Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.06.2015, Blaðsíða 31

Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.06.2015, Blaðsíða 31
31The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 7 — 2015 TRAVEL Distance from Reykjavík 301 km the area. We stand on a little platform and look down at the peculiar dark tur- quoise water. It seems the perfect hue for a mermaid or some other aquatic figment. In all honesty, Glanni is noth- ing compared to the larger waterfalls like Gullfoss or Seljalandsfoss, but it’s still a nice place to stretch your legs. Autumn: The Mist As we progress northwards, the weather quickly deteriorates. Hurled by strong winds, the rain starts to come at the car horizontally. At this moment, I feel very grateful for my windshield. It’s the small things in life, really, right? Despite the overcast gloom, the co- lours around us are bright and vivid. The verdant chartreuse of the grass outside Reykjavík has turned into a darker green- ish umber. The country foliage is also filled with golden hues, although I cannot fig- ure out what plant has caused this. It’s a picture-perfect autumn landscape, and I half expect to see copses of laden apple trees and jack-o-lanterns dotting the few houses we pass. Past the tiny windswept village of Buðardalur, the landscape becomes more dramatic. We head towards a range of massive mountains, whizzing up windy roads, going gradually higher and higher. Draped in deep mist, the place feels distinctly otherworldly. Were I to be given the job of location scout for a new ‘King Arthur’ film this is where I would set it. John then offers me control of the car stereo, a choice he will probably later re- gret. I put on some sufficiently epic metal. Perhaps my version of ‘King Arthur’ could be scored by Sólstafir. Can someone please give them my email? Still Autumn… A few hours later, we're still driving through beautiful mountains, but the cars are becoming fewer and the wind is grow- ing stronger. I think we’re getting close to the Westfjörds, but how could I know? We hit a patch of snow for a few min- utes. Only in Iceland can you pass through sun, snow, and rain in a single kilometre of road. Not only does this country humble you, it also keeps you on your toes. Alright, now I’m at the end of my road. No really, the road just literally ended. I stop and ask John if we’re lost. He points to a dirt track on the right. "Okay," I say, doubtfully, and start up the trusty Skoda. We start bouncing along a rough, rocky track. Other than sheep, there are no markers of civilization for about 30 minutes until we run into a lone blue truck. We're now so starved of interaction with humanity, we stop for a photo. Alas, the strong winds are freezing, and make the whole experience rather unpleasant. I’m starting to think that this trip might be a prank. Maybe they do this to all the new staff members at the Grapevine? Send them to a town that isn’t even on Google Maps and see how far north they drive until they realise? Hazing is illegal in the States. Maybe John’ll leave me to hitchhike back, or maybe he’ll just leave me to die. I read a lot of Stephen King and so my imagination runs wild as John non- chalantly eats potato chips in the passen- ger seat. The scenery grows more and more startling. I still haven’t seen a sign for Djúpavík, though I’ve seen signs for a tonne of other similarly unpronounceable places. These mountains make those puny black ones outside of Reykjavik seem like molehills. The wind is picking up and at one point the car starts to slide around slightly on the road. But we're surrounded by sharp boulders on one side and the wild Atlantic on the other. There’s no place to go but onward. We cross the mountains and drop into a dark valley. This place is fucking creepy. If there were ever a place where legitimate supernatural activity might occur, it’s here. The air feels electric and I keep thinking how perfect this scenario would be for a horror movie. "Ever seen ‘Cabin in the Woods?’" I think. "No, shut up, Hannah," I reply. As I start getting worried about the possibility of Joss Whedon engineering my death, we turn around a bend and LITER- ALLY run into a fucking Blair Witch Proj- ect cruciform horror sculpture thing next to the road. I couldn’t have even made this up. I scan the horizon for signs of sorcery. Far in the distance there’s a little house. This is some weird pagan shit that I want no part of. I want to be as far away from this place as possible. Driving quickly away from the witches, we start climbing the side of the fjörd. There’s room for only one car on this road next to a vertical drop. We climb higher and higher until all of a sudden there's a sharp incline that takes us into a land completely covered in snow. We’ve made it. We're at the Wall, and like Bran and Hodor, we’re going through. (As the driver, I am Hodor in this simile.) Winter: The White Walkers On a philosophical note, there has never been a moment in my life where I’ve truly considered the gravity of death. Yes I know, “All men must die,” but I’m a writer, not a BASE jumper. I spend most of my time behind a bright computer screen, thinking. Yet as I started driving along the edge of a snowy cliff tumbling hundreds of meters downwards to the rocky sea, with- out snow tyres, the possibility was getting a little bit too real. Valar morghulis. But, thank god, I saw the film ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ last week. Inspired by the many badass female drivers in the movie, I continue on like a champ. The car never slides or skids, but my passenger squeals a few times anyway. White knuckled, he yells: “There’s a big drop!” I respond like a stone-cold bitch: “Don’t look.” Eventually the cliffs lead us into a flat area. John’s knuckles regain their colour, and once again we're confronted by one of those fucking weird pagan cross things. Another one? What the fuck are these things? Signs of the White Walkers? Fuck! Because I am embarrassing, I ask John to take a photo of me posing as a black metal musician next to the cross. This will be perfect for my next (first) album cover. But I'm not an actual black metal musician, so the next best thing is to periodically pose like one. For the record, I’m single. Getting back into the car we continue along the precipice, and I realise that this landscape is actually pretty majestic. High mountains, snowy fields, the Atlantic at our feet—this country once again humbles me with its beauty. As we turn the final corner and finally descend into Djúpavík, I'm not only super jazzed about being alive, but also in awe of the wildness of the land. I always thought that if I lived in Westeros, I would be a Targaryen, but I now know that wildling blood runs through my veins. So be warned: if you undertake this road trip, things may change. You may not come back the same person. Me? I don’t know if I can go back to my comfortable room on Njálsgata. White knuckled, he yells: “There’s a big drop!” I respond like a stone-cold bitch: “Don’t look.” BOOK YOUR FLIGHT OR DAY TOUR AT AIRICELAND.IS ÍSAFJÖRÐUR ICELAND’S WESTFJORDS ARE ONLY 40 MINUTES AWAY Let’s fly is le ns ka /s ia .is F LU 7 32 63 0 3/ 15
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Reykjavík Grapevine

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