by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 3:04 PM ET, Fri October 6, 2017
Have you ever strolled along a picturesque beach in a foreign country and picked up a few seashells, a bit of sand or a few pebbles to take home as a souvenir?
A Virginia mother and her 11-year-old daughter did just that when visiting the stunning black sand beach of Reynisfjara in Iceland earlier this year, a place billed as the most impressive such beach in the whole country.
But after returning home to the United States the mother and daughter learned that taking anything at all from the pristine stretch of oceanfront is strictly prohibited.
So unlike travelers far and wide, who likely have jars of such keepsakes scattered around their homes, the mother and daughter promptly mailed the sand and rocks they had gathered back to the Icelandic Tourist Board with a note of apology.
Talk about a conscientious traveler.
A picture of the rock, sand and the note from the Virginia mother and daughter was recently posted on the Icelandic Tourist Board's Facebook page.
The notes states in part: "We were so amazed and excited to visit the Black Sand Beach and took a little bit sand and a few pebbles home to show my daughter's classmates and teachers. She is 11 years old. We later learned that it's not allowed to take anything from the beach or natural grounds. We are so sorry about that and return both the sand and pebbles back home to Iceland."
The mother and daughter, identifiedonlyasJoanne and Evangelina, visited Iceland in January to see the Northern Lights. Part of their visit included making a stop at Reynisfjara. The beach, known for its basalt rock stacks that jut out of the sea, is listed as a must-see by numerous travel publications. In 1991, National Geographic voted Reynisfjara as one of the Top 10 non-tropical beaches to visit on the planet.
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All of which explains why it can be so tempting to grab a tiny keepsake.
For its part, the Icelandic Tourist board applauded the two incredibly honest travelers.
"We thank Joanne and Evangelina very much for their package and will place the sand and pebble out into nature as soon as we can," the tourist board wrote on its Facebook page, according to the Iceland Review.
Let that be a lesson for travelers everywhere.
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