Yesterday I went from Seljalandsfoss to Vík í Mýrdal. The beginning of the day was smooth, for ca 10 km I had a gentle tailwind. I enjoyed my life, and then suddenly - boom, a wall hit me. A wall of air, rushing in a hurry at the direct opposite direction as I was cycling.. Well, nice. The day became a test in mental strength, and I believe I passed the test. Counting white stripes on the road and telling myself stories makes the kilometers fly away! After 60 km of strong headwinds, I only had one obstacle left, a small climb just before I'd reach Vík. It's only 119 meters high, but the hill was 12%, that's 50% steeper than most of the undersea tunnels in Norway. So I was more than happy when I reached the top and could roll effortless the last 3 kms down to Vík!
Because of yesterday's struggle, I decided to take a day off today. And as the weather has turned out to be, I think it was a wise decision. I also have to be in shape for next leg - Mýrdalssandur, a 70 km long sand-plain with nothing at all. Authorities recommend you don´t camp there, in case Katla should have an eruption. In that case, Mýrdalssandur is where the flood probably will come. I don't wanna get trapped in that flood! So I want to get past that. And I also want to get past the areas that got covered with ash at the last eruption in Grímsvötn. Maybe baby.
So, yes. A day off. It's also the national day on Iceland today, june 17. So I celebrated with marinated lamb meat and potatoes, cooked on my Trangia gas stove in my tent's vestibule. And apropos my tent. Today I took a shower, and afterwards I hung up my towel in the tent. Although it has rained all day long, the towel still dryed in just a few hours! Same story about my rain jacket some days ago. Amazing tent! Eureka!
The rest of the day I just hung around, had a chat with other guests on the campsite, and took a walk on the beautiful and huge beaches that lie just a few hundred meters from the village center.
Because of yesterday's struggle, I decided to take a day off today. And as the weather has turned out to be, I think it was a wise decision. I also have to be in shape for next leg - Mýrdalssandur, a 70 km long sand-plain with nothing at all. Authorities recommend you don´t camp there, in case Katla should have an eruption. In that case, Mýrdalssandur is where the flood probably will come. I don't wanna get trapped in that flood! So I want to get past that. And I also want to get past the areas that got covered with ash at the last eruption in Grímsvötn. Maybe baby.
So, yes. A day off. It's also the national day on Iceland today, june 17. So I celebrated with marinated lamb meat and potatoes, cooked on my Trangia gas stove in my tent's vestibule. And apropos my tent. Today I took a shower, and afterwards I hung up my towel in the tent. Although it has rained all day long, the towel still dryed in just a few hours! Same story about my rain jacket some days ago. Amazing tent! Eureka!
The rest of the day I just hung around, had a chat with other guests on the campsite, and took a walk on the beautiful and huge beaches that lie just a few hundred meters from the village center.