Favorite food we tried
Dana - Definitely Skyr, which is cheating because I’ve tried it before in the states. But it’s so plentiful and cheap here, we had it as a meal or just as dessert every single day.
Justin - The seafood stew was my favorite, because everything was super fresh tasting, and we had it at the end of a very long day when I was starving. Nom

Least favorite food
Dana - There’s kind of no question on this one…definitely the hakarl (fermented shark). I wanted to try it because I saw an Anthony Bourdain episode where he eats it and starts gagging, so naturally I was curious! Now I can say I’ve had it. Never again.
Justin - Ditto. Hakarl is gross.

Favorite hike
Dana - The hike to the Reykjadalur hot spring was my favorite. It was a cool climb up through some truly desolate landscape.
Justin - I would say Seljalandsfoss, but that was more of a walk than a true hike. Þingvellir would have to take my vote!

Favorite Landmark
Dana - Seljalandsfoss was the first waterfall we saw, and it was awesome to get to walk behind it. Also, the light was really cool while we were there, and we got so see so many rainbows!
Justin - Eyjafjallajökull, specifically it and the small farm at it’s base. It was really neat to see such a destructive entity looming above an idyllic little group of buildings.

Thing we didn’t do, but wish we had?
Dana - When we go back, I want to rent a 4WD camper and explore the F roads. The backroads are probably a lot less touristy, and there’s so much to see that you can’t get to with 2WD!
Justin - Whale watching would have been cool, but it was on the opposite side of the island.

Most unexpected part?
Dana - No matter where you are, if you stop and turn around in place you’re surrounded by 360 degrees of amazing natural beauty. It’s everywhere. I know everyone says Iceland is beautiful but I didn’t really get that till we got here.
Justin - Honestly, how expensive it was.

One thing we learned
Justin - How to push start a manual car.
Dana - Yup. Valuable life lesson learned there.

Favorite place we stayed
Dana - The little cabins by the river in Hella. They were so cozy!
Justin - The hostel in Laugarvatn. That’s also the first place I tasted Brennivin, the tasty local schnapps.

Most unusual person we met
Justin - My wife.
Dana - A Latvian former pharmacist working at a little coffee shop that was part of a barn. He talked to us for a long time about the attitudes in his country and his travel ambitions, and he gave us free cake since he had baked too much.

Average daily amount spent
$200 per day. That was eating in gas stations/grocery stores, staying at hostels, renting a car, not really drinking, and buying one tour (the horse ride). We did go out to eat twice, and that was super expensive.