Storm

Wednesday, August 09, 2023
Egilsstaðir, Múlaþing, Iceland
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Didn’t sleep a minute. The wind didn’t die down. On the contrary, it developed into a fully fledged storm.
The fibre glass tent poles bend far and the fabric comes down with it until at heavy gusts it covers my face.
In addition it rains and when inner and outer tent touch, the water penetrates. My sleeping bag is getting wet. And what will happen when a pole breaks? The whole tent will tear up.
Outside I hear frightening noises. Other tents are flapping in the wind. For once it is really dark, thick clouds cover the sky.
Despite the noise I hear voices. Suppressed panic. Suddenly car lights go on. People are trying to fix a tent in the rain. 
Somewhere around 02:00 I seem to hear screaming, but there is so much noise, I can’t be sure. By now the wind is pushing the side of the tent so hard, that I am pushing back with my body. But there is no way I can sleep being pushed around.
Again! I hear a high scream. Like a child. I should check it out.
I get out of my sleeping bag and put on my clothes. The campground looks eery. Tents are bulging and flattening as if they are alive. A couple of tents on cars shake wildly.
Again! “Help me!!” At the top of his voice. Coming from the toilets. I approach and hear a boy in complete panic.
‘Where are you?’
‘In the toilet. I can’t get out!’ My german is not very good, but this I can figure out.
The boy is unable to unlock the door.
‘Where are your parents?’
‘The blue van with four tents.’
I search and find the van, and somebody is inside. It’s the mother, who couldn’t sleep in her tent because of the noise. But she can’t sleep sitting in the car either.
I explain the situation and we go to her son. The wind has misformed the wooden building. We push and the boy is able to unlock the door.
I check our tent and try to sleep again but impossible. We get up early and carefully take down the tents. Then we eat in the common room, already filled with other campers who look exhausted.
After checking out of the campground we return to the puffins. But the storm is too violent. After an hour we fill up the tank and go to Studlagil canyon. It’s a canyon with a river flowing between two walls of basalt blocks.
The effect is hard to describe, so I include some extra pictures. The basalt blocks are 20 or 30 meters (yards) high and water pushes between them. We walk around the river for a few hours until we are satisfied. 
Then we head south east until we reach Egilsstadir with a good campground. We make camp and eat early. And now I sit on the sofa in the common room. A dutch family is doing dishes. Three jews - probably soldiers who finished their draft service - are playing a board game. Two boys are helping a girl with her cooking. Other people talk or write their diary. It’s the normal mood in a common room. Eager faces, easy laughs, people getting to know each other, making plans to travel a piece together.
I’m going to shower and then to sleep. It’s been an eventful 48 hours.
Good night, my friend.
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Comments

Roy De Hair
2023-08-09

Mijn geografenhart krijgt weer heel veel input! In heel Skandinavië is het noodweer,dus anticipeer op heftig weer. Voorzichtig!

Hugo Abrahamse
2023-08-10

Quite scary, but good to see you all survided this storm, unharmed. Fantastic landscape. Pure beauty.

2025-02-16

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