Iceland review - 2016, Qupperneq 41

ICELAND REVIEW 39
of volcanic rock even more forbidding.
Views didn’t stretch on forever, but
rather receded into an obscuring haze.
Imagined dragons seemed strangely real
and some of the locals’ persistent belief
in elves seemed less quaint than it had
appeared earlier. What’s more, I could
feel my little car being pushed around
by the ferocious winds and driving rain.
Combined with the narrow Icelandic
roads, this stirred a more realistic fear.
I took a moment to try to imagine just
how terrifying this might have been in
winter, or without the shelter of a car.
Later, Harpa Barkardóttir, a guide based
out of Akureyri in the north, told me
what that could be like: “People think
that ski touring is the same here as in
places like Sweden, but here the weather
is unpredictable. One moment it can
be sunny and the next you can have a
life-threatening storm. Visibility disap-
pears and the cold is deadly.”
Prior to my trip I would have agreed
that this was hardly vacation-enhancing
weather and indeed, most travelers visit
Iceland in the summer to avoid the
harsher elements of the climate. Yet,
to my surprise, the wind and rain only
intensified the dramatic appeal of the
scenery. Rather than wanting to take
shelter, I felt a strong desire to head out
into the mountains, to test myself against
nature, to get closer to the sublime. I
remembered that my own transforma-
tion into a travel writer and photogra-
pher had begun in a lonely mountain
pass in the Pyrenees. A series of bad
decisions had forced me to weather a
cold and dangerous night that opened
onto a beautiful and awe-inspiring dawn.
Perhaps the sublime was the original
reason behind my travels?
DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF
THE SUBLIME
Iceland had one more sublime experi-
ence still in store for me. One evening in
Akureyri, while I sat enjoying a beer with
a motley crew of travelers and locals, I
found myself engaged in a conversation
with Aðalsteinn Svan Hjelm, the mar-
keting manager of a whale watching tour
based in the small village of Hauganes. I
normally avoid tourist attractions while
traveling, but his obvious passion for his
work, combined with an extremely gen-
erous invitation to everyone at the table,
was simply irresistible.
I can now say with confidence that
there are few experiences as powerful
as watching the graceful movements of
a 35-ton animal through open water.
Even the skeptical local by my side
admitted it was a powerful sight and our
guide confirmed that many visitors were
moved to tears by their first encounter
with humpback whales. Here, against
the backdrop of the majestic Eyjafjörður
fjord, all of Iceland’s wonders had come
together. Mountains and sea danced with
the morning clouds as whales dove and
resurfaced alongside our wooden ship. I
rejoiced in my growing certainty about
Iceland’s magical appeal, but lamented
the limits of my art. I knew that my cam-
era might capture something beautiful,
but that only by being here in person
could I experience the sublime. u
Jason Visco left a career as a New York
attorney to pursue his love of writing and
photography. With a focus on local culture
and lesser-known locations, his seven years of
travel have taken him across six continents
and nearly 40 countries.
More of his work can be seen at his website
anoutofthewayplace.com.
T R AV E L
From top: From Snæfellsnes, West Iceland. Just east of Ólafsvík;
Berserkjahraun lava field.