The Magic and Powerful Energy of Iceland – Part 5

In the meantime, I went on mini hikes; one of them was really a short one, as the fog came down after ten minutes and I couldn’t even see five metres ahead. And then the “perfect day” finally arrived. I mean, days are definitely long here in the summer. There’s approximately 20 to 22 hours of daylight per day in June. A full-day hike can therefore last as long as the whole 24 hours (yes, I’m exaggerating) because it’s easy to lose the track of time. But it did happen to me during my second visit to the “spitting beast”. You can learn more about that in Part 1.

“If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”

You’ll hear that a lot in Iceland. The weather there is incredibly unpredictable. You really need to be prepared because a perfectly sunny summer day can suddenly bring lots of snow. Or this one: “My mood is like our weather.” That’s what the Icelanders say when their mood changes by the minute. Due to the Gulf Stream, the world’s largest ocean current that brings mild weather to Europe and is part of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, Iceland has a much milder climate than other countries that lie south of the Arctic Circle. The Gulf Stream is globally one of the most important ocean currents and scientists have discovered that it could weaken or even disappear because of global warming. That would cause irreversible consequences and climate destabilisation all over the planet. It’s because of the Gulf Stream that Iceland enjoys mild winters: 0 °C in the lowlands and –10 °C in the highlands. Most of the country has Arctic climate where the highest temperatures range from 20 to 25 °C, while the average temperature in July is 10 °C.

Now that you know more about the climate and other factors that affect it, you always have to pack sunglasses in the summer, but also rain- and wind-proof clothes. It was because of this changeable weather and inappropriate equipment that I waited for the day when the weather would be more stable and stayed sunny. And lo and behold, that day actually came. The perfect day. I left the hostel and, after ten minutes, turned towards the highlands. I didn’t take water with me because I knew there’d be plenty of it in the streams and the river that would accompany me on my hike. But I didn’t know...

... there’d be so many of them! I was wet in the first five minutes.

HA HA. No, it wasn’t because of sweating (or anything else, jokes aside). It was the wetlands and crossing the small streams. And because I put on my old Alpina boots, which were already quite worn and not so waterproof anymore. The new ones were taking a rest at the hostel. I first came across the Selbrekkufoss, which was a mini waterfall (for Iceland). And it was the first time I saw a rainbow beneath a waterfall. Wooohooo, of course I wet my boots right away because I didn’t stay at the edge. I just had to climb all the way underneath the waterfall. Ah, Veronika.

I continued my hike. And saw two new paths that led in the direction where I was headed. I chose the left one. And learned not to pick that one ever again. Why?

I started counting all the streams I crossed along the way. One, two, three... five. The area became more and more swampy. And the smile on my face ever so big. A sunny day, no wind, the smell of tundra and blueberries. Absolute peace. Me and the mountains. A paradise. I could stay there for ever. All around there was nothing. Quiet. The only thing I heard was the water flowing in the streams. There was a path in front of me. I think I crossed about ten streams when my foot got stuck somewhere in the mud. A wetland in front of me. I made another step and my other foot got stuck in the mud as well. I had been walking for more than two hours. No way, I’d turn around and go back! The path disappeared. I wanted to reach my destination, end of story. I made another step and tried to figure out how to get out of the wetland. I couldn’t see any way out. I really didn’t want to go back. I stood there for about five minutes trying to figure out what to do because there was no way I’d go back!

And that’s when it suddenly showed up!

Remember me writing above that there was nothing all around? But at that very moment, a bird flew towards me. It flew up to my head, turned around and circled back from where it came, all the while making noise. I watched it. Again, it did the same. And I kept watching it. It made the same flight all over again. And I stood there, watching it. Since it didn’t stop, I said out loud: “What, want me to follow you?” And me being me... I did just that. I followed after it directly. And guess, what? I MADE IT ACROSS THE WETLANDS! (I’ve got goose pimples now that I’ve remembered it!) And just as it appeared, so it disappeared just as I reached the other end. I started laughing out loud and thanked the bird. But what then? There was no path anymore!

I crossed the wetlands and was stopped by a gushing river after an hour’s worth of climbing. I couldn’t jump across and had been trying to find a way to cross it for half an hour, but I didn’t find a way. “I’m not going back,” I said to myself. But I walked downstream. That’s when I noticed the river became narrower and calmer. Well, it’s not like I went “back back”. When I got there, I jumped over the first part. But there was another one ahead. I said to myself: “Okay, enough. I’ve been trying to figure this out for half an hour.” I took off my boots and crossed the ice-cold river barefoot and then did the same on the snowy path on my right. I’d had it, but at that moment, when I was crossing the river barefoot, I just laughed. Yes, it was cold, but it was worth it! I arrived at my destination. And the view of the fjord was majestic! I couldn’t get really close to the lake, which was my goal, because the path was covered in too much snow. It would’ve been a risk, since I didn’t know the terrain and didn’t have the appropriate equipment. Plus, under all that snow, you couldn’t tell where the land was and where the river or the stream. I sat down on a cliff. It was quiet, and there was just me and nature, the sun and the view of the fjord. My heart, ever grateful for the life and the beauty that surrounded me. And for the bird, of course, which showed me the way. I went back following the right path, which was always clearly visible. I probably couldn’t have found my way through the wetlands on my own and without the help of the bird.

