ICELAND 2016 † HORNSTRANDIR 2

"Phantasmagorical Hornstrandir"

Part 2/5

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The day is rising on a sky of end of the world. The rain sometimes breaks down to give way to a thick drizzle. In front of me the landscape is ghostly.

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I’m walking around. The soil is waterlogged, the trail very muddy. The vegetation seems to come from another world. It is dense, very well supplied. It is difficult to move off the path that runs along the pebble beach.

I observe these large flowers in the shape of a sphere, a small bird, simple sparrow arises in front of me, in this universe of large sea birds it is quite amazing.

Many things are oversized here, starting with these insects, these huge flies and these fine spiders that disgust me since I found one in my tent.

UNEXPECTED MEETING

Around noon, I see the young director of the Arctic Fox Center had veered the day before from my location) chatting with my only neighbor (the Israelis left).

I approach and greet them:

– “Good afternoon. I’m Michael, photographer.”
– “Nice to meet you, Michael. My name’s Tobias and I’m a wildlife filmmaker.”
– “Have you been here a long time?”
– “Yes, nearly two months now.”
– “Two months here on your own?! What are you working on?”
– “I’m making a film about Arctic foxes for German television. I’m used to it, you know. I already spent two months here last year! And what about you? What brings you here?”
– “I’ve come to take photographs, of course, but also to do research for my map of Iceland.”
– “Michael, was it you who produced this map of Iceland for photographers? Everyone who comes here has a copy with them!”
– “Yes, that’s me!” (as surprised as I was flattered)
– “That’s great! Sit down. Would you like a tea or a coffee?”

There followed five days of exchanges, of chatting about Iceland and the numerous places we had both visited, including Siberia. I must admit I was happy to have Tobias to keep me company, and indeed it was reciprocal since one thing is for sure: this is a rainy part of the world, where clouds hug the fjords and the fog never seems to clear away. Over the five days of my adventure, it rained for four, with zero visibility. I can see why Tobias had to stay there so long! You have to learn to be patient.

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It’s almost 18h when the unthinkable happens. The same fox I saw the day before suddenly appears on the ridge.

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He hides himself without hiding. Attentive, he observes.

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He evolves by shaving the grass very furtively but does not seem afraid of my presence.

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I let you imagine my amazement to see him evolve so close to me. From time to time he utters very peculiar yelps. Like a lament. Then he disappeared.

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It’s 7 pm and I decide to go see these houses more closely.

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I’m walking along the beach. It is dotted with driftwood, I find a whalebone, a buoy …

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The landscape that faces me fascinates me. These are just shades of silver gray.

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I reach both houses. Tobias told me that they belong to families from here. According to my research they were inhabited until 1945. I like to imagine what could be life here at the time for these families totally isolated from the world. If we spent 3 hours with a powerful motorboat, what an adventure it must have been to reach Isafjordur a century ago!

It is impossible today to build a house because the area is a protected natural park. The value of these houses is therefore invaluable. Yet, they are empty, in full summer. Damn it, but why do not the many descendants take advantage of it ?!

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I approach the window. Everything is there: the flag, the old stove, the map, the canvas, the picture of the ancestors. A CB radio, the only way to communicate here.

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Facing it, a portico with two buoys attached.

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What hides the shed below? The whole world of the sailor: a canoe, rope, life jackets.

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From the house we see the horn of the fjord that we grazed yesterday by boat.

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It is 21:20, I decide to return. In the darkness I see my friend fox galloping in the moor.

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I take a last look at the horizon. It is 9:40 pm .

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