Thursday, August 3, 2023

Do I hear rain on the tent? Very softly, even intermittently? That would make our life very different. Folding wet tents, wet clothes…

I go outside, and the sky is grey, but I really don’t feel any drops. Nevertheless, I quickly start to roll the sleeping bags and mattresses. 

In the kitchen we eat sandwiches and prepare enough for lunch. We will travel through Westfjord today and we don’t know where we will be at lunchtime. Roads are very winding here and there are hardly any villages. Fortunately our diesel tank is full.

We take off and head north, away from the fjord. It basically means steeply into the mountains until we steeply descend into the next fjord. 

The roads are reasonable, much has asphalt but also a lot doesn’t. Fortunately our car is good and soon we reach our first destination: a hot spring in the middle of nowhere.

A short dirt road off our main dirt road brings us to a small concrete swimming pool separated into two halves by a concrete wall in the middle. Through a pipe hot water flows into one side. A small overflow allows the hot water to flow out of the hot bath into the second bath, which is much cooler. 

There is nobody around except for an Italian couple floating in the hot water. 45 C = 125 F. It doesn’t take us long to join them and with a mountain chain on each side, in a wide grass valley that slopes down into a fjord, we soak in the temperature.

After a while the Italians leave and then it’s only us in this prehistoric landscape. A few steps uphill is the small brook that feeds the pool. There we also sit in the water for a while, our back against some boulders. All around it is nature and complete silence. Those of you who know me will realize that I found my spot - away from people, enjoying nature to the fullest.

When we are completely satisfied we get dressed again and eat some snacks, while suddenly three more cars appear.

We take off and spend the next hour navigating the steep and bare mountains until we reach the second visit for the day: the Dynjandi waterfall.

Beautifully located near a bay of a fjord, the water falls over the edge of a long and steep escarpment. Then the water bounces off stones, spreading wider and wider until you see a triangle of cascading water. It never falls down straight, but keeps bouncing and spraying.

Several minor waterfalls are at its bottom. They are - in fact - quite big, but dwarfed by the great one on top.

We eat lunch at one of the picnic tables at the foot of the escarpment. Behind us is the bay with a cruise ship at anchor. A series of small boats brings passengers on land to view the waterfalls.

We climb the path along the falls until we feel the spray and splash of the top one. 

The passengers from the cruise ship turn out to be elderly Americans, some of whom have a hard time moving uphill over the stoney path. I help an elderly lady who has trouble keeping her balance. Holding my hand solves the problem.

Too soon we say goodbye to the magnificent vista. We descend again and find our way back to the car.

Then we drive another two hours to a campground. A steaming hot water spring on the other slope is used to heat regular water, and we enjoy - for the second time today- a hot water bath. Here it flows into an indoor pool and an outdoor jacuzzi, which we both enjoy.

Warm and satisfied we relax with a book and my diary. 

It’s been a very good day…

PS: I wondered what Iceland does with its trash. The population is too small for an incinerator. I asked a local. He said it is really a problem. Until recently it was burned but the pollution was high. That has stopped now and the trash is exported to Sweden where it is processed.

They also started to take out the organic materials for animal feed.