Day 68.3

« Day 68.2 | Day 68.4 »

The Dark Cloud of Doom.

We had dinner in the car around 6pm, parked at the west bank of Jökulsárlón. With a splendid view of the iceberg-filled lagoon, even baked beans tasted like abalones. Such is the power of hypnotizing effect the bewitching lagoon had on us. After the recce earlier in the afternoon for a good spot to camp along the east bank of the lagoon for the night, it was time to explore the west side. Lighting condition should be superb in a few hours time, I was already rubbing my hands with glee..  

Jökulsárlón, a shot of me by DD with her S95 camera.

There were a lot more ducks and birds swimming in the west side of the lagoon compared to the east. I reckoned it had to be the disturbance caused by the boat tours and the tourists on the east that drove them to the more tranquil west bank. It was such a joy to watch them all swimming around the crystal clear ice pieces.

The duckies' affair with the ice crystal, shot with the S95.

We must have wandered about 3.5km along the west bank of the lagoon over an hour or so when we first noticed a 'storm cloud' appearing in the distant from the northwest direction shortly after 8pm. "Just a storm cloud, no problem even if that comes our way." We had seen plenty of these back in Hebrides, Scotland. Decked out in our storm jackets and pants, everything will be fine as usual...or so we thought.

The approach of the bizarre 'storm cloud' from the north of Jökulsárlón.

It's been an hour or so since that 'storm cloud' was first sighted and by now it had advanced much closer for us to have a better observation. This one wasn't bringing any rain, the air was dead still, not a wisp of wind. This was no ordinary storm cloud, heck it might not even be one. It appeared to be more like an evil dark mist consuming everything in it's way. The glacier and mountains were falling victim, the lagoon with it's icebergs next in line.

We came face to face with the evil dark cloud as it prepared to consume all in it's path.

The light was slowly changing to an unbelievable purplish blue ambiance never before seen, my eyes must be playing tricks. The duckies and birds by now had all disappeared, the whole place had became eerily dead silent. As the sinister looking cloud began to descend on the lagoon, we witnessed the incredible 'bubbles' in the cloud only seen in some science fiction or horror movies.

The ominous 'bubbles' in the cloud can be clearly seen right in the middle as well as reflected in the lagoon.

By then, it was clear that this was neither an approaching rainstorm nor a sandstorm. I thought the chance of this being a volcanic ash cloud was extremely slim as well. We did not hear any rumbling eruptions or felt any ground movement all day. There were no reports of eruption when we last checked at Skaftafell yesterday. I had even remotely considered the far-fetched possibility of supernatural or extraterrestrial phenomenon. Being a fan of science frictions, I would have love the later, to prove mankind is not alone in the universe. But no way we were going to stay put and find out. There was only one logical option left, RUN.

Hopes of reaching the safety of our car dwindled as the apocalyptic scene played out right before our eyes. Notwithstanding our fears, it was truly a sight to behold...  

Day 64.2

« Day 64.1 | Day 64.3 »

Touchdown Iceland.

Having spent the morning indulging in the celebratory mood in Oslo for Norway's National Day, we arrived in Iceland's Keflavik International Airport at 3:25pm following a short flight from Oslo-Gardenmoen Airport. Cleared the customs and bought some Icelandic currency, the krona (ISK), which can be difficult to obtain outside of Iceland. The Icelandic currency had fallen drastically in value since the Nordic country's bankruptcy, making the once most expensive place to visit in Europe much more affordable now.

Picked up the pre-booked rental car, a 2WD Hyundai Getz, from the car rental company located 500m from the airport. Delivery of car to the airport cost additional €20! No thanks, I rather walk over. We were to stay 14 days in Iceland, of which we had the rental car for 12 days and spending the last 2 days in Reykjavík, the country's capital city. Car rental for the 12 days came up to S$1078 inclusive of gravel protection and super CDW etc. This is probably the cheapest rate you can find before the exorbitant peak-season rate kicks in from June onwards. The plan was to complete the 1339km Route 1, also know as the Ring Route in an anti-clockwise direction. See below map:

We first made a stop at the nearest supermarket to stock up on food and water for the next few days. BONUS is the most prominent supermarket chain here with the most competitive priced groceries, nevermind their sheepish looking piggy bank logo which we would slowly grow to love as the journey unfolded. With the car finally loaded with food, we proceeded to drive towards our next destination, Þingvellir, as the afternoon began drawing to a close.

Dinner break at 8:40pm, in Þingvellir National Park with a view of Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.