Vikings and Landmannalaugar

Leaving our campsite in Skaftafell this morning is bittersweet, because it is so beautiful, the services are great, and the hiking is good. We must, however, move one, as there is still more of the island left to see, and we must continue chasing the sun!

We chart a course for the nearest town, Vik, to pick up food for the rest of our trip, gas up the car, and visit the Icewear factory outlet. Here, we see how the garments are knit by machines, and buy about 1.5 lambs' worth of woolen goods because, well, Iceland. Being so close already, we make a quick detour to Reynisfjara, home of the dangerous black beach, where sneaker waves can hit and drown unsuspecting tourists (It's true!). It is also the home to gorgeous basalt cliffs, towering black rock "castles" sitting out in the ocean, and colonies of nesting seabirds in the overhead cliffs, including PUFFINS! We lie on the ground looking up, watching the rather awkward birds taking flight out to sea, then coming back in for uncoordinated landings. They are rather comical creatures. We gather up handfuls of round black pebbles on the beach, volcano seeds, rolling them around in our pockets and our hands. We eat ham and cheese sandwiches perched on the hexagonal basalt columns, becoming the bane of every tourist's photos.

Our ultimate goal for the day is the remote hikers' camp Landmannalaugar, part of a 5-day hike through the Icelandic interior. By car, it is quite difficult to get to, travelling through the highlands. Along the way, we first stop at a recreation of the oldest know Settlement farm in Iceland. A large turf roof long house contains common areas, sleeping quarters, a pantry and lavatory, and probably housed a large family and all their help. Like a village under one roof. It's quiet and cozy and incredibly sturdy in its construction, and probably really warm, too. It's helpful to see what the long house would have looked like, as next we bounce down an f-road to the actual ruins of the same long house, the inspiration for the layout of the recreated Settlement. Everything here is now so much clearer now that that we know what we are looking at and what we are supposed to see. Very interesting.

Further down the path at the ruins, we discover a gorge full of waterfalls, all coming from different directions, surrounding us, falling into the pools below and converging in the same river, then flowing downstream. A scene from Game of Thrones was shot in this very spot, but neither of us recognizes it. Mario thinks it must have been shot in winter, as part of the story north of the wall, but I'm not so sure...more research is needed.

Now we begin the long trek into the unknown, the bumpy, lumpy F-roads into the highlands, into Landmannalaugar. We weave between the pylons of a nearby hydro power plant, trying to avoid all of the monster potholes that cover the track, like a slice of Swiss cheese. In the end, it is WAY less stressful than the climb from Dreki to Askja, and I am glad that Mario got that practice in already. I am less happy about the two rivers that we have to ford between the main parking and the campground. Sneaky Iceland.

We desperately try to find high ground on which to set up camp, as the entire site seems to be a flood plain for the nearby mountain run-off. Satisfied our tent won't float away in the night, we head to the nearby natural hot springs, a nearby river where a sulfuric vent heats one river, that then mixes with a larger, cooler river to create the perfect temperature for lounging. Sadly, it's a flawed system, as the water mixes unevenly due to people sitting in from of the hot streams, blocking the direction of the hot water flow. The approach to the springs, about 100 m, is through cold river water, so you cool off by the time you get out. And all that would be so much of a problem after a nice hot shower, but here, the hot water cost money(WHAT?!), the registration desk is closed for the night, and we only realize AFTER I am already under a cold stream of water. I am cold, wet, and no longer very relaxed when I finally fall in to bed.