Before I start sharing all my Icelandic adventures, I’d like to quickly take you through my journey to this second visit – and some truly incredible coincidences that happened along the way. I promise, this won’t be short!
Eight years ago, my family and I set off on a holiday to Iceland. By car and ferry. Lots of wind, lots of waves, plenty of seasickness, and very little appetite accompanied us on our way to our final destination.
But once we arrived – heaven, the moon, another world, pure excitement, and sheer happiness. “Look, there’s just blue ice by the roadside,” I remember exclaiming just five minutes after leaving the harbour. Travelling across Iceland was INSANE. Vast open landscapes of black volcanic rock, vibrant green grass, water in every possible form, and endless opportunities to explore every hidden corner of this volcanic island.
I’ve always had a deep love for the animal kingdom – I was the one who defended every living creature that crossed my path and eagerly watched nature documentaries. But the ocean? That had always been my ultimate favourite. Yet, in a way, it felt inaccessible to me…
For example:
Swimming with dolphins? Unthinkable. Until one day in Turkey, I spent all my money on a chance to swim with them at a local dolphinpark.
Seeing a whale up close? Impossible! And yet, I did – in Iceland, just a few metres away.
Moments like these kept my love for the ocean alive.
One day, on one of our travels (in Namibia), we parked outside a shop and spotted an off-road vehicle with a large sticker – I can’t remember the exact words, only the image (see the 2nd photo!). A dolphin, linked to marine biology and research. Instantly, a thought crossed my mind: “Someone is studying them. Somewhere nearby. And they probably make a living from it. Wow!” These little moments kept that tiny flicker of hope alive deep inside me – the hope that, just maybe, this field of biology could be accessible to me too. A Slovenian girl, living 120 km away from our tiny stretch of coastline.
Cities never fascinated me – quite the opposite, in fact – so we made a very brief stop in Reykjavík (the capital), took a few photos of the three main sights, and rushed off to admire Iceland’s natural wonders. One of those sights was the Sun Voyager (3rd photo above) – a fascinating modern sculpture of a Viking ship, crafted from metal. At the time, I didn’t own a camera, so I took all my photos with my phone (one of the first touchscreen LG models). The picture of this sculpture became my absolute favourite photo from Iceland, earning a well-deserved place as my phone’s background image. And it stayed there for a long time.
Years passed, and every year we travelled somewhere new. But despite visiting countless other destinations, Iceland remained one of my two favourite countries.
By this time, I had started studying biology and discovered the Erasmus+ exchange programme. I nearly signed up for a study exchange abroad, but unfortunately, my university’s programme didn’t align with any foreign universities. Determined to experience living abroad, I successfully applied for an Erasmus+ internship instead.
When choosing a host organisation, the options were surprisingly open – as long as it was within the field of biology and within Europe. Sounds great, right? But finding an opportunity turned out to be a time-consuming challenge. At some point, I realised that I didn’t necessarily have to look for a lab job or an office role. Maybe – just maybe – I could find something connected to the ocean. Maybe even marine animals. In my cover letter, I boldly wrote that I wanted to work with marine mammals in Norway (since it offered the most opportunities). As I typed, I laughed at my own audacity – that would simply be too good to be true.
I searched for internship opportunities in marine biology – and surprisingly, there were quite a few. But the locations… well… let’s just say The Philippines, the Maldives, and similar. Not only were these internships unpaid, but they also required hefty fees – even within Europe (far exceeding Erasmus+ financial aid). On top of that, the requirements were sky-high – at least a Master’s degree in marine biology. Oops. I had none of that.
After exhausting every corner of the internet, I remembered that Facebook groups exist for practically everything. I joined one (Marine Biology Network), and that’s when the best part of this story began. Something happened that I could have never imagined.
Through this group, I got in touch with a very kind researcher who invited me for a two-month internship in Iceland:
Hi Alenka,
I work for a whale watching company and we are recruiting for a photo identification internship with cetaceans from the months of May until September. You can stay for only 3 months or even a bit less. At the moment position are available August to end September. We unfortunately don’t provide pay or housing so that would be your own responsibility but maybe its an opportunity for you.
Let me know if you want to know more. 🙂
And now, here I am – in Reykjavík. Typing these final lines from my apartment, watching the midnight sun cast its golden glow over the sea beneath me.
Oh, and guess what? The Sun Voyager is right below my window! The very window I admired and photographed eight years ago, as I leaned against the sculpture, gazing up at this tall building.
If only you knew how fast incredible things can happen in life. If you just believe, put in the effort, and keep going. And a little bit of luck never hurts either.
<3, Alenka
