“I spent nine days in Iceland, traveling in a rented Toyota Rav-4, a very much less taxing mode of travel than on foot in hob-nail boots. From Keflavik, I drove the Ring Road, aka Route 1, making a counter-clockwise circuit of the island. Reaching the East Fjord ports, at which the ship carrying the trekkers had called before they disembarked at Husavik, entailed leaving the Ring Road temporarily at the eastern end of the circuit.

 Though it is a two-lane highway and even unpaved for stretches, the Ring Road has a smooth, well-maintained surface, easily driven. There are no shoulders, though, and pull-outs appear only at infrequent intervals; throughout its course, the roadbed is raised from between 3 and 30 feet above the surrounding grade.”