May 8: Day 11, Kirkjubæjarklaustur to Vik
And it's a nice change to have a place name I can actually type out myself!
Just a short ride today; yesterday's accommodation changes meant I had to ride longer then, so today was shorter. About half of it was through Eldhraun lava field, which is the aftermath of an especially big eruption in 1873. It's the "Laki" eruption, which lasted eight months, poisoned about 80% of Iceland's sheep and 50% of it's cattle, the resulting famine killed 20% of Iceland's population, it contributed to or caused a famine in Egypt which year which killed 16% of the population. It burped out a cloud of sulfur dioxide (poisonous btw) that consecutively messed up Denmark, (what is now) the Czech Republic, Germany, France, and then Great Britain. Where the sun was described as "blood colored" and the fog was so thick that ships weren't able to navigate. Acid rain too. And it caused an unusually brutal winter in North America.
Anyway, these days it's a tourist attraction. Because a particular kind of woolly moss grows on the lava. This is pretty unusual, I've travelled through other lava fields and they're completely barren. As usual with Icelandic life, the moss has a precarious existence and takes decades to grow. Which makes the fact that the world is moss-covered as far as the eye can see, for hour after hour, even more spectacular. Think of the Red Weed from War of the Worlds - but a sickly grey-green and prone to dying from things like being stepped on.
Apparently the Apollo 11 astronauts trained here because it was thought that the conditions might match that of the moon. (Which is a hairy thought. The moss makes the rocks look greyish and smooth, but under the moss are chaotic piles of volcanic rocks with absolutely no trustworthy flat areas at all. Good thing the moon turned out to be more boring.)
From left to right: first waterfall, only two minutes after getting started. Perks of travelling by bicycle. Basalt columns which were mistaken for a church floor. Moss on lava field - as far as the eye can see, for half the day. Haven’t seen a sign like this before. Distance bridge. The view today. A field of travellers cairns, apparently they were built for luck.
The wind was the usual Icelandic story: strong and a bit mad. But it was more tailwind than headwind so I shouldn't complain. After the moss sections were the usual barren sections, and in a few places billows of dust were blown across the road.
There's more and more traffic these days. The shoulder isn't quite big enough to provide space for me and two cars side-by-side, so it's now a regular occurrence for cars to have to wait behind me. A few cars tried to go through the gap, they left me enough space for me but I think one went slightly over the centerline because it got a warning beep from the car coming the other way.
From left to right: dust blowing over the road. Yoda cave. More dust clouds. Last waterfall of the day. The dairy section of the supermarket I stopped at; this is normal. No need for a shopping basket. Vik church. Reynisfjara Beach.
I'm staying in a relatively cheap place close to Vik. But I found that while it's close as the crow flies, it's on the other side of a very big ridge. So walking takes an hour and riding takes about an hour and has a 10% climb - both ways. So my plan of wandering around Vik tonight is not going to happen. I stopped at a supermarket in Vik to pick up something for tonight's dinner and tomorrow's breakfast, but didn't think to get lunch. There was a fine cafe nearby so I stopped in there too.
Tonight's hostel is completely unattended. In the entrance was a hand-written list of who was in each room, with a key left out for each person. Refreshingly trusting. It's a very nice place, everything immaculate. Nicer than some hotels I've stayed at.
One more night on the road, then I'm back in Reykjavik.
