Op de valreep: Winter in IJsland

In early March 2020, Henri and I took a road trip around Iceland, sometimes experiencing harsh winter conditions. Right on time, as it turned out. Before travel was temporarily curtailed, we enjoyed an unforgettable trip through a country where winter is still truly winter.
I've waited a long time, two months now, to write this story in a blog post. But due to the current global crisis, there's no prospect of new adventures for the time being. Now that I've been home for a while, I realize how lucky we were to be able to pull off this trip. It was, as it turns out, truly at the last minute.

It all started on Tuesday, March 3rd, when we flew from Schiphol to Keflavik, Iceland. Upon arrival, we were greeted at the baggage claim by a mannequin in virus-resistant clothing – a nice touch. Beforehand, after seeing all the necessary images from China about how things were going during the lockdown, I was a bit worried about whether the trip would go ahead. But thankfully, we arrived. Just like last time in 2018, the rental company Hertz gave us a free upgrade, and so we set off in a beautiful Toyota RAV-4 4x4, equipped with studded tires. We would need them, as the weather forecast was much colder than on our previous trip to Iceland. As the sun set, we drove past the capital, Reykjavik. After that beautiful view, we enjoyed a well-deserved takeaway pizza at our first farm stay in Akranes.

We spent our first full day exploring the Snaefellsness Peninsula. The weather became a bit rougher as the day progressed. Near the coast, we could see high waves crashing against the surf. When we arrived at a beach to observe them, we discovered there were seals there too. After scrambling over some large rocks, we were able to get fairly close. They were lazing around at the water's edge. It was wonderful to encounter these animals in the wild.

As we drove on, it started snowing heavily. After a while, you couldn't see much anymore. We passed a car that had accidentally driven off the road and was stuck. Luckily, help arrived. A little while later, we almost did the same thing when we wanted to turn around. Just follow the yellow posts and stay on the road... Luckily, the 4x4 pulled us out again.

The drive further provided beautiful views of rugged coastlines of lava rock, basalt cliffs, abandoned churches, and so on. We also passed through Olafsvik, where we had taken the boat trip to spot orcas the previous time, and also along Kirkjufell Mountain. After finally braving a long stretch of unpaved road, we arrived in Búðardalur that evening. We had a nice little house and were already craving a hot meal. The only restaurant in the village (and in the wider area) turned out to be closed. So we improvised spaghetti with canned tomatoes—it was good to have some provisions in Iceland after all. That evening, there was a faint glow of the Northern Lights, but it wasn't truly beautiful. Unfortunately, the sky had often clouded over in the evenings for the rest of the trip, so no aurora photos this time. We could look back on a successful day with many different impressions, kilometers covered, and lots of photos.

The next stop on our Icelandic route was a farm near Grenivik, near Akureyri, Iceland's second-largest city after Reykjavik. The drive there was scenic, first over the hills on sometimes unpaved roads and towards the fjords of the north. Along the way, we stopped to see a herd of typical Icelandic horses, the kind you see everywhere on the island.

Towards the end of the drive, the sky began to look increasingly threatening. After doing some shopping in Akureyri, it did indeed start snowing when we arrived at the house, just in time. We pulled into the farm's driveway, and Henri backed the car up to park neatly next to another car, as the owner had suggested in her message. Krrrr... Stuck... a few meters from where we wanted to park, it was stuck on a large block of ice. It probably hadn't been noticed because of the snow, and it was firmly wedged under the floor of the car. Even with the studded tires and 4x4, the car couldn't move, and the acceleration only dug deeper. There was no one at the farm to help, so towing with the tractor wasn't an option. Our apartment was on the ground floor of the farmhouse, but you couldn't see it from the outside. The snow was literally as deep as the window around the building. There was less snow under the balcony, and that's how you could get to the door. Luckily, the key was in the lock, and we were able to get in. We unloaded our belongings and then headed back to the car with a large branch, a broomstick, and a kettle of hot water to dislodge it. We spent at least an hour taking turns in the snow, half-buried in a heavy snowstorm, chipping away at a block of ice from underneath the car. We finally succeeded, and then we could rest in the cabin. A little later, the owner appeared. She told us it was the harshest winter in 25 years. A while back, many horses had died in a blizzard. We'd also seen fallen power poles along the way; those thick wooden poles had simply snapped in the wind. A nearby road was also closed due to excessive snowfall. It was clearly winter here, so it was time for a hot meal and some rest.

