Forecast: Sunny/Partly Muddy

Vehicle: Once again the minivan, SEEDS1. Destination: Westfjörds, located on north-west corner of the island, about 350km north of Reykjavik. Mission: drive the van to a farm where some volunteers have been working, drop it off with them and find our own way to get to a village near Ísafjördur. Westfjörds, the north-west region of Iceland in known to have a magnificent landscape lie no other, with steep mountains raising from sea on each side of long and narrow bays, spreading out like an open hand. We left early enough in the morning to arrive a town about 100km away from the farm. Cold but a beautiful day to be travelling, everything was going well and on schedule.

We should have questioned ourselves at some point about not having a decent map. It never occur to us that a map of Iceland with only major roads depicted was not going to be enough information. We kept going but when we realized we may have taken a wrong turn onto an unpaved road it was too late. Our narrow path, beside a steep hill on one side was blocked off by large rocks, and instead of going in reverse turning around seemed to be the right choice. I was wrong. Wet ground on the side of the road swallowed front wheels, and back wheels with no traction kept spinning hopelessly. As there were no sign of other vehicles coming to isolated back road, we had to manage to jack the car up, little by little, to lay sheet of rocks under each tires until the body of the car became leveled. Sahe took the steering wheel, unable to shake the thought of going too far back into a drop of 30 meters (90ft), but kept herself brave as I pushed the van from the front. Two hours later, we managed to escape the bump on the road, and although we were extremely late, we were able to hand over the mud-covered wagon to volunteers. 

After leaving the machine, we have left our fate on our thumbs as we decided to hitchhike from here on to our destination village 120km (75miles) away. People seem to have a warm heart, and is one of the safest countries, hitchhike is commonly practiced in Iceland among travelers and locals. As it was her first time, Sahe was enjoying the experience at first, taking photos of cars that did not stop, but the weather in Westfjord is not so friendly, even in early June. Located on 66 degrees North, temprature is still close to freezing point, and the wind is so strong it draws out the sound of a car coming from behind us. We kept walking on the side of the road, also realizing there are very few cars that pass by. About an hour later when our cheeks turned numb, a lady pulled up and picked us up. She was nice enough to drive us to the village.

What a way to spend my last day as a 35 year-old.