Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.08.2016, Blaðsíða 58

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ICELAND’S WESTFJORDS
ARE ONLY 40 MINUTES AWAY
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GRÍMSEY
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
AKUREYRI
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We were sitting in a random park-
ing lot in Egilsstaðir when my
travelmate and I realised we had to
think of a plan. From the start of
our road trip around Iceland, we’d
had our hearts set on the remote
and beautiful crater of Askja, but
instinct said maybe it was too far
into the Highlands to reach. We
had no monster truck with huge
tyres, after all—just a modest
rented SUV. But despite the fact
that East Iceland offers many ex-
citing places that radiate natural
beauty, the idea stuck with us that
Askja was our Valhalla—and that
not getting there would condemn
our restless souls to an eternity of
wandering the Earth.
And so, we set out our way. The
journey began with a drive along
mountain roads winding their
way up to the volcanic desert of
the highlands. When you hear the
word “desert,” you probably get a
mental image of hot sand and Ara-
bians on saddled camels. Icelandic
deserts can look warm, too—at
least through car windows. But
the moment you step out of a car
for a closer look at some exotic
rockpile, the glacier wind strikes
to remind you that you’re definite-
ly not in Egypt.
After driving along these re-
mote, deserted F-roads for a while,
I couldn’t help but think about the
ancient cosmologies in which the
Earth was thought to be flat. The
plains were so vast it made me ask
myself if NASA had faked its im-
ages of our spherical Earth. But
the landscape soon changed again
when huge mountains appeared
to the north, interrupting my cos-
mic thoughts.
The road was challenging, and
soon the SUV started to disobey
orders. The only way to climb the
mountain roads was to drive in
the first gear while heavily press-
ing the gas pedal. I held the steer-
ing wheel so tightly the palms of
my hands got red and painful. I
was concentrating as hard as the
pilot of a spacecraft—perhaps like
the very astronauts who used this
area during training for the Apol-
lo missions. There’s no question
why they chose Askja, of all the
locations this Earth has to offer—
this area feels alien compared to
the rest of our home planet.
Catching a breath
in a natural pool
Close to the ruins of Laugavellir,
an abandoned farm, a geother-
mal stream flows into a small
pond, where it hits a dam, creat-
ing a waterfall and bathing spot.
As driving had been stressful, it
seemed like a perfect place to re-
lax. I’m pretty sure this place is a
well-kept secret, because we were
the only ones enjoying this exotic
pool. The wind was strong, and it
was chilly changing from our win-
ter jackets into swimwear, but we
were soon letting the water warm
up our bodies and souls. With our
eyes shut, we inhaled this magical
place while listening to the sounds
of flowing water and howling wind.
We could have stayed all night,
but our schedule called. Blinded by
the beauty of this remote natural
spa, we didn’t know that we were
about to face even worse road con-
ditions. As our road trip had al-
ready taken us through small riv-
ers crossing highland F-roads, we
knew to expect them on our way to
Askja as well. But next, we reached
the mother of all river crossings.
We stopped and eyed the rapidly
flowing water, throwing in a rock
to test the depth. When it landed
in the water, the splash was as big
as if I’d thrown it into a sea. We
were freaking out a bit—but, still,
we didn’t want to turn back. We’d
come too far. So we decided to get
some sleep and think it through in
the morning.
The lunar
expedition
continues
In the early hours of the following
day, we read the instructions on
the river crossing warning sign,
looked at the water, and decided
to go for it. What came next were
perhaps the scariest twenty sec-
Highland Travel
One Does Not Simply
Drive Into Mordor
A trip to Askja in the Icelandic highlands
Words & Photos GEIDI RAUD
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12 — 2016
56