iceland.trip

hot rod trucks - iceland - transportation

We set out knowing there would be limits. Early on we elected to rent a vehical that would keep us OUT of trouble. We would be guided by an urbane car and a damage waiver.

Iceland's main road - highway 1 - circles the entire country and is in perfect condition. They even keep it ice-free in winter with geothermal heating - no joke. Conversely, once you head a few miles off the beaten path, the road turns to gravel, to rock, and then to 'F'. Yes, they have a highway designation for roads where you'll be expected to be 'F'ording rivers and streams (e.g., Route 35F).

Icelanders have responded by creating a bizarre array of trucks that are both grotesque and practical. They have super high clearance, upgraded suspension, extra fuel tanks, large deflatable tires for driving on glaciers, and air intakes that rise far above the hoods. There's a substantial cottage industry that's emerged to modify 4x4's (Iceland Offroad Club), In addition to dozens of customized LandRovers, LandCruisers, here's a small sampling of what we saw.

Ford Econoline - Glacier Edition.

Icelandic Suburban Soccer Mom SUV. 8 foot high intake.

The Mercedes Vik - Light Body Pick-up. (sheep picker package)

Note the turret hole on the passenger's side of this late-model Mercedes Weekender.

A pair of minis for the kids. Both had full kitchens and sleeping bunks. Note the spares.

Crevasse parking at the mall. Another Ford.

Stolen from the Mad Max movie set.

And finally, members of British MG club (one of ten cars) who were sticking to the main roads. Nonetheless, a fine way to travel.

music - black beach - another fall

Before leaving I loaded up the iPod with about 1,000 songs. I brought a cassette adapter but, taking a calculated risk, left the FM transmitter at home. The rental car only had a CD player (ugh), and to make me bitter it turns out they do have the same FM spectrum at the U.S. (there were reasons to doubt this). Luckily, I did have a laptop, some digital music, a CD burner and a 4 blank discs for picture backup. We burned three CDs. They got heavy rotation but all held their own. Two albums from the Icelandic band Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun and (  ) - who have been hailed as the 'saviors of 21st century rock' and was a perfect atmospheric accompaniment to the landscape. The other was the Stones' Exile on Main Street...which pretty much fits any scene framed by a windshield.

We began the day on the black beaches of Vik, just down the hill from our hostel. We headed our separate ways and walked the sand in mediation for what seemed like hours.

A perfect fall off of Route 1. We climbed a small fence and then up a steep, terraced hill to get near the splash. Below is a view of the very typical Icelandic farm.

Coming down the terraced hill.

skaftafell - jokulsarlon

On the bleak road towards Skaftafell National Park, we stopped for lunch at a massive Calder-looking figure (below). It was the remains of the last bridge that traversed the Skeiðará river. Every decade or so the bridge gets completely destroyed by a subglacial erruption or 'jökulhlaup'.

Here's how the story tends to go: a subglacial lake gets heated up by the volcano Grímvötn below (very well named). The pressure has nowhere to go...except shooting out the side of the glacier with more force than any river in the world. The bridge is continually built to withstand a little more than that the last erruption, and with a certain aplomb nature shows up with just enough to knock it down. 

I've linked to a picture of what it looks like on top of the glacier when the volcano is errupting. The pressure actually inverts the crevasses,  and they become veins. (here)

 

A small river flow at the glacier's foot.

An opportunisitc 'clover' patch amid mostly volcanic rock.

Soft sedimentary rocks break apart by expanding water particles. Often they end up like this - broken and intact.

Jokulsarlon is where the glacier and the sea shake hands. A small bay filled with icebergs is fed new chunks by glacier. Each day the tide flows in and takes a few out to sea. We watched the tide come in -- seals and birds quickly gathered to feast on fish towed in by the flow.

We saved a few helpless chunks, otherwised doomed to melt in cruel sea. They were summarily broken and served under Jameson.

By evening (this is probably around 8pm) we arrived at our most Eastern bed. The hostel at Vagnsstaðir had a great sunroom facing the sea. We cooked an exceptional Chicken Tikka Masala, Naan, carrots and enjoyed glacier-chilled scotch.

> Next (Tuesday)