waterfalls | Pomelo girl thoughts

Cocoapuffs

Posted on August 19, 2015 by elemonated

I said I wouldn’t make a directly Iceland related post, so this post is not about Iceland (though I am absolutely going to use a ton of the same tags.) Instead I wanted to make a little tribute to my level-headed and adorable travel mate, Mr. Chokkattu.

In the kayak, Seyðisfjörður

Not only was it his idea to go to Iceland despite my original hesitation and ignorance, he helped make the trip worthwhile by being his kind, patient, sweet, wonderful self.

However. That’s not quite all he did…

Things I adored about Iceland

Posted on August 18, 2015 by elemonated

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A picture Mr. Chokkattu took of me while we were on a kayak.

This will be my last post explicitly about Iceland!

So we all know now that I adored the country of Iceland, and I want to go back some day really, really badly, with maybe a job long enough to support me for a few months or just some more cash in my pocket. And that the scenery is beautiful and the landscape breathtaking, etc. But I have to share some of the specifics I jotted down. Some of them are important, some of them are surprising, some are less about Iceland and more about trips in general, and some are pretty stupid but whatever they seemed important enough to write down at the time. This list is a little long, so let’s get started:

Iceland Day 5

Posted on August 15, 2015 by elemonated

After the mild debacle the other night, we woke up bright and early and headed to Myvatn under the advisement of the two young women we had met the day before even though we had planned to skip it because of the time we lost. Also as a result of the night before and how lovely and helpful everyone was, we decided to pick up two hitchhikers heading to Dettifoss as we were going to drive in that general direction to Myvatn anyway.

They were a couple that met in Sweden at a landscaping and architectural school, a young man from France, and a young woman from the Czech Republic and beyond comparing our experiences in school (it costs too much, and you learn way more working) and discussing summer employment in Iceland (they both worked at Jokulsarlon, him a boat guide, and her a waitress at the cafe), they recommended us head to the Nature Baths in Myvatn, which is similar to the famed Blue Lagoon except much less expensive.

Iceland Day 4

Posted on August 14, 2015 by elemonated

This was both the best and worst day of the trip. We started out wonderfully with a lot of time in my new favorite town, Seyðisfjörður, where I finished the Iceland Day 2.2 post in the Hotel Aldan restaurant and had my first taste of reindeer, which was delicious. We kayaked for a couple of hours and met Mr. Hlynur Oddsson, our guide (the kayak guy, as informed by a waitress at Hotel Aldan) who was as kind and as funny as he was educational. Mr. Chokkattu was also able to wash our car for free, which is good because our little 2×4 was definitely begging to get clean after being covered in mud and dust from our drive. We also got to sing in Tvisongur, which we were told means “Double song/singing” and Mr. Chokkattu lent his lovely bass to the environment and I pittered out my minimally trained alto as accompaniment.

Later on, we had a delicious dinner at the Skaftfell visitor’s center, which also housed some interesting local art I recommend checking out if you go. Read More

Iceland Day 2.2

Posted on August 8, 2015 by elemonated

This will be quick because our day’s already started, but I just wanted to finally share some of the things I saw Thursday now that I have some decent Wifi. I don’t have a chance to edit, so you’ll see my awkward photography skills in all their raw glory (check out Mr. Chokkattu’s blog for better pictures)! Names and everything should show up in the captions, I hope you all enjoy!

And for my scented folk; I’ve been wearing Annick Goutal’s Eau de Camille this entire time. Light, crisp, beautiful, and slightly sweet; just the thing to counteract the Seltun sulfur field and blend in with the grassy meadows and stony fields around us! Also, there’s a lot of lavender in Iceland, so while you’re walking through the fields, you’ll randomly get hits of sweet and spicy real lavender. It’s gorgeous.

Onto the pictures!