Day 8
Monday 8th July – 69Km
Up at 7:30 but not on the road until
10:00. The weather is much better, blue sky with a little cloud-cover and a
light breeze. I need to put some sun block on for the first time!
The cycling is more of the same, today
I’m crossing the Skeidararsandur, but with no headwind the riding is much
easier and I fly across. To my right is the dark flat of the sandur but inland
and ahead there are mountains and glaciers, today I’m cycling with a view!
A small dot on the road ahead becomes
another cyclist, a lone English girl going around the ring road clockwise (why
are all the female cycle tourists always going in a different direction to me?)
I pull off the main road and go inland
on a track which takes me to the moraine dam at the snout of the Skeidararjokull
glacier where I have lunch.
Back to the road and I’m riding along
when I hear some very bad singing behind me, “God Save the Queen” in a
Swedish accent! It’s Richard and Martin who quickly overtake me (they’re at
least 15years younger!) and vanish into the distance.
I cross a long new bridge and shortly
afterwards come to a notice board with details and pictures of the 1996
Jokulhlaup, a massive flood caused by a volcanic eruption under the glacier.
There are several twisted metal girders lying around. Parts of the old bridge
that was destroyed by the flood.
The campsite at Skaftafell is
beautifully situated and busy. There seem to be several tour groups here, at
least one of them English. The shower block is a little bit small for the size
of the site.
I put the tent up, have a shower and
then do some washing before cooking up another Michelin starred meal,
frankfurters and couscous with tomato and harissa sauce.
After eating I walk up the valley to the
waterfalls Hundfoss and Svartifoss. Svartifoss is a long, narrow plume of water
falling between columns of black basalt. In order to get the best camera angle I
take my sandals off and wade into the cold water up to my knees.
I walk back to the campsite in the
evening light and then decide to follow the path to the foot of the
Skaftafellsjokull glacier. Someone has found a perfectly oval rock and
positioned it upright at the side of the track. It looks exactly like one of the
eggs from “Alien”
The glacier is a mass of gray, dirty
ice, covered with rocks. It’s separated from the moraine dam by a narrow river
and you can feel the cold air coming off it.
There isn’t enough light for decent pictures so I’ll need to come
back in the morning.
I’m tired and want to get some sleep. The people camped alongside me aren’t tired and want to play football. 24-hour daylight has its problems…