Relaxation

After a few days of recovery and sight-seeing in and around Reykjavik, today we cycled back to Keflavik and closed the loop on our circumnavigation. Once more the wind tried to defeat us, but it was a relatively short distance and we arrived by lunch time.

We spent the afternoon at the Blue Lagoon, a natural gethermally heated pool in the middle of the lava fields and one of Iceland's most popular tourist attractions. The water has an intense blue colour due the many minerals it contains and is supposed to have great healing properties. In any case, the warm water and amazing setting made for a relaxing afternoon and a perfect way to end the trip.

Arrival

Today's wakeup call was the sound of a horse trying to hoof his way into the tent. That got us up fast! Our new friend turned out to be quite inquisitive and after insisting on helping us to pack away the tent, he decided to have a chew of Steve's toothbrush.

Shortly after setting off this morning, we began to see signs which showed the distance to Reykjavik in only double digits, and the goal felt close. However, we had to keep in mind that this distance included the tunnel under Hafnafjordur and given that bikes are prohibited in the tunnel, this meant an additional 42km detour around the fjord. Furthermore, after yesterday's battle with the elements, today the Icelandic weather tried still harder to knock us down.

We made reasonable progress to the tunnel, but at this point the terrain became more hilly and the wind really picked up. What was most disappointing was that it somehow continued to blow in our faces as we rode along both sides of the fjord. It was perhaps some of the most difficult riding the tandem has ever faced, with horizontal rain and wind gusts that practically brought us to a standstill. Steph described it as the most unpleasant day she's ever spent outside!



We eventually made it around the fjord by early evening and took shelter in a gas station, where we escaped the weather and ate more junk food. From there is was just a short pedal to Reykjavik. It's a good thing that the days are long at this latitude, as we rolled into the campground in the centre of town just before 10pm. We were very glad to have made it!

Tourist Facilities

Yesterday we'd thought the weather was pretty bad, but this was only because we hadn't experienced today's conditions! The wind continued to blow in our faces all day, and within minutes of leaving the tent, the rain set in. Again, there were two significant climbs for the day and again, it felt like tough going.

Half way through the day, feeling somewhat tired and dejected, we took shelter in a gas station, where we ate chocolate and dripped on their floor. We were now well off the tourist trail and we felt quite out of place among the gathering of local men watching Olympic handball on TV.

The second climb of the day took us over some particularly bleak and exposed moorland, where the wind was just incredible, slowing us to a crawl. Descending back to the valley, we stopped for a snack at perhaps our favourite picnic spot of the entire trip - furnished with neither the bench nor the tree advertised on the sign.



Today's efforts, however, were rewarded, and by the end of the day we were almost back down to the West coast, and within what felt like a stone's throw of Reykjavik.

Fears Abated

Our couple of days off in Akureyri left us with the uneasy feeling that our fantastic good fortune with the wind and sunshine had ended, and that the weather was beginning to turn for the worse. Today began with a long, steady climb to a high mountain pass, made much longer and tougher by a continual, strong headwind blowing down the valley. The day didn't get easier with a second big climb in the afternoon, still in the wind and now accompanied by rain.



Today's ride felt different from the normal, as we had now left behind the main tourist trail: traffic was much reduced and there were no other cyclists on the road. Perhaps as a result, tonight's destination of Blonduos felt even more remote than some of the smaller towns we passed through earlier in the trip, with no pool and no grocery store. This gave us an ideal opportunity to finally sample the infamous gas station hot dog for dinner. We were not disappointed!

All in all it was a pretty tough day, and certainly put to rest Steve's fears that the trip would be too easy due to the ideal conditions so far!

Crossing the Arctic Circle

Today was a rest day and we took a trip to the island of Grimsey, to join the procession of tourists walking across the Arctic Circle. Grimsey is a tiny island of about 100 inhabitants and although only 25 miles off the north coast of Iceland, feels as though it's lost in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.



There wasn't too much to do on the island, but it was a very cool place to visit. We crossed the magical line, walked around the headlands, enjoyed the company of thousands of seabirds and tried to imagine life in such an isolated spot.

The crossing back to the mainland was quite spectacular, with glorious evening sunshine as we steamed towards the majestic mountains of the north coast.

Bright Lights, Big City

This morning we rounded the lush southern shores of Lake Myvatn, passing pseudo-craters and volcanic cones. Stops were brief on account of the plagues of midges that would swarm for your nose, mouth and eyes the second we dropped below walking pace. We soon climbed a small hill and left this outerworldly, volcanic landscape behind.

We stopped for lunch at Godafoss, the waterfall of the Gods. After some more scrambling along the edge, we had lunch in the shade provided by the canyon itself, needing to escape the somewhat oppressive beating midday sun.



This afternoon saw our first proper mountain climb, up and over into the spectacular fjord Eyjafjordur. With the winds at our backs again, we cycled to Akureyri, at the head of the fjord, Iceland's second largest 'city' and our base camp for our upcoming rest days. Once again, we spent the evening at the pool, but tonight it was the big city version, with a complex of slides, fountains and pools of various shapes, sizes and temperatures. We even managed a brief time in the 43 degree hot tub - our warmest yet.

On the Tourist Loop

Taking advantage of our setting, we had a tradiational Icelandic breakfast with our hosts, a lovely old couple who ran the farm. Homemade jam, smoked lamb and yogurt, cunningly disguised as milk, which Steph poured in her coffee. The farmer´s hair and face reflected a life spent in the wild winds of northern Iceland, and perhaps his wife wasn't too keen on the climate either, remarking that she 'used to live by the sea, but he found me there and brought me here'.

