That day, I hit a wall. The 24hr daylight travelling really took a toll on my energy level. The constant daylight meant the last time I saw night time was over 100 hours ago which was a really long time. It was the longest day of my life.
The extra daylight was ideal for travelling though. I woke up earlier, travelled for longer, further, went out at “night” later and slept less. However in the background, the dreaded wall was building and inevitably I collided with it. Every “night” out, cups of expresso, shots of whiskey, pints of beer just made the wall harder and higher. After driving 1000km later, on the 5th day, I hit a wall. I had to go to bed at 9 pm, which might as well be 3am. My body clock was not working anyway.
Purpose of holidays should be to relax or take a break. I seemed get more tired from each holiday. The ham, cheese and bread diet, uncomfortable bunks, snoring surround sounds were all part of the parcel of travelling on a “shoestring” It was clear that the hiking which I planned was not going to happen anytime soon.
Reykjavik was great for relaxing. I went and chilled out in the Laudermat (my favourite cafe/ diner) and caught up with the journal writing (No I refuse to write a diary, purely because Bridget Jones had one). It is tedious since but worth it though.
Maybe sometimes, I should go on all-inclusive holiday breaks.
Nothing a lamb shank could not resolve. Lamb in Iceland is so delicious!
I thought I knew myself reasonably well, like I know what my hobbies are, likes and dislikes. Somehow, on the 4th day, I found out that I actually like swimming. I couldn’t believe it. Swimming was more like a good theory to me, like the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics (Entropy of the universe only increases), great law but in my opinion mathematically difficult to apply. I totally understood the purpose of swimming, great for surviving in water, but it always had been a struggle for me. It was all history when one of the traveller I met recommended a visit to the local swimming pools.
Swimming pools in Iceland were revelations to me. As I picked up that swimming pools were great place to relax in Iceland, I saw the swimming pool sign in Olafsfjordur (pronounced Olafsfsfsfsjor-dur) decided to jump in. It wasn’t a big pool. However when I was submerged, I tend to swim in a circle and the pool became gigantic. Luckily I had the pool to myself. The lifeguard chuckled and gave me a pair of goggles. Jonny the foreigner who obviously can just swim to save his life circling in his pool. My bearings were realigned and pumped in some lengths. I kept swimming.
It was not a case that I never thought I could swim this much. I thought it would literally be one of the last thing I thought I would ever do, to avoid drowning. As a consequence, I stayed away from water sports. So perhaps, the recent development that I actually like swimming could open the way for new activities and sports.
I drove further along the coast and eventually reached Hofsos. As I spoke to the local shop keeper about swimming pools, (Top conversation starter in Iceland) it was clear that I hit Jackpot. The little town with 200 inhabitants, Hofsos had the pool of all pools. The architecture of the swimming pool was stunning. The sea view was gorgeous. Conditions were perfect with the sun shining, cool arctic breeze. The swimming pool in Yeovil could really do with a seaview, snow capped mountains and thermal hot bath.
Fittingly after Hofsos, every step took me closer to home. I found what I was looking for in Iceland. It was time to go home.
On the 3rd day with Claus (Citroen C3), the plan was to drive west and along the coast.
Fully loaded we got snack and supplies,
It’s time to leave this town,
It’s time to steal away,
Let’s go get lost anywhere.
Let’s go get lost,
Let’s go get lost,
Today, I was travelling alone which was a nice contrast from the previous two days where I travelled with others. It gave me a quiet moment to reflect on the whole trip. It was a great respite from everything back home. The day was a relaxing drive with the IPod plugged in. The tank was full for about 1000km (drive planned for about 300km). So I had plenty to get back. I drove north west away from Akureyri, stopping at each town and looked around. The weather was glorious. Sky was clear. Road was clear and my mind was clear.
I felt great when I travel. Confidence was always an issue for me. When I travel, my confidence is higher significantly, my instincts are sharper, decisions are better and my attitude is more positive. A combination of all that seemed contribute to great travelling experience. It is a huge contrast to who I am back in the UK, perhaps I am more comfortable in a foreign country where I don’t need to fit in.
Around Dalvik. There were loads of picnic sites along the side road. I tried to stop at each one to take in the view, there were just too many. each one presented a perfect opportunity to perfect my panoramic shots. One photo just did not show the whole scene. The sea is a little bit more difficult due to the motion of the waves. The stitching points would never be identical.
