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Published: August 12th 2018
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Leaving Stockholm for Reykjavik the temperature was 29 degrees C at noon. On arrival on Icelandic Air it was13 degrees - which was actually the continuation of the European heat wave, Iceland style. All things are relative.
Our plan is to travel around Iceland for 3 weeks before returning to the Netherlands and then on to France. We had considered taking a tour, thought about using guides in some places, staying in hotels, hiring a car and running around the Ring Road that is all nicely sealed. In the end we reverted to type and opted for the hire of 4WD with a camper back that would allow us to take some roads that are not widely travelled, could be a little more challenging and that apparently provide access to some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. A no-brainer really. We allocated 3 weeks to the visit. After just a few days and serious consideration of the map, that seems a little squeezy.
All of the advice we were able to find suggested the Iceland would be expensive. The general consensus seemed to be the you buy most of your provisions in the big towns. We decided
Outer Reykjavik
Looking for a supermarket to buy some stuff but also to pick up as we went along. There has to be some incentive for people in small towns and regional areas to welcome tourists and travellers. We spent our first day walking the streets of Reykjavik in the cold and rain carting shopping. Also tried out the coffee. Better than some countries but room for improvement.
The weather here is a critical issue. It changes fast and can be dramatic. We were very seriously told that we should avoid driving when the wind hit 15 metres/second and to definitely not be on the road at 20 m/s. Such winds are not unusual. The local Met office gives hourly up-dates of wind speeds.
I will admit that the wind speeds advice seemed a just a tad over the top until I clapped eyes on our transport. We have a 4WD Isuzu, king cab with a well body. On top of this there is a box. The overall height is just under 3.3 metres. Not as much of a sail as a motor home or a caravan but large enough. Wind could possibly be an issue.
Road conditions can also change quickly.
Our home for 3 weeksAt this time of the year there isn't snow and ice to worry about - normally - but with the changing climate adding its effects to glaciers that melt a bit anyway because they are parked on top of active volcanoes, flooding and road closures can occur. The government has a national road monitoring system that updates conditions frequently. They even have a series of web cams that provide a real time view of roads across the country. I don't know how good the coverage is but it seems extensive.
This leg of the trip will be all about the West Fjords. There are 7 pretty substantial ones but these often break into smaller ones. This is not flat land. Roads either follow the winding coastline or head off over the ridges, and these can be high. More on that later.
We were keen to get into the trip and skipped a few of the popular places relatively close to Reykjavik on our way out of town. We may not make it back to Akranes or Borgarnes but we also missed the turn for Thingvallatan (which is spelt in Icelandic with one of those little 'p's instead of
Borganes Area
Stripes and dots the 'Th' I have used) and we do intend to get back here to check out an important, and apparently very nice, site at which the first governing structures of the country were established and operated.
If you drive around the edges of Iceland you are going to be in the peninsulas and fjords. The national ring road seems to go around or over every one, except in the Westfjords. Our first major one was Snaefellsnes (we think that 'nes' could be 'peninsula').
Our first stop was at small town on the coast called Hellisandur on the northern side but near the tip of Snaefellsnes. A small town by some standards, with a population of around 300. Roughly the same size as the one that we live near-ish in Queensland Australia. Hellisandur is neat and tidy (so is just about everything here). They have a service station, a restaurant, coffee shop and what appears to be an electrical shop. The place used to rely heavily on fishing as an industry and possibly still does, although tourism seems to be generating icome.
We walked around the town. Some very good street art. Not many people in
evidence other than wandering visitors.
From here it is roughly 300 kms on to the other side of the Breidafjordur to see if we can track down some puffins.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Serenity of Nature
Glad you are out exploring.!