Heart is pounding. Hands are shaking. Puzzling look on Baby’s face. Horror in the eyes while Daddy is crossing the river. Again.
Welcome to the Highlands of Iceland. Network of bad and worse roads for 4×4 only. Pure nature and breathtaking views, with a rough driving bonus: across a lava field, in the sand, through a river. Add unstable weather conditions, and you get an adrenaline adventure.
Kaldidadur, a Road of Cold Valley (road 550) is between 3 three glaciers, nicknamed highlands for beginners. Driving around was not very exciting, and we ended up inside the second biggest glacier on Iceland: Langjokull. They put us in a missile launcher remade to a snow car, and drove us up the glacier. There we had an hour to wonder around in a man-made ice tunnel. It was freezing cold and wet, but totally awesome. Baby enjoyed it also, being woken up by our guide’s singing of traditional Icelandic lullaby.
Second drive of the day was more adventurous: Skjaldbreidarvegur, or Road Around a Volcano with a Difficult Name (F338). One landscape changing seamleassly into another, lava fields, stone deserts, black sand patches, green moss, and wild flowers. And bumps, rocks, two river crossings. Mummy’s nerves were on a string. And Daddy? Could not be more excited.