Komin til íslands...



Tórshavn, on departure

...And what an arrival! The adventures have truly begun. The boat from the Faroes (I was one of three passengers...) came into Seyðisfjörður in the east of Iceland yesterday morning on the stroke of 10am. The weather was perfect and the stretch from the open sea into the fjord breathtaking. Snow-covered slopes of the mountains, rising up either side of the water and broken by horizontal stripes of black rock; the morning sun coming up behind us over a pastel-tinted horizon; the brighter lights of the town of Seyðisfjörður drawing us in. 



Seyðisfjörður, upon arrival



With customs cleared, the first driving challenge  was to get over Fjarðarheiði, the heath or moor between Seyðisfjörður and Egilsstaðir. The climb up from Seyðisfjörður is fairly steep and -- this time of year -- icy, though in conjunction with the arrival of the boat, sand had been spread over the initial stretch. What a feeling driving up, up, and away, with the impossibly beautiful and stern winter landscape stretching for as far as could be seen in all directions!

Seyðisfjörður to Egilsstaðir

From Egilsstaðir I continued north along the ring road up to Mývatnssveit. It was tempting to set off without delay on the trail of two eastern sagas, Hrafnkels saga and Vápnfirðinga saga. The plan, however, is to spend a few weeks in the north at Fellshlíð, a farm in Eyjafjarðarsveit, while I read and work out what is feasible..and what foolhardy...for now. And so I drove on to Mývatn, arriving there as darkness drew in; and drove on to Akureyri this morning after a very comfortable night in the Embulance. Again, clear and calm weather, breathtaking views of mountains and moors, and stretches of road that were pure icerink. But all was well...until I reached the home straight, with over 500 miles covered from Cambridge. Driving south with Eyjafjörður on my right and Akureyri directly across the fjord, a change of gear to accommodate a hill resulted in a horrible crunch...and pulling over to the side of the road, it was clear that I wasn´t going any further on my own.

Seyðisfjörður to Egilsstaðir

Much as my time at the garage taught me before my departure, dealing with the inner workings of the gear box on my second day in Iceland is a little beyond my competence. Horror at first. And a fleeting thought that perhaps I would be better on a horse... But help was at hand. Friends came from the farm with a pickup and the Embulance and I were towed first to a garage in town for an informal professional opinion, and then down south to a neighbouring farm. It seems that the coupling in the gearbox has gone...so, to general amusement, I haven´t exactly arrived at my first destination quite as I intended. But repairs should be possible, and I will learn from the experience...and I´m not lacking in sagas or other material to read in the meantime.