I am virtually unwilling to accept the idea that these magical creatures do not grace Iceland.  This country is just far too stunning.  They must.  Once you see its idyllic beauty, you might be convinced as well…  And a ton of the locals truly believe they do:

“Huldufólk (Icelandic hidden people^[1] from huldu- “pertaining to secrecy” and fólk “people”, “folk”) are elves in Icelandic folklore.^[2][3] Building projects in Iceland are sometimes altered to prevent damaging the rocks where they are believed to live.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} According to these Icelandic folk beliefs, one should never throw stones because of the possibility of hitting the huldufólk.^[9]” -Source

The fist time I saw a sliver of Iceland was in 2010 with a quick crew tour to the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa.  They shuttled us straight there and straight back so, as you can imagine, I wasn’t left with the most jaw-dropping impression.  The lagoon is cool, but it is so not what I would recommend doing.  There is so many other amazing sites to see!

On this visit we were determined to see as much as possible, so we jumped on as tour escorts for the final tour of our contract.  Aside from our bus breaking down on the highway and having to spend thirty minutes waiting for a new one, the day was phenomenal.

We stopped at waterfalls, rivers, lakes, hot springs, museums, parks, etc.  It was a FULL day!  We almost didn’t get back to the ship in time!

But as you can see from the following photos, it was TOTALLY worth it.  I just can’t use enough adjectives to accurately describe how mind-blowingly phenomenal this country is.  I will return as soon as I can!

The Hraunfossar Falls are gorgeously distinct in that they span 900 meters out of a lava field.

Barnafossar Falls are just up the river from the Hraunfossars!  2 for 1!

Deildartunguhver Hot Springs are so cool, but man, do they SMELL!  The near-boiling water is piped for heating, how cool is that?!  Icelanders must have the lowest heating bills in the world!

Our visit to Thingvellir, also known as Parliamentary Plains, is what really sold me on the existence of these elves.  It’s amazing.  This sacred site held the nation’s meetings for nearly 900 years!  I just couldn’t get enough of it.  That double rainbow!  Wow.

Probably the best view from a bathroom ever.