Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.08.2012, Page 46

I rent a nineteen-ninety-something
dark green Subaru with a dented
bumper, a slightly terrifying whirring
noise and a brand new CD player. We
only have the car for four days, which
means that we have 96 hours to cover
over 1,500 kilometres, while of course
sleeping, hiking and sightseeing along
the way. So Noah and I made two rules
to survive this daunting adventure: no
stress and no plans.
DAY 1—FRIDAY
The first thing we do on our efficient,
counter-clockwise speed-through of
the Ring Road is inefficient, counter-
intuitive and clockwise: we hit the
Golden Circle. We spend half an hour
following the pristine blue rivers, which
run through Þingvellir's dramatic rifts,
and exploring the sites of the old Parlia-
ment. We hop in the car again and get
get our fix of water in action at Geysir
and Gullfoss. After this five-hour de-
tour, we head south to catch the Ring
Road and really begin our trip. Along
Route 30, in Flúðir, we are pleasantly
surprised to find Minilik, the original
branch of Iceland's only Ethiopian res-
taurant. We dirty our hands with injera
and vegetable stews before continuing
and reaching Route 1.
Our first stop along the coast is Sel-
jalandsfoss, an impressive waterfall that
you can actually walk behind (not with-
out getting a bit wet). But even more
interactive (and wetter, too) is Seljaval-
lalaug, an abandoned swimming pool,
just a little further down Route 1. The
pool is warm, even hot in some places,
and its floor is lined with volcanic ash
left over from the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull
eruption.
Our next stop, Skógafoss, is impres-
sive but by now we're tired of water-
falls so we don't tarry. We continue to
Dyrhólaey, an immense promontory
jutting into the Atlantic sea. We explore
the whole cliff, all the way to the south-
ernmost point where thousands of
birds make their nests. The sun has set
and it's surprisingly dark for a summer
night. We had hoped to get to Höfn, but
I am too tired to continue. No plans, no
stress! We drive into the campground at
Vík and put the backseats of the Subaru
down, throwing together a makeshift
bed.
DAY 2—SATURDAY
Waking up, I slowly remember where
I am and what I'm doing; the thought
of adventure (not to mention mild dis-
comfort from the trunk's rigid surface)
immediately gets me in go-mode. We
explore the town briefly, fuel up and
head out.
After a brief stop in Kirkjubæ-
jarklaustur, we drive into a flat waste-
land of black sands through which
brown rivers flow. At these points the
road narrows into long, single-lane
bridges. An outlet of Vatnajökull, Eu-
rope's largest glacier, appears to the
north—milky white and formidable.
From the visitor's centre at Skaftafell,
we catch an easy, pleasant trail to Svar-
tifoss, a waterfall that plummets over a
wall of hexagonal columns. The gentle
concave curve of the cliff wall gives it
the feeling of a ruined cathedral built by
giants of a bygone eon.
After the hike, our next stop is
Svínafellsjökull, another outlet of the
glacier. We admire the immense thing,
listen to it cracking and moving. If yes-
terday was about waterfalls, today is
about glaciers. Our next two stops are
the glacial lagoons Fjallsárlón and the
more famous Jökulsárlón. Blue-white
icebergs, detached from the glacier,
float in pristine water. I actually liked
Fjallsárlón more. There are few tourists,
no boats and an incredible view of the
outlet glacier behind it. It's a nice place
to listen.
After dinner in Höfn we begin our
trip north along the east coast, driving
a stretch of seaside roads along deep
fjords. At a fork in the road we choose a
60-kilometre gravel mountain path over
the 120-kilometre fjord-side road. The
No Plans, No Stress The Ring Road in 96 hours
Words and photos
Eli Petzold
The plan was simple: a road trip around Iceland, stick-
ing mostly to Route 1, but turning off when we wanted.
It would be the classic Ring Road trek, a trip that I had
yet to make after living here for two months. A visit from
my friend Noah and a very favourable weather forecast
made it clear that the middle weekend of July would be
the perfect time to attempt this adventure.
46 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 12 — 2012TRAVEL
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