Today I did one of the coolest things I´ve ever done in my life (and I´ve done a lot of cool things). I went ice trekking. I decided since I´ve never seen a glacier in real life, I needed to do that while in Iceland. So I booked a tour with Arctic Adventures called Blue Ice. I didn´t really know what to expect. But it was un-freaking believable!!! I know I won´t be able to put into words how incredible it was. But I´ll try to at least give you an idea.

Upon meeting the group at their office, I immediately met some new friends – David, Richard and Joe from Florida. I knew off the bat that the day was going to be extraordinary with them. They had me laughing within 5 minutes!

We drove for about 2.5 hours from Reykjavik past Eyjafjallajökull, which was the volcano that erupted in 2010 and caused all the air traffic issues from Europe. You could just see the top of the crater peeking out from the clouds. That alone was worth the drive! But all around the dramatic mountains that we drove by were small – and not so small – waterfalls. You´d pass one that would be gorgeous just to pass another more beautiful one 5 minutes later.

We finally got to the glacier and I´ve never seen anything like it. I won´t say it was beautiful but it was. But more than that – it was massive and HARSH looking. Absolutely amazing. It made me feel very, very small. And it was surrounded by huge green cliffs and ash. I´ve included a picture below but it will never give you the idea of standing there and seeing it for yourself. As soon as we started walking to the glacier I felt like I was walking on another planet. The black ash and the blue ice were other-worldly. To add to the craziness of the experience, it began to rain/hail. I wasn´t prepared for the weather regardless and when this started, I was a little worried. But it did add to the atmosphere.

We spent a little while putting on our crampons and getting a lesson on walking on ice and using the pick ax. Then we were off up the glacier.

Our guides were amazing – Simi was studying geology at the University of Iceland and was full of knowledge on glaciers; this one in particular. He explained how the ice was melting so fast and how the glacier kept moving and how the lines of black ash were formed via the crevasses in the ice. It was fascinating and kind of spooky. He kept pointing out a website where we could we could see time-lapsed video of the changing of the glacier – www.extremeicesurvey.org. Pretty cool. We walked the glacier for about 90 minutes, stopping periodically to hear more explanations of the massive thing – and to take pictures of course. I can´t even count how many times I just stopped and my mouth dropped open and I was absolutely in awe! It was such an amazing, unique sight.

Finally it was time to try our hands at climbing an ice wall. Everyone got to do it and the guide said I was ‘like an expert’. I told him he probably said that to all the girls 🙂 It was so much fun! And difficult! And addicting. I can´t wait to try it again. And we only climbed about 20 feet. I can´t even imagine how incredible it would be to climb higher. Wow – that´s all I cay say – wow…

On the way back to Reykjavik we stopped at the magnificent waterfall called Seljalandsfoss. It´s the biggest waterfall I´ve ever seen and was like a picture out of a postcard. That and the Icelandic horses that were riding at the base of the waterfall were incredible.

We made our way back to Reykjavik and my new friends invited me out to dinner with them. Who knew we were going to the ‘best restaurant in the country’. Do keep in mind that this is a small country – but still! They made reservations at the Perlan which is a landmark building in Reykjavik with a revolving restaurant on the top that does a complete 360 tour of the city in 2 hours. So here I was at a gourmet restaurant with 3 dates – lucky girl or what?! Needless to say, we had an absolute blast – eating and drinking and telling stories. It was the perfect ending to an absolutely unforgettable day! And it was made all that much better by these 3 men. They were so kind and funny and thoughtful and really made my day one of the best ever!

How is it that each day gets better and better?! It certainly can´t continue, right? I´m hoping it does…

Tomorrow I´m off to go white night hiking – a hike to some natural hot springs at night. Can it be more amazing than today? Here´s hoping!