We spent the morning visiting Dettifoss, billed as Europe's most powerful waterfall. The 28 km of dirt track to the falls would have been too slow-going on the tandem, so we tried our luck hitch-hiking. Being on the classic tourist loop, we were confident there would be plenty of traffic, and indeed we were picked up quickly. The falls were spectacular, and in glorious sunshine we scrambled along the rocky edges. Tourism in Iceland is sufficiently new that there are no safety barriers, though judging by the precarious perching of some visitors, they may not be far off. For our return to the tandem, our hitch-hiking was much less succesful, and we spent what seemed like a very long time walking through a driving dust storm before being picked up. We are still finding grit in unlikely places two days later.



In the afternoon we had a short cycle west, passing en route the mid-Atlantic ridge. In the overwhelming stench of sulphur, we marvelled at bubbling mud pits, hot fissures, and steam vents.



By evening we were in the tourist mecca of Lake Myvatn, and again finished the day in the hot tub of the local pool, like all cycling days should end.

Life on Mars

The Festival of the Worm involved carnival floats, fire-breathing and bizarre shadow puppetry late into the night so today was a late start. We spotted our first reindeer (in fact our first animal of any size) on our way out of town, then settled into a long, slow climb into the wind for much of the morning. Sadly the gas station, for which we'd been headed all morning, was of the variety that offers nothing but the pump itself.

We climbed steeply on a dirt road out of the valley leaving the farmland behind us. Up here was a whole new Martian landscape with nothing but barren rocks and a ferocious wind. The wind dominated the afternoon: first pushing us along for 20 km at a record-breaking average speed of over 40 km/hr, then reducing us to walking pace in the granny ring on the flat. With the wind this strong, even a cross-wind was hard to fight, blowing clouds of dust into our faces and leaving us veering wildly across the road, particularly in the wake of passing traffic.



Tonight we stopped in the hamlet of Grimstadir. No hot tub tonight but an inspiring picturesque, remote setting on the plains.

Up and Over

Today we left the coast and headed up and over the mountains into the interior. For the first time so far we were faced with a choice of route: the coast road which was mostly paved and which had a more moderate gradient or Oxi pass, unpaved and steep but 50 km shorter over all. Having had enough with going in and out of the fjords, we chose the latter.

We made it over the top with only one short stretch of pushing and from there it was a glorious long, gradual descent with the wind behind us to Egilsstadir. The gods continue to smile upon us.



As chance would have it, Egilsstadir's Ormsteiti (festival of the worm) starts tonight at 8 pm and we mustn't be late...

Turning the Corner

Today saw the end of the glacier and the beginnings of the rugged, mountainous east coast. We "turned the corner" and started heading north, dipping in and out of fjords that make getting from here to there, much longer.



The weather has been improving over the past few days and today was perfect. We feel very fortunate. Perhaps this is our share of good luck overdue from past trips?

Just before arrival in Djupivogur, we encountered our first stretch of unpaved road and discovered that while the surface isn't too bad, it seems these sections have no limit on gradient.

Ice!

The day started with more straight roads through seemingly never-ending mud flats but by lunch time we arrived at Jokulsarlon - the lake of the glacier. The 2 km lake separates the glacier from the sea and is full of recently born icebergs. We took a boat ride on the lake to get a closer view.



The day ended with more mudflats - but with a tailwind this time which makes the going much easier. And after stopping for homemade ice-cream in the middle of nowhere we arrived for the night at Hofn, pronouced "hiccup". Since we normally only 'speak' Icelandic to each other, when there is occasion to speak to local people it can be quite embarassing.

Straight Roads

Today gave us a sense of the scale of the geography of this country. We traversed a number of mudflats at the foot of glaciers, each consisting of mile after mile of flat, straight, exposed, deserted road. We watched our night's destination loom on the horizon for hours. We share the road with lots of other cycling tourists and today had our first tandem sighting! Passing a monument to a bridge destroyed by the ensuing floods after a recent volcanic eruption gave us a sense of how violent a place this can be.



We paid 20 pounds for pasta and sauce from the gas station, the only shop within a 100 km, and finished the day in a hot tub overlooking the bay. Nice!

To the Coast!

Today we got a taste of the "changeable" Icelandic weather: we saw every kind of weather from clear blue skies to rain, wind and forboding skies, all for 5 minutes at a time. Not worth putting your raincoat on for! On route we passed huge waterfalls and arrived at Vik on the coast with its black volcanic beaches. Quite spectacular!

Perfect Day

We`ve heard so many warnings about the wet, cold changeable Icelandic weather, but today was pretty much ideal. Plenty of sunshine, relative light winds, and only a few very brief rain showers. When the weather is good, couple this with the frequent gas stations that serve a cyclist`s every need (greasy snacks and free coffee!) and geothermally heated outdoor pools to relax in at the end of the day, we`ve decided Iceland is an ideal cycling destination.

Today we`ve seen a little of everything in terms of terrain. Plenty of barren lava, the shopping centres in suburban Reykjavik, rolling scrubland, and even horse pasture. Tonight we`re on the river, approaching the sea, for our journey along the south coast towards Vik tomorrow.

Staging Ground

After expecting a fight getting a tandem on board the aircraft, everything went alarmingly easily, and we ended up paying 75 pounds less than expected and sitting at Stanstead with 4 hours to spare. From Keflavik airport, we and the tandem were chaufferred to our campground, a perfect and well-used staging ground for Icelandic bicycle adventures.



Tomorrow the journey starts ...