Thor's Outdoors!: Loons, Mergansers and Guillemots

Reykjanes to Hólmavik - 101 km

There was one last fjord to circumnavigate before heading across the pass at Steingrímsfjarðarhæði and I could feel the previous days distance in my legs. I stopped right at the bottom of the rise to have some lunch, and met a Dutch hitchhiker who had been waiting there for two hours. He was afraid that his stuffed pockets made him look suspicious, but he seemed like a normal Dutch guy to me! I made him try some smoked Hangikjöt that my Aunt had sent with me, and then he was off with an Icelandic family traveling in a large Nissan Patrol. The rise up across the pass was long and tough, with the landscape completely desolate, hardly even any birds up there. The way down on the other side was so crazily different though, with a sharp drop down into a narrow valley, completely green with sheep everywhere. I quickly reached the town of Hólmavík and stopped in for a hot dog. On the news they were interviewing the Icelandic women´s soccer team that had defeated the Netherlands 1-0 today in the Euro 2013! Áfram Ísland! I continued a bit further and found an incredible place along the road to camp, with a beautiful view to the west where the sun was slowly setting.

If I had to spend the night at Steingrímsfjarðarhæði, this is where I´d be

Another Icelandic delicacy, Pulsu with extra Remulaði, and an Egils Malt

Not a bad place to settle down for the night

Hólmavík to Hrútafjarðarháls - 119 km

The next morning I had breakfast on the seashore, watching the Guillemots dancing around while avoiding the stealth attacks from the Arctic Terns that were guarding their nests. There are just so many birds all over the place in Iceland. So far I´ve seen Swans, Guillemots, Eider, Puffins and many more. I got another late start as a result, not leaving until 1pm! I really need to change that and get up earlier. I next had to pass two more smaller fjords, but was surprised by the monstrously steep climbs at the end of each. On the second climb is when the rain started, and it never stopped. It followed me all the way down Hrútafjörður and chased me into the rest stop at Staðarskáli where I had a Staðarskáliborgari (cheeseburger with mushrooms, onions, bell peppers and extra cocktail sauce). The burger worked it´s wonder and I managed another quick 12 miles before finding a spot to camp along the road, definitely not as pretty as yesterday. So, a tough day but the weekend is supposed to be sunny so I´m looking forward to some better weather!