The best places to visit

When I started telling people that I was going back to Iceland for a second time in the winter, someone asked what I had against the Land of Fire and Ice in summer. And, the truth is, I have nothing against Iceland in the summer – in fact, I have dreams of driving the Ring Road under the midnight sun, chasing puffins, and not having to wear multiple layers when going outside. Iceland in summer would be fantastic. But Iceland is pretty awesome in the winter, too. Sure, the daylight doesn't last very long (especially during December and January), and the temperatures drop to around freezing. The weather often isn't the greatest, either – rain, snow, and sleet alternate with fitful bouts of sunlight, especially in November. But there are things to do in Iceland in winter that you just can't do other times of the year. Like explore ice caves and snowmobile on glaciers and search for the Northern Lights. And so I was tempted into a second winter trip to Iceland, and decided...

After my unexpected near-death experience on a snow-covered Icelandic mountain, I really didn't know what to expect from the second half of the “Essential Iceland” tour I had booked with Iceland Rovers. In fact, for quite some time after our nose-dive off a cliff, we weren't sure there would even BE a second half of the tour, as the fall had severely damaged the steering of our driver's Land Rover. Lucky for us, however, Christian knew a thing or two about fixing cars (and Icelandic farmers are very friendly about you calling them up to use their tools), and our small group was able to continue onward, albeit a few hours behind schedule. After giving up on the glacier altogether, we headed for the next portion of the tour — waterfalls, a lava tuba cave, and the largest hot spring in Europe. Fire and ice, both at once. Perhaps it was thanks to my earlier brush with death, or perhaps it was just because Iceland is freaking amazing, but I found this part of the countr...