Iceland - Day 2
Day 2 in Iceland I explored the north, on a route via Siglufjörður on the northern Icelandic coast.
In my first campsite of the trip I slept pretty well with a few rain showers through the night. It was a bit cold, but nothing too bad with my down jacket on a hood up. Although I realised fairly quickly that I could have brought a heavier sleeping bag. I’d brought one that goes to -1 although I suspect it’s more comfortable at around 10 degrees. Even at the beginning of September it felt cold in Iceland. In fact it was around 15 during the day and 5 at night but the cold there is fresher, it gets into your bones more.
Waking at 6am I made a cup of tea and had breakfast. Checking the weather forecast it seemed like mostly rain in the north, where I was heading today…it felt very much like home.
The plan today was to ride around 400km to Hvamstangi via the old fishing town of Siglufjörður on the northern coast and find the location of the police station in the Icelandic TV series Ófærð (Trapped). It was definitely a day for the rain over-suit. I don’t really mind the rain but I hoped at least I could take some decent photos and video while I’m here. I seem to be cursed with my drone that whenever I take it somewhere it’s always really windy.
One more cup of tea and I started getting packed up to leave…
The route took me along the ring road and up via Akureyri which is a really big city—the “Capital of North Iceland”.
On the way I stopped at Goðafoss Waterfall which was really beautiful.
However my aim was to get to Siglufjörður, on the northern coast, before the fish and chip shop there closed. This route passes by some really large mountains but now there are a lot of tunnels providing access to the town. However these are really spooky and cold tunnels indeed! There isn’t much traffic here and as I rode through the tunnels it felt a bit scary, if I’m honest.
After riding these tunnels I arrived in the small town of Siglufjörður and I found the police station!
As time was getting on I headed straight for fish and chips as the place was only open for another 45 minutes. Hot food on this cold day was amazing! The place was simple with good good and the guy in the shop was really friendly. It’s a very quiet place but there were a few tourists around.
As I left Siglufjörður I headed west along the coastal roads which has sections of gravel and paved roads and then leads to a huge open expanse, like the American west! Riding through these vast landscapes bordered by mountains and fjords was incredible!
Arriving a little cold and tired at my campsite for the night unfortunately there were no showers, but the place itself was nice. Setting up my tent I got the stove on for a cup of tea and a dehydrated trail meal. The shop in the small town at Hvamstangi was closed so I got some milk from a fellow camper and we chatted about our days. The great thing about solo travel is that you end up chatting to people along the way, which I really love.
It was cold at night again but I was excited to ride the first of the gravel roads tomorrow.
Stage Distance: 400km
Overall Distance: 600km
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Next: Iceland - Day 3