Seriously, looking at this sky never got old.
I initially wanted to visit Snæfellsnes National Park on day 4, but I quickly realized that it was an overly ambitious plan. As it was, I spent most of the day driving even without making the detour onto the peninsula! I definitely could have used another two or three days with the car to see more sights. It just means I’ll have to go back one day.
Europe’s Most Powerful Waterfall meets the Yank without a Chain
From Bakkagerdi I headed to the northern coast of the island and visited Dettifoss, “Europe’s Most Powerful Waterfall,” and the area around Myvatn – “Midge Lake” or “Fly Lake” in English. The road up to Dettifoss was the worst I experienced and I was terrified of getting a stone in my windshield. The insurance for the car doesn’t cover any windshield damage, which didn’t seem like such a big deal until I realized that it is actually very possible to get a stone kicked up at you from another car on these gravel side roads. Fortunately, this didn’t happen to me and I made the round trip to Dettifoss with my car intact.
Where I slept in my Nissan Note on my first night, with views of a waterfall behind me and the ocean in front.
On the first day of my five-day roadtrip around Iceland’s Ring Road, I picked up my car at Keflavik airport at around midnight and drove through the night toward Dyrholaey on the southern coast. The first couple of hours I was driving through dense fog and was excited and jet-lagged and nervous all at the same time. I’d never rented a car on my own before, much less driven so many hours in such a short time. Around 2:30 in the morning the fog lifted and I saw the gorgeous summer sunrise and I knew that I had made the right decision in coming to Iceland.
The Artilleria funicular in Valparaiso
I spent a total of 16 days in Chile and spent an average of $49 per day – although that would be significantly lower if I hadn’t done a ski trip to Valle Nevado (which cost $200 for the day). I enjoyed Santiago much more than I thought I would have. I had heard so many stories about how polluted (true) and boring (not true) the city was, but I easily managed to fill 10 days in the city without getting bored.
Riding in the gondola at Valle Nevado, the first in Chile
Southern hemisphere skiing was another activity that had long been on my bucket list before this trip began. I got the opportunity to do it near Santiago, Chile at Valle Nevado in the Andes. Treated to stunning views of treeless landscapes, I had a very enjoyable – if expensive – day of packed powder thrills.
I rented all of my equipment and booked transportation through Ski Total and was quite happy with the experience. They were punctual and helpful, although returning the equipment at the end of the day was very disorganized.
A Yank without a Chain 