What happens in Iceland..

The date is October 16, 2026.

Three weeks have passed since I bid my people farewell.

I’m sitting alone on my bedroom floor on this cool Autumn night, in the middle of nowhere Vienna, reminiscing about the times we had.

I’ve been on so many Iceland trips, i’ve lost count.. but this one.. this one was something else.

‍It was fate that brought us together..originally, I was planned for the Kenya trip happening in the same week.. I’ve been needing a break for a while now and Kenya was the perfect solution.. easy trip for us chaperones, the logistics aren’t crazy.. and I mean, migration season! Nothing tops that! Oh but fate has a funny way of doing things.

Fate drove us together, and it was as if each one of us on this trip had a reason to be there.. had a piece in them that was meant to fix someone else. To heal them.

We were a group of eight this time including myself. The perfect number for a cozy companionship.

I might be over romanticising it in my head, but I have never had a group more keen on enjoying and having fun…being silly, yet taking care of each other. Completely detaching and appreciating mother nature. Going along with my silly “Omg look! Horses!” and pretending to be amazed each time just to amuse me. A group so keen on finishing that one tiktok we started, that whenever we would randomly stop the car at the side of a street in awe of some sheep or the fall colors, someone would be like “omg"! the dance” we have to do it here!” and so we would dance again and again till we are satisfied with our performance. We had a dedicated self-appointed videographer that enjoyed seeing us make fools out of ourselves.. and bless his heart he would stand next to us close to waterfalls getting soaked just for us to get the perfect shot.

We had the cutest fighter, feeding us with the tastiest snacks during all the car rides! She kept wondering why people didn’t take the time to just stop and have picnics or camp in some of the spots we hit and i mean… she had a point! We could all totally see her vision.. and so she surprised us by making the most delicious Arabic coffee for us to sip on on the beach. She even got tiny cups with her and everything! She taught us to appreciate moments and time.

We had a guy we all decided we’d appoint as our fashion stylist.. his outfits were on point! He enjoyed getting up every day, matching clothes with the scenery we’d see, and taking his sweet time getting ready. It brought him joy taking pictures everywhere, and would always be the cutest more hilarious thing ever seeing how dedicated he was trying to get everyone that perfect photo, then seeing the photos people shot of him in return. Needless to say he was utterly disappointed in our photography skills, but he reminded us that sometimes very simple things in life can bring your heart happiness.

We also learned that 2023 brought a lot of people trauma for reasons I will totally not disclose here haha, but we realized that when you open up and talk about it, you realize you aren’t alone in the world.. that others got hurt in ways similar to you, and that they survived, and that you will too.

We learned to take things with an easy-spirit, light-heartedly. So what someone forgets you? So what your bag gets lost? It’ll all work out eventually.

We learned that some people flee their civilized first-world home country because they don’t want to join their country’s military, and want to be on the right side of history…so they just uproot and go where their heart leads them… Iceland, India, Chile, then back to Iceland for good <3

Most importantly, we learned that the best moments are those unplanned innocent side-eyed “lets? lets!” then proceeds to do something normal people would deem stupid…and it would literally be the most fun you’ve had in forever!

but yeah.. this trip taught me a lot..it 100% changed something in me

I can’t get over the trip this time, and i’m literally grieving the fact that I don’t have my people in my life on the daily… and yes, those seven adventurers are now my people

I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from this loop around planet Iceland

PS: this is just a dump of what’s in currently in my head.. more will come about this trip later