Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Into Iceland's Interior
by admin - 22:32 on 25 June 2014
Yesterday was a lazy day. Exertion caught up with Matchgirl and 3am bed on race night caught up with both of us so little of a touristy nature was done, although I did catch up on some Icelandic literary culture via crime writer Michael Ridpath's first Fire and Ice novel which features dastardly deeds in and around Reykjavik. It was a good read, but I'll wait until we're home before I buy more in the series – the book, price £7.99 in the UK, cost 2,650 ISK (that's Icelandic kroner) or around £13. Books are expensive here.
Better value was Two In One, which I bought after reading the copy left for guests of our apartment to peruse. It's Icelandic scenes of summer and winter, each pair of pages showing the view photographed from exactly the same position. The online price is nearly $50 (don't believe the author's website) but I found it in a bookshop for 3,995 ISK – around £20. A brilliant book.
Our day ended with a farewell dinner with Cathy and Paul; great food yet again – Iceland has yet to disappoint – but dire speed of service. We waited at least an hour, to the total unconcern of our waitress.
C and P have another couple of days in Reykjavik but this morning it was time for Matchgirl and me to pack, trundle our cases downhill to the bus station and wait for our hire car to be delivered to us at 11am. When it hadn't arrived by 11.20 we feared we were the victims of an Icelandic internet scam, by two phone calls and ten minutes later a white RAV4 and an apologetic driver arrived. Not long after that, Matchgirl at the wheel because I was too cowardly to face the double challenge of an automatic vehicle on the wrong side of the road, we left the capital on the road to Dingwall.
The Icelanders call it Thingvellir (with their letter that's half P, half D in place of the Th) but that's what it is – seat of the country's ancient parliament, just as Dingwall was the Vikings' administrative centre in what became Ross-shire. Now it's a World Heritage site, the start of lots of scenic walks and a place to enjoy some fine views, although the builders outside the visitor centre are a bit of a spoiler.
From Thingvellir we drove north on our first gravelled road, leaving behind some surprisingly soft farmland to encounter a real lava desert from where we could glimpse our first glacier, Thorisjokull. Somewhere behind it, lost in cloud, was the much bigger Langjokull. The views in any direction are bleak but spectacular.
After many careful gravel miles we descended back into green farmland then threaded our way west and north to Hvammsfjordur and found another gravel road which took us to Vogur Country Lodge where we'll spend the next three nights. The accommodation is acceptable, although the lack of hot water isn't. It will be restored tonight, we've been told. Or tomorrow. We'll see. Fortunately the food is good, and arrived much more speedily than last night, and the views worth the trip. Low cloud means we won't see any midnight sun, or even any sunset, but after a day in which the forecast heavy rain turned out to be brief and early we're not complaining.
Tomorrow's itinerary has yet to be decided, although hiking has been mentioned by Matchgirl the outdoor athlete. If you don't hear from us tomorrow, send out search parties.
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