{"id":20883,"date":"2019-11-07T10:42:46","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T09:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/?p=20883"},"modified":"2021-01-21T17:56:01","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T16:56:01","slug":"driving-on-my-footsteps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/en\/driving-on-my-footsteps\/","title":{"rendered":"Driving on my footsteps"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Reykjavik is a small town. Barely the size of N\u00eemes. Department of Gard, South of France. N\u00eemes, located not even an hour away from the village where my parents live. Reykjavik, center, has about 130 000 inhabitants to which are added the 90 000 inhabitants of the agglomeration around. Almost 70% of Islanders and immigrants live in Reykjavik. And Reykjavik is smaller than N\u00eemes. While walking in the capital, the number hit me and I realized how small the Icelandic community is. And how weak the human presence on the island is compared to the kilometers and kilometers of desert landscapes.<\/p>

Yet while crossing Iceland by bike and on foot for more than two months, I did not find it so empty-like, the island. Small farms everywhere and tourists at every corner. At least along the roads. But as there are not so many roads, out of the bitumen, there is no one. But these places are therefore difficult to access, few people go there. The bulk of the Icelandic population and tourists stay and follow the same paths, giving the impression of a populated country, over-populated in summer while the reality is quite different.<\/p>

I have almost finished my trip to Iceland. I have a week left. I left the\u00a0dairy farm where I spent the last two weeks<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to go to Reykjavik for a few days. I did not really wanted to go there. Between the noise of the city, the immediate access to over-consumption society, the neon lights of the advertising signs, the superficial discussions and the smell of exhausts, urban environment, it is no longer for me. The large open spaces, the calm, the song of the birds, the simplicity, the nature, that yes. Everything is so much simpler there. But I only have a few more days left and winter has arrived. I hesitated on what to do during these last days and I decided to plunge back in the particular landscapes of the island. Retrace my steps and discover other places. So I need a car. I feel a little guilty of renting a motorized means of locomotion. Here I am doing a road trip like everyone else. Too simple, too superficial, too polluting. But there are not so many alternatives.<\/p>

Back on the road N\u00b01, the famous road that goes around Iceland. The one I have criticized so many times on my bike. Too many people and rolling too fast to pedal quietly. But it is early October now and the bulk of tourists should be gone. Or at least I hope so. Sn\u00e6fellsnes is bathed in the light of the Gods. The peninsula is revealed under a stormy sky. Landscapes of large cliffs-mountains by the sea, lava fields covered with moss, those of the South coast that I couldn\u2019t cycle three weeks ago<\/strong><\/a>. The brightness is incredible and I am fascinated by the patterns drawn by the solidified lava flows descending from the Snaefellsj\u00f6kull volcano. Its summit is in the clouds. Like last time.<\/p>

A group of Alpine Ptarmigans protect themselves from the storm under the desolate wooden picnic tables next to the Go\u00f0afoss waterfall, not far from Akureyri. The “Fall of the Gods” pours 12 meters high and 30 meters long the waters of the Skj\u00e1lfandaflj\u00f3t River, one of the longest in the country. A torrential rain pummels the landscape and the places are bathed in a ghostly atmosphere. I hardly saw the immobile birds between the droplets. They have put on their winter clothes and their feet are wearing pretty white feathered boots. These boots will be essential in winter in a landscape covered with snow as they will act as snowshoes preventing them from sinking into the snow. For the moment they look like big balloons of feathers, all swollen that they are to keep warm.<\/p>

On my side I am cold. The greyness, the rain and the wind have enveloped my body in an unpleasant feeling. Then I head for Myvatn<\/strong><\/a>, the big lake in the North where I came already a month ago. Going for a dip at Myvatn Nature Baths seems like a good idea. Outdoor geothermal baths, volcanic waters, what better way to warm up at the end of the day? Anyway according to the vast majority of tourists it is the attraction not to be missed. Cheaper and less populated than the Blue Lagoon on the South Coast, this is an opportunity to try it before leaving Iceland. It is dark night when I immerse myself in sulphurous waters. I come out immediately. The water is not hot at all. The rain has stopped but the wind is so strong that even the water has cooled. Only the sauna will be the desired refuge but the visit is short as I don\u2019t want to turn into a mummy. A good lesson to finish to register in my skull that tourist attractions is only good for idiots.<\/p>

A great depression appears in the landscape and suddenly the ground is covered with trees. A forest in Iceland in a gigantic circus. A circus shaped like a horseshoe. \u00c1sbyrgi. Apparently Odin’s horse has something to do with it. Legend says it was he who formed this horseshoe-shaped hole in the landscape. A hole today filled with birches. But Autumn is on its end and the yellow leaves that illuminate the landscape are gone. All that remains is the gray skeleton of a forest whose winter is at its door. And yet the place is splendid. I do not know if it is the view of the trees or the particular shape of the place bordered by large cliffs but I am fascinated by the landscape. There is a kind of vibration in the air. Perhaps the remains of the passage of the divine horse.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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