Day 13, June 28, 2005: Hjörleifshöfði and Reynisfjara
We drove from Kirkjubæjarklaustur through Vík to Fljótsdalur. Not far from Vík, we ran into a little misadventure.
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This is Hunkubakkar, where we stayed the past 2 nights.
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There was a beautiful canyon nearby so that was out first stop.
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Just outside of Hunkubakkar, there are these lumps in the ground.
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We've been told by several of the eastbound travellers over the past few days about a beautiful black sand beach
just west of Vík and we were eager not to miss it. Of course, nobody was quite sure of the name of the place, so we
were on the look out for something vague. A little pass Vík, we found a promising looking beach next to a cliff, with
a sign saying Hjörleifshöfði, so we turned in to have a look. That was when our troubles started.
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Okay, picture this: You drive pass the Hjörleifshöfði sign, onto this black ground that looks remarkably like
tarred road (except it stretches over a very vast area), and after driving for ten minutes, you come across this sign.
You clearly understand what the sign is saying, but you don't see any difference between the ground before the sign
and the ground after the sign. For the past 12 days, your car has been driven through clouds, over mountains, around
fjords, and has skidded over countless rocks to bring you almost all the way around the country. What do you do now?
Right.
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Twenty minutes later, we didn't seem to be getting any closer to the shore. The cliffs that looked like they stretch
all the way out to the water were now clearly behind us. Apart from that, the only thing we could see was the black
stuff all around us, which we were beginning to realise was the sand of the beach. Just then, we hit a rock and our
car was stuck.
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I'm not sure how long we had to dig. See Ming was on the edge of panicking but she kept calm admirably. I was
digging with my hands at first but she found a few pieces of wood that made things a lot easier. After a long while,
we dislodged the big rock under the car, only to find a bigger one next to it. We must have been there for over an
hour before we got them both out.
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Even though the rocks were out, my first attempt at backing the car out spun the wheels and dug
them deeper into the ground. The piece of old shoe sole I stuck under one of the tires was ripped to pieces while
the wooden plank under the other tire got thrown clear. The 2nd time around, I was not satisfied until we had dug all
the sand out from under the car and flattened the ground evenly around the two front tires. We even dug little
trenches to fit the wooden planks flat behind each wheel. When the car finally got out of the ditch, we drove
out of there with dirt in our hair and smiles on our faces.
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The cliffs that had us fooled. Part of it looked like a piece of driftwood cut in half, while another part of it
appeared scorched by lava.
Above are pictures taken outside the little town near the Reynisdrangar rock formations. The town might be called
Reynisdrangar too, but I don't remember exactly. Below are pictures taken from Reynisfjara beach, where Reynisfjall
mountain sits. I just don't think there is another place like it anywhere else on the planet. The whole beach is
made of smooth pebbles; the basalt columns form steps that are easily climbable; a small cave on the mountain
faces the sea; the powerful waves lap at the troll-like formations sticking out of the water;
and all the while, puffins and gulls circle the skies above.
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A little later in the day, we came to yet another great waterfall. This is us at Skógafoss.
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And this is me at Skógafoss. (the little dot with the arms raised). Actually, I wasn't even near the
waterfall yet. There's probably another hundred meters to go, but I was getting quite thoroughly soaked already.
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