocolate. Well, anything hot in this place would be good. Glacier hike
We dropped off solo-hiking girl before we proceeded to a bonus stop, the Black Sand Beach, where we also had our lunch. It was already cold at the waterfall but it was even more so at the beach because of the wind. I had to turn my back to the wind to avoid windburn or frostbite. We were warned by our tour guide not to get too close to the water as it had rip currents, and if you get sucked in the freezing water, you may die within minutes. The ominous black sand could serve as a warning to this danger.
After the beach, we dropped off the plane crash visitors and finally headed to Sólhemajökull Glacier. A group of men welcomed us. The first thing they did was check our shoes. They require shoes with ankle support. But not to worry. If your shoes didn’t pass muster, you can rent a pair from them. We were then asked to line up to go inside a school bus that had been transformed into a stockroom and fitting room and there, we were fitted with ice cleats to be worn once we were on the ice. We each got an ice axe and a helmet.
It was about a 20-minute hike to reach the glacier. We had a view of a partially frozen lake on one side of the trail. The guide said the glacier has been melting faster in the past years and soon, the lake may be bigger.
The glacier was a breathtaking sight. It’s my first time seeing to see one, and I got excited to hike it. We were instructed to put on our ice cleats before we were led to the glacier. The surface of the glacier looked like side-by-side triangles and we walked on the foot of the triangles. It’s a narrow path and we used our ice axe to help keep our balance. There was black soot that sporadically covered parts of the glacier. These were particles spewed by volcanoes.
We stayed at the glacier for about an hour and were supposed to go further to check out a crevice, but there was an elderly lady in our group who was already having a hard time and was slowing us down. Time was of the essence as sunset was around 3 p.m. (yes, only around 4 hours of sunlight). I can’t imagine how it would be to hike in the dark.
We were back in our hotel by 8 p.m. and amazingly, we still had the energy to go out for dinner. A friend who loves food had prepared a Google Map list of restaurants with good reviews. We checked the list and went with a nearby cocktail bar called Apótek. The place had a fancy ambience. We ordered grilled and smoked octopus for appetizer, tiger shrimp and char-grilled salmon for the main course and cake for dessert. Everything was delicious! My favorite was the tiger shrimp which was served with three different sauces.
Sky Lagoon
The third day was recovery day! We went to Sky Lagoon, in lieu of the Blue Lagoon, which was temporarily closed. It’s a hot spring spa. They offer a seven-step ritual if you want the full experience. The first step and the most relaxing is the soak in the lagoon. To spend hours in the warm water while in the cold winter of Iceland was very satisfying. They have a bar right in the lagoon which allows a maximum of two alcoholic drinks per person.
The second step, and the only stressful activity in this experience, is the cold plunge. They have a small pool of ice-cold water and guests are encouraged to submerge in it for at least 30 seconds to awaken the senses (or whatever therapeutic benefits this torture has). To add to the stress, there are many onlookers from the lagoon, checking out who can do it and for how long. It took us three tries before we were able to fully submerge our body, from the neck down, in the pool for what I hoped was at least 30 seconds. On our first tries, we quit and ran back to the warm water after we were waist-deep.
The third step is the spa experience. We headed to a dry sauna which had a magnificent view of the ocean. We then had a cold mist (red flag this place, they love a hot-cold treatment) and were provided with a body scrub. After applying the body scrub, we went to the wet sauna. I couldn’t stay long enough there as it was too stuffy for me, I couldn’t breathe. I soon headed for the shower, which was the last step, and went back to the warm lagoon to wait for Apple, who had taken her sweet time in the wet sauna.
We were hungry after the Sky Lagoon. The pizza place beside the hotel lured us with the delicious smell. But I knew there was a pizza place on our food list—Flatey Pizza—so we decided to have an early dinner there. We were not disappointed. I ordered the mushroom pizza and loved it.
We also did some shopping at a 66º North outlet store, a popular Icelandic brand for winter apparel.
Northern lights
By 9 p.m., we were headed to see the northern lights. We were picked up at the hotel with some other guests. There was a lady in our group who was going for the third time, as there was no sight of the northern lights during her first two tries. She joked that she only ate Icelandic dishes that day as an offering to the gods. Meanwhile, Apple was more scientific and was monitoring the probabilities of a sighting using an app.
Everyone in our boat was hopeful. Some even stayed on the open deck of the boat right from the start of the ride to get into position, braving the cold. I stayed inside where it was warm. Apple went up to the deck from time to time. Midway through the waiting, I started checking flights to Alaska. Maybe we could see it there if it didn’t show up that night, our last night in Iceland. Vodka shots were announced during the last 15 minutes of waiting—the tour operators were ready to concede that it’s another night without the northern lights.
We learned that had we gone out on the night we arrived, we would have seen the northern lights. As a last-ditch effort, we planned to go out at dawn, but of course, this is a tale as old as time, as we just slept in.
Iceland is called the land of ice and fire. They have large glaciers and a lot of active volcanoes. This contrast created a unique nature landscape. It’s a nature trip of a different kind, especially for someone who comes from a tropical country who’s used to nature being defined by luscious greenery. It is a fascinating place to visit and in hindsight, the northern lights wouldn’t have been the main attraction but just a bonus. -CATHERINE LOU ALBINO
