There are 8.2 billion people in the world. Of them, 300,000 are Icelandic, of which very few are photographer-authors with a big social media following. But I got lucky and ran into Gunnar Freyr Gunnarsson, the writer of Stunning Iceland: The Hedonist’s Guide, on a far-flung Thai island in March. The next roll of the dice that went my way was Iceland Airwaves Festival announcing Lambrini Girls and Anish Kumar, two upcoming British bands whose music I enjoy, as part of its line-up. So, I landed in Iceland on 7 November all fired up for the festival and met Gunnarsson at Reykjavík’s popular bookstore-café Penninn Eymundsson.
The day after Iceland Airwaves Festival’s final act—Kumar’s high energy set—my Australian friend and I trudged to a bakery to buy some snacks before collecting our rental car. At the bakery, we ran into a solo traveller, another Aussie, and asked her if she would like to join us for a road trip. After initial hesitation, she said yes. The three of us picked up the car at 10am and drove east. We were following an itinerary Gunnarsson had given.
After two hours of driving through vast stretches of stunning landscape, we reached the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, where strong winds seemed to forewarn us against visiting the main attraction. We should have paid heed to the warning because once we got there neither of us could resist the temptation of walking behind the waterfall. Of course, neither of us had done any research and were under-prepared. By the time we came back out from under the waterfall, we were soaking wet. We spread our wet shoes and clothes on the car floor and empty seats in the hope that they would dry while I drove barefoot towards the Kvernufoss waterfall.
The wind was so strong that we were having trouble keeping a straight line during the 20-minute hike to the waterfall, which seemed set in a land described in The Lord of the Rings. The heater in the car and strong winds had dried our clothes a bit. But we chose to stand on a rock and take in the waterfall’s majestic beauty from afar. This was followed by another short hike to the nearby Skogafoss, a bigger waterfall. While the wind was blowing the spray on the people admiring Skogafoss, the sun came out behind us and a double rainbow appeared as if we were in a fairytale.
Another short drive took us to the famous black sand beaches of Reynisfjara, where we took a walk all the way to a cave despite the waters looking cold, violent and angry thanks to the sneaker waves that multiple boards along the way warned us about.
The last stop was Skool Beans café, housed in a vintage yellow American schoolbus in the village of Vik.
A PRIVATE TOUR
We were in thrall to what we had just experienced when Gunnarsson’s text pinged, “Would you and your friend like to come out for a drive tomorrow? My wife, Kasia, and I would like to show you a few of our favourite spots.”
We agreed. At 8.30am the following day, a shiny red all-terrain Jeep Wrangler was waiting for my friend and me.
Before Gunnarsson or Kassia, the smell of fresh cinnamon buns and coffee greeted us. “The treats are from my favourite bakery in Reykjavik, Brauð & co,” Gunnarsson said. Conversation and laughter filled the warm car as soon as we started rolling. It was then that I found out Gunnarsson also offers bespoke private tours of Iceland (and later, with Google, discovered his tours cost €2,600 for up to four people, meals extra). An hour later when we stopped for a snack, they told us we were headed to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, considered one of the seven energy centres, or chakras, in the world. We started with a drive on the red lava fields, from where trucks dig up gravel to make roads in Iceland. If I were to imagine what driving on Mars feels like, this was it.
No one thinks of animals when visiting Iceland but that’s a mistake. Icelandic horses are among the most exported beings. Gunnarsson also took us to Ytri Tunga beach to show us seals from close quarters.
Another short drive brought us to the iconic Búðakirkja, the black church in Buðir, which feels out of this world against the golden yellow-brown hues of the late autumn grass. This is a popular venue for weddings because the setting makes for stunning pictures. Many European-American couples pick this venue in Iceland for their wedding because it is midway between the two continents, says Gunnarsson.
The final stop before lunch was Arnarstapi. Even if you are not the kind who takes pictures, there is no way you can stop yourself from picking up your phone and turning on the camera. Everywhere you look there’s astonishing natural beauty—a natural lava arch in the water, a stone bridge that you can walk on and a basalt rock formation that looks like two trolls kissing.
By now, we were famished so we went to a traditional Icelandic restaurant, run by women, famous for its hearty Kjötsúpa meat stew and marriage cakes. They also offer vegetarian options. With our tummies full and hearts content, I’d have been happy to nap in my warm bed but Gunnarsson wanted to show us the Kirkjufell, where you literally have the mountain to yourself. It has great spots for taking dramatic drone pictures. Three out of four people in the car voted for bed so, as a compromise, Gunnarsson took us on a little off-roading adventure on black sand dunes before returning to Reykjavik.
Looking back, I now realise that almost every place I visited was devoid of big buses and the accompanying tourists clicking pictures non stop. Perhaps, the best way to see a new place is to let someone who knows the place intimately show you “their” land—places big tours wouldn’t take you to or Google’s search engine algorithm won’t show.
Shrenik Avlani is a writer and editor and the co-author of The Shivfit Way, a book on functional fitness.