As I stood above the thundering waters, I wished I could fly. My mom was at the railing next to me, staring into the mist as the rain splattered upon our heads. The waving green grasses churned about us as my dad clicked pictures, and I wished with all my might to see the secrets hidden behind the grey clouds and curtains of mist. I imagined soaring high above the water and diving down below to meet the trolls and elves we had heard so much about. At last it was time to go, and as we turned to head back down the muddy path, I glimpsed a flash of something through the sparkling mist.
It took one week for my parents and me to travel around the Ring Road in Iceland, and during that week with Saga Travel I found one word best described the adventure: mythical. Surrounded by tales of elves, trolls, and Vikings as well as close up encounters with geysers and glaciers, this place felt like I was living inside a story book.
I pushed open the heavy wooden door in the grassy wall of the house of the famous Viking, Erik the Red, to find a gaping maw of darkness waiting before me. I felt my way inside and noticed a doorway on my left. I followed voices through the doorway and into a room where a smoky fire burned in a pit on the floor. As I joined a group of people seated around the only light source, my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. I scooted over on the itchy straw platform to make room for my parents. The hole in the roof to allow the smoke to escape was covered with skylight made from a dried horse placenta, the beds were short because everyone slept sitting up, and the cows lived inside the house during the frosty winters. I desperately wished for a TARDIS to travel back in time and visit these amazing people who traveled for hundreds of miles in the 9th century on the open sea to reach the land of fire and ice. Known abroad for their speedy attacks using frightening, fast, strong ships equipped with a removable mast and a short draught that allowed them to beach on shore, the Vikings were a fearsome bunch when they ventured out aviking to raid other countries but peaceful farmers at home with one of the first democracies in the world.
Looking eagerly out the backseat window I scanned the landscape in search of trolls turned to stone by the glare of the sun. I spotted facial features that appeared etched in the stone of a mountain ahead of us. The troll’s eyes seemed to follow us as we rolled past. My gaze slid from his face as my dad spotted one standing in the water off shore. This troll was massive, and I could almost see the hand that he would be using to drag a ship inland to crash upon the rocky shore.
A black foal wobbled towards us through the dewy grass. He came closer and closer until he reached my dad. Curiously he nuzzled the camera lens and then slowly checked each of us out. I was in awe of his fearlessness. All of the Icelandic horses we saw were extremely friendly and loved to be admired.
Iceland was a magical trip through mystical lands of massive glaciers and spurting geysers. We came unbelievably close to an uncountable number of natural wonders and creatures. I will never forget it.
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2 Replies to “Iceland: Living in a Fairytale”
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Grt place to visit.. This place is located after entering the Ranthambore National Park.. However, to visit this place u can evn get your own vehicle…
John, glad you liked the story. This park is in Ohio where the weather can be unpredictable! It’s warmest between late April and November, but even April has the risk of some snow. If you’re camping with kids, the safest bet is June to August, because it’s warmer and there’s little rain. Enjoy your trip.
Hey Maggie, I really appreciate your innovative traveling ideas. You have covered so many adventurous places. Waiting for some new destinations. Please keep posting.
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It’s truly magical being there. I love the art this country offers. Their wall arts and crafts are just lovely.
Hi Maggie,
You always share to the world with something new and different destinations. Thank you so much for sharing.
The history of Cuhahoga valley national park seems interesting and must be a new experience when we observe scenes of National park from their scenic campgrounds.
which season do you think is the best time to visit this national park?
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Wow, what a nice article. Makes you feel like you should pack up and go immediately. It seems Linblad runs a good operation and trips are kid friendly. Is there a list of particular dates that are family friendly or are there kid activities year round on board the boats. Any other advice on travling with kids to Ecuador and Galapagos would be really welcome.
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Hello Michael, glad to hear your family is interested in a dude ranch holiday.
