S1:E2 | Reykjavík to Vik

Sea, Air, and Land

By Nathan Tsai

March 22^nd, 2017

A new morning

We awoke later than we wanted to—jet lag was still in full effect—and immediately hit the road. We planned to spend the day driving most of the way down to Skaftafell to prepare for our day-long hike the next day. Along the way, we would break up the monotony of the drive with stops at waterfalls, a crashed plane, and the southernmost town in Iceland.

Breakfast was a pound of turkey jerky, a bottle of water, and dried mango.

The road

The roads in Iceland are beautiful. The long, straight stretches of perfectly smooth asphalt juxtaposes with the stark, softly angular landscape it flows through.

The roads are also an absolute pleasure to drive on. Somehow, through all the snow and cold and wetness, the pavement is still somehow unmarred. With the exceptions of the bridges, there are no clunky metal railings to obscure the view of the scenery—most of the time, it looks like the road is part of the land itself.

The further away we were from Reykjavík, the fewer cars there were on the road. There would be stretches of time where we were the only ones on the road—for miles in font and behind.

Almar Bakari

HVERAGERDI, Iceland

We had to make a quick pit-stop shortly after starting our drive because I might have left my windbreaker in Reykjavík. After a quick stop in a clothing shop, we grabbed some early lunch.

The only restaurant open in the entire town was a small café-bakery that was flanked by a tourist information center and a discount grocery store. We weren't expecting much.

The moment the sliding doors opened, however, the sweet smell of freshly baked bread and the general hubbub of a bustling café greeted us and we instantly forgot that we were in a tiny town on the side of a windswept highway.

Fennel Seed, Ham and Cheese Sandwich: The bread was crisp and light with the flavor of the fennel seeds adding a faint licorice-like flavor with every bite. The lettuce and cucumbers were cold and delightfully crunchy which contrasted nicely with the softer and more flavorful ham and cheese.

Rhubarb, Raspberry, and Apple Juice: The Flóridana brand in Iceland has won awards for their "innovative, yet functional drinks" and this was no exception. The juice was not overly sweet but was refreshing.

Thor's Rocks

Our jacket-lunch-stop was turning into more of a extended layover. As we were about to turn back onto the highway, a large sign shouting "STONE MUSEUM INSIDE PETROL STATION" was so intriguing that we turned around again to investigate.

We walked into the convenience store and true to the sign's promises, nestled behind a wall of refrigerated drinks, was a room filled with cabinets of rocks. Hafsteinn Thor, the curator, regaled us with a half-hour long tour and explanation of the history of the rocks in the museum. All of the rocks on display were collected in Iceland over a period of fifty years by his father-in-law.

It was worth checking out and we enjoyed every bit of the diversion. But, we had an agenda to keep and we drove onwards.

Skógafoss

Skógafoss, the waterfall at the end of the Skóga river, is one of the largest waterfalls in the country. From top to bottom, the water falls more than 200 feet and is visible from the highway—more than 5km away.

The waterfall produces so much spray that it constantly wears a wreath of rainbows and the sight and sound of the water roiling and crashing downwards is enough to inspire awe.

After a hike up some (slightly) rickety steps, the top of the falls provided another magnificent view of Skógafoss. This time, the richness of the water contrasted starkly with the harsh mountains that rose up around the river.

The Douglas DC-3

In 1973, a US Navy DC-3 crash-landed onto a desolated beach on Iceland's southern coast. While all the crew survived, all parties involved figured that it was not worth the effort to retrieve the hulk of a plane because it had crashed into such an isolated location. Naturally, for the next fifty years, this lack of accesibility became the reason why it was such an interesting place to visit.

The hike began with a lone dirt trail which vanished into the horizon. To get to the plane would mean crossing 4.5km of tundra. Flanked on three sides by distant mountains and bordered by the coast on the other side, the road to the plane felt very exposed.

Luckily, the weather was cooperating and it warm and not windy at all. This made for a pleasant, albeit slightly boring, walk.

Amidst a barren, white, landscape, suddenly the shattered snout of the DC-3 appears.

After hiking mindlessly, it was actually a bit surprising when we crested a hill and the plane was...just there.

It's hard to explain why the scene was so beautiful. The decaying hulk of human innovation, the frozen loam, the waves crashing on distant shores, the gentle swell of the earth, and the majestic mountains in the distance all had something to do with it—so I suspect.

Another thousand yards or so and the Atlantic Ocean angrily pounds away at Iceland's black sand beaches.

The tide was coming in and the waves were fierce.

The flying machine was grounded and the sea was wildly trying to assert its claim.

Suður-Vík

Suðurvegur 1, 870 Vík-Handelssted

Though we were finished with hiking for the day, we still had about 100km to drive to the hotel.

We stopped by the southernmost town of Iceland—Vik—and dropped in for a bite of dinner.

Cream of Asparagus: Supposedly, this area of Iceland was known for their asparagus and luckily for us, it was in season. The cook didn't seem to want to use it in the soup though. What was described as a creamy and hearty soup ended up being thin and oily with a single stalk of asparagus lying on the bottom. The homemade bread, while good, was sliced so thinly, it crumbled in my hands when I tried to pick it up. Overall, not a well cooked dish.

Pan Fried Local Charr: The dish was presented beautifully (by Icelandic standards). The absolute star of the show was the fish. The charr was extraordinarily fresh and sweet. It was cooked to absolute perfection. I tried to show how amazingly well-cooked it was in the large picture above. The fish was not only easy to separate with a knife, it just slid off the skin without any resistance. It was prepared with a light dusting of salt and pepper along with some "special" spices; then, the it was charr-grilled to perfection. The fish was unbelievably good.

The charr was garnished with sunflower seeds and almond flakes. The nutty, crunch served as a foil to the sweet and soft fish. Awesome texture and flavor.