The Road Less Traveled

For the next trick up his sleeve, Giorgio and Stainer (our bus driver/probably NOT the actual spelling) took us much further east, to a bumpy road that few actually take.  There were times the bus was sliding down a steep hill, or tilted like a curve at Talladega (only bumpier).

This was not some regular bus.  It was a 15 seater Mercedes Benz with special suspension and tires to go where the average car could not.  And so it went where the average car can not.

It led to an incredible view of the Vatnajokull glacier and Hvannadalshnukur Mountain, which is the highest in Iceland (6,920 feet).  It was clear that Stainer really relished the difficult drive.  The landscape was like something I’ve never seen before – barren, sandy, with ice caves riddling the hillocks.

Driving back, the bus could not make it up one short steep hill.  The spinning threw rocks in the air.  We slid back down to the bottom, and all the passengers got out (except Rich, who wanted the ride).  Stainer gunned it, and made it up the hill.  We hiked up, taking pictures at the top as we now had partly sunny skies.