How I fell in love with Iceland [Part 3/4]

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[Read Part 2]… After sleeping through mixed reactions of previous night, we were up early next morning (hmm.. well sort of). The sunrise at 11 A.M gave us enough time to rest and get ready. We had planned on covering the famous Golden Circle route on our own.

Day 2

Starting just before the sunrise at around 10:30 A.M, we were driving on the same route as previous night. Well, it was a completely different view now, mesmerizing us completely mile after mile. We made our first stop just after 15 minutes to take some snaps. As expected, there was no other human, tree, animal, plant in sight for miles. The landscape is mostly flat with a few hills scattered all over. Everything, including the road was covered in a thick sheet of snow and ice!   We drove for about an hour towards Pingvellir National Park. I must mention this again; the drive was stunning. The Sun was playing hide and seek throughout, giving that extra magic to the already magical landscape. We were getting comfortable behind the wheel (not every day you drive on icy roads!) but cautious about driving between the yellow markers on the either side of the road. (Remember the warning that was stressed the most.. in Part 2). We saw the signage for Pingvellir National Park, pointing to the right. It was a deviation from the main highway and without the “yellow markers”. We anyways turned right. We drove for about 200 meters and soon realized it was not in the best interest to be on this road. The very instant we decided to turn back.. The car stopped moving (no forward, no backward). The snow was soft underneath and the tires just couldn’t get a grip (all four of them!). It was like being on a makeshift ledge, with the tires hanging in air.

We were in the middle of nowhere, with no sign of life around. We did not have any spade, rope or even hand gloves (except for one pair). To make matters worse, the weather was also turning ominous. We tried pushing the car but it was too difficult considering the cold outside (-15 degrees Celsius) without gloves. The only hope was that our cellphones were working and we could call for help in case of an extreme emergency (Don’t worry most of us were still laughing…boys! ). To our surprise we saw a van approaching. They were a local couple, who were heading towards the ocean for a diving session!!. They stopped when they saw us trapped and offered help. Unfortunately even they did not have any rope or spade with them. “Don’t worry” the guy said and asked us to wait, while he left to look for someone who could help us in a nearby base camp for scientists! Interesting turn of events, isn’t it? It was sure proving to be an adventure of a lifetime. The helpful couple returned after about 15 minutes and informed us that the base camp is closed (even the scientists had left that place!) but they had actually found a family having lunch in a nearby coffee shop and they will come and help us. The couple left us and we waited nervously for another 10 minutes. A SUV showed up soon much to our relief and there was the helpful family. The man tied a rope and a gentle pull from the SUV freed our car. We thanked the family and were back on the main road. We soon found the coffee shop and decided to stop for lunch. The shop was frozen!

We had already lost too much time were nowhere near the destination. We also needed fuel and finding a pump was a challenge in itself. A few helpful citizens helped us re-fuel as well. I must say that Icelandic people are one of the most friendly and helpful people that I have encountered in my life. It may be because the environment is so hostile and help is constantly needed just to survive.

It was already 2 P.M and only two hours of sunlight was remaining. We had a decision to make; to continue further or go back (it would take us 2 hours to drive back from that point). We were already a bit scared after the earlier event and the decision to turn back was made simpler by the weather. There was a sudden blizzard and the visibility reduced to just a meter. We turned back without any hesitation or regret! (Enough risk taking for the day). We had plans for the night with some locals in a gothic themed pub. It was quite an experience sipping juice (I don’t drink… and a coffin kept as the table was strange too!).  No complaints about the party though.

[End of Part 3]…[Read Part 4]