by Seth
We all travel to different places, but I believe we take pieces of the places we have lived with us wherever we go.
Three Friends from the Shenandoah Valley on an Iceland Road Trip
I’m from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, and I’m on an 8-day Iceland road trip with friends, seeing landmarks along the Ring Road with two friends from the United States: Jesse, who is also a Shenandoah Valley native, and Noah, who grew up in South Carolina and now lives in the Shenandoah Valley with his wife. We’re travelling in a Dacia Duster 4×4 with a roof top tent from Rent.is.
Why I’m Writing About Our Iceland Road Trip with Friends
I started writing this to have an outlet to share some thoughts. It will be fun to look back on in the future, and it will also be a good way to share the experience with people when they ask “How was Iceland?” and want more details than my memory has capacity for.
Trips like this attract people experiencing transition in their lives, and I’m no different, with my wedding less than a month away.
The Waterfalls Along the Ring Road
The places we are visiting, especially the waterfalls we’ve seen so far, are absolutely overwhelming in their beauty, size and depth:
- Gullfoss: huge.
- Seljalandsfoss: picturesque.
- Gluggafoss: inside jokes.
- Skógafoss: wet, joyful chaos and great photos at the bottom, truly peaceful at the top.
- Kvernufoss: nestled in the cliffs.
If you lock your eyes on one “clump” of water as it falls from the top, it may dissipate into mist, or make it all the way down and crash again into the single flowing stream that continues as far as you can see. Gluggafoss and Kvernufoss are quieter than the big names, and both are well worth seeking out. You’ll find more like them in our guide to Iceland’s hidden gems.
Svartifoss is in the Skaftafell area of Vatnajökull National Park, and the trail starts at the Skaftafell visitor centre.
More Than a Good Picture
The photos cannot capture what it’s like to stand in front of a waterfall with the crushing sound of water, the mist as it blows out into the surrounding rocks and moss, and the sweeping views beyond all peripherals. The photos also cannot capture the aching legs, the sun that barely sets, the sheer steepness of rarely charted paths, and figuring out how to set up camp each night. Being here is more than a good picture or a short moment; it’s a visceral experience.
Life isn’t handed to you here. By coming, you leave behind the patterns and habits you had built, and each day begins with a fresh round of “Where do we drive?”, “What should we eat?”, “How long should we stay?”, “Is it worth it to take a shower?” and so on. This isn’t really good or bad. It’s just different from the way things are for most people living in the same place for a while.
Adventurers and Occupiers
To be sustainable, this type of adventure requires help from “occupiers”: people who have occupied the same place for a long time. First Rent.is, who equipped us with a car, gear, and the knowledge and technology we needed for the road. Then every campsite that makes a place for adventurers passing through.
The Langbrók campsite welcomed us as if we were family. We wondered if the people working there lived onsite, because the environment felt like a home. Travel like this cannot happen unless you’re supported by people who have been willing to occupy a place before you. Unless, maybe, you have the mindset, skills and determination of Daniel Boone, and developing that kind of lifestyle takes a lifetime of commitment and still requires the occasional support of occupiers back home.
The Fellow Travellers We Met
Adventures are also supported by fellow travellers, including the group you travel with and those you meet along the way. In the common area at the Langbrók campsite, we started a conversation with a fellow adventurer named Jonathan, from Budapest, Hungary, now living in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who truly enjoys the outdoors. He gave us encouragement and advice for the road ahead. We felt a sense of community.
At the campsite in Vík, during breakfast on the fourth morning of our trip, we overheard bits of a riveting conversation between two fellow adventurers who had met along the way. Their conversation was full of excitement as they recounted the places they had been, the places they were planning to go and the advice they gave one another, since they both shared such a deep passion for adventure. They looked like adventurers, dressed like adventurers, and even had their hair styled like adventurers (I can’t describe it, but they definitely had it).
My favourite line I overheard: “There is an external adventure happening around you, but there is also an internal adventure happening inside you.” I have nothing to add. A large part of me wishes I had been sitting at their table to listen more closely and maybe ask a question or two. But it also felt too sacred to interrupt.
Someone might look at the adventurer and the person running the rental company or campsite, the “occupier”, as opposites, but they’re both a resource to one another: two pieces of something larger that is happening. The adventurer and the occupier share pieces of where they have lived with one another, even through the simple exchange that follows “Where are you from?”
This is also true in our individual lives. Because I have occupied a place back in the Shenandoah Valley, where I work, I can use some of the resources from that occupation to sustain an adventure far from home. Invitations to adventure tend to show up in places that have been occupied for a long time. The Shire from Tolkien’s books is a prime example.
What Adventure Are You Ripening For?
Frodo met a lot of resistance on the road because he was “just” a hobbit from the Shire. But what many didn’t understand in the story, and what we still miss today, is that Frodo was ripe for the adventure not despite who he was and the place he had occupied, but because of who he was and the place he had occupied.
What adventure are you ripening for?
Seth Showalter
FAQ: Planning an Iceland Road Trip with Friends
Can three people travel in a Dacia Duster with a roof top tent?
The Dacia Duster seats five, and its roof top tent sleeps two. As a group of three, we added a ground tent, so one of us slept up top, one in the tent and one in the car. It’s a budget-friendly setup if you don’t mind a bit of camping.
Which waterfalls can you see on an 8-day Ring Road trip?
Along the South Coast alone we saw Gullfoss, Seljalandsfoss, Gluggafoss, Skógafoss, Kvernufoss and Svartifoss. Our South Coast Iceland travel guide has the full route.
Where can you camp in Iceland?
Overnight stays in campervans and cars with roof tents are only allowed at registered campsites. We stayed at campsites in Flúðir, Fljótshlíð (Langbrók) and Vík. See our guide to campsites in Iceland.
Plan Your Own Iceland Road Trip with Friends
The Dacia Duster 4×4 with roof top tent is a reliable, fuel-efficient way to explore the Ring Road, and it can also take you into the Highlands in summer. Pick it up from Rent.is, just five minutes from Keflavík Airport, with free 24/7 shuttle service.