The picture above was taken between two tunnels. These epic sceneries were easily approachable without 8 days of trekking and climbing over temporary paths rigged with dynamites. Perhaps, next time another person to share the driving duties would be welcomed. Touring, swimming, driving for the whole day was pretty intense physically and mentally.
Hofsos was one of the final stop. I have been driving too long. Nothing a nap could not solve though. Napping is like my temporary solution to life. Need to acclimatise at high altitude, no problem, take a nap. Tired from driving for so long, take a nap. Finished dinner, take a nap. So I napped to prepare for a final drive back to Akureyri.
The road to somewhere… It was worth hiring a car even though it dented my budget. The freedom was so refreshing.
Dettifoss and Selfoss were two waterfalls about 35km east from Myvatn located in Vatnajokull National Park. Sunlight and waterfalls (foss) are a great combination for rainbows. Jokulsargljufur was a canyon that bisected Iceland from the Vatnajokoll ice cap to the Arctic Ocean.
Lonely Planet said the road was unsuitable for Claus. However, there had been some improvements hence the road was no longer a F-road. (Literally stood for F****** off-roads). The road sign did not have the F prefix but it really should for 4 wheel drive vehicles. 35km of loose gravel road was endless. Asbrygi was worth it though.
Hafragilsfoss is on route 864. It was at a higher elevation hence the view was epic. Drivng all day and from previous day meant that I did not have as much energy to enjoy everything else.
Asbyrgi canyon was another uniquely formed location, seemed to be the case in most of Iceland. It was a horseshoe canyon with forest and a haven for birds, a worthy destination.
Even though I had years of living in the UK, spending the previous two years filling in Health and Safety forms, adventurous was still in my game. I was driving on the “wild” side in Iceland. Most of the time, I was driving on the right side, which fortunately was also the right side. I was a little bit confused in car parks, when there were no road markings. Good thing there were not many cars for me to crash into. (My record of not crashing into other cars still intact)
Two great things about driving in Iceland are the lack of roads, made it really easy to navigate and the lack of barriers on the side road, reinforced the benefits of staying on the road. “Right is right, left is not right” was how I drove. With hindsight, the whole driving experience was pretty calm. I only had two moments when I almost shat myself. First one was that I genuinely really needed the loo, unfortunately public toilets were rare, the other time my front wheels was stuck in a little ditch. Just as despair began to set in, I remembered that I had a MEng in Automotive Engineering, which was possibly irrelevant in this situation but keeping the wheel spin at a minimum was the key to drive on surfaces with a low coefficient of friction.
Hitchhiking was the ideal way to navigate around Iceland because of the lack of roads. A lot of people were hitchhiking really well. I guess it would help being 24hr day light. Unfortunately or fortunately time was not on my side so I decided to stick to my plan. Next time, I think I will hitchhike. If I hitchhiked I would not have been able to pick up hitchhikers so I guess someone had to do the driving. Hopefully next time, it won’t me.
Myvatn Lake (pronounced Mee-Vat) was about an hour’s drive east of Akureyri. A high concentration of geology of interests to treat those who managed to get away from Reykjavik and the South. Luckily for me, it was conveniently near Akureyri. At 10am, I picked my car from the hired car place, after a short delay of looking for the steering wheel on the passenger side. I set off to Myvatn.
Skutustadagigar was the first place encountered. By that time, I had already given up trying to pronounce the names. Mars like crater landscape set the scene for the day ahead. The cache of pseudo-craters were like blisters on the surface of the earth. These were formed by steam explosions as glowing red hot lava flowed over frozen ground. Now they are covered in grass with fertile soil built on the surface over time.
Stakholstjorn, a lake with interesting rock formations. These are lava pillars which are common in the Myvatn area. They were formed by steam cooling a molten lava lake. When the lava drains away, leaving the rock formation cooled by the steam vents. The convincing theory was supported by similar rock formations found in the deep sea, hard to imagine really.
