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I hated Iceland and here are 5 reasons why

So it seems like everyone is in love with Iceland at the moment. But I recently spent eight days travelling around the country, and I ended up "hating" it.

So it seems like everyone is in love with Iceland at the moment. But I recently spent eight days travelling around the country, and I ended up “hating” it.

For a number of reasons… Here are five for starters.

 

1. It’s just too damn photogenic

1a

I hired a car in Iceland, which is probably the best way to explore this country. But I cannot tell you how many times I had to pull the car over, whip out my camera, and try to somehow capture what I had before my eyes: craggy lava fields, ginormous waterfalls, snow-capped mountains, quaint farm houses, etc.

It was literally like every 30 seconds in some parts, which put me severely behind schedule! Damn you oh Land of Fire and Ice for being so goddamn photogenic!

 

2. It made me get my shoes wet all the time

2a

Iceland is one of those enticing destinations that reels you in beyond your better judgment. For example, I just couldn’t resist running up to a volcanic sand beach and trying to dip my hand in the water to gauge its temperature. Often I’d succeed (it wasn’t THAT cold, honestly), but only at the expense of my shoes getting totally soaked.

A similar thing happened with me and Icelandic waterfalls. I just couldn’t resist getting closer and closer to the roaring cascade of water before its spray would eventually soak my shoes to the core – and my jacket, and my pants, and pretty much everything!

 

3. It made me stay up all night

3s

Winter in Iceland is the best time to see the Northern Lights, and so I’d often stay up all night, or set the alarm for some insane hour in the middle of the night, to try my luck at seeing them. And this made me so tired day after day after day. In fact, I’m still pretty much working off that sleep debt up until today!

I eventually succeeded in seeing the Northern Lights, which were awesome by the way, but guess at what time I saw them? 6.30pm! Yep, didn’t even have to set the alarm for that…

Remember folks: Iceland only gets about six hours of day light during winter, so it gets dark really, really early (at about 4pm).

 

4. It got me too hyped up on caffeine

4d

Icelanders love their coffee, and I mean REALLY love it, so much so that most cafes offer free unlimited refills when you buy a standard coffee.

And being a total coffee addict myself, I just couldn’t say no to refill after refill after refill. This made me pretty much hyped-up on caffeine during my stay in Iceland, and I had to burn off all that excess energy by going on epic hikes and the like. And I totally blame Iceland for that!

 

5. It made me put my life at risk

2v

Iceland is probably the most raw and rugged country I’ve ever explored. And as such, nature reigns supreme here. There are lots of safety signs all around reminding you to stay on the track as danger can literally lurk around any corner in Iceland.

But I just couldn’t help stepping off the track to check out what the cliffs looked like a little closer to the edge. I later saw a sign that demanded people not to do this as the ground closer to the edge is VERY unstable. And that was just one of MANY times I tempted fate. And I’m totally blaming my foolishness on Iceland’s dramatic landscapes!

This goes without saying folks: Don’t be an idiot like me and tempt fate. Stick to the track and always pay attention to safety signage.

Have you recently explored Iceland? What did you think about it?