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Morning coffee
Just a cup before getting on the road...Late morning, the sun (!) wakes us, and we crawl out of our tent for some breakfast and coffee. Using the "super special" burning liquid bought in an outdoor shop in Reykjavik almost sets the tent on fire, because it produces a high flame, and all efforts to extinguish or control the size of the flame are in vain. Additionally, it completely covers all cookware involved in a thick layer of black soot. Quality stuff! Just for reference, if you own a Trangia using liquid fuel and you value your life,
do not use Primus PowerFuel! To extinguish the flame, we needed to resort to using some of the moss around us. Yes, it's that bad!
The coffee is still ok, and we pack up and continue on towards Ƥingvellir, the field between the European and American continents, and former location of the Alƥing, the Icelandic council of elders. On our way, we pass a rest area with some strange heaps of piled up stones - over the coming weeks, we will be seeing so many of these that we get used to them. A few kilometers down the road, we find a sign pointing us to the Ƥingvellir visitor centre,
Prima!
This is what happens when you use Primus PowerFuel - nature has to suffer to put out the flames! where we find some toilets, fresh water, and information on a camp site down in the plains, right on the shore of the Ƥingvallavatn, a huge lake that sits between the continents. Following a path down into the plains, we make it to the campsite, and get a perfect spot right on the shore. The sun is burning down, the weather perfect, and the day still young. When we spot a pool on a small town only about 20km away, we decide to take a short ride and go for a bath. Also, our cash reserves are running a bit low, so we take our chances that Laugavatn has a cash machine on offer. Only downside is, the road is marked "yellow" on our map - in Iceland, this means that it's not paved. But how bad can it be, right?
The road starts off through the plains, but quickly starts to climb....and climb...and climb...for 10km, all we get is uphill - but at least, it's paved. Once we reach the top, the yellow road turns yellow, and the pavement stops. Instead, we get a gravel road with every cyclist's favourite washboard pattern...the same I experienced in Lithuania before. The
gravel road is only shortly interrupted by a paved bit when the road shoots down a hill with 14% slope...and then continues as gravel for the remaining 10km.
After what seems like an eternal ride, we finally reach Laugavatn. There isn't much to see: a Hotel, the pool, and a small diner, where we ask about a cash machine, and a bus service back to the campsite. Bus? There was one at 11am, and that's it for the day. Cash machine? Yes, there is one somewhere, but the lady isn't sure where. Ask at the hotel!
So...we decide to go for a bath. The water is wonderful - even the regular pool is a cozy 29 degrees celsius, and there are three different pottir, or hot tubs, with anything from 37 to 42 degrees. Perfect after a day's riding! The only downside is the looming 20km ride back to the campsite...
After the bath, we stop by the diner again for a bite to eat, spending almost our last money on the food. On the way back out of town, I decide to ask one more time about the cash machine, and this time, a guy in a hostel is
Piles of rocks
How does this survive a storm? able to point me to a small house with a wooden door, which looks like an abandoned building. Behind the door (which is not locked), there is indeed a cash machine, and we are able to get 20.000ISK out - that should be enough for a while!
And we're back on our way home. After a 3km long steep climb, we're back on the gravel road, which seems like an easier ride this time around. After that, the 14% climb. With no luggage on board, I manage the climb just barely, to be greeted by a wonderful sunset. After that, we have 15km of downhill to look forward to. And even though it's warm, there is a cold breeze blowing right in our faces.
Back at the lake, it's a wonderful evening, with a lovely quasi-sunset. Just a cup of tea, and the we're off to bed. But the cooking takes longer than expected, because the burner is stuck closed, and it takes me about half an hour to open it, all the while sitting in the cold grass. When the tea is finally done, I'm shivering cold. Off to bed, hoping that my sleeping bag will keep me warm
Between the continents
The plains of Ƥingvellir, where Europe and America meet. through the night.
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