Day 7- From silence to chaos

 I woke up filled with indecision...

Should I stay at this nice campsite and do a walk here or head towards Landmannalaugar, a place I knew to be filled with places to trek.

Outside the wind blew, making me shiver. It was a damp cold morning and that in itself would have made me move out. But also I had no signal here which made it difficult to plan anything.  It also felt a bit wierd not to be packing up and getting on my bike... so wierd that I decided against it. Cycling would also warm me up... so I packed up and headed back out on the road... only a short ride ahead compared to some of the days I have done here but knowing that the terrain could make it a hard day nonetheless.

I set off down the road which curved back to the main road... it was a nice, gently sloping downwards, good gravel road... and I had the wind on my back for a change, which was pushing me along at a steady 13mph without me peddling... of course it couldn't last. I reached the main road and found it to be just as good surface wise. The valley road stretched out ahead and the sun came out. It was almost idylic... then came the washboard, followed swiftly by a sandy section which was unrideable even with my 29 inch wheels. I ground to a halt. Pushed my bike through the sand and then saddled up again. 

The landscape here was similar to previous... black sandy/gravelly desert with occasional patches of green moss or grass and the mountains rising up majestically above although they had a slightly judgemental feel to them... can mountains judge? I think they silently do.

And once again, the pervasive feeling of lifelessness in this place... no birds, no little mammals running around, no lizards popping in and out of the rocks, barely any insects.... lifeless!

I went on through this silent world, usually with a decent pace but occasionally hitting a bad sand patch and having to push. On the main road cars and buses (yay buses) passed me, not caring about the mouthful of sand I got every time. Then came the climb out of the valley... steep and relentless but with one foot in front of the other I made forward progress.... carefully down the other side... hitting sand patches makes me skid, a bit of fun if you keep the rubber on the road.

I quickly reached the turnoff to Landmannalaugar, the start or finish point of the most famous trek in iceland, the Langevegur trail. I had pretty much cycled the length of this trail although due to the nature of the road system, mine had been a roundabout route. 

My new plan was to see if the buses did carry people back from here, I assumed they did, when they went and how often, and from that determine how many days to stay here and do some trekking. 

So I tuned off the road and began the climb up and over into the next valley where the campsite lay. I passedI Frostastaðavatn lake set nicely in the hills and then half cycled half pushed the last climb... at the top, I gazed over the valley floor, the campsite and huts of Landmannalaugar sticking out like a sore thumb. I freewheeled down, suddenly dog tired, the efforts of the previous day catching up with me.

I passed trekkers and the car park for day visitors and came to a ford.... I was just ptreparing to get my feet wet again when some kind soul pointed out the way to the pedestrian bridge. I hauled my bike up to the path and gratefully made my way to the reception hut.

I asked about the buses and they suggested I went to talk to the driver, to ask about passage with my bike and if I could pay by card.... if neither of these were possible then my arse would be back on my bike seat tomorrow to wend my way back over the highlands... fortunately both seemed possible so I went back and paid for a couple of nights, plans forming in my head of how I would spend the next week.

I pitched my tent and then lay down... and fell asleep! I must have been tired.

When I woke up from my doze, I decided to explore a little. I had been given a map of the hiking routes and I set off in the late afternoon sunshine to find the start of these treks... the sun was lighting up the colours of the mountains around, whites, yellows, reds.. my camera didn't do it justice really.

I wandered back to the noise and the bustle of the campsite. So many people. You could see those from organised treks with their matching tents that had been set up for them in advance of their arrival with their mess tent and comforts that others would not have. Some tents were like mine, sparse and practical, the occupants having tried to keep their kit minimal as they had had to carry it all on their backs. There were families with children, who were chasing the few sheep that roamed around. All in all it was not very peaceful, not like some of the other campsites I have been at... it was a throng of people and jarred in comparison to the peace and solitude I have had on the road.

I heated up my food and sat trying to stay warm as the sum dipped behind clouds and the wimd started to blow. Once finished, I went over to the bus shops and ordered a hot chocolate, seeing the food advertised, but happy with the dinner I had had. The shop had all kinds of sweets and biscuits and trail food but not much in the way of main meal food, but I was still ok for that for the next few days.

I then wandered over to the hot springs, curious as to how warm they were but with no intention of getting wet.  The water was surprisingly warm and unsurprisingly crowded so I walked away from that and went further up to the beginning of the trail I will take tomorrow... I crossed the hot spring, water gushing out with steam rising and stood there marvelling at this earth and all it provided. I then hiked up to the viewpoint above the campsite, but had left my camera(phone) charging in my tent, so no pics but it was nice up there. The sun was just starting to dip over the mountains, the colours lit up nicely. In the distance I could see steam rising perhaps from another hot spring and resolved to walk that way tomorrow. The peace up here as I looked down on the campsite was soul calming and I breathed in the fresh air and the silence... noting how silent it was... again, no birds, no animals calling, no nothing... an all pervasive silence.

With that I wandered down, back to the bsutle and snuggled into my sleeping bag...

I was looking forward to tomorrow, a rest for my bashed arse and hopefully a good walk....

Thankyou to all those who have followed the blog so far and commented on facebook... I am trying to reply to all but the signal is poor. I will get to them all when I get back out of the highlands.