Day 4
Thursday 4th July – 79Km
Up to another warm sunny day and dry shorts. The tent is
uncomfortably warm so it’s breakfast on the grass before leaving at 9:00. Back
on the road I pull in to let an oncoming car past and the driver stops for a
chat. He speaks good English and has been to England several times, both as a
sailor and a tourist. He points out some of the mountains and names them for me
as well as suggesting a few places to visit.
A little further on the gravel road ends and I’m onto
Route 1, the hringhraut with smooth tarmac and fast drivers. I pass through the
town of Hveragerdi (Hot Springs Garden) and head East. At Selfoss I buy bread,
ham, tomatoes and orange juice and have lunch on the banks of the beautiful
river Olfusa. As I’m eating an Icelandic man with two small children sits down
for a talk, again he speaks excellent English, the only problem is my
pronunciation of Icelandic place names.
Leaving Selfoss it’s very hot and I’m being
pebbledashed with small stones by the busy traffic. To my left I can see Hekla
and Tindfjalljokull whilst out to sea on my right are the Westmann Islands,
unfortunately it’s too hazy to get any decent photo’s.
I reach Hella at 5:00 and pay 600Kr for the well-equipped
campsite. There are several other cyclists here as well. After a shower I go o
the nearby supermarket to get some food. Icelandic supermarkets don’t seem to
sell small packs of meat. It all seems to be big multipacks, which are no good
if you’re on your own or in a small group.
I end up buying two burgers and have them with cous-cous and tomatoes.
Later on I discover that the big packs of meat are due to
the Icelanders love of barbecues, given any chance they will cook outdoors.
Tonight’s effort produces huge clouds of smoke, which engulf the
clothes I’d hung up to dry and give them a distinctive flavour.
I lie in the tent listening to the locals getting drunk while I look at the map, I’ve been advised by the guidebook and the two locals I’d met earlier in the day not to go to Torsmork this weekend as it’s a national holiday and things get a little bit riotous…