do not go to thakgil, iceland (5)
Halló visitor.
You read the title. Do not come here. It is in the middle of nowhere. There is one road that leads here, and while it is not officially designated as an “F Road”, it is full of sharp rocks and sharp turns. The road is a little over one car wide, forcing you to drive uncomfortable quickly upon the bumpy road, as not to irritate other drivers on this “road”. You also have a good change of popping a tire — it happened to me.
Once you arrive to the campsite, there is no Wi-Fi or cell service at all. There is also no food, just a small bathroom. And once you get out of your van, finally ready for a good hike, you will come to the realization that the easiest trail on Thakgil, the blue trail, is straight up a mountain, with no railing or protection, on dry, slippery, unpacked dirt and small falling rocks. So you will go back to the campsite, set up your bed, and sleep in great sorrow and heartbreak, awaiting a very unpleasant drive back, and a bill for the tire repair, in the morning.
Pictured: Sunset view at the start of the Thakgil blue trail. The views are second-to-none, no doubt.
I started off my day at Vik campsite. I fumbled about for an hour trying to figure out the shower situation, then went to get coffee at Skool Beans cafe. Skool Beans is amazing and absolutely worth a visit; the espresso I had there was some of the best I’ve had, and the school bus location is very charming. Now in a very pleasant mood, I headed for Reynisfjara, the famous black sand beach. It was gorgeous. The sharp, angular rocks of the mountain really contrasted with the softness of the beach, and it was one of the most aesthetic sights I’ve seen.
Pictured: The edge of Reynisfjara; a very serene place, even with the crowds of tourists.
Satisfied, I left Reynisfjara to head to Dyrholaey cliff. Finding parking was tough, and the parking itself was super sketchy, as it was on a steep incline and I don’t really trust the parking brake on my Renault van. The cliff itself was pretty cool. I parked on the lighthouse side, which was kind of a waste of time, because the real action was, like, 2 miles down and to the west. I walked for an hour, and when I got there realized I could have parked down there… Anyways, the cliff was beautiful, and there were puffins. I was kind of in a rush, but I would have been perfectly happy to sit and watch the puffins for an hour. They are lovely birds, and very interesting. I was kind of expecting them to be penguin-sized. They are regular sized birds.
Pictured: Dyrholaey.
I made some great coffee in the van (great beans, Reykjavik Roasters!) and hit the road. My plan here was to drive up to Thakgil, do an easy peasy 1-hour hike, drive an hour to a glacier, and then drive another hour to where I’d camp for the night. Simple as that. Well, for some reason they don’t tell you this anywhere, but Thakgil is NOT a normal place. It’s known as a “hidden gem”, but the reason is that only locals can handle the crazy drive here. I was driving in the desolate terrain, fascinated at the mountains, but it got more and more rocky and less paved the further I went. The terrifying nature of the road reached its peak when I saw a literal overturned car with caution tape all over it in a ditch. An eerie reminder of what would happen if I didn’t drive very carefully.
I tried to drive up a steep hill, but couldn’t make it, so I reversed, googled whether Thakgil is an F-road just to double check, and floored it, barely making it over. I then got into a rare bit of shoulder lane to let cars pass. When I stopped, a kind Icelander stopped in front of me, telling me that my rear driver’s side tire was flat. Well, fuck. My dad taught me how to change a tire a month ago, but I wasn’t physically strong enough to do it then, and I haven’t really hit the gym much since.
The Icelander tried his best, but he couldn’t loosen the tire either. He gave it his all for another 15 minutes, and lent me his phone to get info from Happy Campers, but I had to let him go at some point.
So he drove off, and at this point, I was pretty set on shelling out $150-300 for roadside assistance. (Yes, roadside assistance is that expensive in Iceland. It’s mind-blowing.) I think God must be real, because somehow, a Navy officer and part-time mechanic from Maine was driving by and asked me what was going on.
I asked him if he had tools, and he pulled over. He’s my hero. He made loosening the tire look so goddamn easy; he literally just kicked the torque wrench and that was that. He was very interesting. His in-laws live in Iceland, or something, I don’t really remember. He changed the tire, I asked him if I could repay him somehow, and he said “Nah, fuck that!”, saying I should pay it forward instead. What a guy. I wish I’d gotten a picture with him, because that may have been Jesus Christ reincarnated.
Pictured: The cursed tire.
I drove slowly the rest of the way. I am here now. I fear the drive back in the morning. My family is probably worried sick. The tire is going to be somewhere from $45-200 and it’ll eat up at least 3 hours of my day tomorrow. So, that was my day today. I don’t know what my plan is tomorrow, and can’t access my map to find out where I want to go or where the service center is. Such is life.
Bless bless,
Ayaan