Above the Arctic circle in Tromso, Norway

So, I decided to push the envelope even more. Flew to Tromso from Oslo. It was about a two-hour flight. It costs about 90 dollars round trip at the time. Might be more expensive in the coming years. Luckily, there wasn’t any major snowstorm that day. Luck was on my side to visit this part of Norway.

image_final — A picture of where Tromso is from Oslo

Yeah, I was far above the arctic circle. All my family in the Usa thought I was crazy. However, I didn’t care. A small part of me, I wanted to visit Santa. However, I was here for my goal. To see the northern lights and to experience as far north as I could during the winter. Also, to have something to brag about with friends.

It was very cold up here. When It wasn’t snowing, the wind will hit in you in your face. The like a slap from a sheet of Ice, the wind was painful. Similar to ice needles stinging your skin. I had to put my extra scarf over my face. The air felt a little hard to breathe. I eventually got used to it. There were parts where the snow was thick enough to sink my boots. You had to be careful when walking here or risk breaking your ankles.

tromso-eidted .jpg — The Sami people’s home

The way the homes are built up here is so beautiful. They reminded me of the Native homes in Greenland and Canada. Although not related to the Inuits of Canada and Greenland, the Sami people are the natives of this part of Norway. They dress similarly have similar looking homes. However, the Inuits came to Greenland and Canada via Serbia.

aurora-589049_1920 — The northern lights

After walking around for a little bit, it became dark quickly. It was about 1pm and the sky looked like it was midnight. After about 30 minutes, I saw what I came here for. The Northern Lights! I have seen it a few times before. In Iceland and Canada; however, never this strong. Anybody could take a photo of it with the right settings on your camera. My face was stiff but a big smile from ear to ear was on it. My goal was accomplished.

My flight was at 9am the next morning. I tried looking for a hotel but everything was booked out when I was looking. Decided to book a room at an Ice hotel. Inside the hotel was a work of art. It’s crazy to think they have to rebuild this every year. I wouldn’t recommend walking around the room without a coat. It is warm but not warm enough to walk around with a t-shirt. The chairs and beds were carved out of ice. Ir’s crazy to think the hard work that went into this. It was time to sleep and my last day in Noway was just about to start. I couldn’t wait to see what it had in store.

Stay safe everyone and remember to wash your hands!

Check out our eBook “How to Travel for Dirt Cheap” by Hugo Morel for ways to make your dreams of traveling come true without breaking the bank. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M848M47?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420&fbclid=IwAR0_mRF-eE9tODIshljVr7CQ8h6vKT6hHn_8gZfJ94DySY1ylPO2Itu2Qe

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July 29, 2020 33

Saying farewell to the cold and Iceland

As when I was heading towards the airport, it was dark. Like completely dark to the point, it did not look like 7 in the morning. Had to google the local time a few times just to make sure. Thought I miscalculated the time differences. One of the biggest issues for a traveler, make sure you have a local SIM card. It changes the time on your phone automatically. Or at least, having a service plan that gives you International data. To be upfront, it’s cheaper getting a local SIM card.

The view outside of the hostel waiting for the shuttle photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

I was waiting for the airport shuttle, when the sun was starting to rise. It’s still really hard to believe that I’m so far up north. I thought it would be like some parts of Alaska, where sunlight is only out for a couple of hours. However, this country only gets dark in the early morning and after 3 p m. So there’s about 5 hours of sunlight here during the winter. Which is about a few hours less sunlight than New York City in December. Iceland still amazes me.

After about 15 minutes in the cold, the airport shuttle arrived. The crazy thing about Iceland’s shuttles, they have free wifi and USB ports to charge your electronics (I was definitely not in Cuba). Sat down for the 45 minute ride to Kavilf Airport.

The sun starting to rise photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Got to the airport, passed through customs with ease. Eventually, got hungry and walked to one of the airport stores. I was talked into buying some local chocolate. I did not regret the choice. It had an interesting flavor. Imagine the sweet milky chocolate taste with a little hint of salt. It was definitely something worth remembering.

Icelandic chocolate bar photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

After some time passed, I kept thinking about my experiences in Iceland. Still surprised I haven’t came back with a cold or some flu. The fact that humans can live in such extreme temperatures, it really opens your eyes. Humans are very adaptable. From the bitter cold of Iceland to the heat of the Sahara Desert, humans will find a way to live. Im really lucky to have experienced this island all the way up North. Can’t wait to see the next country and what it had to offer.

Walking to the airplane photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

As I walked to the pathway to board the airplane, I was excited about going to my next country. It would be a complete 180. This place will be warm with a Caribbean coastline. A new experience was waiting for me. As I took my sit, I sat there in excitement. Central America, here I come!!

Thank you for reading. Much love and safe travels!

Check out our eBook “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 29, 2019 22

My last day in Iceland

My final full day in Iceland appeared out of nowhere. There I was, thinking I had a few more days. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Spent the night before trying to capture the northern lights. That ended up in a failure. Didn’t have the right equipment on me to take a quality photo. As seen in the picture below, the only lights my camera captured were lights made by humans.

Trying to take photo of the Northern lights photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The morning afterwards was a little difficult to get up. I started to pack and get ready for the flight back home. Once done, I left my luggage in my rented locker and I was off to explore Iceland for a final time.

On another note, the awesome thing about Iceland is it’s features for tourists. One of those features are that most tours are at a reasonable price. Also, if you miss the Northern Lights, you have up to three years to go on the tour again. It is free and you can keep doing this until you see the natural phenomenon. Just remember the email to show the email receipt.

A small river photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Booked a last minute tour to see a few more sights around Iceland. Honestly, don’t remember what exact part of Iceland this was. Just knew it was somewhere in Southeast Iceland. Looking at the simple life of the Icelandic people, I noticed that fishing is a major part of their economy. I later learned that Iceland almost did not join the European Union. They had a fear of over-fishing from the other European members. That would cause their native fishes to go extinct. Of course, they made a deal and this freezing cold Island is now in the E.U.

Waterfalls photos courtesy of Hugo Morel

We ended up seeing more waterfalls. It’s hard to believe how many waterfalls are in Iceland. Still Iceland a has different charm to it. Most countries have big cities or human made tourist attraction. Iceland is very unlike other countries, all the tourist attractions are naturally made.

About 3 hours later, I went back to my hostel. Started exploring the surrounding areas again. Iceland is breathtaking, both with the bitter wind trying to freeze your lungs and the country’s beauty. It’s a shame that I will be leaving this behind but, this bitter cold is no joke! I will always be amazed to what this country has to offer.

Modern art of a viking ship photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

It’s hard to believe, how the Vikings used to travel around in this cold. Especially, traveling long distanced in the ocean. Iceland, I must visit you again. Next time when I come, it will definitely be during the summer time.

Thank you for reading. Much love and safe travels!

Check out our 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 15, 2019 39

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

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!

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May 11, 2019 33