Iceland - Day 1
Day 1 I disembarked the ferry from Denmark and started to explore Iceland!
After a good sleep in my cabin I woke up at 06:00, 30 minutes before my alarm, so had a shower and went for some breakfast in the canteen. When loading onto the ferry I was chatting with a couple from County Durham and I saw them again at breakfast. They were in Iceland for two weeks compared to my one week… “the benefits of being retired” they said with a smile.
The vehicle deck opened for 15 minutes at 8:30 ship’s time and then again near 09:30 for disembarkation so I took my big tail bag down first and then closer to the time just had to carry my tank bag and helmet.
It was very foggy around the ship which meant we arrived in pretty poor visibility so I decided I’d take the ring road rather than the coastal route but take a detour past Detifoss before arriving where I was planning to camp for the night. I’d already decided not to take the gravel route at the start, being fully loaded and not familiar with the country yet. Flexibility is key really. Don’t get stuck on one plan and change plans based on the situation you’re in. Also I don’t need to tick off every road, just enjoy the trip. The ride over the mountain pass from the port of Seyðisfjörður was in almost white-out with visibility down to about 30 meters!
When we unloaded from the ferry we were met with three Iceland police—Lögreglan—which was exciting to see, being a fan of the Icelandic TV series Ófærð (Trapped). They had a clipboard each and were gazing over at the bikes as we went past. I’d still not shown anybody my passport since I left the UK!
After leaving the ferry my Garmin just wouldn’t calculate the route I’d planned which was to go alongside Dettifoss on the way to the campsite near Mývatn Lake. It took ages of faffing and eventually I just routed to the campsite waypoint directly, thinking I’d visit Dettifoss on the way. Working this out later I think this as because some of the roads I’d plotted were gravel roads although the Garmin might have been trying to avoid unpaved roads, but sadly this wasn’t to be the only issue I’d have with my Garmin on this trip.
Making good progress along the ring road I stopped for a photo. A bus of lovely Japanese tourists pulled in who all lined up to get photos with me, which was fun but quite strange. When they get back home people will be asking who I was, I’m sure. The weather was much clearer after dropping down on the other side of the mountains at the ferry port but By the time I got to the Dettifoss turning I was getting cold in the wind so decided to drop off my bags and set up my tent and head back again with some more layers on. However by the time I did that the weather really came in with wind and rain and my fuel was a little low (I learned to always fill up when I ahd the chance) so I nearly got to Dettifoss, but then turned around again, heading back to my tent to warm up.
The campsite I was staying at was Camping Mývatn in Reykjahlíð and there is a fish and chips shop so I got my dinner there and got some things for breakfast from the supermarket next door.
After dinner I headed back to the campsite which by this point was absolutely full of hired camper vans! People seemed to arrive late so it changed from an empty site to a mini-city during the evening. One thing I learned about camping in Iceland is that there are very few people in tents, at least in September, and most people are in rented camper vans. This does make it a little more noisy at night with diesel heaters running and doors slamming but I learned to pitch my tent slightly further away from the parking areas which helped. The campsites are pretty quiet until the evening when they really fill up with vehicles. Usually I’d get to the campsite around 17:00 to 18:00 so have a shower immediately and beat the rush later.
My route today was around 200km from Seyðisfjörður to Mývatn Lake and through some spectacular scenery, even from the ring road!
Back at my tent I made a cup of tea and watched a bit of TV in bed but before I went to sleep the Northern Lights appeared!
Stage Distance: 200km
Overall Distance: 200km
Prev: Iceland - At Sea
Next: Iceland - Day 2