Planless on Iceland

[Lunatic]

Vundebar report !!

[rgiroux]

such an amazingly beautiful place!!! thanks for posting this report!

[goreri]

Hi Pip...

Great RR! Very good pictures. This altogether, make Iceland got higher up on my to-do list.

In a way I'm glad that I missed Iceland 2011, as I still on rehabilitation due to injured knee ligaments during April 2011.

Subscribed.

[Kitedans]

Great report and pictures !!!

[cristiano78]

Originally Posted by pip_muenster

The riverbed was full of rocks and the far bank steep.
- 'Well, this is the end, is it?'
It sure looked dangerous, so I answered:
- 'Ah, let's give it a try. You go first!'

[hvilla]

Thanks for sharing!!

[Dekatria]

Truly awesome - Iceland is also on my list to ride one day.

Keep up the good work

[pip_muenster]

Originally Posted by goreri

Hi Pip...

Great RR! Very good pictures. This altogether, make Iceland got higher up on my to-do list.

In a way I'm glad that I missed Iceland 2011, as I still on rehabilitation due to injured knee ligaments during April 2011.

Subscribed.

Moin Goran,

I can't say that I've been (or am) in good physical condition, but I made it through and so would you ... Anyhow, I'm positive your knee injury is no valid excuse not to go in 2012.

[Teli Rides]

Iceland now ranks way high on my dream rides list. I'm just fascinated with northern landscapes!

Thanks for sharing.

[pip_muenster]

When we got up we took some time to look around. It was one of the nicest camp sites on the island with soft grass and just enough space for a few tents. There was a small building with toilets and fresh water. I also loved that there was just a little box with a note, relying on your honesty to pay a little fee for the night.


Our camp at the bottom of the water fall


Maddin considering a morning bath

We packed and continued following the road around the west fjords. The northern wind caused frequent weather changes along the route, depending on whether we were unprotected near the ocean or deep within a fjord. Also, everything above 400m was rainy again. A look on the map shows that this meant weather changes more or less every 5 to 10 kilometers.

Near Reykjanes a box on a bench next to the road caught our eye. There was nothing here, except for the coastal road and a lonely hut a few hundred meters up the mountain. We stopped and checked it out.

There were a few binoculars, a notebook and a pencil in it. A note mentioned a seal colony on a small island nearby and offered using the binoculars to watch them. There was no security, no lock, CCTV or whatever, just the request to leave your name, country and maybe a note.


Free use of binoculars

Even before coming to Iceland we had been told on the ferry that the Icelandic police forces only have two cars. Should they ever feel the need to chase someone, they just send one car clockwise around the island and the other one counter-clockwise. No need for a third car. No need to steal something, too.


Seals near Reykjanes (I told you about my tripod at home, right?)

About this time I had to ask Maddin to look for gas stations as my fuel warning light just came on. I was meanwhile carrying a couple of jerry cans to keep up with his gas tanker (the Tenere has a 23 liter gas tank, allowing for 500+ kilometers range), but kept them empty unless we were heading into the highlands. And a few minutes later, when we rolled into Reykjanes, we were greeted with the sight of a typical Icelandic fuel station at the end of a rainbow ...


N1 - the gold at the end of the rainbow

From here we decided to head to the east side of the west fjords. Road 61 took us high into the mountains with all its disadvantages ...



On the eastern descend the road is following a river which seemed to be rich of fish, as there were many cars with racks for fishing poles. Oh - by the way - if you're into fishing, the prices for fishing licenses are currently pretty low. Not much more than 800 to 1,000 EUR per rod per day for salmon ...
I'm not into fishing, so I can't compare these numbers.

We stopped in Laugarholl at a hotel / camp site, as we were freezing and they claimed to have a hot pot. Unfortunately they were about to close it for the night, so we had to face the choice of enjoying either the hot pot or the hot food in the restaurant. We chose the restaurant - maybe not the wisest decision.

A look on the car park should have been a hint that this place was for tourists. Back on the ferry, we'd been chatting with the barkeeper who had been working for a car rental agency in a former life.
According to him, most rental cars on Iceland were Toyota Yaris. They were obviously not suited for off-road actions and not allowed in the highlands - but they were cheap to rent. Many tourists ignored that and consequently got stuck, damaged car or tires - or occasionally rolled it over somewhere. Once in a while someone would leave with a silver Yaris, but return a red one two weeks later.
- 'What happened to the silver one?'
- 'Oh, we had to exchange it. The silver one went down a cliff ...'


Car park at Laugarholl

Anyway, we enjoyed the warm food, a hot showed and the internet connection.

[pip_muenster]

The internet in the hotel had brought news from Benni and Ernst. Ernst had to catch the ferry today and Benni had accompanied him to Seydisfjoerdur in the far east. Due to strong cross-winds it had taken them 2 days to cover the last 270km.
Benni was pissed about the weather and when we told him about the conditions on our side of Iceland, he was all ears: 'If it isn't raining all day long over there, I'll be with you within a day!'

To prove his point the sun came out the next morning as we headed north on the 643.



But it didn't took us long to reach the clouds hanging low over the sea.



We came through Djupavik, where an old, abandoned herring factory can be found.


Herring factory in Djupavik

And the weather got worse and worse.



So, why were we riding up this dead end into the clouds? We found the answer near Krossnes in Fell. Someone had build a swimming pool around a natural hot spring right next to the arctic ocean. What a great feeling, sitting in the hot water, doing nothing but watching the clouds over the arctic ...


Hot spring near Fell

We texted Benni to meet us somewhere on the western part of the ring road and headed back south, reaching the ring road in the evening. By this time, Benni had already covered the 700km from Seydisfjoerdur, checked the camp site and decided to head on towards Borgarnes. So, tired as we were, we had to continue - we've probably had the less exhausting day anyway. And Iceland's scenery was it worth, too.



After a bit of a misunderstanding and searching his tent on 2 or 3 wrong camp grounds, we finally found him. The camp site was located between the dunes, with a restaurant serving as the reception. Seeing that many locals were eating here, Benni had wisely negotiated that the kitchen would stay open for us. So we set up tents within minutes and ordered pizza and beer. Enough pizza to cover every inch of the table. And it was goood!

[Leafshutter]

Amazing scenery and photos, thanks for sharing!

Johann

[squonker]

Great RR, and I love the photos!

[HighTechCoonass]

great trip and pics! EPIC!!!

[Renato CWB]

Thank you for the great report. Wunderbar!