Dummuborgir was a rocky maze where trolls lived. Again created by funky lava flow cooling. There was a story about the Yule Lads, Iceland’s very own Santas. The cafe here did a great smoked salmon cake, and I had a soup buffet which was really tasty. The cafe was quite pricy. I was determined to make the most of the buffet. I knuckled down and ate. Now on, so
Hverfell was a crater created from a eruption apparently about 2500 years ago. A steep hike up to the rim of the crater offered fantastic view of the surrounding landscape. One of the windiest place thus we moved on promptly.
An active field next with a view looking towards Krafla, a geothermal power plant. The area’s activity was shown by the steam escaping. Although these were water droplets, because steam as we know is not visible. I was walking on an active volcano. The volcano was called Lerihnjukur The earth’s crust was pretty thin here, hence I treaded lightly.
There were other highlights in Myvatn. Myvatn Nature Baths, a natural geothermal bath which is the local’s answer to the Blue Lagoon. It was cheaper and quieter than the Blue Lagoon. There was also an underground natural thermal bath, but apparently it is a bit toxic now but pretty. I think Myvatn would be a great 2 days stop. There was an Ice Cave but quite costly maybe next time.
Travelling enabled me to meet loads of interesting characters. I met the Tycoon, the Headmaster and the Host family in Nepal. I learnt so much from them and collectively they probably saved my life which was important to me. Heroes and heroines shall remain anonymous to protect their identities. This trip I met some great people too, although this time, not quite as life-saving but I certainly saw more perspectives and other inspiring ways of travelling.
I met the Veteran. He completed the duties for his country. He wanted to find a new purpose in life. The countryside here is a haven for a respite from anything or everything. He carried a tent and all the supplies along with it. Something I don’t think I can do so kudos to him. He recharged his batteries (including his phone etc), moved on and continued his journey. Camping in Iceland could really work for me too.
Then I met the Survivor, he nearly died. The locals were (pleasantly) surprised that he made it. Everything that happened was frankly so ridiculous that it was actually unsuitably funny with hindsight. Clinging to a chain to avoid falling into waterfalls, stepping on thin ice, falling through, zero visibility, mountainous terrain, all described as a “fairly easy” hike in the LP guide book. Obviously laughing if he was still in the trail would be insensitive. It showed the power and unpredictability of nature. He was so emotional and appreciative of life. Everything became irrelevant because he survived.
He joined me for a couple of days travelling checking out Myvatn Lake (safely).
On our way back, I picked up a hitchhiker for my first time, the Bartender. He was hitchhiking around the whole of Iceland. Perhaps it was from his job, he seemed to be able to just start a conversation with anyone about anything. That was travelling “freestyle” with no plans or no timetables to follow (I had a fairly detailed time-table which I stuck with). The perfect style with the Icelandic summer time in my opinion. Unfortunately for me, I just did not have the time to do that.
The next day another character joined the Survivor, Claus (the Citroen C3 with a suitable scandinavian name) and I to explore Dettifoss and surroundings.
The Teacher, although not yet qualified, she demonstrated all the qualities required to be a great teacher. She was super friendly and helpful. I think she knew how to deal with kids because she introduced us to Icelandic Ice-cream (more like ice milk). Kids always want ice-cream. And the kid in me really enjoyed the ice-cream even though it was really cold. I meant the weather outside because I already figured out that the ice-cream would be freezing. She also cooked an Icelandic meal which was great because it added a variety to my ham and cheese sandwich diet.
What was great at that evening (still bright) was that some people have met before in other locations of Iceland and met again here in Akureyri. The World could be a small place if it is a small island with a ring road.
The Thrill-seeker had an impressive travel record. She had so much fascinating travelling experience and activities to tell. The travel record stated her personal philosophy of YOLO, “You Only Live Once”. White water rafting, ice climbing, etc she did the lot. Interestingly, “helicopter” seemed to be a buzz word which triggered a theme tune from her. She had a theme tune. Anyone would have to be really cool or possibly fictional to pull off a theme tune, like James Bond. The reggae genre really suited her cool yet extreme Only Live Once travelling style.
As for me, the main protagonist who seems to be at the centre of everything I saw, strange coincidence that. I might be the Travel Writer? Nay, I am a Traveller who happened to write. I had the easy part to play, get on a plane (then another) and sat back. Let the world assembled the cast. It was amazing to met everyone.
