The first picture you see is probably the one most people have seen from my 2019/2020 trip to Iceland. Stunning landscape, my bright green hair, and witchy attire. As a travel and lifestyle “influencer”, that photo gets likes and shares and comments and saves. But that photo doesn’t represent my best memories of that trip. It doesn’t give you the real picture of what that trip was like.
See, Iceland was hit with a somewhat unexpected (in terms of severity) blizzard while we were there. Gale force winds, canceled flights, road closures, people getting trapped in the snow on mountains. This picture doesn’t share those moments.
The photos I don’t often share from that trip actually paint the picture of the story I tell most when I think back to Jan 2020.
I’d been to Iceland before but had never been to Blue Lagoon. We got a great offer to check it out and had to take it. But the weather kept getting worse and worse. By the time we got there, it was freezing with gale force winds and hail. But Blue Lagoon was still open so we decided to go for it.
The pictures you see aren’t the typical ‘gram worthy snaps. They are real life and hilarious. Pitch black, snow and hail covered faces (and glasses), and photos of people hiding in caves and under bridges because that hail hurt! Me, my husband, my 8 year old and best friend.
Why did we stay? Because this is travel. It’s not that one perfectly curated Instagram photo. It’s these moments in time when everything seemingly goes wrong but it’s actually pretty perfect because it gives you this unforgettable experience. We met strangers who became lifelong friends over this super wild shared experience.
Do I remember where we stopped to take that perfectly posed photo? Nope. Will I ever forget the time I went to Blue Lagoon in a blizzard and hid under a bridge to try to avoid 50mph wind and hail hitting me in the face? Absolutely never.
