📍 ///couplets.grandstand.dictionary
It's time to leave, a bit of tidying up, we prepare the car and leave Ísafjörður. But first, a thrift store—always interesting to see what's being sold second-hand. While Gabrielle hunts for bargains, I tackle a problem I'd almost forgotten: the car's brake lights. In the Faroes, we'd already noticed that they sometimes stayed on even with the engine off. We had to "tap" the pedal to turn them off... with the risk that this could also happen while driving, which we confirmed in a tunnel.
Luckily, there's a Suzuki dealership right next door. Diagnosis: sensor needs replacing, but the part is only available in Reykjavik. Since they didn't look closely, I decide to open it myself. The sensor seems intact, but removing the pedals before leaving left a 2–3 mm gap. Enough to explain the random failure. An idea comes to me: all I need is a small shim. I don't have change on me... but Gabrielle saves the day with a twenty-cent coin from beyond the grave. A bit of insulating fabric and that's it. Express repair for €0.20. And it works perfectly.
First stop after this mechanical victory: the Svalvogaviti lighthouse, this small orange cube lost in the Westfjords, which we found in 2016. Built in 1920 by engineers Thorvald Krabbe and Guðmundur J. Hlíðdal, it measures barely 2.7 m on each side and 3 m high. Initially gas-powered, it was electrified in 1960 and then powered by solar energy in 1992. Located at the end of a spectacular road, the Svalvogar Circle, it watches over a rugged coastline, between cliffs, abandoned farms and stories of trolls whispered by the locals.
Gabrielle sketches it in her notebook while I take out the drone for the first time of the trip. The light is perfect, the wind surprisingly calm. I remain cautious; the batteries are low, and I haven't yet mastered the device. But simply writing these lines at the top of the lighthouse, facing the ocean and the immense horizon, is enough to make the day unforgettable.
#Inkavik #18August2025 #Svalvogaviti #Iceland #RoadTripIceland #DIYFix #Westfjords #HiddenLakes #TravelSketch #NatureMoments
