In a land of volcanoes and glaciers comes astounding beauty around every corner, in every valley and on every mountaintop.

Grey. I waited and waited but all I saw was grey. We descended into Keflavík Airport, floating through a thick blanket of clouds; there was no sun, just a glow of grey wash that offered the ambient light of day. I met up with Glenn at the airport and got a transfer to Reykjavík, the capital and main hub of Iceland with around 60 per cent of the country’s residents living there. Once in town I realized how creative the locals are with their colour choices: I had never seen so many shades of grey, as if to mimic their surroundings, every shade, to match every mood of the sky. Some buildings were occasionally accented with uninspiring pastels to breathe some life into the seemingly monotone city. 

It was good seeing Glenn again. We were excited to start our 11-day trip with Edelweiss Motorcycle Tours.

It had been a dream of ours for years to ride in Iceland and we decided to book a tour through Edelweiss to ensure we got the most out of the trip. Before we embarked on our journey, we spent a couple days walking around Reykjavík, looking through shops, and visiting Hallgrímskirkja — the largest church in Iceland, known for its architecture. We ate fermented shark, but the not-so-subtle and nauseating aftertaste of ammonia was just a little too much. 

MEETING THE GROUP

In the afternoon we met in the restaurant of the hotel to meet our tour companions and tour guides for the trip. Thomas and Axel — both very personable and with an innate sense of humour — gave us a detailed run-down of what to expect on the tour and if there was anything else to prepare before the following day’s departure. Joining us on tour along with our guides would be Cathie and Billy who were each on a BMW F750 GS; Jesse, on a Honda Africa Twin with his pillion-riding partner Debra; and Andreas on a Triumph Tiger 900. Glenn and I each rode the new BMW R1300GS. 

We departed Reykjavík, with the promise of finding some sunshine, but only found rain as we visited the Viking World museum, the Blue Lagoon and Geyser Gunna. We pulled in single-file to the geyser, attempting to create an orderly line of motorcycles. 

Glenn and I turned around just in time to watch Billy backing up his 750GS; it would seem Axel was not impressed with the angle that Billy was reversing so proceeded to pick up the back of the bike, with Billy on it, and move it over to line up with the other motorcycles. It only added to the comedy when Axel seemed to have barely put in any effort into the manoeuvre, while Billy’s eyes were wide wondering why his feet no longer touched the ground. 

RECENT VOLCANIC ACTIVITY

Part of the original itinerary had to be altered due to the recent volcanic events south of Rekyavik. Backtracking, we continued to the Blue Lagoon…