Oh, Iceland! This week I said a sad goodbye to the country I was so seduced by, a goodbye that thankfully was followed in close succession by a good old hello, again to the United Kingdom. Right now I’m catching up with friends in England and seriously starting to feel the work-pileup repercussions of so many back-to-back trips. Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed like this I remind myself of one of my favorite sayings — If you feel in control, you aren’t going fast enough.
Now, onto Photo of the Week nominees from the second half of my Iceland trip!
Photo A
The Golden Circle refers to the popular day-trip route to some of Iceland’s most famous natural wonders. On the left is Silfra, a glacial lake that runs between the North American and European tectonic plates (and the location of my Icelandic scuba dive!) and on the right is Geysir, the geysir for which all geysirs were named (is there a more elegant way to state that fact?)
Photo B
During our road trip I made my mom stop the car approximately a billion times so I could get out and photograph the majestic Icelandic horses that lined the road. It smacked a bit of my highland cow obsession from years past, frankly.
Photo C
It involved 75lbs. of scuba gear and 35°F water, but scuba diving in Iceland was worth it. I can’t wait to share more photos and stories from this unique and surreal dive!
Photo D
In one of those “Is this really my life?” moments, we went snowmobiling on a glacier. Nothing I can say to make that any cooler.
Photo E
And finally, images from a whale watching trip in which the actual whale sightings were a bit underwhelming but the boat trip was serene.
I can’t wait to share more about this trip! For now, which do you think should be Photo of the Week?
I love B! The horses, that sky, and the composition – wonderful!
Thanks Rachel! I was so obsessed with the little guys!
The horses…..no doubt about it
They seem to be the popular pick!
Though it doesn’t affect my pick for photo of the week, I was in Iceland on June 12th following a cruise. My pick is for that beautiful photo of the horses,Picture B. It should win any competition.
Thank you! I didn’t see any cruise ships while I was there, but I can see how its a great stopover! What did you do with your day there?
Because my wife has very limited mobility, we are constrained to sightseeing by road. Thus we toured Reykjavik, it’s museums, dock area and, of course, the Pearl. We saw the Blue Lagoon, but couldn’t participate. Fascinating country and people. Wish we had geothermal energy!
Sounds like you saw a lot of the highlights in a short period of time! Definitely impressed by the country and their use of renewable energy.
I love B so much! How cute are the horses manes? They look so cute and cuddly. Def my favourite.
Thanks Kirsty! So happy to have you reading 🙂
My favorite is D. The stark color contrast is awesome. Hard to chose, tho, because they’re all amazing–scenes I’ve never seen, nor will I ever, so thanks for showing them to me.
That’s the joy of blogging! So happy to share 🙂
D – I’ll never see anything like this – and I’ve seen horses a lot. I lived in Ocala too long – that’s their prime product
The Icelandic horses are really unique, I can’t wait to write a whole post about them!
I love A, especially the one on the left. More than any of the others, it looks to me like an unreal, magical fairy land… beautiful!
Thanks Sara! Unreal magical fairy land is actually quite an accurate description for Iceland! 🙂
I want to say the horses since its really a great photograph, but something makes me want to say C. You look so happy (and perhaps cold as well) and the blue is intoxicating.
It was one of the most unreal experiences in all my travels, Annie! I can’t wait to show more photos!
Wow sounds like an awesome trip! I am definitely adding Iceland to the itinerary now! I love photo B the best!
Iceland is a must-see! However it is definitely a pricey destination, be sure to budget for it if you choose to go!
I think this is the first week in a long time that I cannot choose! I am equally divided between all 5! Great shots, Alex, and I’m with you that Iceland is too beautiful for words. Your pictures certainly do it justice.
Jen, thank you so much for this kind comment! Nice to hear I was able to do justice to such an amazing place.
I love these photos! And I also have a serious highland cow obsession, so I can relate. Great to see you in CO last month.
Hillary it was so great to see you as well! Had I known about our mutual highland cow obsession I would have brought my cow hat 🙂
Photo D is amazing!
Thanks Cheryl! Believe it or not I took that with my new little point and shoot Canon, love it so much!
The horses get me every time! I’m going for B. So excited to see you tomorrow and hear more about your trip 🙂
It was so great to meet you! Now that I know about our shared animal obsession I’m not surprised you vote for B! 🙂
I love the horses! The one on the left’s little mohawk mane is awesome.
Thanks Emily! Those horses had some great haircuts.
The first one definitely! I love how you can’t really tell if the bottom blue is a lake or the sky underneath a rock archway. Absolutely beautiful!
Thank you Nicky! I didn’t really see the optical illusion before… of course now I can’t un-see it. Ha.
B!!!
I’m surprised you didn’t pick the snowmobiling picture!
who took the picture of you in the scuba gear???
The divemaster on the dive! It was great, we were both diving with cameras.
Gorgeous pictures!
Thank you so much Kaylee, this was a great week!
Definitely photo b– those horses are so cute!
The horses are far and away the winners this week! Popular choice 🙂
So many good ones this week! I like the intensity of the blue in the scuba shots! I’ve been hearing so many good things about the dive sites in Iceland. 😀
I can’t wait to post more about it! I would like to do more diving when I eventually return to Iceland…
Dang, I need to get myself to Iceland asap. Was thinking of August but prices are SOOO expensive for airfare alone during the summer.
Yup, it’s definitely the most expensive place I have traveled to. Sign up for the Iceland Air or Iceland Express newsletters… they send great deals!