Iceland, August 2011

Mother Nature has created in Iceland a land of Fire & Ice, of waterfalls & rivers, of sheep & puffins & hidden people. Arriving in the capital, it became clear why it wasn’t easy to find available accommodation:

“Welcome to Reykjavík Pride 2011.” It turns out even our own hotel was short on rooms, so Louis & I were upgraded to an apartment - excellent. Typically I like to travel during off-season to experience a city when it isn’t stuffed with tourists, but it was fun to be there when there was so much buzz. Up early the next day at Þingvellir National Park, I was wearing a dry suit ready to jump into Silfra. Temperature: -1°C; Visibility: >100m; Attraction: Diving in between the continental rift, touching Europe with one hand & America with

the other. What did I see in this underwater crack? Crystal clear blue water, fluorescent green spaghetti-like algae, and one arctic char.

After waterfalls, geysers, Golden Circle tour busses & proud outdoor concerts - all in day-trip distance from the capitol region, it was time for us to head out and see the land. We picked-up our car and headed North.

At one point we drove off the main road into an old lava field. Moss & small flowers sprouted out of the red sand, and half-buried trolls were all over the place.

Driving through this world was like being on a ride at an amusement park.

We took a ferry into the Westfjords, where we headed first to Látrabjarg.  We found puffins nesting in the tops of the 400-metre cliffs marking the Western-most point of Europe.

Driving off the main route consisted of single-lane gravel roads with many blind corners & sheer drops in place of any shoulders or guardrails: thank goodness there were hardly any other cars in these parts. At one point we went past one of the most incredible waterfalls I think I have ever seen: Dynjandi – WOW!. Then a 6km single lane tunnel through the mountains took us finally to Ísafjörður. It was in this tunnel after 6-hours of Iceland driving that day where I tested my nerve and won all 4 games of chicken :)

With 2 nights in town, we had a day free of driving & enjoyed 2 hikes in the area. The first was more of a shoreline scramble along the rocks, which proved fruitful when I found evidence of dwarves: A skull in amongst the rocks [pic available upon request]. With this & all of the trolls from the lava field, I’m in – along with >50% of Icelanders, who believe in the possible existence of these hidden people. Our second ‘short’ (500m) hike took us 225m up overlooking the bay: Certainly worth the climb for the view of the town. The rest of our journey through the Westfjords was filled with breathtaking views, a soak in a seaside hot pot, swan sightings, small towns and many many sheep crossings.

 Back in Reykjavík I had one last curried lamb meal with Louis before setting out on the solo part of my journey. Cheers to a great week of perfect cloud-free skies off the beaten track!

My Next destination was Akureyri where I, once again, went diving. After sinking through a cloud of jellyfish, I found myself holding a clam, feeding cod. There were dozens down there, all wanting a bite. Tame as anything, they even put up with me petting them and grabbing their tails! Other life around this underwater chimney was a wolf fish, halibut, lumpsuckers, crayfish, eel, nudibranch, anemone & starfish. Back on the boat we drank hot chocolate made from the fresh 80°C water we had collected spewing up out of the chimney......mmmmmm.

My next bus went East through the pouring rain & I missed the views around Lake Myvatn: All the more reason to return one day. I holed-up in a café for a few hours before heading to my guesthouse and then to the local hot pot for a good long soak. It was here I finally came to see that pools in Iceland are THE meeting place for the community - even more than pubs & cafés. They are an excellent spot for a rainy day too.

I met my group the next morning & the 13 of us headed South in search of solitude.

Over the 5 days that followed, we walked through wetlands & over show bridges, through rivers & up and down steep hills of loose shale. We stayed in huts at night, sleeping off our 6to8-hour-a-day hikes. The huts are maintained by volunteers & were wonderful places of refuge.

We saw glaciers & mountains & climbed up to look at the views from the top of huge basalt cliffs. We drank our water straight from the rivers, picked berries for snack along the way and ate fine chocolate & caviar when it fancied us.

We talked travel, politics, science & music. We swam in glacial lakes & found our way through the fog & rain. Tired and happy we made it across the final bridge, linking us once again to the outside world. Solitude we wanted, solitude we found: in 5 days we saw a total of 3 other people! I have never been so remote.

After a quick flight I found myself back in Reykjavík, all clean, sitting down for a drink with my new friends & wishing Joe good luck with his marathon the following day (my last).

Iceland is a place of hidden people, yes, but also of hidden treasure – it can be found around every corner if one only goes to look.