2 June 2017
This is the place
above all I wanted to visit. It's a 50km uninhabited peninsula in the north
east of Iceland. A few people lived here once:
With some trepidation I passed the sign indicating that
this track was for 4x4 vehicles only. The birding trail guide says it is
passable with care, and it is, but mostly in second gear and at 10 to 15 mph.
It's raining steadily with a cold wind and low cloud. After one or two hours - lost track of time - I
finally got to the bird cliffs which are two thirds of the way up the north coast of the peninsula. There's a hut, locked, and a space to park and a new
galvanized metal platform jutting out above the sheer drop to the sea, and
there they are, beneath your feet:
hundreds of gannets, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes all
swirling round in the mist and rain. Pointless to attempt any photography, but
it's late afternoon so I decide to stay the night there and hope for better
luck in the morning.
Its 8:30 am. I've
been up since 5 in the hope of getting some good pictures at the bird cliffs,
but although the wind has dropped and it's not raining, it's very misty, so I
decided to go back and spend more time searching out all the waders back
towards Thorshofn. I saw and photographed Rock Ptarmigan which was a bonus.
and
then I came across the ruins of a small settlement. There was a well-defined
grass track with easy access from the main track so I decided to pull off the
track and do some exploring, confident that my winter tyres would get me back
onto the stone track. A little family of Iceland sheep obviously thought this was a stupid idea.
They were right.
The exploring didn't
last long - there's not much of interest here - the remains of 4 or 5 stone and
turf houses and a few acres of grass with some Iceland sheep. I try to get some
momentum by dropping back down the track, but the wheels just spin. I'm stuck
about 150 metres from the track and will just have to wait for help to arrive.
I wanted the van to be inconspicuous in natural surroundings. Hm. It's a bit
too inconspicuous now. To make sure I will be seen I've put the warning
triangle up by the stone track. Now all I can do is wait. It's a bad spot for
birds, and the most I can expect in the
way of traffic is about 1 vehicle an hour -
could well be a lot less. I only saw one car yesterday which went on
past me. It could be a long wait. I do have the Iceland 112 app which tracks my
position with GPS. There is an emergency button on it, but this is hardly an
emergency
11:25. I have just
decided to text the emergency line when a 4x4 appears. I wave and shout. It
stops and turns down towards me. The man looks local but speaks just enough
English for us to communicate. He has a kind face. I trust him. He decides to
try driving the van first, but his first attempt fails so he then goes to the
bottom of the track, turns it round and reverses. This works a lot better but
he still gets stuck just where he left his truck.
"Do you have
rope?" I was afraid he would ask this. How I could have forgotten to pack
a tow rope I do not know. Unperturbed he fishes out a nylon strap from the
detritus in the back of his truck.
"Do you live
here?"
"Here, no. In
Thorshoven. I come shoot foxes."
"Me too but
with - " I mime taking pictures. We both laugh.
He looks at the
front of the van and points to something on the bumper.
"You have
screw?" There is a threaded hole by the bumper. Ah! In the tool kit there
is something. I rummage under the seat and find it - a sturdy metal loop with a
threaded end which screws into the hole. I wondered what that was for.
Ten minutes later I
am back on the stone track shaking hands and beaming.
"Can I give you
some money?"
"No no. Here,
you take" - He gives me the strap.
"Will you write
your name and address for me and I will write to you when I get home."
He's happy with
that. He is:
Sigurdur Oskarsson
Asgardur 680
Thorshofn
Isn't the kindness
of strangers wonderful?
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