I C E L A N D
f i r e a n d i c e T H E R E I S N O O T H E R P L A C E O N T H E P L A N E T TH AT I S A S R U GG E D LY B E A U T I F U L A S I C E L A N D . T H E S I Z E O F E N G L A N D B U T W I T H A P O P U L A T I O N O F J U S T 3 2 0 , 0 0 0 , means vast areas of the country are totally devoid of habitation. So raw and new is the land that on many of the exposed stretches of coast reefs simply have not formed yet. The most consistent beach exists due to a chasm in the Earth’s crust known as The North Atlantic Ridge. The tectonic plate boundary literally splits the beach; you can takeoff on a peak in Europe and finish a wave in North America. Further east and you are surfing in the shadow of Europe’s most active volcanoes, it’s an awe inspiring experience, especially when one is erupting. Iceland simply makes you feel alive. Life clings on to the North Atlantic island where nature still rules, one of the few true wild places left on Earth. We did six month-long trips to Iceland, over a range of different months, from mid summer to deep winter, the shortest day of the year to the 24 hour daylight of the longest day of the year. We camped or slept outside the whole time, partly due to the cost of Iceland and partly due to the huge distances we were driving around the island looking for waves.
W E P I T C H E D O U R T E N T B E H I N D A L I T T L E B E A C H , T H E G R O U N D WA S F R O Z E N S O I T C O U L D B A R E L Y T A K E A T E N T P E G . We left it for a couple of hours to go and check some other spots and grab a coffee, something the Icelanders absolutely love. Two hours later and an icy blast was raging in the bay when we left the little coffee stop. Driving down the frozen track it looked like the tent had gone, surely not? We jumped from the vehicle to find just one peg hanging on in the hard ground. At first we thought it had been stolen, highly unlikely in Iceland, then, we spotted something yellow fluttering a few hundred yards away in a ditch, our tent. Right: With a dripping wet tent we hit the road, driving for eight hours through snow, ice and gales, no clue where we were going just searching. Long into the night we arrived in a tiny village, by chance found a toilet intended for people to shower in before going in the hot springs next door. We dried the tent for the night and slept on the floor, heated by the water from the springs, it was like being in a five star hotel for us.
2010 - AFTER I HEARD THE TALES OF LAST Y E A R ’ S A D V E N T U R E S I couldn’t miss another year. So in autumn 2010 I joined Ian, Timmy and Eric for a stint back at the right hand barrel, out of contact with the world in the woods for six weeks.
W H E N S T O R M S H I T , T A K I N G O U T T H E K AYA K T O F I S H W A S A M I S S I O N so we would head upstream looking for trout. Eric fishing, while Ian ran the protection racket in case of any cougars or bears.