May Meili Trials: Iceland

With covid sweeping through the ranks at Location Extreme's offices the Iceland party was steadily reduced from three to two to...one, me.

Fair enough. I had no idea where I was going, save for a flight to Reykjavik where there would be a hire car waiting. And hopefully a hotel for the night. 

Day 1

Three and a half hours of flying pretty much due North and we touched down. I picked up a Jeep from the car rental, it was late and I got my head down, woke, and looked at this place I was going to: Husavik.

Most tourism activities in Iceland seem to take place around the South West of the island (Reykjavik) and the Western Coast and Isles. Husavik is on the far north / north east coast of Iceland. And according to my sat nav, that meant an 8 hour  drive - assuming I didn't stop - early start then.

I'd turned the Meilis on in Oxford and a quick check showed that all lights were green, so off I went in the white Jeep.

Nothing prepares you for the landscape of Iceland. Nothing. 1 hour in I knew that there was no way this was going to be an 8 hour drive, it would be more like 11. I had to stop every time a rise gave way to vistas that I did not know existed. Like an enormous AI had been asked to 3D print it's version of Mordor meets North of the Wall. 

Day 2 Asbyrgi & Dettifloss

Journeyed to the Arctic Coast, bloody freezing. Then 80km to Asbyrgi Canyon and walked 10km to Botnstjorn lake,

then 40 clicks through icy sketchy deserted roads to Dettifloss and a walk to find the most powerful waterfall in Europe - so cold but my god, what a sight. Couldn’t miss it by the mist & spray rising above the gorge from 5km away.

Then stumbled on a volcano, like you do, and then drove 124km through 2 or 3 seasons, across the surface of Mars, saw no-one, and got back to base camp.

Simon Purves, the genius, is a very happy Head of R&D because Meili is awesome.

Real time tracking everywhere.

Literally everywhere. 💥 And 48 hours in of real time tracking 365/24/7 and the battery is still at 75%

Day 3 Hjalteyri, Eyjafjardarsysla, Iceland

& WHALES!

What a morning. Following humpback whales through Eyjafjörður.

Huge thanks to Angie who taught me so much about these angels of the sea, who sing, have big pecs and big bellies, migrate to the Caribbean to mate (a cetacean club 18-30), to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico to birth, and then once the baby whales have thick enough blubber, to the frigid waters of Iceland, losing 1/3rd of their weight on the way, before gorging on krill and plankton in the fertile waters of the sea fjords and inlets of Iceland.

Day 4  Eyjafjardarsy through Trollaskagi

I took the snow road alongside Eyjafjardarsy through Trollaskagi (the troll peninsula) through the mountains to Siglufjörður and Ólafsfjörður and walking where winter still reigns. And back. Iceland trials complete

990 km from Husavik to Reykjavik. Slipping through the seasons like a time traveller: from early winter to darkest winter to the pleasant sunlight of a spring day, all within the same journey. And the Meilis? Still charged when I got on the flight home and recorded my journey all the way back to Oxford. I hit the SOS button, several times in fact, and it was nice to know that despite covid, and me having an awesome field test, the team responded x