I’m not sure that there are words that can describe how extraordinary my summer was this year. I really don’t think that they exist. I thank God everyday for all of the blessings he has given me. I was very lucky to be able to travel to three new places, each of them beautiful in their own way. Between travels my days were filled with soccer, conditioning, and preparing myself for the big college move that was fast approaching.
Iceland
My travels kicked off at the end of June with a big graduation present from my parents. My dad, sister, and I traveled to Iceland to explore the beautiful country. If you haven’t already read about the amazing experiences we had while we were there, for example basking in the Blue Lagoon, riding Icelandic horses, snorkeling between two tectonic plates, and more, I recommend that you take a look!
Since I have already written posts about Iceland I though I would take the time to share some helpful tips and things that I learned while visiting the country. Here is Anamaria’s Top 5 Fun Facts About Iceland!
#1: At popular tourist attractions and locations they will charge you to use the restroom. Just a heads up I would always carry some coins on you. The cost is not a lot but you don’t realize how much you take for granted using the bathroom for free in the US.
#2: Iceland LOVES roundabouts! I’m not sure if the reasoning is to save money on electricity because they don’t use stop lights or if it’s because they have a lot less traffic and they don’t need them, but every 3 way stop is a roundabout. I’m not exaggerating when I say on one of the day trips we drove through over 20 roundabouts!!!
#3: There are underwater tunnels! I’m still blown away how these things are even possible but I drove through one myself so they are a thing! On our way to one of the mountains we visited we drove for about a mile in a tunnel under the water. Pretty cool if I do say so myself.
#4: It is a law that all restaurants have to provide free water. No food establishment can deny their customers water because it is so pure and plentiful in Iceland. I would definitely carry around a reusable water bottle and take advantage of this luxury. This means there is no reason to be dehydrated!
#5: The tap water smells like sulfur. It’s not one of the most lovely things ever but it’s just something that you have to get used to. Don’t be alarmed when you turn on the shower and it smells like rotten eggs. Iceland has so many more wonderful aspects that you begin to not even notice.
Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada
For trip #2 my sister and I traveled to San Fransisco to meet my cousins and aunt and uncle, who spend a week on Lake Tahoe every summer. We road tripped from San Fran to South Lake Tahoe for a week of lots of outdoor adventures. As much as I want to travel outside of the country to see all of the beautiful sights that different parts of the world have to offer, I forget that I still have so many places to explore right here in my own country. Visiting Lake Tahoe proved to me that the US still holds some of the most breathtaking sights ever. The location of Lake Tahoe provides one of the most unique experiences to enjoy. While sun bathing on the sandy shores of the lake, one can also see all of the snowcapped mountains that paint the horizon.
During the week that we spent at the lake we hiked and ate lunch looking over vast mountains, kayaked through the cold waters, drove across the border to Nevada to enjoy a night performance on the water, screamed really loud while water tubing, and most of all we relaxed and grew closer with our family which was the best part.
Turks and Caicos
This was probably one of the best family vacations ever. No doubt about it. Everything, besides the fact we could only use the air conditioning at night lol, was perfectly perfect in every way! From the gorgeous house that we rented for the nine of us, to all the meals and excursions, I couldn’t have asked for anything to be better. Most of our days were spent lounging by the beach or our pool or exploring the little towns on the islands. One of the biggest highlights was the day we rented a private charter and spent half the day exploring the ocean and everything it had to offer. Our captains were the best ever. They took us conch diving, to see all the iguanas, they made us fresh conch salad for lunch with the ones we caught, we went snorkeling, jumped off the top of the boat, and tubed on the water. To see all of this in action watch the video below. It was a week I will never forget.
Before I end this post I want to thank everyone who helped make this such a memorable summer. I also want to give an even bigger thank you to my parents because they were the driving force of it all.
