Iceland is a country of many surprises. Located in the Northern part of Scandinavia near the Arctic circle, the combination of the pristine beauty of the landscape and a rich history had made it one of the countries to visit on our bucket list. While being a travel blogger, one of the easiest ways to attune ourselves to the culture of a new country is to get involved in activities you cannot find anywhere else on the planet and Iceland is resplendent with them. In this post, we are going to be talking about four different activities in Iceland that made us fall in love with this country.

Soaking up in the warm water

Although I have experienced massage and wellness therapies around the world, nothing had quite prepared us for a dip in one of Iceland’s famous geothermal pools. A tradition which has lasted since the times of the Vikings, we decided to explore one for ourselves as it is one of the sought after activities in Iceland. We had locked in on the Blue Lagoon Resort in Reyjkans which is located on the highway that connects the airport at Keflavik to the capital city of Reykjavik. Our decision was to soak out all the stresses of the long journey we had endured from Delhi. The spa resort’s main attraction is the geothermal pool which has been created against a pool of Black lava rocks.

I quickly change after checking in and took showers ranging from warm to hot to acclimatise my skin to the temperature and then I slid into the water. There is a slight pinch because of the temperature before the water eases in. The sensation of heat first creeps in through the tired cramped legs before slowly moving towards the neck. I lean over, relax the neck and let the hot water from the nearby geothermal. One of my therapists brings me a pot of salt to rub my body with before dipping myself back into the pool. The salt pack acts as a natural pack and replenishes my skin with vital minerals. I take another shower, this time cooling down the temperatures so that the body doesn’t get a jolt from the temperatures outside and head onto my next adventure: Icelandic food.

One of my favourite activities in Iceland: The cuisine

The harsh terrain of Iceland means that food was always built around meat and some form of preservation. This excites us as discovering new meats and the new flavours that come along with it. On our first night of exploring Reykjavic’s flea markets, we came across a stall selling fermented shark meat. The fermented shark meat has quite a strong pungent smell emanating from but I decide to clamp down on the olfactory sense and chomp down on the meat. It has quite a lovely texture and the taste of the cured meat is quite unique, almost seasoned. I down my slice of shark meat with a swig of Brennivin. Known by many names such as “Black Death or Burning Wine”, this unsweetened schnapps belongs exclusively to this country and has a distinct taste of liquorice. The Icelandic Spring Rye Bread has quite an interesting process to make. Instead of being baked in ovens, the bread is stored near the geyser channels to be baked. This slightly sweetish bread is best combined with a few slices of cheese and smoked fish and make for an exciting sandwich which I decide to wolf down.

Whale Watching

Although Dolphin watching is a very activity found all over the world, Whale Watching is something that is exclusive to only a few places, one of them being Iceland. I decided to have my first experience with these magnificent creatures and headed to the old ferry in Reykjavic to find whaling tour. I booked the one with Puffin Tours and decided to head out to the majestic blue Arctic Sea along with them. After all the necessary safety instructions and tying up the lifejackets, we decided to head out to the sea. The blue expanse speckled with white had me behold just before a fountain exploded in the distance. “There”, our guide Oslan shouted as a gigantic tail fin hung a few moments in the air before disappearing down into the sea. A few more fountains, a few more tail fins and a gigantic blue striped underbelly later, I got to see some arctic birds too.

Caving in Iceland

Just like some people love climbing up mountains, we have a craze for going into caves. We decided to head Gjabakkahellir Cave in the Thingviller National Park. This cave is actually a lava tube created by an explosion which occurred more than 10 millennia ago. As soon as I step into the caves, the combination of blue and gray colour has me awestruck. The cave is about 300 feet along and offers some majestic expressions of how the Earth was eons ago.

These are just a few of the activities in Iceland that we did. Tell us about your experiences on the activities in Iceland that you have done.

Featured Pic Credits: Jokulsarlon Fon/Inspired by Iceland