I woke up in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, on a March day without knowing what I would be doing. I felt tired, had already done my share of hiking on the country side, and wanted to take things slow. I sat down at the Laundromat Cafe, texted my new travel companion, E, a cool girl from New Zealand, and waited for her to join me, and help me find a quiet/relaxing destination for the day. We chatted a bit when she arrived, and since we didn’t have any specific plan in mind, we both agreed that we should walk to the bus station, and hop on the first one, whatever the destination was. That’s how we ended up in this strange, tiny city called Akranes.
Akranes was a nice place for a calm day like that spring one. We spent the day wandering, admiring the sea, the infinite mountains, and the small farms with their colourful silos. We eventually arrived at this amazing lighthouse. The inside of that lighthouse was quite spectacular in itself; everything was painted white, the staircases were perfectly symmetrical, there were paintings and other art pieces on every wall, at every corner, and gorgeous old wooden furniture. The best part was climbing all the way up to the top. That moment is indescribable. The smell of the sea, the wind hitting our faces, and the view: blue, blue, blue… kilometers of blue. Furthermore, the acoustic inside was one of the best. E beautifully interpreted Simon & Garfunkel’s “For Emily, Whenever I Find Her”, giving me the nicest chills. We finished our visit with a talk with the lighthouse owner; a peculiar, yet quite sympathetic, man.
After all the emotions the lighthouse gave us, we sat down in a weird little café, and decided to explore the other side of the town; the “wild” side, and we were not disappointed. What a coast we saw! The view was, once again, breathtaking. We had one of the most beautiful sights just for us, and since we were both big gluttons of pure beauty, we were definitely satisfied! There was a cliff that was very steep, volcanic rocks, a small beach, a lot of hay, the immense sea, and numerous tiny islands. There were all shades of blue: from turquoise to quasi-purple. The sun was out too; it soon became my number one spot for an idyllic picnic.
Our day was unexpected, unplanned, but nothing short of spectacular. We took the bus back to Reykjavik, and had a nice night in the capital. E and I parted after that day knowing how lucky we both were to have experienced that day, to have discovered a town rarely visited, and to have created lifelong memories.
So long, Akranes!
Bittersweet Travel Memories 