My favourite hostels in Iceland

The eleven days I spent in that little town will for ever remain in my heart. I experienced the Icelandic culture first hand and tried Icelandic food. I was part of an international family, enjoyed my free time outdoors and cooking with my new friends at the hostel and my friend Þóra. I learned about the town’s both HI hostels’ history. The yellow hostel Old Harbour was a dormitory building for women who worked in the herring industry in the 1960s. Six women shared a single room back then, but now that room is suitable as a small double room. The hostel was my home, my haven. It’s incredibly cosy and you marvel at the view of the ocean and the mountains in the background from the dining room. It’s Icelandic style intermixed with Indian elements, which is truly something special. Þóra also owns the Secret Garden hotel in India, a country she holds dear. She brought many Indian elements back home, which make the hostel so much more interesting, as each element has its own story.

The other hostel is »Old Hospital« and is located in the town centre. As the name suggests, it was once a hospital. The first time Þóra took me there, she showed me the room where she was born and the room where her grandmother was hospitalised. The hostel looks almost like a hotel and is located right at the heart of the town. I later visited other hostels, too, but I think these two are my favourite. Though, each one is unique! Especially since the owners are locals and each hostel has that hint of Icelandic history. Plus, when guests stay there, they support the locals. Some are transformed barns or old houses, such as Berunes HI hostel or Fljótsdalur. The latter is a renovated old farmhouse with a green roof and a view of the famous Eyjafjallajökull that erupted in 2010, bringing air traffic to a halt.

Then came the time for me to pack and go back to Reykjavik

It wasn’t easy saying goodbye. I am thankful from the bottom of my heart to Þóra for taking me under her roof and making it possible for me to get to know the life in Seyðisfjörður. And I’m grateful for the beach sauna with a view of the fjord and for the swimming in the ocean where the water had 4 °C. I’ve been here for eleven days (they flew by like a breeze, and one day seemed as long as a whole year, that’s how much happened) and it’s time for me to go back to Reykjavik. I had been asking around if there was anyone going to Reykjavik and everyone was so helpful. But no one went to Reykjavik. Though, a guest did stay at the otherwise closed hostel that morning. I woke up in the morning and asked him if he was by any chance going to Akureyri (the second-largest town in the north). And he said yes! I asked him if I could tag along, and he said I could. And I left in 20 minutes. I packed my suitcase. And there was another guest from Miami who stayed at the hostel two days before. We talked until four o’clock in the morning and exchanged our profiles on Instagram. He said he’d be in Akureyri in two days and then leaving for Reykjavik. While I was throwing all my things in the suitcase, I texted him and asked him if there was any chance he could pick me up in Akureyri and then we could go to Reykjavik together. He texted me back right away and wrote: “Sure! I’ll pick you up in the morning!” I said goodbye to Þóra, who asked me if I was sure about this and said I was welcome to stay. I would have gladly preferred to stay there, but I had to take care of my workplace in Reykjavik, since I did all the work on my laptop in the meantime. The longer I’d stayed, the harder it would’ve been to leave. In the next twenty minutes I also managed to arrange a transfer to Reykjavik, packed my things, said goodbye and left with the guest.

And here’s when a new adventure began!

The guest was an American and he rented a Toyota Yaris. Okay, it was a cute little car and it was capable of driving on Iceland’s main roads. But it started to snow. The higher over the mountain pass we went, the more it snowed. AND THE CAR HAD SUMMER TYRES! And there were no chains in the boot. We looked at each other and said: “Okay, we can do this.” We drove towards the north. It stopped snowing. “Okay, great, we got this.” We drove for a little while, and then the road was covered in snow, since it started to snow again. Great. We patted the car and encouraged it: “Yaris, you can do it!” We literally drove through a snowstorm and the wind was strong. We noticed, though barely, a space where we could pull over. We looked at each other: “Should be move forward or stay here and hope the snowstorm passes?” We decided to wait for a while. We put on our jackets and opened the car doors. Yay, wind – the real wind and snow. We stepped out of the car and the wind literally moved us. “Okay, let’s go back in.” We decided to keep on driving. Still, we wanted to get to the Dettifoss waterfall, the second most powerful waterfall in Europe. “I mean, since we’ve come so far.” We put all out hope into the Yaris and its summer tyres. In a snowstorm with strong wind at that. “Yaris, you can do it!” It was a 30-minute drive Dettifoss and it was a detour from the original route to Akureyri.

Europe’s second most powerful waterfall in the middle of a snowstorm

We started driving towards the waterfall. Of course, there was already someone else waiting by the road with all blinkers on. We drove past it and continued forward. After 30 minutes, we finally arrived. We realised there was an about an eight-minute walk to the waterfall. Luckily, the weather stabilised a bit. But the American wasn’t sure whether he’d even go to the waterfall. I looked at him and asked him: “Can I ask you something? Something to think about?” He said: “Yeah, sure.” And so, I started: “Okay, we’ve come so far in this snowstorm. In a Toyota Yaris, with summer tyres and ten centimetres of snow on the road. And now that the weather’s stabilised and we’re finally here, you don’t want to walk for eight minutes to see the most powerful waterfall in Europe?” He looked at me and contemplated a bit. And then he said: “You’re right. Let’s go.” And then we visited Dettifoss. We continued towards Akureyri and there was a five to ten centimetres thick cover of snow on the road for about two hours. It gradually stopped snowing and we arrived in Akureyri in the evening. He dropped me off at the HI Akureyri hostel, the one Þóra called beforehand and booked for me. I quickly toured the town. I really liked the hearts on traffic lights. I texted Jomie whether we were still on for the next morning. And got some sleep. He came to pick me up at the hostel in the morning and we drove towards Reykjavik (of course, we didn’t drive there directly!).

And the lesson of the story is: Networking is extremely important: If you “connect” with someone, exchange your contact info. I’ve also reinforced the lesson from Part 1 – “never bite your tongue”.