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| Isafjordur on arrival |
Getting to Isafjordur in the winter is an adventure
in and of itself. What is a popular tourist destination by ship and by car in
the summer becomes inaccessible by both modes in the winter. The roads are
often to treacherous to pass and the boats stay docked until spring. Therefore,
our only way was by plane.
Flying domestically in Iceland is risky business.
Not because of accidents, but because of delays and cancellations. Weather is
very unpredictable and the strong winds and sudden storms make flying
uncomfortable and turbulence frequent and severe. I knew all this before I
booked a one-day trip to Isafjodur via plane. But I learned the hard way.
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| Walking to the airport at 9:00am |
We awoke before dawn to board our flight. “Before
dawn” meant 9:00am because Reykvakik darkness in the winter extends to
practically 11:00am. We were lucky enough to be staying near the city center,
so instead of taking a taxi or bus to Reykjavik Airport, we walked 30 minutes.
It is a small airport and the walk is easy, with sidewalks all the way and only
one terminal with one entrance and one gate.
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| boarding our propellor plane |
We hung out by baggage claim while we waited to
board. We really didn’t need to show up until 30 minutes before flying, but our
American instincts made us arrive an hour early.
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| departing Reykjavik |
The flight to Isafjordur was pretty smooth until we
went in for our descent. That’s when the bumps and shakes started and they only
became more extreme as we approached the ground. I looked out the window and
saw a menacing snow storm brewing. Suddenly I felt the plane begin rapid ascent back into the air. When we were
back in stable air the pilot announced that a sudden snow storm had overtaken
the town, and the strong winds were preventing us from landing safely, so we
had to hold in the air and wait for the storm to pass. As the plane dangled in
the air like an ornament on a Christmas tree, I felt the storm shake us from
below. We were wobbling us and down for what felt like an eternity. Then with
warning, the plane rushed down to the ground, and with a few big final shakes,
landed smoothly on the runway of Isafjordur airport.
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| descending into the menacing snowstorm |
I had emailed the tourist bureau before our trip
and they informed me that the only way to the town was by a red shuttle. The
shuttle service was one man who made his living from taking tourists and local
to and from the airport on the one flight a day. The bureau also informed me
that is was cash-only. This is very unusual for Iceland, because everywhere is
Reykjavik takes credit cards, so it is almost completely unnecessary to every
handle cash in the country…except when you take the red shuttle from Isafjordur
airport. So we came prepared with cash is small bills, which the guy greatly
appreciated, and no other tourist seemed to know the protocol. It really
doesn’t matter where he drops you off in town, because you can talk across the
whole place in 20 minutes.
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| we made it! |
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| the shuttle bus into town |
When it was time to leave I assumed the process
would be just as simple. But oh how I was wrong…
First our flight back was delayed two hours for
unknown reasons. We passed time by hanging out in a local restaurant and
heading to Isafjordur’s amazing library. Then at the library I checked again
and found that our flight was canceled
and that we would be rebooked on a flight leaving the next day. This was really annoying as we had to spend another
night in Isafjordur which was not planned or budgeted. Then on the morning of
the second day, our flight was delayed by an hour again. This was a bad sign,
as yesterday’s delay was what lead to the cancellation of our flight, so I was
worried about yet another delay, but thankfully we took off only an hour an a
half later than expected.
At the airport we watched the incoming plane land,
and could feel how strong the wind was that afternoon. The pilot warned us of a
rocky ascent and a turbulent ride back to Reykjavik, but at that point, I was
just glad to be on the plane.
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| leaving town for Reykjavik |
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| the half-melted mountains below us |
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