Where Are the Trees? | Iceland

Camper Van

There’s one thing the travel blogs never tell you about Iceland. There are no trees. Well, there is a hauntingly a small number of trees if at all. Reykjavik is nearly an hour from Keflavik International Airport, and as you drive, you notice something glaringly absent from the landscape—trees. You never think twice about trees when they’re around, but here I was, painfully aware of their absence. Just barren, moss-covered, alien terrain. They told me Iceland was beautiful, but this feel like it... bleak.

My day hadn’t exactly started off on the right foot. I landed at Keflavik at 8:30 AM, only to realize I’d made my rental van reservation for noon. So, there I was, stuck at the airport for three hours, watching the rain drip down the windows under a blanket of gray, gloomy skies. I had it all planned out: pick up the van as soon as I landed, dash to the Blue Lagoon for a thermal dip, and head out for some adventures. But instead, I was marooned in the terminal, my plans evaporating faster than Iceland’s elusive sunshine.

Finally, noon hit, and I got my rental van. My first time driving one of these behemoths, but I figured, “What’s the worst that could happen?” Well, the weather didn’t improve—that much I can tell you. Still raining, still gloomy, and still no trees. Instead of heading straight to Reykjavik, I detoured to a little stone church, Hvalsneskirkja, built in 1886-87, on the Reykjanes Peninsula. It’s a pretty church, no doubt. But beyond that? Not much else happening. My mood was sinking fast, and I was itching to get a run in just to shake it off.

Hvalsneskirkja church built in 1886-87