Back In Iceland
Posted by Michael Coen
Last time I went to Iceland, I had about 5 days notice to prepare. As exciting as it is to receive news that you’ll be shooting in such an exotic place, I was underprepared. I didn’t have nearly enough waterproof gear and it was on that trip that I learned the true value of a thick pair of wool socks (that I had to purchase during the trip).
Fast forward almost two years, Tabitha and I head there work-free and fully prepared... technically.
We decided to vanlife it despite the winter conditions and restricted camping on the island. Needless to say it’s a challenging environment even if you have all the right gear. Cold hands, figuring out where to sleep every night, hoping we’re not buried in snow when we wake up, etc. It can weigh on you and it certainly did on Tabs. By day 4 (after the blizzard came rolling in), she was ready to trade the icy black-sand beaches for perhaps a sunny gold-sand beach much, much further south.
The incessant snow that buried Iceland during that week was enough to make anyone question this place as a way to spend your vacation money. For multiple days in a row, almost all the roads closed on the island, including the ring road. The upside was that while we were stuck in Northeast Iceland, hundreds of miles away from Reykjavík, it did feel like we had the place to ourselves, which is a feeling seldom felt on this tourist filled island. We interacted with locals more than we would have and had more time to take in Icelandic culture and its Saga history. The downside was that we had no clue when we would be allowed to drive back to the West in order to catch our flight off the island.
But that’s what I love about Iceland.
It doesn’t care about your plans. It doesn’t care that you forgot a waterproof jacket or that this was your only vacation this year. And as much as the crowded tourist attractions can feel like Disneyland, it isn’t. It’s a rugged, sub-Arctic landscape photographer’s paradise that changes its weather in a blink of an eye. Iceland gon’ Iceland.
