A few months back GearJunkie, ECCO, and Iceland Naturally hosted the “Boot Up” sweepstakes, which awarded ECCO gear and a trip to Iceland. The winner, Zachary Wist of Seattle, and his wife, Jackie, just returned from the journey. Wist shared these photos and a letter on the experience he had in Iceland last week. Happy to see the trip was a success! —Stephen Regenold
05/16/13 — Jackie and I had the best time in Iceland. After years of wanting to go, we finally had the chance of a lifetime. We stayed in a great hotel in the center of Reykjavik and spent as much time hitting up all the spots that the locals recommended. Iceland has some of the best food I have ever had, not to mention the local micro-brews are top notch as well. The people of Iceland are really some of the friendliest I have ever met — no one ever hesitated to teach us more about their culture.
We started our trip off with a three hour hike up a glacier using crampons. This was one of the biggest highlights for us. On the way back to Reykjavik we stopped to check out Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss, which are two waterfalls I have always wanted to see.
We also did another tour that would take us to Geysir and Gullfoss, two other “must-see’s” in Iceland.
On the last full day, we checked out the Blue Lagoon, which is a natural geothermic pool that is filled with minerals and is warmer than a Jacuzzi. We spent a few hours there before going back to the city to do some trekking around town.
We really enjoyed our experience and we are planning on going back and taking our son when he’s a little older. We want to give a huge thanks to everyone who made this happen. Yes, Iceland is everything I dreamed it would be and more! — Zachary Wist
