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!