Goðafoss is one of the larger waterfalls in Iceland. It's also right on our Ring Road route, so we decided to visit. It's impressive to see how much water constantly cascades down there, and how the partially frozen waterfalls look like something out of a movie.

In the afternoon, we decided to take a drive around the large fjord (Eyjafjördur) on which Akureyri is located. We went to Olafsfjördur, on the opposite side, on the north side of the island. The weather was already gray and snowy in places. Many roads were covered in ice. Near Dalvik, we saw ski slopes, but also other slopes with large amounts of snow. This looked like avalanches were possible there, and roads in that area would be closed the next day for avalanches. When we arrived in Olafsfjördur, there wasn't much to see. Especially with the gloomy, gray weather, it didn't exactly provide beautiful views. But it was clear that a lot of snow had fallen. Snowed-in vans and houses were visible. And so we came to a cemetery completely covered in snow. There was a wall around it and behind it was just one big box of snow with the occasional cross sticking out, a bizarre sight.

The day ended with a dip in the outdoor hot tub next to our snow-covered apartment. The owner helped dig the hot tub out of the snow. Meanwhile, the dog enthusiastically jumped after every shovel and sank completely into the snow. And so, that evening, at 9 degrees below zero, we found ourselves in a warm hot tub surrounded by a wall of snow. A bit unusual, but handy for keeping your beer cold. At the end, we wanted to lift the lid back on. My wet fingers immediately started freezing to the metal rims; it was quite chilly there!

After our stay in Grenivik, we headed to Lake Myvatn. Various volcanic phenomena can be found around this lake. The owner of our accommodation in Grenivik was also going there that day with her horses to participate in a competition. The Myvatn Winter Festival was taking place there, featuring various sports on and around the frozen lake. Once we arrived at the lake, we saw a beautiful volcanic peak. Even as a small child, I saw pairs of sled dogs racing on the lake. A unique sight that I managed to capture, and it's not without reason that it's the main photo of this story. We wanted to see a sled dog race in person, so we went. The temperature in the car dropped steadily along the way, and so we finally got out of the car at -18 degrees Celsius and onto the frozen lake. It felt quite bearable; there wasn't much wind. But you could immediately feel your nose hairs freezing. We were able to meet the sled dogs. The animals are so enthusiastic that they're already completely ecstatic to go for a ride. Already in the kennel on the back of a pickup truck from the parking lot, the animals were already barking and howling, and once they were out, they were also eager to go. We waited a while on the lake for the participants to return from their lap on the ice. With frozen beards and eyelashes, but full of enthusiasm, they crossed the finish line. The local crowd wasn't large, but certainly enthusiastic. It's very unique to experience something like this up close, like being in a travel documentary; you don't expect that beforehand. We drove around the lake looking for the snowmobile race, but it wasn't clearly signposted either on the website or at the location. We did stop at some geysers, where thick sulfurous fumes rose from the earth—what a stench...
We also attended the horse show, although that was harder to follow or understand for an outsider. The various horses all took turns doing individual runs, each with the same pair of riders. Others went further afield. I suspect they were judging their trotting ability. Funnily enough, we ran into the owner of our previous accommodation in Grenivik afterward at the check-in desk of our next hotel, which was right next to the horse show. You don't often encounter that on a tour like this, haha. That evening we had pizza again, this time with a view of the basalt cliffs at the edge of the lake. It could be worse.

The next day was a long drive towards Egilsstaðir, the city (or, as it turned out, town) of the east. We wanted to visit Dettifoss, Europe's largest waterfall, but the paths there were closed due to snow. Quite a bit of snow fell along the way. There were often long stretches where you didn't see a single car. Occasionally, a snowplow or tractor would blow the snow aside. Northeast Iceland was truly much more deserted than the rest of the country, even on the Ring Road.

