9/8/2025
Our day started with looking out the window at a green mountain full of waterfalls. In the grass fields in front grazed very fluffy contented sheep, even with the blustery winds. After a nice breakfast of meat/cheese/toast/boiled eggs we drove back down the road to Diamond beach. This is the main stop that brought us to Iceland. Mercy saw pictures of people enjoying large chunks of ice on the beach and wanted to go to that place where ever it may be.
It was very windy, blowing us all over the beach as we took pictures with the ice and in front of the iceberg lagoon. There is a glacier that calves large chunks of ice into the lagoon and the current deposits that ice on the beach creating this look of thousands of ‘diamonds’ on the beach. It rained on the way to diamond beach, so we started praying and by the time we had gotten to the ice we enjoyed clear windy skies. After we got back to the car the rains began again and lasted the rest of the day.
Our plan today was to head up the east side of Iceland and possibly go check out puffins. It is always important to keep an open hand with the schedule, seeing what the Lord wants to do. As we were heading north and inside of a long tunnel, I noticed a dashboard light that we were losing tire pressure. The tire was completely flat by the time we reached the end of the tunnel. Pull offs are rare in Iceland and it is common to need to go miles before you can stop. Right outside of the tunnel was a turn off that I could safely stop in. I got the spare tire out and went to loosen the lug nuts. The tire tool in the car was stripped, so instead of loosing the lug nuts, all it did was strip them. We were stuck. If I tried more I would destroy the lug nuts. I walked back to an emergency phone booth outside the tunnel. The lady on the other end of the phone that I spoke to was very friendly but had no idea where we were located. This was our first tunnel and we are half way around the island, but she was not sure where that tunnel was located. Then once she understood we were safe and at a good spot, she said we did not have an emergency, so she would not be able to help us further! I went back to the car thinking through our now plan C. We did not have cell coverage, but we had wifi. I got online and contacted Iceland’s roadside assistance. They also were very nice. In order for them to even online chat with me, I had to pay them $125! They got all my information, told me that it would be a long wait, and I needed to pay an additional $480 for them to bring me a tire tool that would allow ME to change the tire. I couldn’t bring myself to make that agreement. I had already paid $125 just to hear it would cost me $480 more. I told them to let me try one more time to loosen the lug nuts. The lug nuts immediately began to strip and I had to stop. We were all praying. As I was resigning myself to pay, a car pulled up. Dennis and his wife are from Germany. As they were driving in Iceland, they were discussing the idea of moving to Arizona. Dennis wanted to make sure we were ok and was the only car willing to stop. The Lord brought us together, and I look forward to hanging out with them in Arizona one day. Dennis had two tire tools, the one from his rental car company immediately began to bend as we tried it. The other was a second brand new, non rental company tool that was small and perfect. The lug nuts came off easily with it!!!! Ten minutes and one handshake later put us back on the road again.
We looked at the map and saw a short cut that google maps suggested. The short cut was 20miles versus the long way around 100miles going in and out of each inlet along the coast. We took the short cut and it was quite exciting. It was a dirt road (Axarvegur -939) that went right up the side of the mountain through the land of waterfalls. It was an amazing drive with tons of kayaking opportunities. It was also very sketchy with no spare and zero pull outs if things go bad. At one point I had to stop on a 40% dirt road hill in the rain because of the car in front of me. The incline was so steep I had to put on the emergency brake as I shifted back into 1st gear to get going, all the while perched on the side of a cliff with no guard rails. Jodi was really starting to get excited when the tires started to squeal on the wet road trying to get traction to move again.
We made it through and loved every minute of that drive. We got to the next town with enough time to get gas and fix the flat tire. They had me park the car on the hydraulic lift. Jodi fell out of the car trying to climb out from the lift. I went to a couple stores trying to find a tire tool, with no luck. It means we would still be stuck if we get another flat. The people in Iceland are incredibly nice. Everyone has gone out of their way to help us. Mercy was also a little song bird today and sang all day long. She kept asking for pop songs, so Jodi kept singing ‘Pop goes the weasel!’. 🙂
Mercy’s Take (9/8) – I woke up at 6:33a and did Bible and watched the sheep and horses outside the window. Mom woke up at 6:53a. Daddy had me read two emails that were from Julia and Mr. Scott McAllister, Mrs Stephanie McAllister, Rylee, Jadynn, and Isaac. We went to stop at the Diamond Beach, and it was GORGEOUS and fun to see. On the drive to it, it was raining a lot so we prayed that it would not when we got there. Then it stopped, and we had a blast at the beach. The next stop would have been Stokksnes, but we said we would not go. We pulled over because our tire signal popped up, and we found out we had a flat tire. I prayed. Dad payed $125 to ask a question then we prayed because it would be $400+ more to have someone drive us a tire tool. As we prayed someone came and asked if we needed help. We said yes we have a flat tire and our tool shreds the lug nuts. He helped us. Then we headed to our hostel. Then the kids called us, and we talked.
