Change of plan

We paid for two nights' camping in Landmannalaugar, to take advantage of the day hiking in the area - more on that later...It's a cold, cold morning in the mountains, made no more comfortable by the fact that everything touching the bottom of the tent got wet. But it's ok, we just put on another layer of clothing, warm lamb's wool sweaters, and fill our bellies with hot apple oatmeal and big cups of coffee.

This morning's goal is to attack one of those wonderful day hikes, the 13.3 km loop to Ljotipollur, or "ugly puddle", but the skies threaten rain, so we pack all the rain gear, sandwiches and snacks, bottles of water, then set out for adventure. The walking in this part of the highlands is awe-inspiring: rainbow-striped mountains in reds and purples and browns on one side of us, moss is every shade of green imaginable on the other, brilliant blue lakes scattered throughout, all dotted by pitch black lave rocks and hiking paths. Every new turn is another gorgeous vista, every vista incites even more photo-taking - my memory card is over-flowing. How much MORE beautiful could it possibly get when the skies are not so grey?!

Soon, though, the wind picks up, and then the drizzle begins, and we just barely have time to finish our sandwiches and don our rain gear when the rain falls. We continue our walk with renewed energy from lunch, and maybe from wanting to be back at camp, and dry, and maybe just to make sure that our tent is not floating down river.

Turns out, our tent is not exactly as waterproof as it once was, so we extract what we can and hide out in the shelter of the Duster for the afternoon, reading and napping, and planning our tour of the Golden Circle. The rain is unrelenting, and soon we have thoughts of desertion - yes, we have paid up camp for 2 nights, but neither Mario nor I can see ourselves lasting the night out here with the weather continuing as it is. Rather than being stuck here, we might as well be in the car, but moving, so Mario scoops up the tent, soaking wet, and we accept defeat, fording the rivers out of camp while we still can and heading out of the highlands for good.

Remembering a rather vacant parking lot with toilets near the Settlement ruins, we opt to try our luck that they also allow camping overnight...and lo and behold, lucky us, as there is no sign forbidding it! In fact, the back of the toilets are set up like an outdoor kitchen, with sinks, running HOT water AND a roof to shelter us from the rain! It's like an invitation to spend the night! While I cook up a hearty meal of chili to warm us, Mario dries out the tent in the wind and resets the Duster for sleeping mode. We eat dinner overlooking the vast valley below us, with nothing but the sound of sheep braying in the distance to break the silence. We may have lost a second night of camping fees, but this experience makes up for it in spades.

And we get to sleep another night in the Duster! Hee!