A hard think

15 June 2017

Four weeks on the road. This morning, after a good nights sleep, and at a kinder temperature outside, I feel positive about my last week in Iceland, but yesterday I did some hard thinking:

14 June 2017

Why did I so eagerly embrace the idea of an overland trip to Iceland?

Did I want to make a stand against the encroachment of old age?

I certainly wanted to set myself a challenge, and as I saw it when I booked the ferry, there were several elements to the challenge:

I wanted to get to the places where the exciting birds are and to photograph them.

I wanted to do the trip alone to see how self-sufficient I really was.

I wanted to put myself into situations where I would have to communicate despite the deafness.

The vehicle would be my refuge from which I could undertake these tasks.

In the first version of the plan, the old demountable camper on the 4x4 truck would get me to those places, but it was just too uncomfortable to drive.

 I did look at flying and hiring which is the usual way people do this, but I liked the challenge of the sea voyage and getting to experience the Faroes, and in fact like for like, the sea route was cheaper. So with the truck and camper I would get right out into the wild places where you had to ford rivers and drive over rough lava plains. I would spend days finding a gyr falcon nest and photographing the birds.

When I decided that I the demountable had to go, the plan changed. I fitted winter tyres to the van to maximise its capabilities on rough terrain, and decided that where it could no longer go I would walk. I would also use the van as a hide. Part of each day would be spent driving and the rest walking or stalking. I got in training, doing long arduous walks over the local mountain.

Then the conversion task took over and I had no time for anything else, though I did keep up an exercise programme to keep my basic fitness going. Towards the end the goal had narrowed to the one essential - simply getting there: getting the van finished enough to depart on time. 

So how has it worked out now that I've been away for 4 weeks? On balance worse than I'd hoped. My first challenges were the replacement air intake, the fire and the gas, and I managed those well, BUT

I've spent most of my time driving, a lot of it on rough gravel roads. It's uncomfortable and I've lost confidence in the van. I'm afraid there is an exhaust leak and worried that the gear box will break down.

 I've done very few walks, simply because I couldn't identify destinations worth walking to. For the most part the best birds were close to the van, so I have at least used it as a hide quite successfully.

On the whole communication has been bad. The last time I did a solo trip abroad was to Spain and I managed OK then, but that was, I think, 7 years ago and my hearing has got worse.  Too often I have spoken to someone and been confronted with a harsh jabber of high pitched noise, or too little sound to make sense of. I have succeeded in holding conversations quite often, but mostly somewhat one-sided, and only once have I felt able to invite people for a drink and a chat. The Icelanders one comes across (who are mainly those servicing the tourist industry) are polite and helpful, but quite often do not smile. I did not feel that they had any interest in me as a person.

Two things have kept me sane: success with the photography - I've got a fair few pictures I'm proud of, and this blog. One thing I thought about doing but never got round to was to order a sticker for the van advertising "Wales to Iceland by Sea". I should also have had some cards printed which I could give to people. I cherish the contact with friends and family which the blog has given me, but would be even more satisfied if I could reach out to strangers as well. Now the responses to the blog seem to be drying up.

So I must admit to feeling lonely and homesick.