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Water
Water is everywhere in Iceland : the sea enters
the island with fjords ; fresh water is kept in lakes and in glaciers ;
it passes through Iceland with rivers.
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Air
The climate is not as cold as the north latitude
could make you think so. The Gulf-Stream provides a mild weather in winter
(average of 0°C) and the oceanic climate provides fresh summers (average
of 10°C). But the weather is always unsettled in Iceland and a dictum
says : 'if you dislike the current weather, just wait for a few minutes'.
Generally South is wetter than North and when the weather is good in the
south, it is bad in the north and inversely. The wind is almost always
blowing, that is why the weather is always unsettled. This is in June
you can see the sun bouncing on the skyline, which provides an orange-coloured
sky all night.
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Ground
This island is settled in the medio-atlantique break,
so that there's often a seismic and volcanic activity. We can count more
than 200 living-volcanoes in the island. Eruptions are regular, even underneath
a glacier; the latest eruption date back to December 1998.
The coast is made of stony cliffs and the internal land is made of mountains, plateaux and deserts; that diversity provides extraordinary colours and landscapes.
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The Iceland special features
The main specialities are wool, especially pullovers
and gastronomy. You'll find good but expensive food everywhere especially
in gas stations, which are meeting points for the Icelandics.
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Money
The Iceland currency is 'Krona'. Don't try to find
out that currency in your country, just enter Iceland with your local
currency or dollars. You'll easily find a bank everywhere in the country
to get some exchange, you'll gain on the deal. You'll just need a VISA
Card, a EUROCARD/MASTERCARD or Travellers and you'd better ask the position
rather than the cash dispenser.
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Language
The Icelandic language is extremely difficult to
understand because it's a mix of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon languages,
with several declensions. But you should not worry, every shopkeeper and
every young person can speak english.
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Icelandic behaviours
The inhabitants are reserved, especially in summer when tourists land.
They are not very numerous and they live only in few towns (Reykjavik, Akureyri). To be able to meet them,
you should go to a local meeting point : the gas station or the swimming pool. I can bet you'll never find out a village without its swimming pool!
Once you'll succeed to discuss with them, you'll discover they're nice and frank.
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How to go to Iceland
You have 2 solutions : the plane from anywhere
or the boat from Norway or Denmark. You should take the boat if you want
to remove your car, but do that only for a 4-wheel car or rent a car on
the spot.
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How to move in the island
You can travel in cabs (it's easy to find one)
or in buses (the inhabitants often use them) or you can rent a car. But
without a 4-wheel car, you won't be able to travel around Iceland, you
would just drive around near the coast, on the n°1 road. Be careful,
that road is tarred on less than half, and the changes of directions are
not always very well indicated. The other roads are made of crushing stones
and you can't drive fast.
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How to sleep
You can sleep in campsites (they are well shared out everywhere in the island), in youth hostels (only in towns), in sleeping bags (Bed & Breakfast, EDDA Hotels), in hotels.
You can even sleep in a sheter, in the internal land.
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Necessary equipment
For your equipment, you'll need a good pair of
comfortable shoes, hot clothes, gloves, sunglasses and a raincoat.
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