In early August 2015, I left my hometown of Sofia with the idea to visit Iceland. I didn’t take a flight nor did I take the ferry – I took the public transport to the ring road of the city and there, at the last stop of bus number 54, my journey started.
I hitchhiked through whole Europe and upon my arrival in the UK took the plane to the dream destination which this island was supposed to be. There I’ve spent two months, alone, in search of different viewpoints, exploring feelings and emotions, putting up ahead some small and big goals and trying to fulfil them. Walking or hitchhiking for more than 9700km, sleeping in a tent almost every night far away from public camping grounds, spending no more than 7€ per day, I've enjoyed photographing some of the most amazing landscapes I've ever seen and had loads of unforgettable moments - it was worth it, Iceland didn’t fail the expectations.
Eagle Flies In Stormy Skies
Darkfall
September Song
The Troll
Blue Satin
Infinite Horizons
Silk
Queen Of Diamonds
Petrified
Empyrean Glow
Five Little Sheep
Desert Life
Other Lives
Descending Light
We All Meet Somewhere
THE IDEA
Travelling is something amazing yet, as many other things in life, it starts to get a bit unproductive if one does it aimlessly. Therefore I have decided that I could do more than just exploring and roaming around on this trip. Two main goals were set:
#1 LIVE WITH AS LESS AS POSSIBLE without being deprived of the necessities but at the same time leaving the unnecessary behind. Low-budget travelling was something I was “preaching” about for a long time and Iceland, as one of the most expensive countries in the world, seemed to be a good opportunity to prove or disprove my ideas.
Usually, there are three main expenses when one travels - for transportation, for shelter and for food.
• TRANSPORTATION: When I wasn’t trekking, I was hitchhiking and when it didn’t go well, I was just walking along the road, sometimes for whole days.
• SHELTER: Camping is what I’ve done most of the time. I’ve slept in my tent for 49 nights out of 57 on the island. I’ve also spent two nights CouchSurfing and stayed a few times at a friends’ place using the advantages of modern science - a washing machine and a hot tub.
• FOOD: I was cooking almost all of my food on a gas stove. At some point, my diet became quite strict - pasta with pesto for lunch and dinner, nuts for breakfast. At the end of my journey, I stayed in some towns which allowed me to do some dumpster diving.
For the two months spent on the island the I’ve spent around 400€, which makes up for around 7€ a day. To be honest, sometimes I was missing a hot shower, but other than that I didn't feel deprived of anything. In the end, if this is done in a different way, it could cost way less or even be completely free and still be fine in terms of personal comfort.
#2 SHARE. No matter the medium, will it be photography, video, writing, drawing, talking – I thought I’ve kept too many stories and conclusions to myself from my past journeys.