Varaflame Hooked S125 Joined: 09 Nov 2008

Posts: 414

Location: Reykjavik, iceland



Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:06 am quote





This was a bus shelter in the 1940's before there were paved roads in iceland.









On the sands while I was heading east before the eruption.





Stopped near a river that runs out of vatnajökull glacier.





My Vespa next to the outhouse of my cabin.





All packed and ready to cross the mountains and sands again to see if I could cross the river.





A view of vatnajökull glacier from the A1 road.





Crossing some mountains.





A tunnel through a mountain.





Fog in the mountains.





More glacier





Crossing a bridge





I got to the river that had flooded. That rail in the middle of the photo is the wreckage of the bridge.





Where the bridge stood before the flood.





What's left of the bridge.





The cars were put on the backs of huge trucks, while the people were put on a big bus, carrying them across 30 people at a time.





So I got in line and waited for it to be my turn to cross.





While I was waiting, this happened. We watched helpless on the bank of the river as the bus carrying the people hit a pit in the river and sank right before our eyes. The people on the bus had to break the windows and climb on top of the bus.





The people standing on the roof of the bus were rescued by a truck, some of them had cuts from the broken windows. Though it looked like nobody was seriously injured.













After the accident we were turned away and told they wouldn't be taking more cars or people across the river that day. I went to the nearest town, kirkjubæjarklaustur, about 100 km from the river and was lucky enough to find a guesthouse with an available room.





The next morning I was back at the river and waiting for it to be my turn to cross.





The bridge builders and rescue workers were working around the clock to get the bridge back in order under crap conditions, it was foggy and pouring rain the whole day.





After a couple of hours it was my turn.









They used this thing to carry people across the river instead of the bus that sank the day before. It was full, but the rescue workers liked my vespa so much that they let me ride in the truck that carried my vespa across. This photo is taken from the truck as we passed the passenger vehicle.





Mid-river.





Almost there.





The rescue workers on the other side unloading my vespa.





And I was on my way. I still had a few hundred kilometers to ride in the pouring rain to get back home...What a day!





The last photo I took on my way back to reykjavík. The last two days have been strange to say the least. A few days ago I decided to travel to east iceland for a few days. While staying at a cabin in the mountains my girlfriend called me and told me that there was a volcano eruption in mýrdalsjökull glacier. Ice melted in the glacier and as a result, the sands flooded. The flood knocked down a bridge, cutting off all the towns in that part of the country and leaving me, along with many other people stranded in the eastern part of iceland. I decided to wait for a few days to see how things turned out, and when word came that they had started ferrying vehicles and people across the river using large trucks I tried to cross. Here are some pictures of my trip. The ones of me crossing the river were taken yesterday.This was a bus shelter in the 1940's before there were paved roads in iceland.On the sands while I was heading east before the eruption.Stopped near a river that runs out of vatnajökull glacier.My Vespa next to the outhouse of my cabin.All packed and ready to cross the mountains and sands again to see if I could cross the river.A view of vatnajökull glacier from the A1 road.Crossing some mountains.A tunnel through a mountain.Fog in the mountains.More glacierCrossing a bridgeI got to the river that had flooded. That rail in the middle of the photo is the wreckage of the bridge.Where the bridge stood before the flood.What's left of the bridge.The cars were put on the backs of huge trucks, while the people were put on a big bus, carrying them across 30 people at a time.So I got in line and waited for it to be my turn to cross.While I was waiting, this happened. We watched helpless on the bank of the river as the bus carrying the people hit a pit in the river and sank right before our eyes. The people on the bus had to break the windows and climb on top of the bus.The people standing on the roof of the bus were rescued by a truck, some of them had cuts from the broken windows. Though it looked like nobody was seriously injured.After the accident we were turned away and told they wouldn't be taking more cars or people across the river that day. I went to the nearest town, kirkjubæjarklaustur, about 100 km from the river and was lucky enough to find a guesthouse with an available room.The next morning I was back at the river and waiting for it to be my turn to cross.The bridge builders and rescue workers were working around the clock to get the bridge back in order under crap conditions, it was foggy and pouring rain the whole day.After a couple of hours it was my turn.They used this thing to carry people across the river instead of the bus that sank the day before. It was full, but the rescue workers liked my vespa so much that they let me ride in the truck that carried my vespa across. This photo is taken from the truck as we passed the passenger vehicle.Mid-river.Almost there.The rescue workers on the other side unloading my vespa.And I was on my way. I still had a few hundred kilometers to ride in the pouring rain to get back home...What a day!The last photo I took on my way back to reykjavík.