Freezing at The Black Sand Beach of Reynisfjara, Iceland

Iceland’s most famous beach Reynisfjara. It’s nicknamed the black sand beach. Although, Iceland has several beaches with black sand. This is the one everybody talks about.

Black sand beach photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Reynisfjara is just outside of Vik. Freezing, I got out of the tour bus to see this famous beach. I wanted to see what the hype was about. Also, sitting down became a painful task. Needed to start walking around.

black sand 2 — Members of our group going next to the ocean photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

black sand 3 — Another shot of members of our group photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Once outside, I couldn’t believe how courageous some of the people that were on the tour with me. They ran towards where the waves were. Ignoring what our guide told us to void going near the ocean. I guess they thought it was the summer time and this was Miami Beach.

Another view of members in our tour group photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Even if this wasn’t a beach in the Caribbean Sea, it was still very interesting to see the black sand. The bitter wind was out control though. My hands were freezing through my gloves. It’s hard to believe people live and fish here year round. I couldn’t imagine living here. The Icelandic people are very tolerant to the cold.

Selfies of me freezing photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

I was told by family members to start taking selfies. They told me to use those photos as proof you been to the country that the photo was taken in. Of course, I did it with my own spin. For whatever reason, I decided to take my gloves off to do the peace sign for all my doubters. Sadly, I could only put up one finger due to the painfully numbing cold. Risking my health to prove naysayers wrong, sounds like a smart social media move. Everybody is doing it.

P.s. Sarcasm is used four times in this post.

black sand 5 — A view of the beach’s landscape photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

black sand 1 — Another shot of the beach’s landscape photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

As we all nearly froze ourselves, our time at Reynisfjara was nearly up. The majestic beach was going to be left behind. Our tour group ended up with a success. No one ended up frozen or taken out to sea. It was at this moment, I started to doubt if this was a smart idea. Being in Iceland during winter time near a beach, sounds like everybody’s dream. California, I miss you.

Thank you for reading. Much love and safe travels!

Check out our latest e-book “How to Travel for Dirt Cheap” by Hugo Morel for ways to make your dreams of traveling come without breaking the bank: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M848M47?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420&fbclid=IwAR0_mRF-eE9tODIshljVr7CQ8h6vKT6hHn_8gZfJ94DySY1ylPO2Itu2Qe0

June 1, 2019 21

The natural beauty of Southern Iceland

The day after exploring the lava cave, I decided to take a tour of southern Iceland. Alot of people were telling me how beautiful the southern part of the island was. Everybody at my hostel was over selling me on it. Was a little suspicious about it at first. Yet, looking back, it was all worth it.

Screenshot of southern iceland in google map courtesy of Hugo Morel

A tour bus picked me up from my hostel in Reykjavík. And the two and a half hour long ride started. After a butt-numbing sit down, we got to the southern part of iceland. Our first stop was seeing an ice glacier. Like a kid about to go to the candy store, I was eagered to see this Arctic beauty.

Landscape of southern Iceland photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

When we got there, I was in complete awe. I never seen ice naturally in the color blue. Still trying to understand it. Coming for a place where it never snowed, this was something I will keep forever in my memories. As a kid, I remember we used to drive 6 hours just to see snowfall. Seeing this glacier pulled my heart strings.

Ice glacier photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Freezing, I had to take a photo. While doing this, our tour guide gave us the history of this ice beauty. According to him, this glacier is about 20,000 years old. Sadly, climate change has been melting this majestic formation of ice. He told us that it has about 4 more years before it’s completely melted. Seeing the impact we human have towards our environment in person, really changes you. It made me want to go green and recycle as much as possible. Make sure to visit Iceland and see these ice beauties in person.

More landscape photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

We started to walk away from the glacier. Our group was walking slowly. When I wasn’t taking photos, I was talking to people on our tour. Met people from The United Kingdom and other parts of Europe. Most were friendly and others were too focused in the beautiful nature. Me, I was wondering about the person in the photo above. That right leg looks awkwardly bent. Also, that was badly executed sarcasm.

Skógafoss waterfalls photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

We later went to the waterfall called Skógafoss. I tried not to get too close. There was a lot water vaper from the falls. Had to watch it from far. Still it was very beautiful. The fact that the water has not been frozen over, still dumbfounds me. Iceland, one day I will understand your majestic nature.

Thank you for reading. Much love and safe travels!

May 25, 2019 41

Going to Iceland in the winter

Yes, you read right! I went to the land of ice during winter time. This crazy kid from california went to Iceland. At least, that’s what all my family members were telling me. But hey, you can’t really blame me for jumping on 200 dollars round trip tickets.

The flight from New York City to Keflavík international airport was about 4 and a half hours. I took an overnight flight. Literally, dozed off and I was in Iceland. The flight was very smooth. It was surprising because I expected to go through snow clouds.

Google map of how far Keflavik International Airport is from Iceland’s capital

Landed in Keflavik International Airport. It is about an hour away from the capital Reykjavík. The great thing about iceland is that there are a lot of tour companies that will pick you up at the airport and drop you off at your accommodation. Their prices are reasonable and they come every hour.

Me sitting at the hostel’s main lobby taken by Hugo Morel

Once I got to my hostel, I was very interested in getting to explore Iceland. Left all my luggage in my room and it was time to see this Nordic country. There was no time to waste.

Went outside and all I could feel was the harsh cold wind. I was definitely not in California anymore. Holding up my phone and camera to take pictures was like putting dry ice on your hands. The low temperatures kept stinging my fingers. Even with all that, I made sure to take pictures for you all!

As the finger-numbing wind kept blowing, I knew I was in viking land. Can’t wait to see what this country has to offer. The adventures and the experiences that I had in this in country, will stay with me for the rest of my life. I can’t wait to share it with you all.

Thank you for reading. Much love and safe travels!

To start your own adventures, check out the link below.

May 11, 2019 33