At Egilsstaðir, we stayed in a wooden cabin on a hill among several holiday homes. Here we could recover from the drive and enjoy the view, a drink, and a dip in the warm outdoor pool. The next day, we took a lovely day trip over the mountains to the village of Seydisfjordur. There, we strolled past the painted wooden houses and visited the beautiful church. At the church, we also met an Australian man. It turned out he was in Iceland to surf in the winter. I told him I'd seen the documentary "Under an Arctic Sky" on Netflix about it; we'd also watched it during our previous stay in Iceland. It turned out he was traveling with the same men in Iceland—coincidentally, what are the odds?!

That evening, it started snowing heavily again, so a dip in the outdoor pool was out of the question. The next day, there was a thick blanket of snow, so I dragged my suitcase back to the car. We were going to continue our journey towards Höfn in southeast Iceland. The day started out reasonably well, but along the way, the snow started falling harder and harder. Eventually, we were in the middle of a massive snowstorm. You literally couldn't see anything. Eventually, I had to stick my head out the side window to see if there was a yellow kilometer marker sticking out of the snow. We drove along at a crawl, passing stranded cars. We almost got stuck in the snow wall at the side of the path again, but we managed to back out. Even though you couldn't see anything, a truck still drove by as if we were crazy. Finally, we cleared the pass between the hills and reached the coast, where the visibility cleared and the precipitation turned to rain. A long drive finally brought us to Vestrahorn, a picturesque mountain where the sky cleared just enough for us to see the most beautiful part. Thus, the day ended with the most intense ride of our lives, a beautiful view, and then a lovely hotel waiting for us.

After a night at Höfn, the next trip took us back to familiar territory from 2018. We returned to the Jökulsárlón ice floe lagoon and Diamond Beach, where this time much larger ice floes awaited us on the black sand. A visit to the Svartifoss waterfall was somewhat less successful. Without crampons, the trek along the snowy slopes was a treacherous undertaking that we ultimately had to abandon. We did, however, visit the tongues of the Vatnajokull glacier. It's still amazing to see and walk a bit on (carefully, of course).

At our last hotel, the trip ended on a somewhat somber note. The view was almost completely obscured by a thick layer of snow, which blocked almost the entire window and the emergency exit. We concluded the last evening of the trip with dinner at a restaurant in Kirkjubæjarklaustur where we had also dined in 2018. It started snowing heavily again then. On the way back, the wind picked up even more. Once back at the hotel, we heard the wind howling. While this was happening outside, the Covid-19 pandemic had been declared. During our trip to Iceland, you could already see disinfectant everywhere, and sometimes even the card terminal was covered with foil. I had already tried to anticipate this. Now that the pandemic was a reality, the consequences began to take effect. For example, I learned via email from a client that they were withdrawing my offer to photograph the Formula 1 race at Spa. A disappointment, but understandable, since they rely on ticket sales. It was a matter of waiting to see what consequences this would have for events, something that has now become very clear...
Eventually, the power went out. We were then left in the dark, using only the LED light from my power bank. The snowstorm, but also the dark clouds of the coming crisis, were gathering. We decided to go to sleep.

The next day we heard that the power had gone out across the region due to the snowstorm. So we headed to the airport. When we returned the rental car, we were able to park it in a crowded parking lot with other returned cars. This was different from last time; back then, you'd drop off the keys at a small house, and there were no other returned cars. It was as if more people were leaving than there were new cars rented. At the airport, you could already see several people wearing masks and sometimes even rubber gloves. Our plane was quickly and thoroughly cleaned when it arrived at the terminal. A whole army of cars arrived at the aircraft, and people were going in and out to clean the plane. Once inside, it turned out to be only half full. I happily took the empty row behind us for myself. The crew reacted nervously to this; they had to keep track of who was sitting where. The Monday after arriving, I was able to make some arrangements at work for working from home, and now I've been working from home for over two months. Unreal. I still fear for that client who will have absolutely nothing to sell now that there are no events. Minister De Jonge already stated that events might not be possible if there's no vaccine yet. I've also concluded that my small business has no prospects for work in concert photography or motorsports for the time being. It was already difficult to make any money in those areas, but now there's absolutely nothing left, so that dream is on hold for now. Perhaps that sled dog race was the only race I managed to photograph this year. Time will tell what adventures I'll have with my photography. Whether such extraordinary journeys can still be made. And whether I'll be able to do any more work for clients in the future. But this trip was unforgettable; what an adventure. At the very last minute.