Well, the people who deemed Route 1 "the road to nowhere" weren't exaggerating. 

Today I made my way from Reykjavik, all along the south coast . After visiting Nauthólsvík, the geothermal beach, and Kolaportið (flea market) for some great deals, I was on my way.  The drive to my hotel was a good 5 hours, but I made several scenic stops on the way, so it took me closer to 8. There were several points today where I was the only person on the road. No cars behind me, none coming toward me. The stretch from Vik to Jokulsarlon was especially quiet. I went miles upon miles without seeing other cars or "side" roads for that matter. There was a point where I started to wonder, where am I going? Where is this taking me?  

The weather changed several times. It started out sunny, at one point it rained, then it snowed, then it was blizzard-like, then it was sunny, then cloudy. The landscape was incredible and also changed frequently. Sometimes you feel like you're in a prairie, and then it changes to lava rock, then black sand. It's so unpredictable.  

One thing I remember reading is that gas stations in Iceland require pins to use a credit card . Most American credit cards do not have these, so it could be a problem. I was told that people/attendants are present at most stations, so no biggie. So today I stopped at a station and bought 3,000 kroner worth of gas. Well, much to my dismay, this added about 3 tablespoons of gas to my tank. I was also a little shocked at its expense. As I was getting closer to Hali (hotel), I thought I should stop again. It turns out the only two were stand-alones, meaning no attendant. I was starting to panic. I knew I would make it to the hotel, but then what? The hotel person told me there was another tank 12 km up the road, and a farmer lives in the house next to it and sells the gas cards. I'm like, I don't have much cash (kroner). I went ahead, knocked on the door, and the son had to help interpret. I explained I did not have kroner, but would he take American dollars? He said he would and did the conversion. I was never so grateful in my life! I talked to them for a bit and explained that I grew up on a farm, too . 


The pictures I'm posting are of some pretty well-known sites. At the black sand beach in Vik, I was the ONLY person there, until a tour bus showed up. It almost felt like I had most of the sites to myself.

Tomorrow I will head to Jokulsarlon and make my way back west to the Golden Circle area. Should be another beautiful drive, and this time, with gas cards in hand. :)

Jamie