Iceland's warm welcome

I always looked at Iceland as the Ice Princess, an unattainable beauty that demanded too much dosh for my pocket.

I was told you had to fill up on nature as you couldn't afford much else.

I did eventually manage my way over to the icy isle, prior to the well-documented crash, with a very travel-savvy group who were, however, as equally uniformed and ambivalent about what at to expect as me.

A magical mystery tour

Our 90-minute drive to Glymur Hotel by the famed waterfall, Iceland's tallest, was the first of many slideshows of Icelandic beauty, with snowcapped mountains, crystal blue lakes, an expanse of land and an ever-changing light that made no two pictures alike.

The canvas, complete with craters, offered otherworldly remnants of glacier and volcanic activity from yesteryears.

Ari, our guide, who drove us around in his own creation - a hydrogen-fuelled bus – had a way with words and could tell a tall tale or a saga, but it was hard to decipher where the truth started, ended or if it ever existed!

Best to go along with all elves and trolls talk, as it's a big part of Scandinavian heritage and will be referenced often.

After a stunning walk in Glymur's hills, I had a drink in a cosy café before heading down to check out an old church with graves dating back to the 15th century.

En route, I was completely soaked and swept up in a sudden storm, which is the norm weather wise.

Pack for four seasons each day, as you never know. Once down hill, I was rewarded with not one, but two rainbows, another norm.

In the evening, a hot tub with a view of the whale fjord was the perfect nightcap after the hotel's lamb carpaccio and entrée feast.

Muddy delights

Our first full day was an interesting mix, as we hit villages and small towns in and around Reykjavik.

We went to the Rehabilitation and Health Clinic for a mud bath followed by a swaddle in hot blankets.

Next we visited an indoor banana plantation fuelled by hydrogen power, before finding a field filled with live hot and mud springs.

This naturally led to other manmade wonders like Viking Village and a Ghost Museum all before the days highlight, dinner at the Sea Shore restaurant Fjoruboroio, where we savoured a bucket of mini lobsters.

It's cool in Iceland

The day's rain cancelled out the morning fishing trip, so I went clothes shopping.

Fashion is a relatively new concept in Iceland, which has been a poor country for centuries. But it seemed to have found its groove with funky boutiques like Kamur, located next to our hotel Centrum in Reykjavik.

Reykjavik is a trendy city full stop, with an abundance of bars, lounges, live free music, design hotels and great restaurants for adventurous gourmands in search of a culinary experience.

The restaurants run the gamut from Orange, hip and stylish with local and global fare, to The Seafood Cellar, one of the city's stars where it's as much about the stylish interiors as the taste of the food.

There are plenty of museums for culture vultures, including The Pearl, a futuristic dome which plays a prominent role in Reykjavik's skyline and houses the city's geothermally heated water and The Saga Museum, a great window in to local history, covering everything from the burning of witches to the Vikings and Celts, all presented in a theatrical setting.

Northern enlightenment

On our last day we headed north, catching an easy one-hour flight at Reykjavik airport, ten minutes from city centre. Our guide picked us up in Akureyri airport and then we were off to Lake Myvatn, in search of magic.

The Myvatn area is so rich with natural wonder it's almost overwhelming.

From the pristine beauty of Lake Myvatn, one of Iceland's largest lakes, to Iceland's own psuedo craters, formed in a steam explosion when molten lava rushed over wetlands.

The Dark Castles, another area of lava formations and Hverfell a huge circular crater with a depth of 140 metres, left us gasping.

But what really surprised me were the table-top like mountains similar to those in South Africa. They don't get nearly as much fanfare in Iceland, yet they're landscape is no less wondrous.

At every turn, I was lost for words. We slipped in to the Nature Bath, the north's version of the Blue Lagoon, a bit more scaled down in style but with a natural aesthetic I hope to never forget.

After watching local ‘Goddess', Ólöf Hallgrímsdóttir, pull geyser bread out of the ground after the earth's hydrogen cooked it for 24 hours, we followed her back to her café, Vogafjos where she served her fresh baked bread, her own butter and milk fresh (as in seconds from the cow!).

If you arrive very early in the morning you can watch her and her daughter milk her 16 cows while her crooked headed sheep look on.

Magic in the air

And when she Hallgrímsdóttir invited us to her ‘secret place' that night we just knew we were in for something special.

We pulled up to a dark dirt road, left the car running, while we dipped down and in to an underground cave and a piping hot natural mineral bath, 10 degrees Celsius warmer than the others, dimly lit by the candles she placed.

That was the kind of magic all travellers are looking for.

As our guide finally drove us to the airport, he slipped in a CD of a local singer for us to relax to.

Her Celtic like voice was ethereal and otherworldly and we couldn't understand a word she was saying - but somehow she summed up everything we were feeling.

Waters of relaxation and healing

We wasted no time when we arrived at Iceland's No 1 tourist spot, the Blue Lagoon — it proved to be all it was hyped to be.
The milky-blue, hot, mineral-rich waters set in a jet-black lava-like lagoon, with a power plant subtly pumping in the background, was out of the world.

Apart from the lagoon and the healing clinic on site with a model-like pharmacist at the helm, there's also a chic restaurant with a great view of the lagoon and the power plant from the roof.

The mineral water is known for its healing qualities for psoriasis, arthritis and baldness as well as jet lag and hangovers. It cured our group of its ambivalence. One hour in and we knew we were in for something special.

We floated in the hotspot with muddy-white silica masks on our faces, stopping along the way for 10-minute water massages on rafts.

Hip gourmet's delight

Reykjavik is a fashionable city full of lounges, live music, designer hotels and great restaurants for gourmands who come in search of a culinary experience.

The hip Orange Restaurant offers local and global fare, which include Arctic char, sesame prawn and light, creamy seafood soups. Lobster House, on the other hand, is intimate, akin to dining in someone's home.

One of its attractions is the whale sashimi it offers. The Seafood Cellar is one of the city's star restaurants.

It's stylish, loud and as much about the look as the taste. There's sushi, sashimi, kangaroo and lobster with foie gras and truffles.

Go there... Iceland

From the UAE ... From Dubai

Emirates flies daily via London. Fare from Dh4,710

Iceland Air flies daily via London. Fare from Dh4,710

— Information courtesy:

The Holiday Lounge by Dnata. Ph: 04 4298576

How to get there

Iceland Air flies direct from Paris, London and Frankfurt to Iceland's Keflavik Airport, 30 minutes from Reykjavik.

Where to stay

Where to eat

Information

For more details, visit www.icetourist.is

Karen Loftus is an LA-based freelance writer