Reykjavik And The Golden Circle
In the last Sony photography contest, about half of the landscape, outdoor category winners depicted Iceland. So, what is so magical about this land of ice and fire? I will give you a bit of taste of the island. This trip, we explored the stretch of land from Snæfellsjökull National Park in the west to the Vatnajökull National Park to the southeast of the island using a 4×4 Toyota SUV. We went to Iceland mid to end of February. Even though it was still freezing and windy, the long nights were more suited for watching the Northern lights.
The Magic of the Golden Circle
Lagoons and Geysers
The most famous and the most expensive lagoon is the famous blue lagoon, not far away from the Reykjavik airport. The crowd is high here for a good reason: it’s worth every single penny. The blue color even reflects on the steam, making the lagoon all the more dreamy. Especially worth visit during the winter when your eyebrows are full of little icicles, your body stays nice and warm at 38 Celsius. Full bar service and mud musk in the actual lagoon mean that you don’t even need to get out of the warm water. Just don’t forget to book a reservation!
Being the land of fire, there are many other options available. We visited the “Secret Lagoon” just a bit southeast of the Golden Triangle. Less crowded, less expensive, and BYOB. Alternatively, you can ask the locals where they go for their warm dip. Many of them have secret spots that are both free in terms of money and large crowds. As for geysers, please don’t go near them, please! They are literally boiling hot.
Icelandic Horses
Close to the Golden Circle, you can find ranches of Iceland horses. These Instagram famous fluffy horses are generally found anywhere in Iceland. They are sturdy and short. I would implore you not to feed these cute and fluffy horses anything, even if they playfully attack you with their muzzles. Just keep your eyes open when you are driving around the Golden Circle.
Driving in Iceland
Iceland is one of the windiest places I have ever been at sea level. Combined with frequent lightning, snowy, and rainy conditions, Iceland is not a place for the faint-hearted. Driving is extremely challenging here, and so is keeping your car free of damage. We drove through severe snowstorms that you could barely see even the storm-proof lighting by the side of the road (we couldn’t see the road at all). We drove through 60 kph winds many times that we accidentally broke two of our car doors when we tried to go for put stops. It was seriously an adventure for us and our poor 4×4. Luckily, fixing the car door costs less than 60 USD per door, which, probably speaks to how frequent people break their doors here.
This bride had to wrap up the photo shoot under the 60kph wind. 
Found my mom hiding behind the pillar from the wind XD 
Working hard to clear the road 
Under 60kph wind, this place was really dangerous 
Hide from the Wind!