Since your kids are older and, hopefully, everyone in the family rides, you have lots of options. The Dude Ranchers Association is a really helpful resource in sorting through the many types of ranch vacations. For example, you can go here: https://duderanch.org/by-activity-amenity and search for ‘Advanced Rides’ and “Cattle Drives’ and that would get you some real working ranches that would have more of the lifestyle you seem to be looking for. One of our authors recommends the Hideout in Shell, Wyoming for this type of trip.
Looking for a real ranch experience with horseback riding (lots of it) and time in the open air with my son (15) and daughter (12) and my wife (49). I am 62. We live in NJ, my children have been sheltered but I grew up in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. I want my children to see another side of life.
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Great destinations for First Night and New Year’s Eve! Check out our favourite ones in Europe: https://tapsy.blog/?s=new+year%27s+eve
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Of course, you can do travel freely and easily through these two countries yourself, but I enjoyed having the trip curated for me, including well-chosen local guides, comfortable transportation on call and some superb private tours, such as a Khmer cooking class or historic walking tour of Saigon, with flexibility in the itinerary for our group of five to follow their own paths, such as making an emotional detour to the moving Genocide Museum housed in the old S-21 jail in Phnom Penh.
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I enjoyed reading your Italian family vacation story, and thank you so much for these tips. This surely gonna help us achieve a stress-free vacation in Italy. Great blog!
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For Richard re: dual citizenship US-Nicaragua… can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Hi Richard, In our travel experience, this type of document should work well for your travels, but if your wife is available, it can’t hurt to download the sample forms we have online and also have her fill out and notarize one for your trip with your child. The agency responsible in your case will be the carrier — we assume an airline — and if they can make a note in your travel record that they have approved the Nicaraguan documents you should be fine on both departing and entering.
Safe Travels!
Wow, great!!! it could be a great fun out there.
very informative article Travel forums provide first hand experience and advice to travelers and are a great source of information and travel tips.
As a signal parent, your life, world, actions are based on your childs well fair. Not your happiness or anything that has to do with you.
It should list where they are going, the dates that they are allowed to go and grant your permission for that trip. You want to include your address and phone number and probably the contact info for the adult traveling as well.
The grand archways and the paintings of Lord Krishna and his cows are a visual treat. Wander through areas opened for tourists and you shall witness the impressive aura and architecture of the Royal state of Rajasthan.
Thanks for Sharing
Hello guys my wife and I have dual citizenship US-Nicaragua, I’m planning to travel to the US with our son also dual citizenship for 3 weeks, with a Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) from Nicaragua, can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Congratulations to the winners! A question to all the professional travelers here, how are you planning the route ant the places to see while visiting a new country? As for me I just google the most touristic and popular places. It works mostly, but there were a few times when I realized that I have seen only some the places this country or city is famous for, and that’s sad. On my last trip to Armenia, I decided to take a tour and it was quite productive. It’s much more informative when somebody is telling you history and some interesting facts. If someone wants to save their time – make sure to ask them to help if you’ll ever be there.
Curitiba é uma lugar lindo, além de ser considerada uma das melhores cidades para se morar em Brasil.
Realmente a muito o que conhecer por lá, como também diversas outras belezas do nosso brasil.
Principalmente as praias do Brasil que são muito procurada por inúmeros turistas internacionais e nacionais.
As Praias do Litoral Paulista, divididos entre Praias do Litoral Norte e Litoral Sul.
As mais conhecidas são as Praias de Ubatuba com mais de 100 belas praias no litoral norte paulista.
Já no litoral sul, a região mais procurada são as Praias de Guarujá, a região conta com 23 praias de pura beleza e preservação ambiental.
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Aloha!
I would like to add my baby equipment company, Nana’s Baby Equipment. I serve the entire island of Kauai with aloha!
Mahalo,
Sharon Hackleman
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Was an honour and pleasure to host you both in the Maori Whakata/Welcome to Wanaka. Welcome back anytime to this wonderful part of the world.
Kia Kaha/Stay strong
[http://www.wanahaka.co.nz]