Plane touched down at 1am local time at a place called Keflavik. It was a town about 30km away from the capital city, Reykjavik. The majority of the international flights land in Keflavik. I timetabled about 5 hours here before I need to head into Reykjavik. I decided to hike into town from the airport. The moment I stepped outside the airport. It was freezing, Iceland – clue was in the name. That wind was the coldest that I have ever experienced. I had to go back into the airport to put my extreme weather gear on.
The Lonely Planet guidebook said that there was absolutely nothing to see in Keflavik. I would agree with that. There used to be heavy American soldier presence in the height of the Cold War. The walk was only about 4km, but I was carrying 14kg of kit. That is over 20% of my weight, so if I fell over backwards then that would probably be the end of the trip. After a short walk around the town, I returned to the airport to catch the bus to Reykjavik about 30km away.
Reykjavik is the capital city of Iceland, a city full of culture. I picked up a free map from the tourist information centre, set off exploring the city. The Hallgrimskirkja was a huge church in the middle of the city. It provided a great point of reference. I went to a recommended breakfast cafe, called the Laudermat. The cafes in Reykjavik or Iceland in general were really well decorated. This one had a really cool travel and retro feel with all the maps and books. I had the bread basket with houmous and scrambled egg, which was the ideal travelling food with the carb, protein and salt. However, later I had been informed that Israel has the best houmous in the world. Noted for future reference.
I walked around the Reykjavik city centre. It was really pretty, the architecture were great with different coloured painted corrugated steel plated each building. There were a lake and a park close to the centre. Eventually time was up for another flight to the unknown, Akureyri. Domestic flights were actually reasonably cheap, hence I bought a couple (there and back). The most logical way of choosing which domestic airport to fly to was to pick the first destination on the dropdown list. A for Akureyri. Thankfully that was not in Greenland.
The weather was miserable. Arctic wind and british weather combined to make the ultimate misery. Why did I come here? The answer, like the weather became clearer after each day. This place was just awesome.
Why do I travel? I travel because it is a passion for me. One of the few things in life that I can talk about none-stop. (multi-domain acausal dynamic simulation is second by a long way) This trip totally really reinforced everything good for me about travelling. I think pictures only capture the sights but those are only tiny proportions of the complete traveling experience. This blog attempts to share the culture, atmosphere, thoughts at that moment, all the people I met and all the conversations. The only other option would be for you to travel too. Everyone travels differently, so this blog is my take on it. Every trip gave me different experiences and hopefully you will find them interesting.
Another reason that I like to travel is because of all the gear I collected over the years. I have to make the most of it. My jacket (7 yrs), rated for “Extreme” conditions deserves to be worn in harsh environments. My compass (3 yrs) navigates me to places that I want to go and perhaps more importantly home. My thermals (8 yrs) enable me to push my limits. My boots (2 yrs) which took me to a height of 5416m deserves more than the occasional countryside hike. The Tibetan Peace Flags (blessed) keeps me “spiritually” safe. My new sleeping bag is rated for 4 seasons now. My backpack (2 yrs) has only been to 3 major trip. So I want to make the most of everything I have.
Why Iceland? It is a geologically interesting island with active volcanoes. I had the LP guidebook too so it made sense to use it. The time between deciding to go to arriving in the country was 1 month (4 weeks). Next time, I will try to do it in 2 weeks, mainly because of a 2 weeks holiday requires a 2 weeks notice at work. On this occasion, I was ready in 3 weeks. Majority of that time was spent planning. So next time, if I travel without a plan…
I had some really useful feedback recently and there are so much room for improvement. Hopefully, the next set of updates are better and more informative for the readers (however few of them, and myself in the future).
My plan is always thorough. I have 7 days. in which I will take 4 flights, drive for 3 days. Sleeping as well, I just need extra long days, oh 20hr days in Iceland will help.
I just need to lose those amateur errors which I always make. Like booking flights on the wrong dates, booking accommodation on the wrong dates, being involved in a car crash, using dodgy airlines, water shortage, food poisoning, high altitude sickness, taking the wrong bus, almost taking the wrong train, list goes on. I guess I am lucky to keep blogging. Without those, I don’t have much to write about.
When I plan for a trip, I do often have plan B. Since my plan A already is out of the window because I get too excited and did not check the validity of the bus timetable. Anyway so I have plan C so all is good.
Adventures of Delboy 