The relentless splashing of the waves comes and goes, marking the passage of time. I try to focus on this sound; otherwise, my mind will spiral into overthinking the situation. Patience, I reassure myself, it will arrive soon. A Black Guillemot bobs its head out of the water, having caught a sea worm. I think I hear the distant hum of a motor, but it's just the wind.

This is the moment I've been waiting for. After trekking 10km across that rugged mountain terrain, I find myself near the edge, facing the instant that will determine if I can safely descend to the shore where the lighthouse awaits. Peering ahead, I catch a glimpse of the ridge where I'll soon decide whether or not the slope is too treacherous to risk.

In the muted hues of sepia, they appear serenely asleep, as if basking in the warmth of the sun after a long day of labor. Yet, a horrifying realization grips me: I have been mistaken, they are not sleeping; they are deceased, victims of the merciless sea claiming its toll after the “Pourquoi Pas?” was lost beneath the waves.

When I read the email from the captain of the Icelandic Coast Guard’s vessel Freyja, I felt a rush of adrenaline: He was confirming a twelve days lighthouse trip onboard his ship that I was invited to take part in.

The wind is so violent that I can barely stand on my feet. Bracing for the next brutal gust, desperately holding onto my tent flapping loose in all directions, I notice in horror that my unattended backpack is being pushed by the wind toward the ocean. If I try to save it I will have to let go of my tent, but if I keep holding onto my shelter my backpack and all its contents will be lost to the raging waves.

I woke up from a strange dream. Back in reality with my mind still cloudy, I can’t make sense of what I am hearing in the house: footsteps.

It is impossible to sum up two summer months of lighthouse adventures so I decided to tell you about one mission in detail. But instead of choosing my most successful one, I decided to tell you about the one I failed at, which was the lighthouse of Fjallaskagi in the Westfjords.