Neskaupstaður -> Seyðisfjörður
I woke up excited about the drive back up into the clouds, through the tunnel and back down into Reyðarfjörður . Skipping breakfast, I hit the road.
The drive didn’t feel as magical as it did the night before. Maybe it was the sun, or the construction workers I passed by on my way up, or maybe even that I knew what to expect. It was enjoyable, nothing special.
Driving through the major town Egilsstaðir, my road map showed a hotpot on Rte 910, which was about 50kms away. It looked pretty isolated. I imagined a hottub surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. Sounded like a good way to spend the day.
Getting to the start of the road, I was welcomed by this sign.
In these situations, it always helps to have another person to sanity-check your decision.
Driving up the road was easy enough. The road was well paved, and wide corners with guardrails. After Rte955 yesterday, this was a piece of cake.
I drove pretty high up for about 20kms. The Spark was struggling to keep up with the steep inclines.
Finally getting to the top, I was greeted by what looks like an Arctic desert. Miles and miles of nothing. Just flat land and snow.
I was a little unsure about this. But the road was clear, so I drove on.
About 15-20 kms in, Vatnajökull emerged out on the horizon. It looked massive, especially surrounded by flat land all over. At this point, I realized I was in the highlands, and I was considering turning back.
But the allure of a hot-tub in the highlands was too great to resist. And with Vatnajökull in the background? That sounded epic. I can’t turn back now.
Driving on, I saw a jeep! First car since I had passed the sign.
The couple looked like tourists, they were taking pictures. I drove over to them. I think we were both mutually glad to see each other in this wasteland.
The wife looked rattled. She asked me if I knew if this road was safe. I had no idea. I told her I just wanted to get to the hotpot in the highlands. I sold them on the idea of a hot-tub surrounded by glaciers and snow, they bought it, and we decided to drive on as a team, keeping an eye out for each other.
As we headed on, the roads got worse. More snow, and the little Spark definitely wasn’t made for this.
I decided to turn back. The couple in the jeep had gone ahead of me and there was no way for me to tell them that I was turning back. I honked a few times, but the snow absorbs all sound. Whatever, they’ll figure it out eventually.
I was kinda bummed about not getting to the hotpot, but I think getting stuck up here would have been horrible. The trek back down was about 60-80kms and I am no Hugh Glass.
As I drove back, I stopped to take some pictures. I saw the couple in the jeep heading back too. They said the road ahead was completely snowed in and impassable.
They seemed kinda upset that I had abandoned them. I didn’t bother explaining about honking and the snow absorbing sound theory I had. I don’t think it would have mattered.
That was enough excitement for me today. I drove back down out of the highlands, and up north to Seyðisfjörður, which is a beautiful town nestled between two fjords.
I soaked myself in the local swimming pool and chatted with a few locals about what life was like in a little town in Iceland.
It wasn’t a hot-tub in the highlands, but it was a pretty damn good in its own way.
My stuff 