July 28, 2020
Day 10 - The most perfect glacier view I could imagine!
Stokksnes to Jökulsárlón
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Day 10 - Stokksnes to Jökulsárlón - 61 miles
There was thick cloud hanging low over the mountains this morning and you could barely see anything. Once again, I was so pleased for getting the chance to take my photos at that time yesterday. Seeing as I was already here, it made sense to walk to the namesake Viking Village film set that the cafe and campsite are referring to. Built in 2010 for a film that never actually got filmed, the production crew left the set intact as a sort of tourist attraction. It looks fairly decent from a distance as a semi-authentic settlement with the mountains as a backdrop, but up close the place is a mess. The TripAdvisor reviews have it spot on- it's built well, but the crew have left all manner of building debris, rusty tools, jagged unstable floorboards etc. I'm amazed the place is even allowed to stay open, it's a massive health & safety hazard, and this is coming from someone who thinks that modern H&S laws in the UK are ludicrous. There's all manner of holes to break your ankle or bits of wood to impale yourself on! Don't bother paying the extortionate fee to visit if you're not getting it free for staying at the campsite itself.
I needed a food restock so turned off onto the strange peninsular of not-quite-islands that Höfn is built on. The supermarket was the best I've been to so far and I bought a ton of discounted bread and pastries for the next few days. There was the most perfect picnic bench overlooking the glaciers, so naturally I had to stop there and eat half the food I'd just bought. The people living here really are lucky- it's in an amazing spot with views from every direction, and the town itself felt smart and cheery. There was a small alcohol shop next door so I popped in for a souvenir beer and realised I didn't have my driving license which is my go-to ID. I smiled and mumbled about being 25 and being a forgetful tourist, and thankfully the girl behind the till must've taken pity and let me buy it anyway. It was only on the way out that I realised I had my passport with me and that's a perfectly valid form of ID!
My spirits were really high leaving Höfn in the tailwind and sun, while singing out loud to the songs that were stuck in my head for the day (Too Much Love Will Kill You - Queen, JCB - Nizlopi and A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash). Something else which crossed my mind as I breezed along the ringroad was that I've seen so many cars with all manner of bikes tied to the roof, but I don't think I've ever actually seen someone riding one. It really does feel like every fifth car or campervan has bikes attached, but apart from touring cyclists, there's no one around. Maybe the 'casuals' are put off by the wind! On the subject of wind, after about an hour, the sun went in and a crosswind picked up. Small changes to the weather have significant effect on your mood, and it certainly dampened my high from earlier. Crosswind slowly turned into headwind and that adds in another factor- the extra effort needed to cycle is one thing, but the constant howling in your ears in another. It wasn't all that strong, just annoying, and I was pushing to stay at my ideal 'flat road speed' which is 10/11mph.
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Apart from the ever-nearing views of the glaciers, nothing too eventful happened for the next 4/5 hours. I waved at some passing cycle tourers, stopped to read information boards, and checked my map app for the umpteenth time just to give me something to do. Music through the headphones could provide an instant boredom relief, but it's something I try and avoid for as long as possible, because once I've started cycling listening to music, it's hard to go back to the raw noise of the wind. My legs felt unusually tired today and I was finding it tougher and tougher as neared the glacial lagoons. Camping was a bit of a dilemma tonight because there's quite a gap between campsites here and I wanted to visit Jökulsárlón in the morning or night when it would be quietest. Multiple cyclists have mentioned online or in-person that they have wildcamped at the glacier, so I thought I would bite the bullet and commit to doing the same. With 10 miles left to go, the rain started briefly and I was increasingly anxious that it would be bad weather with the glacier looking less impressive. By some miracle the sky started to clear (only above the valley where Jökulsárlón was), and I took this as a sign to up my pace and make it before the weather gods changed their minds. The last 2 or 3 miles were really painful- I was agonisingly close but didn't want to slow down too much. It was only a 61 mile day on flat ground but felt so much longer. Again I'm dejected by my cycling stamina compared to times on trips before.
With a triumphant fist pump, Jökulsárlón appeared around the corner and for the third time on this trip, I was completely and utterly blown away by what I was seeing. Rays of sun were breaking through the dark clouds, illuminating the vast wall of ice in glowing coruscating light, with an unimaginably perfect lagoon of icebergs at the forefront. I've never seen any scenery like this before, and all bounds of tireness were stripped away. This was always going to be one of main highlights of the trip, but wow, it completely smashed my expectations. At 9pm, there were only a handful of other people around taking photos so I just laid the bike on the floor and ran off to immerse myself in this photographers' playground.
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After milling around for the biggest part of an hour, most of the other people had left and I plucked up the courage to dart out of sight, wheeling my bike along an old trail among the low hills. 'Darting' and 'wheeling a heavy touring bike through the sand' don't really go together, and I'm sure if anyone saw me they would know my intentions straight away. But I didn't care. It sounds silly, but I was having a rush of adrenaline just at the thought of camping somewhere so special. 15 or 20 minutes of searching later and I found a good spot by the edge of the lagoon that was the right mix of being hidden, and being flat enough to be able to sleep.
It's not often that I like to sit in my tent with the door wide open and gaze at the surroundings, but this felt like the perfect chance to relax and reflect on the trip. The stillness of the setting was incredible, punctuated only by the splash of birds diving into the water, and the booming creaking echo of icebergs calving off the glacier's snout. Lying in my sleeping bag completely content, my only worry was that I can't see a widcamp spot rivalling this one ever again!
Today's ride: 61 miles (98 km)
Total: 626 miles (1,007 km)
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