Wannabe Travel Show: Iceland
In 2016, I went back to Iceland. Not for three weeks this time, but for three months. And this time I brought a Canon C100.
The idea for the Wannabe Travel Show had been forming for a while. Part of it was a genuine desire to document my travels in a way that went beyond photos and Facebook posts. Part of it was wanting something to look back on when I got old and couldn’t remember any of this. And, if I’m being honest, part of it was a failed relationship. Nothing motivates a guy quite like wanting to prove he’s doing just fine, thanks.
I’d taken a TV & Radio class in high school, and I came of age right as YouTube was taking off. Making videos became a way to express myself. The little videos I’d put together of my travels in the past were nice, but I was on a grander adventure now. It needed to be documented.
The name was self-deprecating on purpose. I wasn’t a travel show host. I had no audience, no sponsors, no crew. I had a camera, a rental car, and an entire island to drive around. “Wannabe” felt right. It kept the expectations where they belonged: somewhere around zero.
The Ring Road
The plan was to follow Iceland’s Ring Road, the 828-mile highway that loops the entire island, and film an episode for each major region. Eight episodes total. Reykjavik to start, then counterclockwise around the country: Snaefellsnes, the northwest, the Diamond Circle, the east, Skaftafell, the south coast, and finally the Golden Circle to close it out.
I’d already driven parts of this road the year before, but the full loop was different. The south coast I knew. The north and east were alien to me. Vast lava fields, geothermal vents, fjords that made me feel impossibly small.
Episode 1: Reykjavik
Touchdown Reykjavik, and it feels good to be back. Still calm, still serene, still the soft scent of ocean spray. I spent a few days getting oriented, driving around trying to remember how roundabouts work. The real question was whether I could actually pull this off. Produce an episode a week, while working remotely, exploring the country, and not losing my mind in the process.
Episode 2: Snaefellsnes
The Snaefellsnes peninsula is sometimes called “Iceland in miniature.” Mountains, glaciers, lava fields, black beaches, all compressed into a strip of land you can drive in a day. It was also where I realized how much fun I could have bringing a camera along. Being silly by yourself? Kinda weird. Being silly while recording yourself? Totally socially acceptable.
I also watched the northern lights from the hood of my car in a field so dark I couldn’t see my own hands. Or maybe it was just so cold, I assumed I’d lost them. Some things the camera just can’t do justice.
Episode 3: Northwest Iceland
The northwest is where Iceland gets quiet. Fewer tourists, fewer cars, fewer chances of my pronouncing anything correctly. But the landscape is no less demanding of your attention.
Episode 4: Diamond Circle
The north’s answer to the Golden Circle. Where I found myself trapped by a blizzard the night I arrived. But, thankfully, rescued by some fellow travelers working at the guesthouse who offered me food. As the snow melted, I set off to explore Dettifoss, Husavik, Asbyrgi. The kind of places that make you question whether geology is art.
Episode 5: East Iceland
The east is Iceland’s own secret. Quiet, forgotten, tucked away behind mountains. Guidebooks don’t do this place justice. Just hop in the car, and explore on your own. There’s not a turn you can take that won’t take your breath away.
Episode 6: Skaftafell
Skaftafell was where I got stuck in quicksand at midnight next to a glacier. I was alone, it was dark (sort of … thanks 24 hour sun), and for about thirty seconds I genuinely didn’t know if I was going to get out. I scrambled my way to safety, but it made for a better story than any of the footage I’d captured on the trip so far.
Episode 7: South Iceland
Back to familiar territory. The south coast was where I’d fallen in love with Iceland the first time, and it hadn’t lost any of its magic. Waterfalls cascading off cliffs into black sand, the light changing every twenty minutes. I already knew what was coming around each bend, and it still took my breath away.
Episode 8: Golden Circle
The Golden Circle to close it out. The most touristy part of Iceland, and honestly, for good reason. Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss. It’s where everyone starts, but I ended there. Felt right to bookend the trip where most people begin theirs.
Looking Back
The Wannabe Travel Show got a handful of views, mostly from friends and family. But that was never really the point. The point was to have something to look back on. To remember what it felt like to be in my mid-20s, alone on an island, pulling over one more time because the light just changed again.
I had more life-threatening experiences in Iceland than any other country, but I couldn’t be more in love with the place. Fellow travelers became friends over some drinks. The landscape demands your respect, and in return, gives you a show unlike anywhere else in the world. I learned what it means to rely entirely on yourself, and to be okay with the silence that comes with it.
Eight episodes. One island. Some of the best memories of my young adulthood.